Italian Hall | |
---|---|
General information | |
Architectural style | Romanesque Revival |
Location | Calumet, Michigan |
Coordinates | 47°14′54″N88°27′19″W / 47.2484°N 88.4554°W Coordinates: 47°14′54″N88°27′19″W / 47.2484°N 88.4554°W |
Construction started | 1908 |
Inaugurated | Columbus Day, 1908 |
Demolished | October 1984 |
Cost | $25,000 |
Client | Società Mutua Beneficenza Italiana |
Technical details | |
Floor count | 2 |
Design and construction | |
Architect | Paul Humphrey Macneil |
Main contractor | P. J. Donahue |
Formerly listed on the U.S. National Register of Historic Places | |
Location | 7th and Elm Sts. |
NRHP reference No. | 80001858 [1] |
Significant dates | |
Added to NRHP | July 23, 1980 [2] |
Designated MSHS | June 6, 1977 [3] |
Removed from NRHP | April 18, 1988 [4] |
Italian Hall was a two-story commercial and recreational building in Calumet, Michigan, built in 1908 and demolished in 1984. Two prior buildings known popularly as "Italian Hall" had stood on the site. The first floor housed commercial space with a large hall on the second floor. The building served as headquarters for the Società Mutua Beneficenza Italiana (Italian Mutual Benefit Society) and hosted community events. The hall is notorious as the site of a disaster in 1913 in which over 70 people died after a false cry of "fire" at a Christmas party. Since demolition, the site has served as a memorial park. The property is a Michigan State Historic Site and the building was formerly on the National Register of Historic Places.
Italian Hall was designed in the Romanesque Revival style. [3] It was located in the 400 block of Seventh Street between Elm and Pine Streets in Calumet. It was situated on lot 9, block 31 of the original plat, measuring 58 by 118 feet (18 by 36 m) like all others in block 31. [5] The two-story building faced east and was rectangular, about 58 by 100 feet (18 by 30 m). The walls were constructed of brick and rubble masonry. [6] The façade was divided into seven bays, [6] each with an arched window on the second floor. [7] On the main wall was a cast metal cornice, bearing the words Societa Mutua Beneficenza Italiana, supported at either end by pilasters topped with Doric capitals. [7] [8] There were three chimneys, two along the north wall and one about midway on the south. [7] The roof, supported by I-beams spanning the width of the building, [6] sloped from the front and rear to a low point about a third of the way from the rear. [7] The first and second floors both had tin ceilings. [9]
When built, the first floor consisted of two shop spaces with stock rooms and living spaces at the rear. The store fronts each had a centered, recessed entrance flanked by windows. Each shop had access to separate halves of the basement. On April 5, 1913, the northern space was let to The Great Atlantic & Pacific Tea Company and remained in that use through at least the end of the year. [10] At the time of the 1913 disaster, the southern space was occupied by a saloon owned by Dominic Vairo; the original tenants are unknown. [10] [11] At the south end of the building's front was a doorway, framed by brick pilasters, with capitals and imposts supporting an arched overdoor all made of Jacobsville Sandstone. [7] This doorway opened to a foyer with access to the saloon on its right. [12] Straight ahead was a set of double doors separating it from a 5.75-foot-wide staircase (1.75 m) that led up to an 8-by-10-foot (2.4 by 3.0 m) vestibule that opened to the hall on the second floor 38 feet (12 m) from the front of the building. [12] [13]
The hall measured 78 by 38 feet (24 by 12 m). At the rear was a 20-foot-wide (6.1 m) stage, beneath which was a kitchen and to one side was a barroom. [13] Along the southern wall was a viewing gallery overlooking the hall. [13] [14] The hall also had two fire escapes. [12] The hall was used for the society's activities and was rented out to the community; [10] six or seven organizations met regularly in Italian Hall circa 1914. [13] [15]
The two storefronts were eliminated, most likely in either 1961 or 1966, and replaced by a single entrance at the center of the first floor. [10] In the approximate center of each former storefront were irregular octagonal windows. By 1975, the cornice had been removed and the southernmost arched window boarded up. In addition, a passage had been opened between the two halves of the basement and the first floor had been remodeled several times. [7]
