Chelsea Commercial Historic District

8. Statement of Significance Applicable National Register Criteria Areas of Significance (Mark "x" in one or more boxes for the crite ri a qualifying the property (Ente r categ ories from instructions.) for National Reg ister listing .) Architectu r e GJ A Property is associated with events that have made a significant contribution to the broad patterns of our history. Commerce Industry

GJ s Property is associated with the lives of persons significant in our past. Social History

Property embodies the distinctive characteristics of a type , period , or method of construction or Period of Significance represents the work of a master, or possesses high artistic values , or represents a significant and 1850 - 1950 distinguishable entity whose components lack individual distinction.

Property has yielded , or is likely to yield , information Significant Dates important in preh istory or history. 1850 , 1870-71 , 1906 .:_ 08

Criteria Considerations Significant Person (Mark "x" in all the boxes that apply. ) (Complete only if Criterion 8 is marked above .)

Property is: Frank P. Glazier Elisha Congdon A Owned by a religious institution or used for religious purposes.

Cultural Affiliation 8 removed from its original location. N/A C a birthplace or grave.

D a cemetery.

Archite.cUBuilder E a reconstructed build ing , obj ect, or stru cture. Claire Allen F a commemorative property. Clark and Munger G less than 50 years old or ach ieving signifi cance Sidney J. Osgood within the past 50 years .

Criteria Considerations (explanation, if necessary) Period of Significance (justification)

Statement of Significance Summary Paragraph (Provide a summary paragraph that includes level of sign ificance and applicable criteria.)

Located around the point where an important road intersected the main Michigan Central Railroad line, the district reflects Chelsea's role in the later nineteenth and early twentieth centur i es as a market town for a prosperous agricultural district (Criterion A) . The district contains commercial buildings that, dating from the 1860s to the 1940s , housed the commercial enterprises that served the town and surrounding farming area , as well as churches and public buildings that housed village and township government and leading religious and social institutions. The district also contains the ·Glazier Stove Works complex that housed Chelsea ' s pre- eminent industry in the early twentieth century . The district meets criterion B for containing buildings directly associated with leading historical figures such as town founders Elisha and James Congdon , and stove manufacturer, banker and politician Frank P . Glazier . For a small city ' s business district, Chelsea is particu l arly notable under criterion C for its well preserved Italianate , Late Victorian , and Neoclassical commercial buildings , for Italianate and Queen Anne houses that are outstanding examples of the style in the local context , for two churches that are fine examples of Late Victorian auditorium church architect u re designed by leading architectural practitioners in Michigan ' s lower peninsula, and by a group of commercial and industrial buildings that form an important body of early work by another leading outstate southern Michigan architect of the late nineteenth and early twentieth centu r ies, Claire Allen of Jackson.

Narrative Statement of Significance (Provide at least one paragraph for each area of significa nce.)

Chelsea is located in section twelve , Sylvan Township , and section seven , Lima Township , Washtenaw County , Michigan. White settlement began here in 1830 with the arrival of Ann Arbor ' s Cyrus Beckwith , who owned the e a st half of section fourteen , Sylvan Township . Spring and summer of 183 1 brought several more families into the area . A number of families from Addison County , Vermont , established themselves in the area , forming what was referred to as the Vermont Colony.

In 1834 the Connecticut-born Congdon brothers , Elisha , James and Dav i d , purchased land in section twelve and set up farms. That April Sylvan Township was officially established . A major north - south wagon road (today Chelsea's Main Street I state highway M52) went through the area and several hamlets were located along this road . Meanwhile , the Michigan Central Railroad (MCRR) was incorporated in 1837 to establish rail service between Detroit and St. Joseph. By 1852 the railroad had been completed to Chicago.

The first MCRR station in the area was built near the farm of Hugh Davidson, about two miles west of the present-day Chelsea , and was called "Davidson Station." The station, a s~mple , unadorned wooden structure, was destroyed by fire in the autumn of 1848 . The Congdons offered to donate land to the MCRR for a new station if it would locate a freight depot on their land at the intersection of the railroad with the existing wagon road. This site promised easy access for farmers and businessmen in Manchester to the south (platted in 1833) and Stockbridge to the north (settled in 1835) , areas that still were without direct ra i l links to external markets. The MCRR quickly agreed.

A survey of the Congdons' land was run in December 1849 and the village was platted in March 1850 , consisting of six blocks , with three blocks west and three blocks east of the wagon road intersected by the rai l road tracks at about the mid-point of the new village plat. A new depot that functioned as both a freight and a passenger station was built there in 1850.

Thus the existence and location of Chelsea was based upon the success of the Congdon Brothers in persuading the MCRR to locate a depot on their land . The strategic placement of the new depot , plus a post office , prov ed. to be highly attractive to settlement . Nearby hamlets quickly faded as merchant and service functions relocated nearer to the railroad station. Soon many families from the area resettled in Chelsea . The young village also attracted numerous settlers from the east , primarily New England and western New York State , and from Europe , particularly from Germany.

Area farmers came to the village _to pick up and drop off mail , purchase necessities , and sell their farm surplus. The village rapidly became one of the leading shipping points in the county for agricultura l products. Beans , grains, eggs, and beets were among the leading crop s shipped through Chelsea. During much of the nineteenth century Chelsea was the leading shipper of wool in the state.

These developments provided an opportunity for merchants , mi llers , shippers , and small - scale manufacturers seeking to create a market in the region. The growth of the communit.y pr.oved attractive . to a number of area farmers who, after having attained financial comfort, moved into the village to enjoy the amenities offered there, building houses , primarily vernacular Victorian ones. Long-term development in the community created a compact , walkable village.

Within the village a handful of families dominated local business and politics . The Bacons , the Holmes, the Kempfs and perhaps most prominent , the Glaziers were among the more active in the development of the young community.

Frank P. Glazier was a leading figure in the village . He began dominating the community in the middle 1890s and crashed , amid a major scandal , in 1908. The son of George P. Glazier , Frank began his adult life working in the Bank-Drug Store (101 N. Main Street) as a pharmacist . He took over management of the Bank-Drug Store (then owned by George P. Glazier and Rolla S. Armstrong) in 1881.

In 1891 he entered into partnership in the Glazier - Strong Oil Stove Co., and in 1892 he bought out Strong , et al. In 1894 a f i re destroyed his stove works and damaged several buildings on North Main Street between East Middle Street and the Chelsea House Hotel. Also de s troyed in this fire was the Congregational Church and parsonage on East Middle Street .

Glazier began work almost i~mediately on a new complex north of the railroad tracks , but was again slowed by an 1895 f i re . In 1906 he began construction of the existing industrial buildings north of the railroad tracks. These buildings, dominated by the Welfare Building (300 N. Main Street) and the Clock Tower Building (310 N. Main Street) , represent the apex of his power, as well as industrial Chelsea .

In addition to running a major stove manufacturing company , Glazier also started and essentially dominated the local water and light utility . He owned Chelsea Savings Bank (122 S. Main Street, founded by George Glazier and Michael Noyes) and had controlling interests in banks in Ann Arbor , Dexter , and Stockbridge. He controlled the Chelsea Standa rd-Herald newspaper and started the Ann Arbor News , which initially was published to counteract the anti - Glazier Ann Arbor Daily Times . The News began publication on December 18 , 1905 , under Frank Glazier 's nephew , G. C. Stimson. Wirt McLaren , son of Chelsea banker Danie l C. McLaren and wife Emma Newkirk McLaren (grand-niece of former U.S. president Millard Fillmore) , was circulation manager.

Glazier and his allies dominated local politics. He served as village trustee , and sat on the school board various times. He served a two - year term as State Senator , elected in 1902. This culminated with his election as State Treasurer in 1904. He was instrumental in establishing the Chelsea United Methodist Retirement Home, fo~nded in 1905.

In 1908 Glazier was forced to resign as the result of a major bank scandal, destroying his business and political life. The scandal began when he, as state treasurer, in depositing state funds in various banks (a common practice), placed $685 , 000 in his own banks , the bulk in Chelsea Savings Bank. The financial Panic of 1907 was tough on the stove industry and ' ' ,1',

Frank Glazier overextended himself trying to keep his operation running at capacity . He borrowed against the state funds in his bank, using stove company stock as collateral. When the stove works was thrown into re.ceivership following an audit, the stocks b.ec.arne. valueles s. Glazier was convicted of misappropriation and embezzlement of state funds and was sentenced in 1908 to ten years in Jackson Prison. After two years he was released due to health problems related to diabetes. He died on January 1, 1922, at his home on Cavanaugh Lake (ref: Doll, Louis W., Less Than Immortal).

Following Glazier Stove's collapse, the former Glazier complex served several industries over the years. A. R. Welch, a manufacturer of novelties, assembled a prototype of the Welch automobile here. (Additional prototypes were assembled in the Mack Building, 102 Jackson Street. Later owners moved the Welch Company to Pontiac where it was eventually purchased by General Motors.) In 1918 the Lewis Spring and Axle Company produced the Hollier Eight automobile here.

Lewis Spring and Axle used the Welfare Building as a recreation hall, offering frequent concerts by the company band. Ironically, the Glazier Stove property would become home to Central Fibre Products, organized in 1920 by Howard S. Holmes and Jabez Bacon, two major opponents of Glazier. Central Fibre Products produced paper fleece twine for wool growers but later switched to producing component parts for the automobile industry. The company died out in the early 1980s.

Although the Welfare Building had been intended as an expression of corporate paternalism to counter the union ·· movement, labor eventually did organize. Unionism came to Chelsea in 1938 when workers at Federal Screw Works organized an independent union, the C.I.W.A. This union was replaced in the spring of 1944 by the U.A.W.-C.I.O., chartered as Local Number 437. Central Fibre Products workers organized on August 5, 1946, Chelsea Spring on May 28, 1947, Chrysler Proving Grounds in 1955, and Chelsea Products on Augu st 13, 1958.

Electrical power became available in Chelsea in 1894 with the organization of the Chelsea Electric Light Company; Frank Glazier; treasurer. Glazier spearheaded the establishment of water service in 1896, which was in operation before May 1898. The village benefited by gaining modern utilities, while Glazier was able to enjoy free power and relative control over the utilities, which operated out of part of the Glazier complex on North Main Street. In May 1898 the village, through special ballot, approved municipal purchase . of the . utilities . For man.y .yea.rs . offices and shop functions were maintained at 312 North Main Street. Arc lighting was installed in 1911, the same year the Village ignored taxpayers' expressed opinion and began paving Main Street and sections of Middle and Park streets. In 1924 the Village went on AC electrical power.

Michigan State Telephone Company was granted a franchise in Chelsea in 1899. For many years Michigan Bell operated out of the second fl oor of 119

South Main Street. In 1932 a four-year project to build a municipal sewer system was completed. The treatment plant was completed in 1937.

Carriage and . wagan makers played an important role in transportation, as did blacksmiths and harness makers. Adam Faist built buggies and wagons beginning in the 1890s. Faist became a dealer for Overland and Willys- Knight in 1912, building 120 W. Middle Street to house the business.

Faist and his son-in-law, Oscar Lindauer, sold the business to W. G. White in 1923. White in turn sold to Walter A. Harper in 1925. Harper replaced a two-story frame building at 118 West Middle Street with the current one- story brick building in 1945. Harper Pontiac remained in the Oesterle family since 1955 when Sumner Oesterle partnered with Harper (who retired in 1959).

Charles Steinbach, born in Hessen, Germany, in 1844 , arrived in Michigan in 1854 with his family. He became a harness maker and in 1894 built the Steinbach Block (109-111 W. Middle Street), which also housed the family music store and a cabinet shop. ?imon Hirth built 115 W. Middle Street in 1918 to house his blacksmith shop.

Banking and finance are represented by the Kempf Bank Building (102 S . Main Street) and the George P. Glazier I Chelsea Savings Bank Building (122 South Main Street). George P. Glazier and Michael J. Noyes opened Chelsea ' s first bank in August of 1868 as an adjunct to their drug business in which he partnered with R. S . Armstrong. Glazier bought Noyes out in 1871 and in 1880 the bank was licensed as a state bank, renamed the Chelsea Savings Bank. Frank Glazier bought the ~ruq and general store operation with a new partner, Casper Depuy , fr ·om George Glazier in November 1881 , although the senior Glazier continued to operate the bank.

Name of Property County and Sta te

Following George Glazier's death , Frank Glazier engaged Claire Allen to design a bank building as a memorial to his father. The Neoclassical b uilding was completed in 1902.

