Lake Orion Historic District

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Lake Orion Historic District
Historic District and Car.jpg
Broadway and Flint, looking south
Location Roughly bounded by Elizabeth St., Hauxwell Dr., Front St., and Lapeer St., Lake Orion, Michigan
Coordinates 42°47′10″N83°14′19″W / 42.78611°N 83.23861°W / 42.78611; -83.23861 (Lake Orion Historic District) Coordinates: 42°47′10″N83°14′19″W / 42.78611°N 83.23861°W / 42.78611; -83.23861 (Lake Orion Historic District)
Area 57.1 acres (23.1 ha)
Built 1829 (1829)
Architectural style Greek Revival, Queen Anne, et al.
NRHP reference # 06000722 [1]
Added to NRHP August 23, 2006

Lake Orion Historic District is a commercial and residential historic district located in Lake Orion, Michigan and roughly bounded by Elizabeth Street, Hauxwell Drive, Front Street, and Lapeer Street. It was listed on the National Register of Historic Places in 2006. [1]

Lake Orion, Michigan Village in Michigan, United States

Lake Orion is a village in the north side outskirts of Metro Detroit in Oakland County, Michigan, United States. The population was 2,973 at the 2010 census. "Lake Orion" is often used to describe both the village and the much larger Orion Township, of which the village is a part.

National Register of Historic Places federal list of historic sites in the United States

The National Register of Historic Places (NRHP) is the United States federal government's official list of districts, sites, buildings, structures, and objects deemed worthy of preservation for their historical significance. A property listed in the National Register, or located within a National Register Historic District, may qualify for tax incentives derived from the total value of expenses incurred preserving the property.

Contents

History

Lake Orion was first settled in the 1820s, and a number of mills were in place along Paint Creek. The mills flourished, attracting more settlers, and the village of Orion was platted in 1838. The first general store was opened that year, and a second added in 1843. By 1857, there were nearly two dozen businesses in the settlement. Orion was incorporated as a village in 1859, but a devastating 1862 fire that destroyed the business district caused the charter to be repealed. The downtown was quickly rebuilt, and the village reincorporated in 1869. [2]

In 1872, the Detroit & Bay City Railroad was completed through Orion. This stimulated local businesses and gave an outlet to the local agricultural market, with Orion as a primary shipping hub. It also gave visitors from Detroit easy access to Lake Orion, setting up the area as a resort hub. Lake Orion became one of the most popular resorts in southeastern Michigan. In addition to the 1862 fire, fires in 1874, 1894, 1901, and 1902 destroyed buildings in Lake Orion's downtown, resulting in infill of newer buildings. While the commercial section of the village grew, the residential section did also, but without the disastrous fires, resulting in a full range of houses existing, dating from the 1840s through the 1950s. [2]

Detroit Largest city in Michigan

Detroit is the largest and most populous city in the U.S. state of Michigan, the largest United States city on the United States–Canada border, and the seat of Wayne County. The municipality of Detroit had a 2017 estimated population of 673,104, making it the 23rd-most populous city in the United States. The metropolitan area, known as Metro Detroit, is home to 4.3 million people, making it the second-largest in the Midwest after the Chicago metropolitan area. Regarded as a major cultural center, Detroit is known for its contributions to music and as a repository for art, architecture and design.

At the onset of the twentieth century, the rise of the automobile contributed to a tremendous growth in Oakland County and in Lake Orion. Although the newest parts of the residential section of Lake Orion are not included in the historic district, the growth and mobility did change the village. The resort community declined in the twentieth century, and the new alignment of M-24 to bypass the downtown meant fewer shoppers for the village's commercial core. Orion began to change to a suburban community, but with an intact historic core. [2]

Description

The Lake Orion Historic District includes about twenty-six blocks in the historic core of Lake Orion surrounding the intersection of Broadway and Flint Street, which was historically the commercial center of the village. The historic district includes a total of 280 properties, of which 218 contribute to the historic nature of the district. The commercial portion of the district generally contains brick one- or two-story buildings, spanning Commercial Italianate, Romanesque Revival, Moderne, Commercial Brick styles. At the edges of the commercial district, a number of formerly residential buildings have been converted to commercial uses. The surrounding residential area of the district consists primarily of wood frame houses built between the mid-nineteenth century and the mid-twentieth century. The oldest homes in the historic district are evenly dispersed throughout the area, with most early residents owning multiple lots surrounding their homes. As the village grew, newer homes began to fill in the lots between the original homes, with the result that many architectural styles are intermixed. [2]

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