Lost In Michigan
  • HOME
  • Books
  • the Images
  • The Artist
  • The Journey

Category Archives: castles

The Beer Castle In Marquette

Posted on November 22, 2023 by Mike Sonnenberg Posted in castles, upper peninsula .

upper penisula brewing castle s

This castle like office building is located at the intersection of Meeske Street and US 41 in Marquette, Michigan.  Built in the 1890s, the structure served as the home and office of brewer Charles Meeske, secretary-treasurer and later president of the Upper Peninsula Brewing Company. The building originally had a tunnel leading to the brewery, allowing Meeske to ignore a law prohibiting a person from entering a brewery after sundown.

In the 1890s, Meeske built a bottling plant with a complex of sandstone buildings, constructed to resemble small castles which included warehouses, residences, a tower, and a bottling plant. In 1895, the brewery had a production capacity of between 20,000 and 25,000 barrels per year, sold under the name of Drei Kaiser (Three Kings) beer. With the onset of World War I in 1913, the name was changed to “Castle Brew.”

Local prohibition groups pressured Marquette County to enact dry ordinances in 1916, four years before the beginning of country-wide Prohibition. When these ordinances were passed, the Upper Peninsula Brewing Company ended its beer production and went out of business,and Meeske moved to Duluth, Minnesota.

After the Upper Peninsula Brewing Company folded most of the buildings were eventually abandoned and fell into disrepair. Meeske’s office building was more heavily utilized, serving as a rock shop, a law firm, and an antique shop. In 1974 and 1975 most of the buildings were demolished saving only the office building. In 1982 the structure was purchased by Humboldt Ridge and restored. The building is currently home to the Marquette law firm Pence & Numinen, P.C.

A new brewery with the name Upper Peninsula Brewing Company now operates in the nearby town of Negaunee.  

Thank you for Subscribing to Lost In Michigan, If you have not subscribed yet, It would mean a lot to me if you did.

enter your email address, I promise I won't send you any spam, it's just an automated email that lets you know there is a new post to read

Leave a comment .

The Grand Rapids Castle

Posted on February 14, 2023 by Mike Sonnenberg Posted in castles, Houses .

This grand old castle in Grand Rapids was designed by local architect William G. Robinson, this castle-like edifice was constructed in 1884-86 for Colonel E. Crofton Fox and his brother Charles. Built of granite block imported from Scotland, this house is a fine example of Chateauesque Style architecture. A Heritage Hill landmark, this house features leaded and stained glass windows, and a metal stair dormer superbly crafted to resemble stone. Its interior is adorned with parquet flooring in the entry hall and a carved oak staircase. It was refurbished as a restaurant in 1978 and last time I saw it the old house was being used as a dentist office.

Thank you for Subscribing to Lost In Michigan, If you have not subscribed yet, It would mean a lot to me if you did.

enter your email address, I promise I won't send you any spam, it's just an automated email that lets you know there is a new post to read

 

 

Leave a comment .

Curwood Castle

Posted on April 26, 2022 by Mike Sonnenberg Posted in castles .

James Oliver Curwood was born in Owosso on June 12, 1878, and lived there most of his life. Writing and love of nature were his boyhood interests, and by 1908 Curwood was earning his living as a novelist. Most of his stories were adventure tales set in the Canadian north, where the author spent much of his time. During the 1920s his books were among the most popular in North America, and many were made into movies. The castle, built in 1922, was his writing studio, and a number of his later works were composed in the tower, overlooking the Shiawassee River. Curwood became a zealous conservationist, and in 1926 he was appointed to the Michigan Conservation Commission. He died at his nearby home on Williams Street on August 13, 1927.

The castle was given to the City of Owosso after Curwood died. It has served in various capacities over the years and is now a museum operated by the city, and is open to the public.

Thank you for Subscribing to Lost In Michigan, If you have not subscribed yet, It would mean a lot to me if you did. 

enter your email address, I promise I won't send you any spam, it's just an automated email that lets you know there is a new post to read

Leave a comment .

Penniman Castle

Posted on January 30, 2021 by Mike Sonnenberg Posted in castles, Houses .