Charles and Rueben Kempf opened a private bank in 1876 at 102 South Main Street. In 1899 the bank was incorporated as the Kempf Commercial and Savings Bank. The current Neoclassical brick and white tile block veneer building was erected in 1909 , replacing an earlier Italianate building of similar dimensions at the same location. Space within the bank was leased to various businesses.

Charles Kempf was among Frank Glazier ' s strongest opponents. Harmon S . Holmes , Kempf's friend and business partner , served as bank president for many years. Holmes , also a vocal opponent of the young Frank Glazier , had been an investor in the Chelsea Savings Bank prior to the organiz a tion of the Kempf Commercial and Savings Bank. He was later succeeded at Kempf by Daniel McLaren, a neighbor , business partner , and political ally .

McLaren managed to keep the bank afloat during the opening year s of the Depression. In 1934 the Kempf bank merged with the Farmers and Merchants Bank (organized in 1908) to form the Chelsea State Bank , which remains an active business in the community. The Kempf Building was. then sold to Oscar D. Schneider , who leased the space for use as ~he village po s t office , relocated from his property at 119 South Main .S.treet .

The Kempf Building served as post office only a few years when it was replaced by a . new building , 200 South Main Street , built in 1936. Construction of a new post office was championed by John Sullivan a nd the Honorable John C. Lehr. Sullivan was a wool buyer who divided his time between his home in Boston and his interests in Chelsea . A Democra tic Party activist , he teamed with John Lehr , Washtenaw County ' s first Democrat elected to Congress . The project was fought by local conservative s, who collected a sizable number of signatures on a petition in opposit i on.

The 1936 building , in use as the post office until the early 2000s , is a standard government design for the period.. It. was built on the si t e of the first Chelsea Hospital , operated by Nettie (Mrs. Ehlert) Notten. In 1936 she moved the hospital business to a house at 138 East Middle Street , formerly the home of Daniel C. and Emma Newkirk McLaren , and built by Dr . George W. Palmer .

Local commerce is illustrated by buildings housing time - honored bu s ine s ses. Winans ' Jewelry , founded by Albert E. Winans in 1868 , has operated out of 108 South Main Street since 1900 and is today run by a fourth generation of the family.

Across the street, at 107-109 South Main Street , is the continuation of a business begun by Harmon S . Holmes as the H. S. Holmes Mercantile Company in 1872. In 1913 Edward Vogel and Dallas Wurster bought the business.

Helen Vogel took half the business and Dallas Wurster entered into partnership with Bob Foster for the other half.

Many leading merchants got . their start in these two stores, including T. Kent Walworth, Julius Strieter, owners of Walworth and Streiter's Men's Wear, and Ernest Dancer, partner in the Dancer's Department Store chain, not to mention Dallas Wurster and Bob Foster. Both buildings are Commercial Italianate (c. 1876-1877) The cornice brackets match those found at 111 South Main Street.

Taverns played an important role in village life. They were places to gather news and gossip, to relax, to debate, and to do business. Tommy McNamara's (103 West Middle Street) was located in Chelsea's oldest brick commercial building, c. 1865. McNamara's opened in 1895, advertising "Good Goods at Good Prices." George Seitz bought the business in 1916 and in 1928 moved the tavern to 110 West Middle Street, a building that matches the adjacent Commercial Italianate properties except for the enameled metal panel storefront at street level. Randall Victor Seitz, third generation, continues to operate the tavern. Seitz's has retained the old style tavern decor, including the long standup bar with brass foot rail, and it remains a popular meeting place for area residents .

Social life also was expressed through fraternal affiliations. The Masonic building at 113 West Middle Street, the home of Olive Lodge No. 156, Free and Accepted Masons (chartered January 13, 1865), Olive Chapter No. 140, Royal Arch Masons (chartered January 17, 1900), and Olive Chapter No. 108, Order of the Eastern Star, chartered October 11, 1893), was perhaps the major player. This vernacular Commercial Romanesque building has been home to Masonic activities since its construction c.1897.

Knights of Pythias, Oddfellows (IOOF, organized in 1861, Chelsea's oldest fraternal organization) at 111 West Middle Street, Macabees, Ancient Order of United Workmen (AOUW), Kiwanis , The Herbert McKune Post of the American Legion, and the Veterans of Foreign Wars (105 North Main Street) were also important organizations for building social, political, and business relationships.

Entertainment in the village was diverse. The Sylvan Township Hall (112 West Middle Street), completed in 1883, was the first government building in Chelsea funded by taxpayers (banker Rueben Kempf paid some of the cost) The building contained the Sylvan Theatre, used for concerts, plays, boxing and wrestling contests, and other diversions. Wirt McLaren, the son of Daniel and Emma McLaren,. cut his teeth as a theater operator by promoting shows at the hall.

Lodging was also an important function in early Chelsea Village. Hotels were established to provide shelter to travelers, but more significantly provided housing and board for a variety of wage earners, including workers at the Glazier Stove Company. The McKune House, built in 1860 as the home

of Elisha Congdon , served as a hotel for many years after Congdon 's death before becoming the community library.

The Boyd .Hotel (operated by Merritt Boyd) at 115-117 South Main Street served the same function, as did the Chelsea House, later named the Sylvan Hotel , at 116 North Main Street. (The current Sylvan Building is essentially a new building utilizing walls left after a 1985 fire.) The Boyd Hotel used two buildings: a three-story Commercial Victorian at 115 (c. 1884) and a two-story Commercial Italianate at 117 (c. 1895), although several post-1940 rehabilitations have erased most style-related detailing.

Two vernacular temple front Greek Revival houses are located on Jackson Street across from the Chelsea depot. Number 122 Jackson Street (c. 1855, west wing added in 1925), which has been known for decades as Farmer's Supply , was moved here in 1888 from Main Street where it had served as the Chelsea House hotel dining room. Caroline Downer, retired from the arduous life of a traveling performer , operated a boarding house here. She married one of her tenants , Allison Knee, a puppeteer and a cigar ma ker for Louis Burg. Number 128 was built c . 1855 by local pioneer Mial M. Boyd .

Health care is represented by three buildings withi n the di s trict. George W. Palmer enjoyed a long career as a physic ian, sur geon , village hea lth officer, and village trustee. He maintained an office in his building at 110 East Middle Street , sharing space with other physicians and dentists. His son Algernon A. Palmer also established &is medical practice in the building . A. A. Palmer later received two presidential citations for service as an army surgeon in World Wars I and II.

Drugstores were an important part of the communit y. Henry H. Fenn, with roots going back to the Vermont Colony , operated a drug and grocery business at 116-118 South Main Street (in partnership with father-in-law Frank Staffan). He was active from 1898 until shortly before his death in 1950 .

No. 101 North Main Street was the location of the drug business operated first by George P. Glazier and later by son Frank P . Glazier . In 1909 the location housed Louis Vogel~s drugstore. and in . ~924 was sold to J . Vincent Burg. The building housed a drugstore until 1989.

And should medicine fail to cure the patient , undertaker Samuel Mapes operated his parlor at the rear of Glazier 's building at 101 North Main. Mapes, who also owned the Chelsea Steam Laundry (109 North Main) , was related by marriage to Frank Glazier and, at Glazier's urging , opened a more active parlor at 214 East Middle Street. For many years Mapes was referred to as the "Protestant Undertaker " and competitor Frank Staffan (formerly on Park Street) as the "Catholic Undertaker."

As in many a Midwestern town, Chelsea ' s churches located near the business district but just off the main street. Chelsea 's First Congregational Church was organized in 1849 . In 1851 Elisha Congdon donated land for the

church at the present site. The church was dedicated in the summer of 1852 and was remodeled and enlarged in 1871. In 1889 a parsonage was built just east of the church . Both were destroyed in the Glaz ier Stove Works fire of February 18, 1894. The current building was erected in 1894 by John p; Foster , ·a local builder.

The Reverend B. A. Hedger, from Lima Center, began a Methodist society in Chelsea in 1853. First Methodist Church , at 128 Park Street, was completed in 1900 , replacing the first church , which burned January 8 , 1899. Frank P. Glazier, who had been lobbying for a new church building for some time , was instrumental in financing the new church, as were George and Ida Palmer.

Fire was a constant threat, and all too often a real ity, to nineteenth - century communities. Chelsea was visited by major fires in 1870 , 1876, 1894 , and 1895 . The 1870 fire destroyed the entire block of North Main Street from West Middle Street to the Michigan Central Railroad. All village records were destroyed in this fire. A fire in November of 1876 burned the buildings on North Main Street from East Middle Street to the Chelsea House Hotel .

The lost buildings were replaced with brick building s, which allowed some sense of safety. Yet the first village firehouse wasn ' t built until 1888, housing a hand-pulled hook and ladder truck equipped with twel ve rubber buckets . The volunteer fire department was formally organized in March of 1889 with fifty members.

Frank P. Glazier's stove works waa the. site of the 1894 _and 1895 fires. The February 18 , 1894, fire destroyed or damaged buildings on North Main Street from East Middle Street to the Chelsea House Hotel and spread to East Middle Street where the Congregational Church and parsonage were destroyed.

On March 25, 1895 , fire was discovered in the Glazier Stove tin shop, located at the corner of North Main and North Streets. The fire consumed the tin shop, a testing building located to the south, and a lar ge warehouse to the east . Crews -bega.n. clearing the site~ imrnedi.a t.ely and erected a temporary frame building. The works were in operation again within two weeks .

Other fires of note include a 1970 blaze that destroyed the Frigid Products Building. This building, built in 1901 at 113 North Main Street, was the Glazier Stove Company offices ,. later operated as the Wilkinsonia Building by local attorney Archie Wilkinson. The Sylvan Hotel (formerly Chelsea House , c. 1888-1892) was gutted by fire in 1984. John and Anne Daniels soon rebuilt , constructing a new building within the three original walls that remained from the fire.

As previously noted, several buildings within the historic district linked to Frank P. Glazier were designed by the Jackson, Michigan based architect

Name of Property Cou nty and State

Cl aire Allen (1853 - 1942 ) . These buildings play a major role in establishing Chelsea's unique appearance and sense of place. They include the Clock Tower Building , the Welfare Building, and the George P . Glazier Memorial Bank Building. He also designed the Glazier Office Bpilding , 113 North Main Street, that was destroyed in the 1970 fire .

Allen , who was home schooled and did not have formal architectural training, seems to have began his professional life as a contractor by the early 1880s. He was the original contractor for the Ionia County Co urthouse (1883-1886) in Ionia. By early 1884 he was part of the Ionia building firm of Allen & Van Tassel. The firm built the Grabill Block in Greenville in 1884 and were the original contractors for the Lenawee County Courthouse (1884-85) in Adrian (the firm failed in October 1884 , and different contractors completed both the Ionia and Lenawee courthouse jobs). By 1889 Allen was in practice as an architect in Lansing . He designed one thus far identified Lansing building around that time , the "Barnes Flats," a building with picturesque gabled stone front , located at the site of the Masonic temple (now Cooley Law School main building) on S. Capitol Avenue. Allen soon settled in Jackson , and by 1900 he had de v el o ped a large and highly successful practice throughout southern Michigan , designing numerous municipal , commercial , religious and residential buildings , including the fine courthouses for Hillsdale , Shiawassee , Gratiot , and Van Buren Counties . Allen ' s work in Chelsea includes the 1901-02 George P . Glazier Memorial Building (Chelsea Savings Bank) and the 1906 Steel Range/Warehouse Building , 1906-07 Welfare Building , and 1906-07 Warehouse Building and Clock Tower for the Glazier Stove Works . Allen also likely designed the 1901 Glazier Stove Wo r ks office building , which burned in 1970. (FrankY . . Glazier also built the seven-story Glazier office building (1906-08) in Ann Arbor and a diminutive bank building in nearby Stockbridge; both are likely Allen designs . Claire Allen's work in Chelsea and nearby towns is the largest known concentration of this highly important early twentieth-century southern Michigan architect ' s work except for that in his home town of Jackson.

Narrative Description (Describe the historic and current physical appearance of the property. Explain contributing and noncontributing resources if necessary. Begin with a summary paragraph that briefly describes the general characteristics of the property, such as its location , settin g, size, and significant features.)