The benevolent society Società Mutua Beneficenza Italiana organized in 1875 and was incorporated under state law in 1889. [16] [17] The organization's hall was nearly completed when it collapsed in 1890 in heavy winds. In 1891, it was rebuilt as a large wooden building with two storefronts on the first floor and a hall on the second. This building burned down on January 1, 1908, without causing any injuries or fatalities. [16] All these prior buildings on the site have been popularly known as "Italian Hall". [8]
The most recent Italian Hall was constructed in 1908 at a cost of $25,000 to serve as the society's headquarters. [3] [10] It was designed by architect Paul Humphrey Macneil and built by P. J. Donahue as general contractor. [10] The building was dedicated on Columbus Day, 1908. The dedication speech was written by James MacNaughton, the general manager of the Calumet and Hecla Mining Company, but, due to a family death, he could not attend and it was read by someone else. [18]
In July 1913, a strike was called by the Western Federation of Miners (WFM) in the Copper Country. [10] On December 24, 1913, a Christmas party for the children of strikers was arranged by Anna Clemenc and the Women's Auxiliary of the WFM and held at Italian Hall. [10] [19] About 500 children and 175 parents were in attendance in the second-floor hall. In late afternoon, the children were lined up to receive presents when the cry of "fire" was heard. [19] Even though there was no fire, [8] they rushed down the staircase in an attempt to escape and those at the bottom suffocated under the crush of people. [6] The precise number of dead has never been fully determined, but more than seventy died, mostly children. [3] [6] [lower-alpha 1] The disaster was reported in such newspapers as The New York Times , [21] the Boston Daily Globe , [23] The Atlanta Constitution , [24] The Evening Independent of St. Petersburg, Florida, [25] and The Toronto World. [26]
No culprit was identified, [6] despite a coroner's inquest held a few days afterward [19] and a congressional investigation in 1914. [13] It is a common misconception that the disaster was caused by inward-opening doors; they in fact opened outward. [12] [27] The idea that the doors opened inward, introduced in the 1950s by Harry Benedict,[ who? ] was pervasive enough to be included on the Michigan State Historic Site marker. [28] Woody Guthrie later wrote a song about the disaster titled "1913 Massacre". [6]
After the 1913 disaster, Italian Hall remained in use for about 50 years. [3] In 1975, historian Kevin Harrington compiled a report on Italian Hall as part of the Historic American Buildings Survey, in which the building was recorded as vacant. [8] The building was designated a Michigan State Historic Site on June 6, 1977, [3] and was listed on the National Register of Historic Places on July 23, 1980. [2] In 1980, the building received threats of condemnation from the village for its unsafe condition and its owner, Helen Smith, was incapable of maintaining it. The Friends of the Italian Hall organized to preserve the building; however, they conceded it was not possible when the cost to do so was estimated at $500,000. [20] Italian Hall was demolished in October 1984. [20] [29] The Friends group proposed that a memorial be made incorporating the doorway, and it was set aside from demolition. [20] On October 1, 1987, a Michigan State Historic Site informational marker was erected on the site. [3] Italian Hall was removed from the National Register of Historic Places on April 14, 1988. [4]
The 75th anniversary of the disaster, in 1988, spurred action regarding the site. [20] In 1989, the site of the former building was made into a memorial park [30] and the doorway was re-erected on the property. [20] Volunteer labor to create the park was provided by local union members. [20] In 2004, the doorway underwent repairs which included the installation of a copper cap on the arch. [31] As of 2011 [update] , the park is owned by the village of Calumet and maintained by the Keweenaw National Historical Park (KNHP). [27]
As of 2010 [update] , the park consisted primarily of the doorway arch and a few historic markers set in the middle of the lot. The doorway is adorned with brass plaques contributed by those who donated to the effort to create the memorial. The Michigan State Historic Site marker details the 1913 disaster on one side and the building's history on the other. There was a stone marker bearing a photograph of Italian Hall. [20] In the rear, a Michigan Women's Hall of Fame marker about Anna Clemenc once stood, but it was removed at some point. [32] There are also brick paths, concrete benches, shrubbery, and a flagpole on the site. [20] There have been plans for further interpretative exhibits on the site [33] up to the addition of a museum and theater, though plans for the latter have not panned out. [20] In late 2012, Michigan Technological University students began surveying the site for archaeological remains with the intent to improve landscaping and site interpretation. [34]
