MANISTIQUE, Mich. (WZMQ) – A Manistique art gallery is making upgrades to its historic building to better serve the community.
What locals now know as the Lake Effect Community Arts Center was first built in 1900. It was rebuilt in 1903 and 1906, following a series of fires.
“This building was originally a department store,” said Lake Effect Operations Manager Katie Birdsley. “It was a saloon and bottling company up until prohibition occurred. It spent time as Winkleman’s; it spent time as a tractor and supply company.”
For the next 82 years, it served as a Ford dealership. Since it became home to the arts center in 2019, the Lake Effect Board has been working to renovate the facility one room at a time. Board members recently completed work on what was formerly the maintenance area.
“Part of the charm of having an old building that used to work on cars is that beneath this is the old, oil-soaked floor,” Birdsley said. “You can see the remnants of the old pole.”
According to Birdsley, that is actually a perfect history for the space, which is now called The Classroom.
“We wanted people to feel like they could make a mess,” Birdsley explained. “We didn’t want people to worry about, ‘Is it going to stain the floor?’ It probably is, and that’s okay. We want you to be creative. We want you to enjoy and have fun. The product isn’t important; the process is. This allows them that space to process.”
The Classroom is more suitable for the center’s regular classes.
“We are looking forward to hosting our next kids class in here August 4 – 6,” said Birdsley. “We also have felted landscaping coming up, a Zentangle class, and fused glass.”
The Classroom is also creating new opportunities.
“This space allowed us to have our second artist in residence, Steve Wirtz, through an Arts Midwest grant,” Birdsley said. “He worked on our turtle with us, as well as paper mache workshops. We were recently able to host a grad party here, which was really neat to see how the space transformed. The party took over, and you could really just be in it.”
Looking to the future, Lake Effect Community Arts is developing plans for additional renovations in other rooms while still celebrating and preserving much of the building’s history.
“Throughout the process, we’ve received help from Schoolcraft Community Foundation,” Birdsley said. “They’ve given us a couple small grants to help make this space reality, and we’re really thankful for all of their help. We still have some ways to go. We still have some things to accomplish, but it’s lovely to see how it’s shaping up.”
Lake Effect Community Arts Center is located at 244 South Cedar Street. To learn about upcoming classes at the center, visit lakeeffectarts.org.