Summary Paragraph

The Chelsea Commercial Historic District comprises the core of Chelsea ' s historic commercial district. Near the north end of the district are the Norfolk Southern Railroad tracks , historically part of the Michigan Central Railroad . The district focuses on Main Street (state highway M- 52) , and includes properties on either side containing historic comme-rcial , public , and institutional buildings. Also included are properties on Park Street , East and West Middle Streets, Jackson Street, and the former Glazier Stove Works complex in the northeast end of the district . . The building stock (ranging from the 1850s to the 1980s) consists primarily of two - story brick commercial buildings , the greatest number of these being Italianate . There is visual unity along Main Street , owing to the relatively uniform building heights and the repetition of decorative window hood moldings on the corridor ' s buildings. The district contains sixty-one buildings , of which fifty-six are contributing. ·

Narrative Description

The city of Chelsea is located in northwest Washtenaw County in southeast Michigan. The landscape is gently rolling, formed by the slow passage of glacial retreat. Early on the topography was somewhat more pronounced, but over the years the terrain was substantially leveled. A major sand hill located near what is now the McKune Memorial Library was cut down , the excess probably put to use in filling several prominent gullies. There remains a downward slope running north through the district.

Chelsea , platted in 1850, is laid out in modified grid pattern. The village was planned to take advantage of the existing intersection of the Chicago-to-Detroit Michigan Central Railroad line with a north - south wagon route. In doing so , Chelsea was able to develop into a successful trade

center drawing traffic from Stockbridge to the north and Manchester to the south and providing rail connections with major markets to the east and west.

Several side streets, because they parallel the railroad tracks, intersect Main Street at an approximately twenty degree angle. The commercial focus of the community is on t~e north-south-running Main Street (state highway M-52), with secondary commercial and social functions running east and west from this on Middle Street, Park Street , and Jackson Street.

The commercial district is surrounded by residential neighborhoods with houses expressing a broad range of ages and styles , with numerous examples of Greek Revival , Queen Anne and Colonial Revival. Land development has been increasing in the surrounding countryside . New housing and light industrial subdivisions are beginning to compete with the area ' s traditional agricultural focus.

The Chelsea Commercial Historic District runs north from the south edge of the McKune Memorial Library property to the south edge of the Clock Tower Commons parking lot , and includes properties on Park Street , Jackson Street, and East and West Middle Streets.

Buildings are nearly all two stories in . height, presenting a generally uniform roofline to the district. A large portion of the bu i ld i ng stock dates to the 1870s when earlier pioneer buildings were r~placed with more permanent brick edifices . Several buildings date to the middle 1890s , replacing buildings destroyed in the Glazier Stove Works fires , and a few date to the first decades of the twentiet~ century , the more significant ones related to the Glazier building boom between 1901 and 190 7 .

Commercial Italianate buildings dominate the local streetscape . The oldest (c . 1865) of these is located at 103 West Middle Street , once home to Tommy McNamara ' s Tavern and later Grove Brothers Variety Store. The basic form is typical , found in any midwestern town , and repeated througho u t down t own Chelsea. This design is found most noticeably in the block of matching buildings on North Main Street between West Middle Street and the railroad. This block was destroyed by fire in 1870 and rebuilt in 1871. The only design variations are in the storefronts , but above the first floor is a visual unity that begins at 110 West Middle Street (Seitz ' s Tavern) and wraps around 101 North Main Street, ending at 113 North Main Street (Heydlauff ' s). Several other late Victorian commercial buildings, one commercial Romanesque building, one Neoclassical building and one Art Moderne structure add visual diversity to the downtown.

Visually dominating the downtown is the Clock Tower and the adj a cent industrial complex (1906-1907). Further anchoring this complex is the Flemish Revival Welfare Building (1907). Across the tracks is the Stick Style railroad station (1880) and an Art Deco former auto showroom (1947). Neoclassicism is represented with the George P. Glazier Memorial Building

Chelsea Commercial Historic Di strict Washtenaw , Michigan

(19 01). Several of these b uil dings were designed by Frank P. Glazier's architect of choice, Claire Al len of Jackson, Michigan.

Religious architecture in t h e district is represented by the Congregational Church (1894) and the Romanes q ue-inspired Methodist Church (1900). Government architecture is e x emplified by the Romanesque-inspired Sylvan Township Hall (1883) and the former post office (1936).

Domestic architecture in the district includes vernacular Greek Revival , Queen Anne and Italianate. All of the dwellings have been modified to handle commercial functions.

All but five of the sixty-one buildings within the district are contribut - ing. With the exception of storefront remodeling, most of the buildings in the commercial zone retain a large degree of their historic fabric. Buildings are well maintaine d and are critical elements in the balance of image and identity presented by thi s tight-knit and compact community.

The Main Street corridor is e n hanced through the use of brick sidewalk accents, metal benches , trash basket s, decorative signage, early twentieth- century lighting, and small trees protected by metal skirting. The Chelsea Downtown Development Authorit y authorized the streetscape improvements, which were carried out during the summer months of 199i and 1992. Much of the funding was provided thr o ugh local ~ontributions.

CHELSEA'S BUILDINGS

Unless otherwise noted, buildings are contribbting.

NORTH MAIN STREET, EAST SIDE, East Middle Street to Clock Tower Courtyard

102- 104 NORTH ~~IN (c . 1879) McKune Block I Knights of Pythias Hall

Architecture: Late Commercial Italianate. Corner commercial block retains storefronts of traditional form with tall, divided display windows set on paneled bulkheads with transoms filled with vertical headboard , a feature repeated in the transition between storefront top and the first story dentiled cornice. Brickwork is pilastered and arcaded , terminating in corbelled dentils beneath the cornice. The west - facing fayade is two three--bay storefronts with a central entry and stair bay. Windows are one- over-one with flat lintels and carved-face hoods with curved tops. The broad overhanging wood cornice carries brackets and modillions, although the brackets do not carry over onto the south (Middle Street.) elevation.

The south elevation is divided into five bays with paired windows. This elevation carries a secondary entrance to 102 North Main and a two-bay storefront detailed to match the Main Street fayade.

History: This building originally was intended to be a hotel by the McKune family to replace the existing McKune house (further south on Main Street), but the idea was abandoned as ready merchant tenants began occupying the building , including various meat markets , bazaars, candy shops and cigar shops. Most notable occupants were the Schatz corner cigar shop , 1897- 1964, and the Chelsea Candy kitchen (later known simply as John's , after the owner John Panarites) , 1917-1957. A taxi stand was at this location for many years. The building was about to be condemned in 1986 when Sam and Joyce Johnson of Gamble's Har:dware store .next door bought the building and had it renovated. A notable change was removing the Main Street staircase to open up the front entrance. Some windows were updated with fewer, larger panes , bulkheads were infilled with headboard, and iron columns were added. The architect of the renovation was Arthur Lindauer ; the contractor was Thomas Dunlap.

106-112 NORTH MAIN (c . 1878 - 1894) Overview :

This hardware store complex is comprised of four buildings that have _been combined functionally. The main entrance to this complex is centered at a point between 108 and 110. All other first floor storefront space is in plate glass display windows. The original hardware store here was Gamble ' s Store located at 110 in 1941. In 1945 Gamble's expanded into 112, and in 1965 it expanded further into 106 and 108. During these expansions interior walls were opened with archways to create large open retail areas. Sam and Joyce Johnson assumed ownership in 1989. After Sam Johnson ' s death in 2003 the business was continued by his employees.

106 NORTH MAIN (c. 1878) Klein Building

Architecture: Late Commercial Italianate . This is the south end of the hardw a re store complex comprising 106 through 112 North Main Street. Second story is pilastered and arcaded , with a herringbone pattern at the intrados of the arcade . One-over-one windows are capped by semi-elliptical hoods with crested keystones . The bracketed cornice , which carries to the north end of 108 , is treated with dentils and modilliorrs~

History: John Adrian ran a meat market here at the turn of the 20th century followed by Gallagher ' s Bazaar and Hinderer ' s. Market. In the 1970s this building was absorbed into the Gamble ' s Hardware complex after Western Automotive relocated to Chelsea ' s southern corridor .

108 NORTH MAIN (c . 1889) Winans / Hatch Block

Architecture : Late Commercial Italianate. This building replaced a previous brick building built in 1878 and was · rebuil-t afte.r the . fire of 1894 that destroyed the buildings north of it. This two - bay building , which shares a party wall with and is visually linked by a continuous cornice to 106, is also pilastered and arcaded, the arcade top in a saw - tooth pattern. Flush label molding , with modest detailing , caps one - over- one windows. A ghost arch is visible above and behind the storefront awning that links 106 through 112 North Main Street.

History: Lewis Winans' drug store was located here along with his jewelry business that he shared with his nephew A.E. Winans. In 1890 the drug part of the business was sold to R. S. Armstrong who shared the building with them until his retirement in 1898. The jewelry business was moved further south on Main Street in May 1900 to its current location at 108 South Main.

110 NORTH MAIN (c . 1894) Babcock Building

Architecture: Commercial Brick. Two - bay arcaded building , with simple corbel work and tall one-over-one windows.

History: This building and the one to the north originally were owned by Loren Babcock who was a well - known dry goods merchant. It was leased to barber Frank Shaver durin~ the 1890s . Shaver finally bought the building in 1910 and continued with other merchants as we l l as barbers. Prior to the disastrous fire of 1894 , Frank Glazier ' s first stove showroom was in this location under the name Glazier - Strong Stove Company. This building was built by Frank Staffan , an undertaker and carpenter . Pl umb e r John Alber occupied the building for many years followed by the Qu a l i ty Shoe Store. It was the home of the Gamble ' s store from 1941 to 1989 when Johnson ' s Hardware assumed ownership of the 106 - 112 complex.

112 NORTH MAIN (c. 1894) Babcock Building

Architecture : Commercial Brick. This minimalist and economica l three bay building carries no exceptional detailing. Th e second s tory o rig inal ly had tall window s like the adjoining buildings. I t wa s remodele d wit h small windows in the 1950 ' s. The bricks on the fa9ade are original.

History: This was once a one-story bathhouse run by Frank Shave r. The second story was added in 1897. The Dort Oakland car sale s show r oom was located here in the 1920s .

114 NORTH MAIN (c . 1888-1892, 1986) Chelsea House I Sylvan Hotel Non-contributing

Architecture : Built in the mid-1880s , the hotel was destroyed by f i re in 1985 , leaving only the outer walls . A major rehabilit a tion/ada ptive use project by John and Anne Daniels in 1986 used the hotel shell around an entirely new interior for a commercial and office center. The front wall is stuccoed with stepped parapet , a feature not present on the or i g i nal hotel. A new two - story side stair ell mimics th~ entry and . parapet detailing. Although clearly modern, the building i s sympathetic in design to the overall look of ·the district. The origina l walls can b e s e en from the northea s t side of Main Street. The building foundation dates b a ck to the mid - 1880s.

History: Henry Hoag was the original proprietor. Later owners changed the name to the Crescent Hotel in the 1910s and later to the Sylvan Hotel in the 1940s. This later hotel featured a bowling alley .

NORTH MAIN STREET, WEST SIDE, West Middle Street to Railroad Right-Of-Way

101 NORTH MAIN (1870) Glazier Building I Bank-Drug Building I Burg's Drug Building

Architecture: Commercial Italianate. Above the first floor is a visual unity that begins at 110 West Middle Street (Seitz ' s Tavern) and wraps around 101 North Main, ending at 113 North Main Street (Heydlauff's). Round-headed second story windows are capped with corbelled brick hoods and a wood c o rnice with brackets and modillions. The Main Street elevation features inset bays separated by brick pilasters with corbel capitals. The less f o rmal Middle Street elevation has flat walls and much simpler expression , lacking all decorative elements save for the window hoods. A thin, light-colored horizontal ribbon device at the bracket bottoms is repeated at 103-105 and 107-111 N. Main Street and 106-110 W. Middle Street.

History : This corner Commercial Italianate and the connected and essen- tially matching buildings on this Main Street block and down West Middle Street were built in 1871, following an 1870 fire that had destroyed the entire block.

George P . Glazier and M. J. Noyes started the first bank in 1868 at this location while also operating a drugstore in partnerphip with R. S. Armstrong. This building initially housed both. The building also housed Chelsea's first telephone franchise, obtained in 1882 by George Glazier for $700. Later the building became exclusively a drugstore under George's son Frank. J. Vincent Burg ran the drugstore as Burg ' s Drugs from 1924 to 1948. It then became Chelsea Pharmacy.