This grand old castle made of fieldstone stands in a quiet neighborhood in Battle Creek. Known as Penniman Castle it was completed in 1906 to resemble a medieval castle with 4 towers at each corner and a great hall in the middle. The house originally had a 3rd floor, but it was destroyed by fire in 1941 and never rebuilt.

penniman castle

Postcard showing what the home originally looked like before the upper floor was destroyed by fire.

Built by Dentist John Penniman and constructed with one-foot thick walls the home was one of the costliest built in southwest Michigan at the time. The house with its octagon towers took almost 6 years to build. The interior is trimmed with ornately carved quarter-sawn oak including the garderobe ( a fancy term for a privy or latrine in a castle ). The castle has seventeen rooms, four of which are bedrooms. The house was added to the national register of historic places in 2001.

Lost In Michigan books are ON SALE this weekend on Amazon HERE

Thank you for Subscribing to Lost In Michigan, If you have not subscribed yet, It would mean a lot to me if you did. 

enter your email address, I promise I won't send you any spam, it's just an automated email that lets you know there is a new post to read

 

Leave a comment .

The Michigan Castle and Free E-books

Posted on March 30, 2020 by Mike Sonnenberg Posted in castles .

This French Norman chateau-style castle stands along the riverbank of the Shiawassee River in Owosso. It was built by James Oliver Curwood one of the country’s best selling authors at the turn of the century. The early 1900s, not Y2K. He wrote several books with many of them based on life in the remote northern wilderness. His final book was inspired by the sawmill town of Damon near West Branch. ( you can see my post about it HERE)  His books have been out of print for years and because they are old enough, they are no longer protected by copyright laws and in the public domain.  You can download them and several other books for free from the  Gutenburg Project at Gutenberg.org.

James Oliver Curwood books can be downloaded HERE and you can find the most popular downloaded books HERE They are available in pdf and epub along with many other popular file formats.

If you are looking for something to read with the library and book stores closed this is an option. Most of the books are older books but many are popular are literary classics. It’s interesting looking at the list, I think almost all of them have been made into movies. probably because the studios did not have to pay the author for use of their work.

If you enjoy reading books and Michigan be sure to check out the Lost In Michigan books available on my website HERE

Thank you for Subscribing to Lost In Michigan, If you have not subscribed yet, It would mean a lot to me if you did. 

enter your email address, I promise I won't send you any spam, it's just an automated email that lets you know there is a new post to read

Leave a comment .

Frontier Castle

Posted on November 18, 2019 by Mike Sonnenberg Posted in castles .

In the heart of downtown Saginaw is a century-old castle. William M. Aiken designed this stately “French chateau” castle and the corner towers represented the defensive feature of frontier life. It was built for the post office and opened in 1898. At the time the post office was trying to build buildings that reflected the city they were constructed in. This is one of the few extravagant buildings the post office built probably after the cost of such buildings was unnecessary.

The post office outgrew the building and built a new one in the 1960s. Believe it or not this magnificent building faced demolition a few times but was saved and turned into a museum for the Saginaw County Historical Society.

If you live in Saginaw I will be giving a presentation on Tuesday, November 19th at 7:00 pm at the Zauel Memorial Library on Center Rd. If you are in the area I hope you will come out and listen to my story.

Thank you for Subscribing to Lost In Michigan, If you have not subscribed yet, It would mean a lot to me if you did. 

enter your email address, I
promise I won't send you any spam, it's just an automated email that
lets you know there is a new post to read

Leave a comment .

Michigan’s Stone House

Posted on October 26, 2019 by Mike Sonnenberg Posted in castles, Houses .

Michigan has a lot of unique old houses but among the houses in Lexington Heights is this ornate one of a kind stone house. It was built in the 1930s by Valentine Falzon, a stonemason from Malta, using the stones and sand from nearby Lake Huron. You can learn more about the house on their website HERE

Lost In Michigan books are ON SALE this weekend on Amazon HERE

Thank you for Subscribing to Lost In Michigan, If you have not subscribed yet, It would mean a lot to me if you did. 

enter your email address, I promise I won't send you any spam, it's just an automated email that lets you know there is a new post to read

Leave a comment .

