Holly Union Depot
Historic Photo, sourced from the National Register of Historic Places filing
Holly Union Depot — historic photograph, National Register of Historic Places filing, Detroit
National Register of Historic Places Filing
The Holly Historic Commercial District derives its significance from historic and architectural features related to the town's heydey as a railroad junction. Beginning with the arrival of the first rail line in 1855 and accelerating with the 1864 completion of Henry H. Crapo's Plint and Holly Railroad, the town experienced a burst of prosperity and growth reflected in the high quality Italianate, Queen Anne, Richardsonian, and Neo-Classical buildings of its central business district. Saloons and hotels sprang up adjacent to the tracks in hopes of attracting business from the over 25 trains which daily passed through Holly. A particularly notorious row of saloons clustered along Martha Street, an area which was nicknamed 'Battle Alley' after a heated brawl between local rounders and a traveling circus. The famed prohibitionist Carry Nation stopped in Holly during her 1908 Michigan tour and attacked saloon keepers, including the owner of the Holly Hotel, for their sale of 'demon rum.' The colorful history of Battle Alley has been the theme for recent revitalization efforts. Despite alterations to many ground level facades, the District retains the visual character of a turn-of-the-century railroad town.
Physical Description
The two-block long, L-shaped Holly Historic Commercial District comprises 5 acres of the central business district in downtown Holly, a village of 5342 (1980) located in northeast Oakland County. The District contains 23 one-to-three story brick, stone, and wood commercial buildings, some with residential uses in the upper stories, the majority of which represent well-preserved examples of Italianate, Neo-Classical, Richardsonian, and Queen Anne commercial buildings of the late nineteenth and early twentieth centuries. Although many street level facades on S. Saginaw have been altered through the application of various types of siding, the addition of inappropriate awnings and signs, or the remodeling of original windows and doors, the downtown as a whole--and especially the properties on Broad Street and Battle Alley--has been undergoing historically sensitive restoration and contains a number of structures of high design quality.
Architect/Builder
Unknown
NRHP Ref# 86000866 • Data from National Park Service • Content available under CC BY-SA 4.0
Historic Photos
(7)Sourced from the National Register of Historic Places filing
Holly Union Depot — Holly Union Depot — historic photograph, National Register of Historic Places filing, Detroit
Public Domain (Michigan filing for National Register of Historic Places)
From Wikipedia
The Holly Union Depot is a former train station located at 223 South Broad Street in Holly, Michigan. It was listed on the National Register of Historic Places in 2000. It sits at the junction of tracks which are now owned by CSX Transportation and Canadian National Railway.
History Saw and grist mills were established in what is now Holly in 1843 and 1844, and a village slowly grew up around them. However, real growth only began with the arrival of the Detroit and Milwaukee Railway (later the Detroit, Grand Haven and Milwaukee Railway and now part of the Canadian National Railway) in 1855. The D & M Railway constructed a small wooden depot, and soon replaced it with a better one. In 1864, a second railroad line, the Flint and Holly Railroad (now part of the CSX Saginaw Subdivision), was completed into Holly. The two rail lines co-operated to build a union depot to serve both lines, located at the site of the present depot. This wooden depot burned in 1884. The two railways created temporary space for passengers in their freight sheds, and in September 1885 contracted with Heitsch and Son of Pontiac to construct a new depot and baggage room. Construction began in October and was complete in February 1886. The depot served passengers on the two lines and their successors until 1964, when the Grand Trunk Western Railroad ceased passenger operations through Holly. It was later used as storage by the railroad, and in 1998 the village of Holly purchased the building. It has since been restored. As of 2018, the depot may be moved to another location.
Description The Holly Union Depot is a long, single-story cross-gable-roof structure made from reddish-orange and yellow-buff brick on a stone foundation. It has broadly overhanging eaves supported by open triangular timber brackets. Gabled projections are on each long side; these once contained separate ticket offices for the two railways. A rectangular carved stone plaque is set into the facade of each projection, containing the town name, HOLLY, in raised capital letters. The building is eighty-two feet ten inches long and twenty-two feet four inches wide.
See also National Register of Historic Places listings in Oakland County, Michigan
Notes
References
External links Holly Union Depot at MichMarkers.com Holly Union Depot at MichiganRailroads.com
Content available under CC BY-SA 4.0
Building Details
- National Register
- Listed
- Ref# 86000866