About 1938 Burg moved the front entrance from the center of the Main Street fa9ade to the building's corner. The building ended a long history as a drug store when Chelsea Pharmacy relocated in 1989 to Chelsea 's south corridor . At that time the storefront was remodeled by contractor Charles Shiver, including bricking up a large display window on the Middle Street side. After this remodel a sh o e store · briefly operated·· here , and the Chelsea Standard newspaper offices were located here for about a year. Since 1998 France-born sisters Marie-Ann Fody and Genevieve Sylvia have operated the coffee sh o p Zou Zou's here .

103 - 105 NORTH MAIN (c . 1871) C . H. Kempf building I Gi g i' s I VFW ' Hall

Architecture: Commercial Italianate . Sash are one-over - one flat topped with wood infill at the arches. The stepped brickwork at the main cornice is slightly simpler than at 101 and is typical of the remainder of the block. In 1948 the fayade of 103 was remodeled to include large display windows and enameled metal panels. 105 retains the origi-nal cast iron storefront elements with prominent transom lights, engaged columns , and dentiled wood cornice , although the bulkheads and transoms have been infilled with beadboard. Newer doors at either end of 105 provide stairwell access to the second floors of 103 and 105.

History: The Chelsea Savings Bank got its start in 103 in 1882 after a long run as the Chelsea Bank in the building next door (101). The Chelsea Herald newspaper started on the second floor in 1871. In later years the Farmers and Merchants Bank was located here until 1927. During World War II George Doe, Police Chief , ran his police station here along with a barbershop and a restaurant that his wife Gladys Doe was in charge of with the first incarnation of the Chelsea Restaurant name in Chelsea. From 1948 until the mid-1970s Michigan Consolidated Gas Company occupied 103 with an appliance store and office. The building presently contains a flower shop.

C.H. Kempf ran a furniture store out of the 105 building in the 1870s. The VFW has occupied 105 since 1973.

107 - 109 NORTH MAIN (c . 1871)

Architecture: Commercial Italianate. Repeats decorative ribbon device found at the brackets at the top of first floor as well. Windows are two - over-two at 107 , one-over-one at 109.

History: The first steam laundry in Chelsea, run by S. A . Mapes, was located in 107 at the turn of the · 20th century . . The Che~sea · Medical Center can trace its origins to 109 when Dr. Michael Papo and Dr. James Botsford started their medical practice in 1958, eventually expanding to occupy both buildings. The storefronts were modified in 1969 when George Heydlauff bought the building. Today the entry door on 109 accesses only a stairway to the second floor; the first floor of 109 has been incorporated into the appliance business at 113 and acce.ss is provided .v.ia an interior archway.

Nation al Park Service I Nationar Register oi Historic PTaces Registrati'on Form

1 13 NORTH MAIN (1970) Heydlauff ' s Non-contributing

Architecture: Modern one-story brick building with plate glass display windows, connected visually to 111 N. Main by awning.

History: This building replaced the l a ndmark Glazier Office I Wilkinsonia I Frigid Products building that was destroyed by fire in 1970.

SOUTH MAIN STREET, EAST SIDE, East Middle Street to Park Street

103-105 SOUTH MAIN (c . 1880)

Architecture: Commercial Victorian. Structurally part of 102 East Middle Street; see below for description .

107-109 SOUTH MAIN (c . 1876 - 77) H. S. Holmes Mercantile I Vogel's and Foster's

Architecture: Both buildings are Commercial Italianate. Vogel ' s (1 07) uses flat-topped arch windows , paired in the center bay , capped with ornamented stone hoods with crested keystones. Foster ' s (109) carries round-headed windows with stone hoods wi th crested keystones . Th e corn i ce brackets match those found at 111 South Main . The storefronts are original with display windows set on paneled sills and capped by transom lights flanking a recessed entrance. Cast iron engaged columns procured of Lusk and Company of Jackson , Michigan , support each entrance entablature. At the south end is the sidewalk access to the second story. Building 107: Built in 1877; Architect : L. D. Grosvenor; mason work: Orange Stone ; millwork and joinery: White and Negus. Building 109: Built in 1876 ; architect unknown; mason work~ Maroney . and . Monroe~ millwork and joinery: unknown .

History : These buildings were built after a fire consumed a wood frame structure on this site in 1876. They were the first buildings owned by H. S. Holmes on Main Street under the name of Holmes , Durand and Company that later evolved to the H. S. Holmes Mercantile and later Vogel ' s and Foster ' s. In 1877 Holmes connected the buildings internally by an interior archway. E. E. Shaver had his photo gallery and art studio on the second floor of 107 . The room is still there with minor alterations.

111 SOUTH MAIN (c . 1875} Freeman's Grocery

Architecture: Commercial Italianate. Round headed windows carry corbelled hoods of common design that match the 101 N. Main block. Windows are one- over-one. Cornice treatment matches 109 S. Main Street. The storefront was remodeled in 1990.

History: The top floor served as the Town Hall before the Sylvan Town Hall . building was built on West Middle Street in 1883 . Druggist L. T. Freeman leased this building from George Blaich in 1895 to start a grocery store that he ran for 12 years. The building was sold to the Dancer brothers in 1907 who operated it as clothing store. In the 1950s automatic entry doors were installed - a notable feature at the time.

113 SOUTH MAIN (c . 1875} Girbach Saloon

Architecture: Commercial Italianate. A modern storefront is beneath an original entry entablature , the cornice supported by console brackets. The round-headed windows are one-over-one and are finished with corbelled hoods that match 111 S. Main.

History: Fred Girbach, a German immigrant and cofounder of the German Workingman's Club , started a saloon in this location in the early 1870s. He built the present building in 1875; it stayed in the family for many decades. Except during prohibition this establishment has been a dining and drinking business. Kolb's restaurant was located here between the two World Wars. J. L. Burg ran a cigar manufacturing enterprise on the second floor in the early 20th century.

115-117 SOUTH MAIN (c. 1884} Boyd Hotel

Architecture: Commercial Victorian I Streamlined. The original windows have been replaced several times over the years with windows of different styles. The current bay windows on 117 were installed in 2000.

The third story was added t~ · 115 in 1903 and retains the historic recessed two-bay design with one-over-one windows with stone lintels. A cornice with abbreviated console brackets and dentils remains.

History: No. 115 originally was a two-story building when built by John Bagge in 1883, replacing a small wooden structure on the site. It was purchased by Merritt Boyd in 1891 for use as a grocery store and meat

market. In 1893 Boyd bought the empty lot immediately to its south and built 117. The grocery and meat market was moved into 1 17 , and 115 was repurposed as a hotel . In 1903 he added the third story to increase hotel capacity. In 1908 he increased the capacity further by converting the hotel to "European" style, eliminating common spaces (lobby , dining , baggage check , etc . ) and providing only sleeping rooms and a small check-in office at the entry . Later businesses to occupy this building i ncluded Fred Klingler's Meat Market (117) , an A&P supermarket (117) , the Chelsea Quality Bakery (115) , Elmer Schaiblein's Five and Dime (both) , and the Chelsea Gallery (117).

119 SOUTH MAIN (c . 1879) Kantlehner Building Non-Contributing

Architecture: The first and second stories of this once Commercial Italianate two - bay building were drastically remodeled in the mid - 1970s with a wood fayade of vertical planks above a modern display window with false multiple lights , replacing a three-bay configurat i on that carried round - headed windows with corbelled arch hoods . Also missing is a broad overhanging cornice. The recessed side entry is capped by a wood pediment ornament that is repeated over the modern second story window s .

History : Originally built as a gun s hop and restaurant for Fred Kantlehner , the Chelsea Restaurant was in this building for many years. It was the home of the U. S. Post Office prior to the 1936 building constructed at the southwest corner of Main and South Streets.

123-125 SOUTH MAIN (1890) Freeman & Cummings/ Schneider's

Architecture: Commercial Late Victorian . Seven bays (three pe r s torefront plus a central bay) c a rry one-over-one window s with eared linte l s . A stepped parapet decorated with recessed panel s caps th e fayade. The storefronts for both were modified in 1947 , although not in the same way ; each now carries display windows on paneled sills , with sturdy , squared columns dividing the windows.

History: From its completion in 1890 by property owner Thomas Wilkinson this building always has housed a grocery store. Its f i rst occupant was the Standard Drug and Grocery run by William Emert. The· Chels-ea Standard newspaper originally was printed on the second floor. In 1907 , the building was enlarged in the rear on Park Street to accommodate the merger of Freeman ' s and Cummings ' grocery and drug stores and provide upstairs space for the Michigan Bell Telephone Company. The different size of the second-story windows in the rear reflects this change.

SOUTH MAIN STREET, EAST ·s iDE, Park Street to Orchard. $treet

201-203 SOUTH MAIN (1905) Burckhardt's Ice Cre~~ I Merkel's

Architecture: Queen Anne Commercial. Functionally linked to 205-207 and 209-211 South Main Street , three two-story buildings now collectively known as the Merkel Block. This block comprises a multiple-bay configuration (201 - 203 , three bays; 205-207, eight bays; and 209-211 , four bays) with six-over-one windows capped by eared, stone lintels. Raised brick beads imply a cornice line. The corner unit (201-203) enjoys free Colonial Revival detailing such as six-over-one windows and the prominent oriel windows flanked by raised brick quoins that also mark all the corners of the building. The parapet top is capped with tile and ornamented with brick dentils. The original display windows began flush with the sidewalk.

History: According to the August 24 , 1905, Chelsea Herald, this building (201-203) was designed by Jackson architect Claire Allen for Munson Burckhardt who originally operated an ice cream parlor on part of the first floor. One year later , Adam Eppler bought the building and started a long legacy of meat market businesses that were to occupy the building until the 1950s when Hilltop Plumbing opened their store here. Merkel 's Furniture took over in 1972 (expanding their operation from 205-211) after Hilltop Plumbing moved to Chelsea ' s southern corridor. Modifications undertaken at this time included recessing the display windows along Main Street and adding a display window on Park Street.

205-207 SOUTH MAIN (1906) Chicago Theatre I Princess Theatre I Merkel 1 s

Architecture: Commercial Late Victorian. A triple and single bead of raised brick ornamentation above the second-floor windows links the building architecturally with 209-211 South Main Street.

History: Construction of this building was a collaboration between Frank Staffan and brothers Martin and Michael Merkel as a business investment. The building once was partitioned at the center by a staircase to the second floor, which contained Staffan's funeral horne on the north side and the medical offices of Dr. J. T. Woods· on t·he >south side >; Geo:rge· Seitz and brother operated an ice cream parlor and two-lane bowling alley on part of the first floor of 205. The Staffan funeral horne, under second - generation director Frank Staffan and third generation director George Staffan, operated here until 1972, at which time they moved to a building at 124 Park Street (no longer extant)_

In 1907 a movie house known as the Chicago Theatre occupied the first floor of. 207. In 1909 Wirt McLaren bought the theatre, renamed it the Princess Theater, and featured vaudeville and live music as well as motion pictures. McLaren later sold to Warren Geddes and Edward Weber. The Princess closed in the early 1940s when the Sylvan Theater opened across the street at 218 South Main (in a building no longer extant).

The Chelsea Recreational Hall occupied the second floor from 1938 until 1959. After it closed in 1959 Merkel's furniture expanded · to take over the entire building.

Lloyd Heydlauff started his career in this building, selling Delco lighti ng plants in 1930.

209-211 SOUTH MAIN {1907) Bacon Hardware I Macabbees Hall I Merkel's Architecture: Commercial Late Victorian. Simple four-bay building with decorative, rock-faced, raised brick detailing at the corners and parapet.

History : This building was built as a business investment by Martin and Michael Merkel. Jabez Bacon Hardware was the first occupant of the building in 1908. Merkel's Hardware legacy began here when Fred Merkel took over a tire and battery shop that had gone bankrupt in 1924. Later Merkel 's expanded the business to include furniture. By 1967 Merkel's had phased out hardware to focus on furniture and flooring .

221 SOUTH MAIN {1860) Congdon House I McKune House I McKune Memorial Library And 2006 large library addition (non-contributing)

Architecture: Italianate with large modern addition at rear . This two- and-one-half-story , five-bay brick building with stone foundation expresses a rectangular footprint and massing with symmetrical fenestration and a modestly pitched hipped roof with broad overhanging eaves and paired brackets. The main entry door carries transom and side lights and is protected by a flat roofed overhang with brackets and Gothic Revival arches, supported by cross-shaped columns. The central south (side) porch carries the same primary detailing . The porch deck and walls are of recent construction .