A Miracle at Peterboro and Park

Posted on August 7, 2019 by Mike Sonnenberg Posted in castles, Detroit .

In Midtown Detroit on the corner of Peterboro And Park is the old James Scott mansion. The transformation that has occurred is nothing short of miraculous. It was not divine intervention that restored this historic old building, but good old fashioned hard work and money. If you want to see what it looked like before check out my post about it a couple of years ago HERE

Lost In Michigan books are ON SALE this weekend on Amazon HERE

Thank you for Subscribing to Lost In Michigan, If you have not subscribed yet, It would mean a lot to me if you did. 

enter your email address, I promise I won't send you any spam, it's just an automated email that lets you know there is a new post to read

Leave a comment .

Michigan’s Hidden Castle

Posted on April 29, 2019 by Mike Sonnenberg Posted in castles .

Hidden away in a private community known as the Canadian Lakes is a marvelous concrete castle. In 1974, Developer Donald Bollman purchased swampy farmland between Mount Plesant and Big Rapids. He converted the area into a private community with lakes, golf courses and tennis courts for the residents and their guests to enjoy. He built this castle on one of three golf courses in the community. The lower floor serves as a banquet center and the upper floor was used as a residence for the Bollman family. After Donald died the family sold the castle to the Canadian Lakes Property Owners Corp.  The castle is known as the Highland Castle for the name of the golf course which is located next to it. The castle is used for weddings and private functions for residents of the community.

Lost In Michigan books are ON SALE this week you can order them  HERE 

Thank you for subscribing to email notifications so you won’t miss any new posts.

enter your email for updates on new posts

[fbcomments]

 

A Cold Michigan Day, A Castle and a Book

Posted on January 4, 2018 by Mike Sonnenberg Posted in castles, Winter Wonderland .

If you have followed Lost In Michigan for a while you have probably seen photos of Curwood Castle in Owosso. It was the writing studio of James Oliver Curwood. He was a very successful author in the early 1900’s. Reading a good book is something I like to do on a cold winter day ( shameless plug for my book HERE) and I thought I would read one of his books. I went to my local library to find out they did not have any of his books on the shelves. I went on google and found there are several of his books that can be downloaded for free. They were published so long ago that they have fallen into the Public Domain. You can download Curwood’s books on Gutenberg.org HERE I am currently reading The Flaming Forest by Curwood and it’s an excellent book.

P.S. if your wondering Gutenberg invented the printing press and there is where Gutenberg.org gets its name from. they have many classic books available for download for free.

Subscribe to Lost In Michigan for post updates and you could win a Lost In Michigan book. CLICK HERE for info

If you like what I post it would really mean a lot to me if  you will subscribe to email updates so you won’t miss any new posts, 

enter your email for updates on new posts I promise I won't send you a bunch of spam, it's just an email to let you know there is a new post to read.

[fbcomments]

Next Page »

Subscribe to Blog

Enter your Email to receive new posts notifications

Categories

  • Artesian Springs
  • autumn
  • Barns and Farms
  • Bars and Restaurants
  • Benchmarks
  • Bridges
  • calendars
  • castles
  • Cemetery
  • Churches
  • cities
  • courthouses
  • Dam
  • Detroit
  • Fire Houses
  • Forgotten Places
  • General Store
  • Ghost Murals
  • Ghost towns
  • Giveaways
  • Grain Elevators
  • Haunted Places
  • Historic Places
  • Houses
  • Iconic Buildings
  • island
  • Landscapes
  • Library
  • Lighthouses
  • Memorials
  • Michigan Historical Markers
  • Michigan State Parks
  • Mills
  • Murders
  • Nature
  • Parks
  • people
  • Photography Tips
  • presentations
  • Restaurants
  • Schools
  • Ships and Boats
  • Sleeping Bear Dunes
  • small towns
  • SP March Madness
  • State Parks
  • Thumb
  • Train Depots
  • Uncategorized
  • upper peninsula
  • Water Tower
  • Waterfalls
  • Winter Wonderland

Archives

Pages

  • Books
  • Cart
  • Checkout
  • My Account
  • Shopping Cart
  • Store
  • the Images
  • The Journey
  • The Artist