As of 2010 [update] , the exterior doors from the base of the stairway are on display at the Coppertown USA Museum in Calumet. [35] As of 2012 [update] , one of the stairway's steps is displayed in the visitor center of the KNHP in Calumet. [36] Because of arguments presented in Steve Lehto's Death's Door, the MSHS marker was modified in June 2013 to omit any mention of the doors or the direction they opened; it previously claimed that the doors opened inward. [37]
In 2017, work began to add a monument at the site listing the names of the people who died in the 1913 disaster. [38] Black granite was selected for the 8.5 by 4.5 ft (2.6 by 1.4 m) monument because of its durability compared to other colors of granite or a memorial made of glass. [38] [39] [40] The monument would be located where the MSHS marker stood, so the marker was moved to a spot closer to the street. [39] [40] [41] Installation of the monument was originally planned for November 2017, [42] but brown-colored defects were found in the stone and it was rejected. A new stone was ordered, with installation expected in May 2018. [43] The memorial was in place by August 2018 [44] with a dedication ceremony on December 24, 2018 - the 105th anniversary of the disaster. [45] The stone was sourced from India [45] and lists the names and ages of the 73 who died. [46]
Calumet is a village in Calumet Township, Houghton County, in the U.S. state of Michigan's Upper Peninsula, that was once at the center of the mining industry of the Upper Peninsula. Also known as Red Jacket, the village includes the Calumet Downtown Historic District, listed on the National Register of Historic Places (NRHP). The village may itself be included within the Calumet Historic District, a larger area which is NRHP-listed and which is a National Historic Landmark District. It is bordered on the north by Calumet Township, on the south by the unincorporated towns of Newtown and Blue Jacket, on the east by Blue Jacket and Calumet Township, and on the west by Yellow Jacket and Calumet Township. The population was 726 at the 2010 census. Calumet's nickname is Copper Town U.S.A.
Calumet Charter Township is a charter township of Houghton County in the U.S. state of Michigan. The population was 6,263 at the 2020 census. Even with a decreasing population, the township remains the largest township by population in Houghton County.
The Italian Hall Disaster was a tragedy that occurred on Wednesday, December 24, 1913, in Calumet, Michigan, United States. Seventy-three men, women, and children – mostly striking mine workers and their families – were crushed to death in a stampede when someone falsely shouted "fire" at a crowded Christmas party.
The John Fitzgerald Kennedy Memorial is a monument to United States President John Fitzgerald Kennedy in the West End Historic District of downtown Dallas, Texas (USA) erected in 1970, and designed by noted architect Philip Johnson.
Keweenaw National Historical Park is a unit of the U.S. National Park Service. Established in 1992, the park celebrates the life and history of the Keweenaw Peninsula in the Upper Peninsula of the U.S. state of Michigan. As of 2009, it is a partly privatized park made up of two primary units, the Calumet Unit and the Quincy Unit, and 21 cooperating "Heritage Sites" located on federal, state, and privately owned land in and around the Keweenaw Peninsula. The National Park Service owns approximately 1,700 acres (690 ha) in the Calumet and Quincy Units. Units are located in Baraga, Houghton, Keweenaw, and Ontonagon counties.
The Calumet Theatre is a historic theatre located at 340 Sixth Street in the town of Calumet, Michigan. It is also known as the Calumet Opera House or the Calumet Civic Auditorium. It is integral to, but a separate unit of, the Calumet municipal building. The structure was designated a Michigan State Historic Site in 1971 and added to the National Register of Historic Places in 1971. It is one of the 21 Heritage Sites which partners with the Keweenaw National Historical Park. The theatre was the original home of The Red Jacket Jamboree, an old-time radio variety show.
This is a list of the National Register of Historic Places listings in Houghton County, Michigan.