History: Built by Elisha Congdon as his family residence, this is a near- copy of the John Gott House at 709 Huron Street in Ann Arbor. Congdon died in 1867. In 1870 the building was purchased by Timothy McKune and provided long service as a hotel I boarding house. McKune served also as Sylvan

Township supervisor and in other township and village office positions , as well as operating a livery stable.

The Chelsea Library began on Feb. 28 , 1932 , with 22 books donated by members , and 100 books loaned by the State Library. During the next 28 years the library moved from place to place, occupying space in various public and commercial buildings in downtown Chelsea. In 1956 , former library trustee Mrs. Warren Daniel s approached Timothy McKune's daughter - in-law Catherine Staffan McKune about the idea of donating the hotel (that was serving also as her home) for use as a library. Catherine was impressed with the idea that many people would enjoy the house as a community library . She died in June 1958 and left the McKune House to the Village of Chelsea for perpetual use as a library. The Chelsea Library was renamed the McKune Memorial Library.

Ann Arbor architect Thomas Tanner designed modifications , including major first floor interior changes , an addition on the north opened to the interior by an archway , a three - room apartment on the second floor for a caretaker , and storage in the third-floor former hotel rooms . The conversion became a community project involving individuals , industries , businesses , clubs , church groups , memorial funds , labor unions , six townships and the Village of Chelsea. The library was housed here fo r forty years.

In 1997 McKune Memorial Library expanded to become the Che l sea Distr i ct Library , including the townships of Sylvan , Lima and Lyndon and eventually portions of Dexter Township. More space was needed . In January 2000 the library moved temporarily to a bui l ding on Washington Street. In January , 2002 the Chelsea Village Council approved the transfer of ownership of the McKune House to the Chelsea District Library, legally clea r ing the way for new construction using public funds .

The architecture firm of Fanning - Howey Associates was se l ected to build an 18 , 000 sq . ft. s tructure connected to the McKune House at t he rear , with an 8 , 500 sq. ft. basement for future expansion. Cost wa s est i mated at $8 . 2 million , paid for by an operating ~illage and bond. Notably , as an expedient to help secure bond approval , the cost of renovation of the McKune house was privately raised. A campaign was headed by Bob and Marjorie Daniels and Laurel Gravelyn ; their $1.2 million goal was met.

As part of this expansion project the original McKune building was gutted, including removal of the second story floor , and made into a community meetirig room. The 1959 north addition was removed, the open north wall restored, and the three porches were restored to origina l footprints. The library now is accessed from the east facade of the "rear" addition; the original entry on Main Street serves only as an emergency exit.

The new McKune Memorial Library was opened in November 2006. New landscaping includes a curving brick wall on the south side at the corner

of a vacant lot once occupied by the "Hop In" gasoline station, and a brick wall on the north side enclosing an outdoor meeting area with signage celebr.ating the library'$. _selection as the "Best Small Library in America, 2008" awarded by Library Journal and sponsored by the Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation.

SOUTH MAIN STREET, WEST SIDE, West Middle Street to South property line of former post office

102-104 SOUTH MAIN (1907} Kempf Commercial Savings Bank Building

Architecture: Classical Revival. Modern brick and white tile block veneer. First floor is light brown Roman brick with an off-center entry framed by a block cornice over squared engaged columns; the second floor is done up in the same tile material. A side secondary entry is topped by a stone overhang supported by cove brackets; above is a transom framed in architrave-detailed stone. Large first-floor windows are set on simple stone sills and are three-light with three-light transoms above. An overhanging string course runs along the sills of the second-story windows, which are single-light with transoms. An overhanging cornice with modillioris runs beneath a parapet with corner blocks.

History: Charles and Reuben Kempf opened a private bank in 1876 at this location. In 1899 the bank was incorporated as the Kempf Commercial and Savings Bank. Harmon S. Holmes served as bank president for many years. He was succeeded by Daniel C. McLaren. McLaren managed to keep the bank afloat during the early years of the Great Depression. In 1934 the Kempf bank merged with the Farmers and Merchants Bank (organized in 1908) to form the current Chelsea State Bank. This building was then sold to Oscar D. Schneider who leased space to various businesses, including A. L. Steger, dentist; George W. Palmer , M.D .; John Kalmbach , attorney; George Webster , tailor; a senior citizens' center; a Michigan Secretary of State office ; and the United States Post Office (that haq been occupying space in his property at 119 South Main Street).

This ~uilding replaced an earlier Italianate building of similar dimensions on the same footprint. Osgood and Osgood of Grand Rapids were the architects.

108-110 SOUTH MAIN (c . 1889} Winans Jewelry and Knapp's Hardware

Architecture: Commercial Victorian. No. 108 and 110 are parts of a single building separated by a central stair hall with a recessed entry serving both businesses with angled doorways. Each half is three bays wide with

centered triple windows flanked by single windows , all one-over-one and all carrying transom lights, at the second story. All windows are set on stone sills with flush, eared, stone lintels. A wood cornice with dentils and consoles atop paneled corbel work completes the building. A simple wood cornice runs the width of the building above the first story. Some modifications to the display windows are evident.

History: No. 108 originally was built as Hugh Sherry ' s harness shop in 1889 to replace a prior wooden structure housing the same business. Upon Sherry's death in 1897 the building was sold toW. J. Knapp who used it as a warehouse until Winans rented it in May 1900. Winans Jewelry has occupied it ever since.

No. 110 was W. J. Knapp's hardware store. It later became Chelsea Hardware, located here for 100 years , until 1990. The interior still has the last hand-operated elevator in Chelsea.

112 SOUTH MAIN (1893) Wm. Schenk General Store

Architecture : Commercial Romanesque. The storefront window openings of this brick building are framed by rusticated ashlar stone pillars ; second- floor windows carry heavy Romanesque arches. Transoms above storefronts contain prism glass, also used in the arched openings above the modified Chicago-style windows. A small gable false front on the parapet and a white sheet-metal cornice similar to the one on the Steinbach Block (109- 111 West Middle Street) were removed by M. J. "Andy" And~rson during a remodeling in the 1950s.

History: William Schenk ran a department store here from the building 's opening in 1893 until his death in 1943. It boasted 10,000 square feet of space. For many years a shoe shop was located in the basement. In 1991 the interior was remodeled for the current business, Craig Common's Common Grill restaurant . A mural based on Edward Hopper ' s 1942 painting "Nighthawks," with · Chelsea landmarks added, is a prominent in.terior feature. In a 2006 remodeling of the second-floor offices above 112-118 the windows were replaced to gain energy efficiency. The size and outline of the original windows was duplicated but paneled sill detail was lost .

114-116-118 SOUTH MAIN (1898) Fenn and Vogel Drug Store

Architecture: A three-bay Commercial Victorian building with a centered, recessed entry. At the second floor each bay carries a trio of one-over- one windows set on paneled sills and a corbelled wood cornice with dentil detailing at the lintels and stone cap at the parapet. These ·details are

cont inuous to the south edge of 120 South Main ,. although 120 is a separate building .

History: The site was the location of an old sunken stone building of A. Steger's poultry house, demolished in 1898. In that year , Frank Staffan and son built the present building as a business investment . The first tenants were druggists Henry H. Fenn and Louis Vogel. In 1909 Fenn bought Vogel ' s interest in the business. In 1929 he con s ol i dated the drug business into 116 and sold the grocery business. Fenn continued the drug business there until 1962 when he sold it to the Budjet Wise chain. Groceries were sold in 118 until 1957 . In recent decades a succession of boutique stores have occupied the building.

In 1993 , 114 was taken over by the expansion of the Common Grill restaurant . The exterior door was fixed in place and now the only entry is from 112 ' s interior. Most of the interior wall fo+merly separating 112 and 114 was opened with several large arches to enlarge the dining area , although a wall mural on the eastern end of the original outside wall of 112 advertising Jaxon Soap that was uncovered during the restaurant enlargement was incorporated into the open interior plan of the restaurant . Simulated prism glass detail was added to the tran s om of 1 1 4 to match that at 112.

Since 2000 the Mule Skinner Boot Shop has occupied 118 . . 116. no longer exists except as a stairway to a suite of second-f l oor offices . The brick archway over the center entrance was added during the 2006 second-floor remodel.

120 SOUTH MAIN {1898) Kantlehner Grocery I Schneider's Grocery Architecture : Commercial Victorian . Builder: George Staffan , Sr. Brick building with recessed entry.

History : Frank Staffan and s.o.n George were the first occupants of this building for their furniture and undertaking busines s. It hosted one of the first bowling alleys in downtown Chelsea. The Modern Woodmen of America lodge was located here along with the Recreational Tavern from the 1930s to the early 1970s.

Originally the second story was dominated by a large Chicago style window , the center unit a large glass panel topped by a fout - li~ht transom unit, flanked by equal height double-hung windows. This entire assembly was replaced in a 2003 remodeling for the present occupant, The River Gallery , with modern windows to control heat loss , maximize light into the art gallery , and minimize fading due to ultraviolet sunlight. The first-floor windows were similarly modernized. At the same time the entire interior was remodeled and modernized for the two - floor art gallery.

122 SOUTH MAIN (1901) George P . Glazier Memorial Building

Architecture: Neocl~ssical. This two-and-one-half-story , three-bay wide building , capped by a terra cotta tile roof in the "modern Spanish mode," is constructed of rock-faced granite set in a random ashlar pattern, with limestone detailing. A massive entablature and granite parapet is supported by granite piers with limestone capitals and two limestone columns, which flank the building entrance. The transomed entrance carries a limestone surround flanked by limestone pilasters supporting a granite arch with stained glass window. Beneath this is a carved panel with a memorial wreath and swag motif. The entry is flanked by limestone window surrounds. The windows are one-over-one at the lower level with one - light windows above, separated by swag-decorated spandrel panels. Above the windows are granite arches with limestone fan infills .

History: Built by Frank P. Glazier to house his Chelsea Savings Bank and named in honor of his late father. Architect : Claire Allen. Mason contractor: George Hindelang, with stone masons Joseph and Martin Eisele. Construction started October 1901 with completion in late 1902 (ref.: Chelsea Herald , November 4, 1902).

The building initially housed the Chelsea Savings Bank , principally owned by the Glazier family. In December 1907, following the collapse of Frank Glazier's businesses including the Glazier Stove Company , the Chelsea Savings Bank was closed by the State of Michigan as insolvent.

In 1927 the Kempf Bank purchased the vacant building , renovated the interior, and moved in. In 1934 they merged with the Farmers and Merchants Bank to form the Chelsea State Bank. They operated out of this building until 1968 when they moved into a new building at the southeast corner of Main and Orchard Streets. They then donated this building to Washtenaw County to be used by the 14th District Court.

In 1983 the interior was restored. Removal of suspended ceilings and false partitions uncovered a domed ceiling, four marble (or Scagliola) columns and marble balustrade.

The building was State Register listed on June 13, 1986.

200 SOUTH MAIN (1936} Former U. S . Post Office

Architecture : Standard government design produced by the office of the Supervising Architect of the Treasury , Lewis A . Simon. Spence Brothers from Saginaw were the builders. One story in height and with a f i ve - bay wide , symmetrical front , set on a raised basement . The front entry is approached by flanking stairs , the left stairway having been subsumed by a wheelchair ramp in compliance with the ADA. The building is laid in common bond brick with limestone water table , sill panels , lintels and lintel panels , and string course. The central three lintel panels are decorated with bas-relief images of a train , plane, and ship , the three modes of transportation used by the Postal Service at the time of the buildi ng ' s construction .

History : This standard-issue Works Projects Administration - funded building replaced a residence at this location in 1936. It was used by the U. S. Postal Service until 2009 , at which time the post office funct i on and a 1938 WPA-funded mural , "Way of Life " by Detroit artist George H. Fisher that was mounted in the lobby , were moved to a remodeled buildi ng i n Chelsea ' s south corridor.

This building currently is vacant.

JACKSON STREET, Main Street to 128 Jackson

102 JACKSON (1900} , Chelsea Manufacturing Company I Mack Building, and 118 NORTH MAIN (1947) , Daniels Showroom

Architecture: The Mack Building (also known as the Tribune Building) is a two-story brick vernacular industrial building. Architect unknown . Frank Brooks was the contracted brick mason . The building has a simpla protecting brick cornice with corbelled dentils. There are four garage bays ; space where a fifth bay may have been located has been subsumed by the rear of the showroom building. These garage doors replaced s i ngle windows in a remodeling, probably when , Wa.crren Da.niel.s. bought. the . .building for his automobile sales and repair business. Upper-story windows are wood six-over - six sash on plain stone sills with segmental-arch tops capped with rowlock lintels.