Archives

  • June 2025
  • May 2025
  • April 2025
  • March 2025
  • February 2025
  • January 2025
  • December 2024
  • November 2024
  • October 2024
  • September 2024
  • August 2024
  • July 2024
  • June 2024
  • May 2024
  • April 2024
  • March 2024
  • February 2024
  • January 2024
  • December 2023
  • November 2023
  • October 2023
  • September 2023
  • August 2023
  • July 2023
  • June 2023
  • May 2023
  • April 2023
  • March 2023
  • February 2023
  • January 2023
  • December 2022
  • November 2022
  • October 2022
  • September 2022
  • August 2022
  • July 2022
  • June 2022
  • May 2022
  • April 2022
  • March 2022
  • February 2022
  • January 2022
  • December 2021
  • November 2021
  • October 2021
  • September 2021
  • August 2021
  • July 2021
  • June 2021
  • May 2021
  • April 2021
  • March 2021
  • February 2021
  • January 2021
  • December 2020
  • November 2020
  • October 2020
  • September 2020
  • August 2020
  • July 2020
  • June 2020
  • May 2020
  • April 2020
  • March 2020
  • February 2020
  • January 2020
  • December 2019
  • November 2019
  • October 2019
  • September 2019
  • August 2019
  • July 2019
  • June 2019
  • May 2019
  • April 2019
  • March 2019
  • February 2019
  • January 2019
  • December 2018
  • November 2018
  • October 2018
  • September 2018
  • August 2018
  • July 2018
  • June 2018
  • May 2018
  • April 2018
  • March 2018
  • February 2018
  • January 2018
  • December 2017
  • November 2017
  • October 2017
  • September 2017
  • August 2017
  • July 2017
  • June 2017
  • May 2017
  • April 2017
  • March 2017
  • February 2017
  • January 2017
  • December 2016
  • November 2016
  • October 2016
  • September 2016
  • August 2016
  • July 2016
  • June 2016
  • May 2016
  • April 2016
  • March 2016
  • February 2016
  • January 2016
  • December 2015
  • November 2015
  • October 2015
  • September 2015
  • August 2015
  • July 2015
  • June 2015
  • May 2015
  • April 2015
  • March 2015
  • February 2015
  • January 2015
  • November 2014
  • October 2014
  • September 2014
  • August 2014
  • July 2014
  • June 2014
  • May 2014
  • April 2014
  • March 2014
  • February 2014
  • January 2014
  • November 2013
  • October 2013
  • September 2013
  • August 2013
  • July 2013

Categories

  • Artesian Springs (8)
  • autumn (79)
  • Barns and Farms (103)
  • Bars and Restaurants (5)
  • Benchmarks (2)
  • Bridges (29)
  • calendars (12)
  • castles (11)
  • Cemetery (78)
  • Churches (131)
  • cities (7)
  • courthouses (28)
  • Dam (17)
  • Detroit (25)
  • Fire Houses (26)
  • Forgotten Places (245)
  • General Store (28)
  • Ghost Murals (3)
  • Ghost towns (76)
  • Giveaways (21)
  • Grain Elevators (38)
  • Haunted Places (73)
  • Historic Places (139)
  • Houses (271)
  • Iconic Buildings (46)
  • island (1)
  • Landscapes (10)
  • Library (28)
  • Lighthouses (122)
  • Memorials (2)
  • Michigan Historical Markers (78)
  • Michigan State Parks (23)
  • Mills (5)
  • Murders (15)
  • Nature (35)
  • Parks (26)
  • people (47)
  • Photography Tips (5)
  • presentations (12)
  • Restaurants (12)
  • Schools (108)
  • Ships and Boats (28)
  • Sleeping Bear Dunes (6)
  • small towns (101)
  • SP March Madness (5)
  • State Parks (15)
  • Thumb (89)
  • Train Depots (70)
  • Uncategorized (169)
  • upper peninsula (244)
  • Water Tower (11)
  • Waterfalls (38)
  • Winter Wonderland (25)

WordPress

  • Log in
  • WordPress

CyberChimps WordPress Themes

© Lost In Michigan