The A.E. Seaman Mineral Museum, currently located on the campus of Michigan Technological University in Houghton, Michigan, is the official mineral museum of the state of Michigan and is a heritage site of the Keweenaw National Historical Park. The museum is named for professor Arthur Edmund Seaman, who worked at Michigan Tech in the late 19th and early 20th centuries, and was the museum's curator from 1928 until 1937.
The Calumet and Hecla Mining Company was a major copper-mining company based within Michigan's Copper Country. In the 19th century, the company paid out more than $72 million in shareholder dividends, more than any other mining company in the United States during that period.
James MacNaughton, also variously known as "the King of Houghton County", the "Czar of the Copper Country" or simply "Big Jim" was an American business executive. He was general manager and the third president of the Calumet and Hecla Mining Company, including during the Copper Country Strike of 1913–1914.
The Copper Country strike of 1913–1914 was a major strike affecting all copper mines in the Copper Country of Michigan. The strike, organized by the Western Federation of Miners, was the first unionized strike within the Copper Country. It was called to achieve goals of shorter work days, higher wages, union recognition, and to maintain family mining groups. The strike lasted just over nine months, including the Italian Hall disaster on Christmas Eve, and ended with the union being effectively driven out of the Keweenaw Peninsula. While unsuccessful, the strike is considered a turning point in the history of the Copper Country.
The Calumet Downtown Historic District is a historic district located in Calumet, Michigan, on 5th Street and 6th Street, between Scott Street and Pine Street. It is also known as the Red Jacket Downtown Historic District, reflecting the original name of the village. The Historic District is completely contained in the Calumet Historic District and the Keweenaw National Historical Park. It was designated a Michigan State Historic Site in 1973 and listed on the National Register of Historic Places in 1974. Much of the 100 block of 5th street was destroyed in a fire that took place on May 22, 2021
The Calumet Historic District is a National Historic Landmark District that encompasses most of the village of Calumet, Michigan. The district was designated in 1989 for the community's importance in the history of the region's copper mining industry.
The Calumet and Hecla Industrial District is a historic district located in Calumet, Michigan and roughly bounded by Hecla & Torch Lake Railroad tracks, Calumet Avenue, Mine and Depot Streets. The district contains structures associated with the copper mines worked by the Calumet and Hecla Mining Company, located along a line above the copper lode, where railroad tracks connected separate mine heads. The Historic District is completely contained in the Calumet Historic District and the Keweenaw National Historical Park. It was designated a Michigan State Historic Site in 1973 and was listed on the National Register of Historic Places in 1974.
The Calumet Fire Station is a firehouse located on 6th Street in Calumet, Michigan. It is also known as the Red Jacket Fire Station. The building was designated a Michigan State Historic Site in 1971 and listed on the National Register of Historic Places in 1974, and is part of the Calumet Historic District and the Keweenaw National Historical Park. The building now houses the Upper Peninsula Fire Fighters Memorial Museum.
The Quincy Smelter, also known as the Quincy Smelting Works, is a former copper smelter located on the north side of the Keweenaw Waterway in Ripley, Michigan. It is a contributing property of the Quincy Mining Company Historic District, a National Historic Landmark District. The smelter was built in 1898 by the Quincy Mining Company, operating from 1898 to 1931 and again from 1948 to 1971. The smelter was part of a Superfund site from 1986 to 2013.
The Osceola Mine was a copper mine consisting of 11 shafts located in Osceola Township, Houghton County, Michigan. In 1895, it was the site of the deadliest mine disaster in the Copper Country.
The Scott Hotel is a former hotel located at 101 East Quincy Street in Hancock, Michigan, originally known as the Hotel Scott. As of 2009, it is also known as the Scott Building. The five-story building is in the Renaissance Revival style, constructed of tan brick and trimmed with Lake Superior Sandstone. The building is listed as a Michigan State Historic Site and is a contributing property of the Quincy Street Historic District.
Anna "Big Annie" Klobuchar Clemenc was an American labor activist. Born in Calumet, Michigan, she founded and served as president of the local Women's Auxiliary No. 15 of the Western Federation of Miners and was an active participant in the Copper Country Strike of 1913–1914. She is an inducted member of the Michigan Women's Hall of Fame.
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