The Showroom is a one-story Art Moderne building of light tan-colored brick with wrap-around display windows and a central entry protected by a curved

metal overhang. A side entry at the northeast comer is flanked by a Chicago style window. Windows are set on plain stone sil l s .

History: The Mack Building was bu i lt for the Chelsea Manufacturing Company which initially manufactured pencil s harpeners , flashlights , bicycles and miscellaneous sheet metal goods he r e. Under the guidance of A. R . Welch in 1903 the company manufactured the first car in Chelsea , c al led the Welch. In 1904 Frank Glazier bought the bui l ding at the Welch bankruptcy auction ; he used the building for inventory storage.

After Glazier ' s fall Walter Mack , an Ann Arbor retailer of woolen goods, bought the building and used it for s torage of finished woolen goods as well as wool fleeces. In 1917 the Chelsea Elevator Company bought the building. Warren Daniels , an officer of Chelsea Elevator , ope r ated an automobile repair shop here and later became a dealer for several makes. He built the showroom (118) in 1947 and operated the ent i re bu i lding as a dealership for Dodge, Oldsmobile and Buick automobiles .

In 1952 Marion Longworth bought the Mack Building, along with the Daniels Showroom and the Livery Stable at 110 Jackson (see below) , and the complex housed Longworth Plating Company unti l that business closed in 2002. In December 200B the City bought the building. It currently is vacant.

110 JACKSON (1905) Chelsea House Livery

Architecture: Vernacular Industrial . The livery barn is a two - story rock - faced concrete block structure with a plain block string course and parapet. The main floor is pierced by an off-center garage bay opening flanked by asymmetrical window openings , all but one of which have been infilled with glass block. Two window openings at this level are not original: one double window to the left of the door and the other just to the right . In the interior the first floor surface is concrete . Two small rooms are located along the west wall : a 9 x 16 foot office a nd an 11 x 16 foot laboratory. Wood support columns on approximately 20 foo t centers support heavy second-story wood floor joists. A small concrete basement storage room is accessed via a steel stairway.

History: This is the last existing livery barn in Chelsea . It was built by J. G. Wagner as a livery barn for Chelsea House hotel patrons. In March 1907 it was sold to Ed Weiss, a rural carrier for the Pos t a l Service . J. A. Conlan later used this building for his livery business . Then it was used for automobile storage for Leigh Palmer ' s Main Street dealership. Marion Longworth bought this building along with the Mack Building (102 Jackson Street) and the Daniels Showroom (118 North Main St r eet) in 1952 and for several decades it housed Longworth Plating. After Longworth closed the business the City bought the building. It current l y is vacant.

Name of Property Coun ty and State

122 JACKSON (c . 1855) Ch elsea House Hotel and l ater dining hall I Farmers Supply Architecture: Vernacular Greek Revival. This two-story frame temple-front building was moved to this location in 1888. On the west is a one-story wing added c. 1926. The gable front roof is clad with asphalt shingles. The wing is capped with a flat , corrugated steel roof. This steel roof projects west to the east wall of Chelsea House Livery forming an open vehicle/storage bay, and projects north to form a sheltered gallery for product storage and display. A two-story open shed with steel roof projects from the east side of the main building.

History: This building originally was located on Main Street where the Sylvan Building currently is located. It was bought by Henry Hoag in 1875 from Thomas Godfrey and renamed the Chelsea House Hotel. When the Sylvan Building was built to serve the same purpose it was moved from Main Street to this location and served the Chelsea House Hotel as its dining room. It later served as a boarding house. In 1926 it was converted to a Feed Mi ll by Ransom Lewis. It has served as a farmers ' supply business ever since. It currently is owned by Helen K. Leonard.

128 JACKSON (c . 1852) ~al M. Boyd House

Architecture : Vernacular Greek Revival one-and- one - half-story temple front with one-story wing , set 0n a cou~sed rock-face granite foundation. Cornice returns at the gable ends are present. There are two three - light eyebrow windows on the east elevation .

History: This is one of the oldest houses in Chelsea , built by pioneer Mial Boyd. In the early 1940s the house was updated by Leon Shutes, a local builder , with Colonial Revival details such as six - over - one windows , a new entrance hood , and shingle cladding. At the east end is a small ell , a later addition built as a garage.

A rehabilitation begun in 1996 by attorney Glenda Warner included rever s ing the front and rear entrances. Her conversion of the building to law offices has resulted in the addition of a walkout balcony on the second floor , north elevation , which projects over a new entrance accessed by a raised porch. The south elevation carries a wheelchair ramp that accesses the qriginal entrance. The garage at the east elevation has been converted into a kitchen . The building currently is vacant.

125 JACKSON (1880) Michigan Central Railroad Chelsea Depot

Architecture: Stick Style. The depot is a wood. frame building with shingle roof, twenty-eight feet wide by ninety-nine feet nine inches long. Initially the building c9rried a good deal more trim than is present today, but much was removed in an early 20th century upgrade. Horizontal clapboard is used up to the window lintels; areas above are dressed with vertical boards with sawtooth ends. Boarding defines each of the building corners , including the five-sided bays at the east and west ends and the three-sided north bay. The east and west bays are capped by complex three- gable roof structures. The main roof is a simple gable roof with a modest sweep at the eaves, and is broken by a cross gable at the north bay. Gable ends are ornamented with simple Gothic Revival-inspired cross-bracing. Windows are four-over-four, set singularly, with the exception of the north face of the north bay, where they are paired. The north and south elevations are further pierced by a pair of freight doors and three single entry doors each; all are paneled and carry transom lights.

History: In 1848 Chelsea founders Elisha and James Congdon offered the Michigan Central Railroad a free site on which to build a station. The first and several succeeding structures were freight stations. For a time more wool was shipped from Chelsea than from any other place in the state. Grain, apple, livestock and meat shipments also were large.

In 1880 the railroad built a new depot. Mason and Rice of Detroit were commissioned as the new station's architect. Their design was Victorian, characterized by numerous gables and gingerbread embellishments. The builder was Adams & Rogers, who built other Michigan Central depots in the late nineteenth century. The depot was built with two waiting rooms - the east for women and children, the west for men.

In 1975 Michigan Central's passenger operations were taken over by Amtrak. In 1981, Amtrak discontinued service to Chelsea and closed the station. In 1985, fearing damage from prolonged neglect, area citizens formed the Chelsea Depot Association to restore the building. The group purchased the depot that year , and restoration began in 1986. It now serves as a public meeting place. The building was individually listed in the National Register of Historic Places in 1987.

Nat1onal Park Service I National Register of Historic Ptaces Registration Form

WEST MIDDLE STREET, NORTH SIDE, Main Street to 120 West Middle

106-110 WEST MIDDLE (c. 1871)

Architecture: Commercial Italianate . Four-over-four round-headed windows with the same hood treatment as 101 N. Main St. This building matches the adjacent Commercial Italianate properties. Detailing matches that on the south elevation of 101 N. Main Street next door. The storefront for 106 is original and once encompassed 110 as well. Enameled panel veneer was installed at street level on 110 in the late 1940s.

Two cast iron columns define the bays and support a simple frieze with brackets that mimic the main cornice. The first floor at 110 (Seitz's Tav ern) sports an enameled metal panel front, plate glass windows with eye- level sills, and an abbreviated pent roof running the width of the three- bay frontage.

History: Frank Staffan had his funeral horne at 106 during the late 1890s followed by undertaker Samuel Mapes until 1911.

Originally the Farmers Exchange restaurant, 110 later housed Christ Klein's Saloon that he ran starting in the late 19th century. Klein gave up the business and building when the state went "dry" in 1918. The building was a grocery store when Seitz bought it in 1928 to escape the high rent he was paying across the street to the- McNamara ·family·. It has Ee-tained much of its historic interior, including pressed metal ceiling and the long standup walnut bar with brass foot rail.

112 WEST MIDDLE {1883) Sylvan Township Hall I Chelsea Town Hall I Opera House

Architecture: Late Victorian. This brick building , entered through double doors set in a shallow round-a-rch recess, is topped by an - open wood belfry that projects partly beyond the building's front on a corbell.ed brick base. Windows are detailed with eared stone lintels featuring carved trident-like motifs. The main entry of simple paneled doors is capped by a round-arched transom light within an arch with shield keystone, and is flanked by paired windows with more of the eared lintels with carved "trident" detailing. The arch motif is repeated in an unusual round-headed window set directly ab ove a flat arch window at the second floor and capped by a corbel arch linked to the corbelling beneath the forward gable.

Hist o ry: The bricks were made in Dearborn. Mason work was by Frank Staffan, woodwork by J o hn Hoover. This was the first multi-use public building in Chelsea and was funded mostly by taxpayers; banker Rueben Kempf funded the remainder.

Sylvan Township offices were on the first floor, as well as a large meeting room . The Village leased an office and also used the meeting room for council meetings, "town hall" meetings and public hearings.

From 1908 until World War I Wirt McLaren's Sylvan Theatre made use of the auditorium for traveling shows , using a stage at the rear; the second floor contained balcony seating overlooking the stage. A side staircase to the second floor existed on the west wall up until World War I. The rear of the building including the stage and scenery was demolished by fire several years later.

Maurice Hoffman, Sylvan Township Supervisor, spearheaded the restoration of this building after it had lapsed into serious disrepair . The original 450-pound bell was removed by crane in 1989 and replaced by a much smaller bell. The Village stopped using the building in 2000 , at which time The Chelsea Collection antique shop moved in. Since 2006 the entire first floor has been occupied bi The Potting Shed landscape business. The upstairs now contains office spaces that are leased.

114 WEST MIDDLE (1920) Wheeler Blacksmith Shop I Mike's Deli Non-contributing

This frame building was built in 1920 by William F . Wheeler for use as a blacksmith shop. During the 1930s and 1040s the State Highway Department leased the building and used it for storage. In the 1950s Ttirner Electric Service sold appliances here , and from the 1960s through the 1980s it served as the Wash & Dry laundromat. In 1990 Mark Heydlauff bought the building and remodeled it, recessing the front wall to facilitate sidewalk seating , adding the arched false front , and covering the exterior with stucco. It currently serves as a delicatessen.

118 WEST MIDDLE (c. 1945) Harper Pontiac

Architecture : Commercial Brick. One-story showroom building with large display windows and side entry , connected to rearward brick and frame Quonset-roofed garage wing. Neon Pontiac sign has been retained and is an important part of the building.

History: The site had one of the first ice skating rinks in Chelsea in the 1880s. In 1936 a two-story frame building on this site owned by Adam Faist and used as a woodworking shop was destroyed by fire. Walter A. Harper built this building in 1945 after having sold the building next door at 120 (see below). Sumner Oesterle became Harper's business partner in 1957.

Chels.ea Cormnercial Historic District Washtenaw , Michigan

Harper retired in 1959. Oesterle continued the business under the Harper Pontiac name until 2001. The building is presently vacant.

120 WEST MIDDLE (c . 1912} Faist Garage I Harper Pontiac

Architecture: Cormnercial Brick . Two-story brick building with projecting brick detailing between stories and at cornice line . Side windows and garage openings have been infilled; remaining windows have been slightly altered.

History: In 1912 Adam G. Faist, a wagon maker , built this building to house his Overland I Willys - Knight automobile dealerships. The business was sold in 1925 to W. G. White , who in turn sold it to Walter A. Harper the following year. Harper was a mechanic from Jackson who had worked for Faist for three years before buying the building. In 1945 Harper sold this building and built the one-story brick building at 118 (see above). Judson Form Print Co . occupied the building , followed in 1985 by Westside Gym.

WEST MIDDLE STREET, SOUTH SIDE, Main Street to 115 West Midd le

103 WEST MIDDLE (c. 1865} Tommy McNamara's Tavern

Architecture : Cormnercial Italianate. Three-bay wide front , bays separated by brick pilasters. Window openings are round-headed with corbelled brick arched hoods. Windows (replacement) are simple one - over-one units , with the arch tops infilled with wood panels. Overhanging wood cornice is supported by ogee-shaped brackets , set singly , with ogee dentils . Spaces between brackets are detailed with wood trim. The first - floor fa~ade was remodeled in 1983 .

History: Chelsea ' s oldest extant brick cormnercial building , it was home to Thomas (Tormny) McNamara's Tavern starting in 1895 . It was the original location of Seitz ' s Tavern beginning in 1916. It later was connected as an entryway to the building next door (104 South Main St.) as part of Grove Brothers Variety store. Later the Village Quality Bakery did bus i ness here.

