The City of Houghton, population 7,500, was established during the nation's first mining boom in the 1840s. It lies along the south bank of Portage Lake, an inlet off of Lake Superior's Keweenaw Bay on Michigan's remote Keweenaw Peninsula, the northernmost part of the state's Upper Peninsula. By 1865 the City of Houghton had developed out of the economic prosperity and thriving shipping port that had grown up around the rich mining district. Low copper prices and the prohibitive cost of operating deep underground mines forced the gradual decline and closure of the mining industry in the early part of the twentieth century. The entire region suffered, and the population of Houghton decreased by 51% between 1920 and 1970. When the City began to consider revitalizing the waterfront in 1982, its shorelines were completely derelict and abandoned. Of the docks that had once served boats shipping copper ore, only the pilings remained; and, the public had little access to the water.
The City today has an economy centered around the provision of services to Michigan Technical University, and to visitors who travel to the Keweenaw Peninsula for naturalist and recreation opportunities. A formerly derelict, polluted industrial waterfront has been publicly acquired, linked to a revitalized historic Central Business district, and opened up to recreational and open space uses. Houghton's attention is once again directed to the water.
The City of Houghton found it had to focus on its historic urban fabric and proximity to the recreational opportunities of the scenic Keweenaw Peninsula in order to survive. This new focus provided the basis for an economic revitalization program. Houghton has invested in incremental capital improvements along the water, including upgrades to its sewer and transportation network, and its central business district to try to achieve that goal.
The City's priority has been acquisition and cleanup of abandoned industrial parcels along its waterfront. Although the city has received some small matching grants from state agencies and other sources, it has primarily funded its projects through local funds in its Capital Improvement Budget.
Michigan Technical University occupied the eastern portion of the waterfront between the historic central business district and industrial properties abutting wetland areas along the Lake Superior shoreline. The downtown business district is located between Main Street to the North, Franklin to the East, Montezuma to the South, and Bridge to the West. Houghton's Central Business District abuts the central portion of the waterfront, extending roughly eight to ten blocks along the river. A significant amount of general commercial activity that was formerly located in the CBD has relocated away from the waterfront to highway strip developments along Rte. 26 to the southwest of the city.
At the east end of the city a large area of lakeshore had been filled with "stamp sand", the residue of stamp mills (a mechanical ore-crushing and concentrating process). These Isle Royale Sands were undergoing haphazard development.
The City of Houghton was established during the nation's first mining boom in the 1840s. Douglas Houghton, the city's namesake and the state of Michigan's first geologist, documented the rich copper deposits of the Keweenaw Peninsula. By 1865 the City of Houghton had developed out of the economic prosperity and thriving shipping port that had grown up around the rich mining district. Low copper prices and the prohibitive cost of operating deep underground mines forced the gradual decline and closure of the mining industry in the early part of the twentieth century. The entire region suffered, and the population of Houghton decreased by 51% between 1920 and 1970.
After this economic catastrophe the City of Houghton found it had to focus on its historic urban fabric and proximity to the recreational opportunities of the scenic Keweenaw Peninsula. All mainland visitors driving across the Keweenaw Waterway to the Peninsular must use the Portage Lake Lift Bridge and pass through Houghton's downtown. This new focus provided the basis for an economic revitalization program.
Keweenaw National Historical Park, was established on October 27, 1992 to commemorate the history and importance of copper mining to the Keweenaw Peninsula of Michigan. The Keweenaw contains the only place in the world where commercially abundant quantities of pure, native copper occurred in the Western Hemisphere. There are about 1,700 acres within the two sections of the park. Much of that area is, and will remain, in private ownership. The Park is unusual in that, rather than purchasing all the land within its boundary, it will own only limited areas where it will preserve key structures and sites and conduct interpretive activities. Preservation assistance grants, requiring a match of four other dollars for each federal dollar, will be available to private property owners within the boundaries to encourage them to preserve significant structures, buildings and sites.
The two most significant employment sectors in the City of Houghton are tourism and the Michigan Technological University. Since the 1970s, the Keweenaw Peninsula has developed into a four-season recreation destination. Surrounded by water, and with numerous inland lakes and streams, the peninsula provides some of the finest outdoor recreation in the Midwest. An annual average of snowfall of 180 inches makes this area a focal point for winter sports, including downhill and cross-country skiing. Snowmobiles can travel from the tip of the Keweenaw Peninsula to Wisconsin and Minnesota.
The City of Houghton has developed programs to encourage recreational opportunities for residents and visitors and has assisted privately developed tourist related enterprises. Its improvements to public facilities, such as the Portage Lake waterfront, attract more tourists every year and generate continued local support for revitalization programs.
Houghton is a "college town," with approximately 6,300 students attending Michigan Technical University. Houghton has benefited greatly from its close relationship to MTU, which is becoming recognized for its strengths in engineering, science, and business. Houghton's initial planning process coincided with increased enrollment and expansion of facilities at the University. The City recognizes MTU's role in its economic future. Services catering to the University and its students provide a solid economic base that complements the City's tourist industry.
Comprehensive/Incremental
The revitalization of the City's waterfront has been a planned, incremental process. In the late 1960s, the City of Houghton, like other communities in the region was suffering from the loss of its economic base. With a deteriorating infrastructure in need of improvements, the city participated in the HUD 701 planning program. A citywide comprehensive plan was prepared and adopted. The City envisioned a dramatic land use change for its former industrial and transportation-related waterfront to a new focus on public access and recreation. Houghton has focused on incremental capital improvements along the water, including upgrades to its sewer and transportation network, and central business district.
