A Metropolitan View
Calumet (and the surrounding communities) once supported over 30,000 people. Now they support less than 3000. While technically a village, Calumet could easily of been much more. In fact, walking down the streets and alleyways of the village you quickly get a sense of how metropolitan Calumet once was. The whispers of this legacy can still be heard along the streets and within the buildings that still stand today.
From the Alleyways (p1)
We continue our look at Calumet from a different angle. While most tourists and locals have often seen the town from the pavers along 5th street, or the wide roadway on 6th, few have ventured deeper into the village walls. Only those people who live and work along these streets know the darker side of town. While the facades are restored and beautified along the streets there is another side of Calumet.
Calumet Skyline
Continuing our theme for the week, we take another look at the village of Calumet. This one, however, is different then the views we have been providing lately along the roads and alleyways on the ground. Here we take a more lofty view, from a vantage point a little south of the village.
From the Alleyways (p2)
Natural light was a precious commodity in building design before electric lights. Not only were buildings graced with large windows, but the basement as well had a wealth of window openings to let in light. Today, however, these windows are a place for heat to escape and are boarded up quickly.
A Trip to the Theatre
During Calumet’s more metropolitan days, this was the first thing most people saw when coming into town. Before the automobile and the highways that carried them invaded the Copper Country, most people travelled by train. This is the Mineral Range depot, where thousands of immigrants made their first steps on their adopted land. From here trolley cars from the HTC would load up passengers and bring them three blocks down Oak Street to the hustle and bustle of 6th. Along with its sister depot at Houghton, this was one of the finest along the line.