The building was owned by John Muncer in 1983 when an interior fire did considerable damage. It was remodeled with the present fa~ade by Chelsea Associated Builders. Arthur Lindauer , the architect , said the remodeling was "designed to fit in with the scheme of historic restoration." (Chelsea Standard , July 20 , 1983.)

Name of Property Cou nty and State

105-105 ~ WEST MIDDLE (c . 1880)

Architecture : Commercial Brick building that once was connected to 107 W. Middle . An unadorned one-story commercial building with cent r a l entries flanked by squared plate glass windows.

History : This building ' s first floor has always contained two bus i nesses. For many decades a barber was located in the east half and a shoe s hop in the west half. In the late 19ili Century shoemaker Jake Mast opera ted out of this building, followed by four decades of shoe merchant s. Fi s her Shoes was the last shoe store in the building in the 1930 ' s. Jack Wa r ren began barbering in this building in 1936 and his son joined him some ye a r s later in the present east half. The son sold the business in the 1990 s, but the present barber has kept the name. For many years a beauty s alon ope r ated out of the west half. The present brick fa~ade was done in 1936 ; the bracketed cornice was added in 2009.

107 WEST MIDDLE (c . - 1880) Non-contributing

While attractive and imitative of adjacent building styles , this one-story building underwent a complete fa~ade remodeling in 2008 by owne r Edw a rd Riemenschneider and no longer retains its historical integrity .

History: Built by F . D. Cummings after the fire of 1879 , this building for many years was the home of the Chelsea Bakery run by Charle s Wund er and other merchants . It later became a card room and then the f i r s t Chel sea office of the Secretary of State in 1973.

109-111 WEST MIDDLE (1894) Steinbach Block

Architecture: Late Commercial Italianate with cast iron co l umn s a t s treet level , paired one - over-one flat arch windows with stone lintels , and a sheet-metal cornice with central gable carrying building legend: St einbach Block. The current natural finish storefront structure was i ns t a ll ed in 1983 ; Arthur Lindauer , architect.

History: Charles Steinbach, a harness maker in Chelsea since 1872 , built this building for his harness business· irr 18~4, replacing a prior wood frame building . He also was an accomplished· musician and was co -founder of the Chelsea Cornet band. He sold instruments out of this building and his daughters taught voice and piano here. The building was leased by the Chelsea Community Association in 1941 and used as a community ha l l. The first floor had a large hall used as a gymnasium and for Fr i day and Saturday night dances. There also were rooms with ping pong and b i l l iard

tables , and other rooms served as reading rooms. The second floor had one room for the Boy Scouts of America and other rooms for board games and cards. In 1942 . the entire building was taken over by Federal Screw Works in order to assist in wartime manufacturing ; brass cartridge s hells were made here. After the war there were offices on the first f l oor and two apartments upstairs (until 1983). The interior now is all office space.

113 WEST MIDDLE (c . 1897} Masonic T'e mple

Architecture: Late Victorian. Two - story brick building wi t h dr i ve - through on one side. Centered arch window with crested keystone , f l anked by Chicago windows set in recessed bays. Simple wood cornice.

History: Built by W. J. Knapp in 1897 , it is unusual in having a drive - through that led to a carriage house on the rear (no longer extant) and to the twelve-foot - wide alley between 104 and 108 South Main Stre e t that leads directly to Main Street. It was sold to the Merkel brothers in 1909. Since 1897 this building has been home to the local Masonic Lodge (Olive Lodge No . 156) , who rent the building . In about 1959 th e f i rst floor was completely rebuilt. Currently a used-book store occupies the first floor .

115 WEST MIDDLE (1910} Hirth's Blacksmith Shop I Farrell Sheet Metal

Architecture : Vernacular Concrete Block . Builder : Simon Hirth. One - story industrial building in rock - faced cast block with recessed entry . Windows are one-over - one .

History : Building interior still retains some of the iron rings installed by Hirth for his blacksmith work. Currently used as a gift shop.

EAST MIDDLE STREET, NORTH SIDE, Main Street to 121 East Middle

121 EAST MIDDLE (1894} First Congregational Church (1954-57 church school addition on rear}

Architecture : Brick auditorium church with multiple cross - gabl~s and battered bell tower. The sanctuary entry is within a Romanesque arch located in the bell tower. A reception area is entered through a recessed entry porch sheltered under a broad hipped roof with wall dormers projecting from the side-gabled core block that encloses the Romanesque- inspired auditorium. The belfry carries an Italian campanile feel and is capped by a hipped roof. The sanctuary is lit by stained g l ass windows, in

particular a large r o se window set within a large arch on the east elevation and a trio of round-headed windows with a pair of oculus windows abo.ve.. The assembly area is lit by stained glass windows in an arched opening at the south elevation.

History: Chelsea's First Congregational Church was organized in 1849. In 1851 Elisha Congdon donated land for the church at the site of the current church building. The church was dedicated in the summer of 1852 and was remodeled in 1871. In 1889 a parsonage was built just east of the church building. Both were lost in the Glazier Stove Works fire of February 1894. The current building was designed by architect Sidney J. Osgood of Grand Rapids and built by local mason John P. Foster. It was dedicated in January 1895.

In 1957 an education center was added to the rear (architect and builder unknown). In 2009 the sanctuary entry was rebuilt by Charles Shiver to accommodate a wheelchair ramp. Architect was Scott McElrath of Chelsea.

EAST MIDDLE STREET, SOUTH SIDE, Main Street to 118 East Middle

102 EAST MIDDLE (c. 1882) Durand I Hatch I Ka~tlehner Jewelers

Architecture : Commercial Italianate with raised entry, cast iron columns, and wrap-around entry cornice. Bays are separated by projecting brick piers that terminate in wood consoles with carved detailing that meet the broad, curved-face sheet-metal cornice. One-over-one windows carry stone label molding; the lintels are carved with a simple line design that matches the lintels at 108 East Middle Street. The storefront was remodeled in 1983 with modern plate glass display windows.

History: Built by local merchants Aaron Durand and W. F. Hatch after a fire in 1882 that consumed the prior wood frame building in which they were operating. Walter Kantlehner ran his jewelry business here from 1914 until his death in 1964. There followed a ceramic shop and then a music store after which the building was owned by a succession of State Farm Insurance Company agents.

On the Main Street side at 103 S. Mqin St., the Chelsea Herald newspaper occupied the first floor of this building from 1883 until it was bought out by the Chelsea Standard in 1906. A millinery business was operated here by the Miller sisters fr om 1898 to 1938, and H. H Lyons had his shoe store in the basemen t .

United States Depa rtm ent of the Interio r

Name of Property County an d State

104-106 EAST MIDDLE {1910) Gates Estate I Holmes & Walker Furniture I Ch elsea Village Hall

Architecture: Late Commercial Victorian. First floor car ri es a heavy brick fa9ade , a 1970s modernization by architect Arthur Lindauer for the Village government . This remodeling covered storefront d is play windows to provide a secure enclosure for the Village Police Department. A trio of Chicago windows fills the entire second story fa9ade . Br i ck piers mark the three bays, terminating in a paneled and stepped brick parapet .

History: This was a rebuilt three story building housing t h e Holmes and Walker furniture and hardware business after a fire i n 1909 consumed the prior two story brick building that matched the building nex t door to the east (108). Historic photographs from the post - 1909 period show large first-floor display windows on paneled bulkheads , a reces sed entry , a vertical-patterned transom area (perhaps beadboard) , and a l a r ge heavy cornice with an elaborate shell motif and heavy brackets a t either end.

The city bought this building from Marg a ret Gates Voge l in t he 1940 s who at the time was renting it out to Paul Grafson as a supermarket. The building was remodeled in early 1946 to house municipal and fire de pa rtment office s. One year later the library unwillingly (by public vote) moved to the second floor. The third floor was intended to be a community hal l wi th rest rooms. There is no record of any historic use of the thi r d f l oor , and today it remains unused. In the basement a heavy-duty vault was installed to house city records. Public restrooms were provided with acce ss from street level.

In 1964 the fire department moved into a new facility on West Mi ddle Street , and in 1971 the Chelsea Police force moved in afte r a remodel that included the present fa9ade. The second and third floor fa9ades remain essentially unchanged from the 1910 rebuild .

108 EAST MIDDLE (c . · 1889)· Chelsea Standard Building

Architecture: Late Commercial Italianate . In 1985 a period style storefront designed by architect Greg Raye replaced an earl i er tr a nsitional streamlined front. Second floor modern windows are capped by fl ush, eared lintels with carved · detailing. Projecting- br±ck pilast'ers · and corbelled dentils support a paneled wood cornice, with dentils, from 1910 .

History: This building survived a damaging fire that destroyed 104 - 106 East Middle in December 1909. A substantial fa9ade remodeling included changes to its cornice and moldings . The Chelsea Standard newspaper

United States Depa rtment of th e Interior

occupied this building from 1910 until 1960. In 2003 the int e rior was remodeled and an elevator installed for a new book store bu si ne s s.

110 EAST MIDDLE (c . 1895} Wilkinson-Raftrey Building

Architecture: Late Commercial Victorian. This two - story b u ilding carries a pair of three - sided bays projecting from the second level and a corbelled cornice topped by pent roofs. Cornice line is treated wi t h · rec e ssed brick panels and corbelled cornice in a herringbone pattern . Th e f ir s t floor fa~ade was remodeled in 1962 ; architect , Arthur Li nda u er .

History : This building was built after local tailor J . J. Ra ftrey entered a partnership with Thomas Wilkinson to buy this proper t y . Ra ft r ey ran his business out of 108 at the time. Upon completion of th i s bu i lding in 1895 , he moved to this location and ran his business from here unt i l his death in 1909. In later years this building became horne of a groce r y s tore , a restaurant , and a shoe store and was the first locat i on of t he Chelsea public library. Dr . George W. Palmer ran his medical prac ti ce on the second floor along with dentist H. H. Avery .

112 EAST MIDDLE (c. 1880} Gorman Building

Architecture : Commercial Brick. Two-story building , with lower height than neighboring commercial properties . Raised entry above foundation with basement windows . Second floor carries two bay s with pa i re d s ix - over - six windows set in recessed panel . Second floor i s acce ss ed by exterior stairway , a detail noted since c. 1905.

History: Congressman James Gorman bought this building in 1892 upon ending a term in Congress and located to Chelsea , going into the c i g ar manufacturing business with the Eisenmann brothers of Pickw i ck Cigar s until about 1899. He opened a law office in 1904 and pract i ced until shortly before his death in 1923.

The building fa~ade was remodeled about 1911 when o il refiner Milo Sha ver used the first floor of the building as a harness and shoe s hop.

118 EAST MIDDLE (c . 1886} Lovell D . Loomis House I Gorman House

Architecture: Queen Anne . This two story brick house with raised basement is twin to the Palmer House that , located at 138 E . Middle St r eet , is listed in the National Register of Historic Places. The main entry is reached by a projecting porch with fieldstone base (matching the

- - ----~~~-------~~--

foundation) and ornate one-story shed roof with decorative gable and lathe- work ornamentation. A projecting front bay features stone quoins flanking the large first floor windows and is capped by a heavy gable with a . continuation of the porch lathe work. Stepped windows mark the loc a tion of the stairway on the west side. The house is capped by a complex , multiple- gable roof.

History: A local grocer , Lovell D. Loomis, built this house in 1886 after demolishing the previous structure on this property. He later sold the property to James Gorman.

After several decades of deterioration as an apartment hou s e the building was bought and rehabilitated by James Myles in 1993 ; he made an addition on the rear in 2007. He now operates the property as the Che ls ea House Victorian Inn Bed and Breakfast.

PARK STREET, SOUTH SIDE, Main Street to 128 Park

128 PARK (1899) First United Methodist Church (1963 Education Wing on east side and rear)

Architecture : Romanesque. The building is constructed with wa l ls of rockface random ashlar fieldstone above a window level bel t course and uncoursed masonry below . Front and side.. gables rise.. in st.eps. . There is a large rose window in front and tall arched window in a projecting si de "transept" filled with stained glass. A crenellated corner tower h a s a belfry with three round-arch openings in each face and a short octagonal spire. Running east and behind the main part of the buildi ng is an addition from 1963. The design of this annex provides a sympa.thetic linkage of old and new.