The City's first waterfront project was initiated in 1982 by the City Manager. Houghton applied for, and received, a CZM planning grant which it used to develop 500 feet of broadside deep moorage along the shoreline at the foot of the bridge crossing Portage Lake adjacent to the historic CBD. This successful demonstration project was extremely popular and impressed Houghton residents, and reportedly opened peoples' eyes to the potential of the waterfront. A more comprehensive vision for the waterfront was developed after generating support in the community through the demonstration project.
ConsultantsSixteen years later, in 1998, the same consultant was retained to undertake the Downtown Waterfront Development Plan, a detailed urban design plan for improving downtown's connections to its waterfront and guiding development and redevelopment in specific areas of the waterfront and downtown.
LeadershipThe city has received several small State CZM Grants. Reportedly the city has received approximately $7,500 matching grants for several years from the Michigan CZM agency. The city has also received assistance from the State Recreation Board Program in its efforts to develop a beach area, and with boardwalk construction. City public works employees were used for much of the park construction.
A $800,000 grant from Michigan Dept. of Transportation in 1986 was used to acquire land in the west end for Lake Avenue road improvements.
Judicious sale of City waterfront land east of downtown for private development - a motel and private housing - has paid for roadway improvements, utilities, a boardwalk and moorage. In the case of the "Super 8 Motel" site, the City retained a 500 foot long, 30 foot wide strip along the lake for public access and moorage.
Other Assistance
The 1982 Waterfront Development Plan called for establishing a string of seven day-use parks along the city's waterfront, connected by a bike trail.
Other planned improvements included, from west to east:
Tools
The City acquired a public easement through waterfront property owned the Michigan Technical University. The City also encouraged the University to adopt a waterfront focus when developing, and redeveloping university facilities. The University, in the past, had a weak relationship with the waterfront, and reportedly closed off students' access to the shoreline.
Approximately 95% of the waterfront has been acquired by the City of Houghton and developed into parks and a linear boardwalk along the river. The Raymond C. Kestner Waterfront Park anchors one end of the improved riverfront with a children's playground, concert shell, beach and RV park. A daylighted, restored stream runs through the park to empty into the Portage Lake. The Nara Nature Park, with its own nature trail, anchors the other end of a 4.5 mile waterfront trail.
Bridgeview Park at the west end of the CBD also provides, through interpretive panels, a view back in time to the economic heyday of copper mining and lake ore port activity. Between these two parks lies linear public access, in part an over-water boardwalk, complete with picnic tables and fishing piers, and in part a jogging/biking trail alongside the park access road.
East of Bridgeview Park, along the downtown waterfront, the waterfront trail and boardwalk diverge, then run parallel to each other along a 2-block long municipal parking structure. The boardwalk ends just short of the Upper Peninsular Power Company’s (UPP) headquarters building–a major public/private joint venture between UPP and the City of Houghton (discussed below)–but the 4.5 mile trail continues along an abandoned RR right-of-way to the City limits and the Nara Nature Park. Connecting the waterfront to the CBD is a "lidded" street that provide safe winter vehicular access across steeply-rising urban terrain.
Downtown, the Soo Line historic RR depot has been adapted for reuse as a visitor information center and parking.
Private Development
On the opposite side of Lake Avenue from the Houghton Waterfront Park boardwalk and jogging trail, upscale single family housing has been developed without compromising the linear public space on the water side of the street. This development was built just as envisioned in the 1982 waterfront plan.
An historic brick railroad depot at the west end of downtown has been restored privately and adapted for use as a medical clinic.
A Super 8 motel has been developed on former City property at the east end of the downtown waterfront, which also preserves linear public access along the lake. Private housing, built on parcels sold by the city, terminates publicly accessible shoreline east of the Super 8 motel. This same land use continues on to Isle Royale Sands, where it is buffered by wetlands and nature trails at Pilgrim River.
Expansion and enhancement projects at the Michigan Technical University have been built with greater sensitivity and orientation to the shore of Portage Lake. This new orientation, along with a shoreline access easement, has complemented the City's development projects.
Public/Private Joint Ventures
Formerly a fruit warehouse, the Upper Peninsular Power building has been adaptively redeveloped as office space. This historic structure was purchased by the City for $100,000 and resold to UPP at cost. UPP invested $5 million in its redevelopment and, before being bought out by Wisconsin Power, located 120 of its employees there. The City provided all-weather access to the building via a covered sky bridge from the covered municipal parking garage one block south.
Activities and Events
Social/Cultural
A formerly derelict, polluted industrial waterfront has been publicly acquired, linked to a revitalized historic Central Business district, and opened up to recreational and open space uses. Houghton's attention is once again directed to the water.
Awards
"While the continuous length of the city owned waterfront… is a terrific asset to Houghton…it is an underutilized resource that has not yet reached its potential for attracting public use and development efforts… (D)owntown still turns its back to the water where it should be strengthening views and connections to the lake…" UP Engineers and Architects, (1998) p.13.
This is a common complaint in formerly industrial waterfront communities whose CBDs shunned the noise and grime of the working harbor. The presence of large covered parking structures between the downtown core and Portage Lake, while convenient to commuters and shoppers, will make it difficult to overcome this challenge. The City of Houghton, nonetheless, is making substantial progress in implementing improvements called for in the 1998 plan, in particular completion of Bridgeview Park in 2001.
Funding Source Summary
Keweenaw Peninsula Chamber of Commerce, Community Profile: Keweenaw Peninsula Michigan. 1998.
UP Engineers and Architectural Associates, and John Roger Johansen, Architect. Waterfront Development Plan City of Houghton, Michigan. 1982
UP Engineers and Architects, Downtown Waterfront Development Plan, 1998
City of Houghton Home Page: http://www.cityofhoughton.com
Keweenaw Chamber of Commerce Home Page:http://www.portup.com/houghton
Contacts
Scott MacInnes, City Manager, City of Houghton, Michigan.