The marquee of the Delft Theater was once the focal point of downtown Marquette, but has remained dark for several years after a remodeling and sale of the building. The theater now has been sold to Tom Vear and his business partner Robert Martin, whose company, The Delft, LLC., plans to renovate the building and bring the marquee back to its glowing glory with lights and advertising.
It is renovation efforts like this by Vear and other local business owners and contractors that help old buildings maintain historical integrity but also become safe, sustainable and even modern spaces.
Take, for instance, the opening of the
Ore Dock Brewery on Spring Street--previously a car garage. Part owner and founder, Andrea Pernsteiner, says they knew they wanted to renovate a historic building but when they looked at this property, she wasn't sure there was any way to turn it into a brewery.
"Walking into this space and seeing dingy walls, paint falling off the walls--I mean, it smelled like gasoline because it was a garage--I just thought to myself, there was no way we'd ever be able to do this," Pernsteiner says.
Once she and her co-owners saw the upstairs, though, the ideas came together. The building has been transformed, with a two-level brewery and bar, and has become a popular gathering spot.
Vear, also the owner of
Donckers next door to the Delft, is in the early stages of planning the renovation of the old theater. The plans are coming together, but Vear says there will definitely be businesses that attract walkable traffic on the Washington Street side of the building. Plans for the part of the building that face Main Street are still being discussed.
Vear says it could be designed for residential tenants, office space or more retail businesses.
"It's going to be done in a thoughtful, tasteful, appropriate timeframe and (with) appropriate types of businesses for downtown Marquette. And it will be finished when it's finished," Vear says.
Pernsteiner understands being conscious of finding the best way to renovate the building. She co-founded the brewery with her husband Wes and says their biggest challenge was transforming the space in a way that was sustainable, including recycling materials from the structure and other places. When they bought it, a car ramp went to the second floor, and as they took it out, they reused its planks as the table tops of the booths on the second floor.
Upstairs, there are old signs from the building's previous businesses, parts of barns from Wisconsin and Skandia which create moldings and dividers, and old beer bottles for decoration and a chandelier Pernsteiner made. She also renovated the car company's garage door to act as a contemporary, aesthetic element of the brewery.
"I thought that'd be a way to make this place look cool and industrial," Pernssteiner says.
Vear plans to recycle what can be salvaged from the Delft building as well, including having a theater theme in the building on Washington Street. Helping him with this process is local contractor Mike Potts, who has renovated buildings throughout the area.
Vear and Potts worked together to renovate the Donckers building years ago in a way that, like the brewery and Vear's plans for the Delft, maintained the history of the building.
"Donckers was in pretty good shape going into it, but it was 100 years, and now with the upgrades it's good for another 100 years," Potts says. "It'll age well, gracefully."
Potts thinks renovating properties is the best option because it maintains the carbon footprint of the building. He also argues that renovation is the smarter option financially.
"The alternative would be to go tear it down and make something more complicated which would be expensive and function just as well. You're not gaining much by redoing what was there," Potts says. "We kind of do the minimum and get the maximum benefit."
Potts is renovating the
Lakeshore Bike building on Lakeshore Boulevard in Marquette. He is a part-owner of the building, and he and the other owners want to show the history of the old warehouse but make it safe, efficient and modern.
"It's got a lot of life left in it with relatively simple improvements. I'm all about saving it, even though it's kind of boring, I want to make it something besides condos," Potts says.
With the energy and ideas of business owners like Vear, Potts and Pernsteiner, Marquette is maintaining the historic quality of the buildings downtown, and at the same time, keeping up with contemporary and evolving business needs.
Lucy Hough is in the English master's program at Northern Michigan University and helps write a blog about NMU history.