History: The Methodist Episcopal Church of Chelsea , organized in 1853 , built a wooden church building ow this· 3ite· in 1859- ; In January •, 1899 , that building burned to the ground. Frank Glazier, with assi s tance from Dr . George Palmer , immediately organized and spearheaded a fundraising drive and contributed substantial personal funds to build a new chu rch. The current stone structure was completed in February 1900 , built from fieldstone said to have been donated by area farmers. Legend says that window keystones were cut from . a . sing.le st.o.ne uncovered on Thomas Sears' farm that was behind Oak Grove Cemetery. Several later sources attribute the design to architect Claire Allen, but a reliable and primary source, the Chelsea Herald, in a detailed article in the March 1, 1900 edition, identified Clark and Munger of Bay City as the architects.

In 1959 an Education Wing on the east and rear of the original church was begun and was dedicated in 1963. The architect was Thomas Tanner of Ann

Arbor and the chairman of construction was William Freeman. Work on remodeling the main entrance and adding an elevator, coatroorn and restroorns was begun in 1992 and .. was . completed in 1996.

GLAZIER STOVE WORKS COMPLEX

Historical Overview:

In 1890 , Frank Porter Glazier and partners created a new company called the Glazier-Strong Oil Stove Company in Chelsea to produce stoves with the trademark "Brightest & Best." Several designs of kerosene and gas stoves were made for both cooking and heating purposes, in facilities on both sides of the Michigan Central Railroad tracks. B & B stoves were shipped throughout the United States and the world. Glazier eventually bought out his partners and renamed the company the Glazier Stove Company .

Perhaps ironically , fire played a continuing role during the early years of the Stove Works, destroying parts or essentially the entire factory complex. After an especially disastrous fire in 1895, Glazier began reconstruction on the present site using fireproof building methods and then-new fire protection measures.

In 1899 he engaged a Jackson architect , Chancellor Claire Allen (1853 - 1942), a descendent of patriot Ethan Allen and poet Edgar Allen Poe (ref. : FarnilyTreeMaker , genealogy . com) , to design several Chelsea buildings in which Glazier had an invol vernerrt , including the ·· Methodis-t Retirement Horne and the George P. Glazier Memorial Bank Building . Allen, who had been horne schooled , was well read and self-taught in literature , arts , science , religion , and, of course, architecture. He had learned· practical skills as a ·builder and contractor beginning at age 18. He opened an architectural practice in Jackson in 1890 and designed office buildings , courthouses , schools , libraries, churches , factories and large residences in a ~~reer that lasted more than forty years.

By 1907 the Glazier Stove Company had become ·an immense operation , occupying 18 structures on the site, included a brass foundry, an iron foundry, a _pig iron and coke storage building. (None of these buildings survive.)

That same year Glazier built three ornate facilities fronting the railroad tracks: the Clock Tower- with · warehouse (310 North Main. Street),. the Welfare Building (300 North Main Street), and the Steel Range and Warehouse Building (301 North .East Street). All three buildings used the new Kahn System of Reinforced Concrete, developed by noted industrial architect Albert Kahn for the new Packard Motor Car Company automobile factory built in Detroit in 1904. Kahn had emigrated from Germany to Detroit and received his architectural training at Mason and Rice, the firm that designed the Chelsea railroad station for the Michigan Central Railroad.

Claire Allen was the architect and Koch Brothers of Ann Arbor were the builders for all three new Glazier buildings. Allen was quick to appreciate the strength and fire-resistant qualities of the Kahn system and was an early adopter of the system. Kahn went on to become the principle architect for most of the large American automobile companies for thirty years. His designs include the Ford River Rouge assembly plant.

Shortly after the construction of these three iconic buildings, the Glazier Stove Company went bankrupt amidst a political and financial scandal involving Frank P. Glazier. Following the failure of the Glazier Stove Company many other businesses occupied the site and manufactured a variety of products including Flanders Manufacturing (motorcycles), Lewis Spring & Axle (Hollier Eight automobiles), Grant & Wood Manufacturing Company (Liberty airplane engines), Chelsea Foundry & Machine Company, Peninsular Furnace Company, Federal Screw Works (screws and machined parts), Rockwell- Standard Corporation (mechanical springs, wire forms, clips, small stampings, seat recliners, roof bows, and parts for automobiles, trucks, agricultural equipment and appliances), Central Fibre Products (paper fleece twine, kraft and tissue cord, paper covered wire, paper filler and trimsticks for the automobile industry), Outdoor Fiber Products (the Paradome portable folding camping cabin) , Chelsea Industries (welded car seat assemblies), and the Real Ale Company (beer).

During World War II, 50 millimeter projectile casings, jacketed bullets, timer fuses and parts for tanks and anti-aircraft guns were produced on the site. Most of the 1,600 employees in Chelsea's war-converted . factories were women, many of whom traveled from outlying areas to work in Chelsea, some staying in various rooming houses in Chelsea during the work week. Federal Screw Works received production awards and citations -from departments of the Army and Navy and twice received the Navy "E Award" recognized by President Franklin D. Roosevelt.

In 1998, Chelsea-area resident Ronald Weiser, former U. S. ambassador to Slovakia, purchased the site. In 2001, McKinley Inc., a company founded by Ambassador Weiser, emb.arke.d on .a. ten.-million-dollar rehab-ilitation of the complex from a then-largely-unused industrial site to a mixture of office, commercial, residential, and warehousing. Several buildings, including some small cinder block and sheet metal sheds and other relatively recent buildings and lean-tos, were razed. One large brick warehouse accidentally collapsed during the rehabilitation project.

The Welfare Building is in different ownership - it is owned by Helen K. Leonard, heir of the late Chelsea Standard owners Walter and Helen May Leonard, and is riot part of the McKinley project.

310 NORTH MAIN (1906-07) Warehouse Building and Clock Tower

Architecture: Late Victorian. Architect : Claire Allen. Builder: Koch Brothers. The Glazier Warehouse (1906) and its clock tower additibn (1907} were built using the Kahn System. The warehouse is three stories high. The west and east elevations are each divided into five bays and the north and south elevations into three bays. The inset bays terminate in segmental arches with limestone keystones . The original multiple-light industrial windows have been replaced with modern windows and false divided lights of similar outline. Heavy limestone lintels cap the first and second story windows.

The octagonal brick Clock Tower rises 120 feet from a stepped limestone foundation and carries windows at the second (with lintels matching the warehouse), third, sixth, and eighth (roof) levels. The clock level, supported by corbel work and brackets , carries four clock faces flanked by decorative brick and stone work. The tower is capped by an octagonal convex roof with vent windows visually related to the adjacent Welfare Building (at 300 North Main Street) .

History: The clock tower was the crowning point of Frank Glazier ' s era of power and development. It was the centerpiece of his vision for Chelsea. The warehouse was completed in 1906, the clock tower added in 1907. The three-story building with attached . seven-story clock tower provided 60 , 000 square feet of factory and warehouse space for his rapidly growing Stove Company. It once was the tallest structure in Washtenaw County at 135 feet , including a 15-foot flagpole . Inside the tower was a 20 , 000 gallon water tank (later enlarged to 35 , 000 gallons) for fire protection, and the building contained automatic sprinklers, as well as electric elevators. The clock tower no longer serves as a water tower , but the old water tank still is encased within the tower just below the clock faces .

A clock mechanism with Westminster .. incremental chimes completed the building in September 1907. The clock was made by Seth Thomas at Thomaston, Connecticut, and was installed by Walter J . Buckley of Chicago. Four seven-foot illuminated faces are visible from all directions in the city. The tower contains four bells ranging in size from 300 to 1,250 pounds with a large hammer for striking the hour. The clock mechanism is now operated by electricity but for many years it was the duty of the Town Marshal to climb the winding stairway and wind the clock at regular intervals.

The space currently is leased to various business tenants.

United Staies Department of the Interior

312 - 320 North Main Street Overview

Connected to the north side of the warehouse (310) is a long , one story brick building originally used as offices and shops , currently used by various retail and service businesses. Interior steps accommodate level changes necessitated by the terrain.

Built in 1906 this is a simple Late Victorian industria.l brick building with a rudimentary cornice formed from soldiered bricks. The terr a in dictated three different levels , connected by short interio r sta irways. The fenestration at the south end that lights a separate room in 312 gives the outward appearance of a second floor , but this too is one st ory . Original doors and steel casement windows were replaced with modern doors and windows in the 2001 rehabilitation by McKinley. At the s ame time new display windows were installed in 312 and 320.

312 - 314 NORTH MAIN (1906) Chelsea Water and Light Company

Upon the completion of 312 and 314 the Chelsea Water and Light Company that had been established in 1894 by Glazier moved here. No. 312 contained offices , and 314 housed the electric dynamos . The south ha l f o f what is now 312 was an open loading dock. It was enclosed in the 2001 rehabilitation and became part of 312 , accessible from the inte r ior albeit several steps up from the floor level of 312 . Until May 2.010 it served as a small museum for the Chelsea Area Historical Society. Today bo t h areas of 312 house retail food businesses and 314 houses Koch Optometry .

318-320 NORTH ~-AIN (1906) Glazier Stove Works

These parts of the building were used for light work- in - process and finished good storage by the Gl·azier Stove ·· ~vo·rks. Today they house The Tree House , a children ' s recreation center.

300 NORTH MAIN (1906 - 07) Welfare Building

Architecture: Flemish Revival. Architect: Claire Allen. Brick and stone building with hipped roof. The arcaded entry porch (largely infilled with office space) with st~ne columns and arches is flanked by but - away bays with balconies serving the dormers at each end of the fa~ade. These wall dormers are surrounded by ornate Flemish gables. Castellated detailing is found at the eave line and at the termination of the front porch . A chimney with stone crest device is centered on the front of the buildi ng

and terminates in four octagonal flues. Windows are topped by multi-light transoms and are in stone surrounds. Stone detailing is used at the gables and eaves and . porch . parapet.

The roof originally was covered with terra cotta tiles . The original main floor included office spaces with oak and beveled glass panels, and fireplaces. An elevator and a marble staircase with oak rails led to the second floor open space containing a combination gymnasium/theater with capacity to seat 800 spectators. A billiards room and swimming pool were located in the basement level, along with a boiler for heating the building.

History: The Welfare Building, a marvelous and exuberant expression of Flemish influence, seems inspired by an extended trip to Europe by Frank and (wife) Henrietta Glazier. It was designed for a purpose that was revolutionary in 1907. Many of Glazier's skilled workers came by train from Detroit, then the leading stove manufacturing city in the nation. The workers stayed in hotels or boarding houses in Chelsea from Sunday nights until Saturday afternoons. Known for his opposition to "sin" ~lazier was concerned that his employees stay away from saloons and gambling and, according to legend, the women and girls of Chelsea. He also wanted them to get a good night's sleep and show up refreshed for work each morning, and not be "hung over" from a night on the town.

According to a report in the Chelsea Standard on November 2, 1905: "This building will be given over entirely to the employes [sic] of the factory. It will contain reading rooms, supplied with the best current literature, swimming pool, shower baths, separate lockers for the men's clothes and there will also be a fine, thoroughly equipped gymnasium in charge of a competent instructor." The building also included a half basketball court, a performance stage, and a billiards room. It was also an example of corporate paternalism designed to counteract growing interest in unionism. The idea for the facility was borrowed from J. H. Patterson, head of National Cash Register Company of Dayton, Ohio.

Completion of the building in late 190..7 co.inci.ded with. . the. downfall of Glazier and his Stove Works. The building served its intended purpose as a recreation hall for only a few months during the tenure of Lewis Spring and Axle Company in 1908. Later owners used the facility for offices and warehouse space. From 1960 into the mid-1990s the building housed the offices and printing presses of the Chelsea Standard newspaper, then owned and operated by Walter and Helen May Leonard. Currently the building is owned by their daughter Helen K. Leonard and serves as leased office space for various tenants.

301 NORTH EAST STREET {1906) Steel Range and Warehouse Building

Architecture : Late Victorian. Architect: Claire Allen . Bui l der: Koch Bros. Three story brick building , on partially exposed basement. Design and details match Clock Tower Warehouse building. South wa l l doorway is enframed by a stone entry with Classical Revival detailing.

History : After the downfall of Frank Glazier the Lewis Spring a nd Axle Company bought this building and used it for sever a l decade s f a bricating component parts for the automotive industry and , during World War II , for the war effort. Currently the building is dormant , having been gutted and awaiting rehabilitation by its new owner McKinley.