The Quincy Street Historic District is a historic district located along the 100, 200, and 300 blocks of Quincy Street, along with 416 Tezcuco Street, in Hancock, Michigan

Hancock, Michigan

Hancock is a city in Houghton County; the northernmost in the U.S. state of Michigan, located on the Keweenaw Peninsula, or, depending on terminology, Copper Island. The population was 4,634 at the 2010 census...

. The Hancock Town Hall and Fire Hall

Hancock Town Hall and Fire Hall

The Hancock Town Hall and Fire Hall is a public building located at 399 Quincy Street in the Quincy Street Historic District in Hancock, Michigan. It is also known as the Hancock City Hall...

 is located in the district. The district was listed on the National Register of Historic Places

National Register of Historic Places

The National Register of Historic Places is the United States government's official list of districts, sites, buildings, structures, and objects deemed worthy of preservation...

 in 1988.

Description

The Quincy Street Historic District covers the central portion of Hancock's business district consisting of the first three blocks of Quincy Street, plus two adjacent properties. The district includes three governmental structures (the Hancock Town Hall and Fire Hall

Hancock Town Hall and Fire Hall

The Hancock Town Hall and Fire Hall is a public building located at 399 Quincy Street in the Quincy Street Historic District in Hancock, Michigan. It is also known as the Hancock City Hall...

, post office, and a county office building) along with forty-two commercial buildings. The majority of the structures within the district were built between 1880 and 1915. The commercial buildings range from two to five stories, and are of frame, brick, or brick and stone construction. The district is notable for the widespread use of local red Jacobsville sandstone

Jacobsville Sandstone

Jacobsville Sandstone is a red sandstone common to the Upper Peninsula of Michigan. Commonly used as an architectural building stone, it is found in the Keweenaw Peninsula and north shore of the Upper Peninsula. Its name is due to the sandstone being quarried largely in Jacobsville, Michigan....

.

History and Significance

In 1869, a major fire destroyed 75% of the buildings in Hancock, which were primarily made of wood. This made room for the construction of more substantial structures during the latter years of the 19th century.

The district contains a large number of well-preserved structures built around the turn of the century. These structures indicate the relative prosperity of Hancock at the time, when copper mining in the Keweenaw Peninsula

Keweenaw Peninsula

The Keweenaw Peninsula is the northern-most part of Michigan's Upper Peninsula. It projects into Lake Superior and was the site of the first copper boom in the United States. As of the 2000 census, its population was roughly 43,200...

 was a strong industry. Many of the structures were designed by leading architects of the Upper Peninsula, including Charlton, Gilbert and Demar, and are significant for their scale and quality, and the reflection of the ethic diversity of late 19th century Hancock.

Significant buildings in the district include:

• First National Bank Building (1888) 101-103 Quincy Street. The First National Bank Building was originally designed by Byron H. Pierce as a two-story building, its corner entrance specifically intended to exemplify the building's location at the "entrance" to Hancock's main street. In 1903, the building was enlarged by Charles Archibald Pearce with a third floor and a 40-foot addition on the north side.
• The Wright Block (1899) 100-102 Quincy Street. The Wright Block was designed by Charlton, Gilbert, and Demar. The eastern portion of this building still retains much of its original appearance, with a sandstone facade. The western portion was covered in 1952 with Vitrolite, a pigmented structural glass.
• Detroit & Northern Michigan Savings & Loan Association (1939) 200 Quincy Street. This building was constructed in 1939 in the then-popular Art Deco
  Art Deco
  Art deco , or deco, is an eclectic artistic and design style that began in Paris in the 1920s and flourished internationally throughout the 1930s, into the World War II era. The style influenced all areas of design, including architecture and interior design, industrial design, fashion and...
  
   style. The building uses contrasting Bedford limestone and black granite, and sports the streamlined surfaces, vertical elements, and stylized geometry popular in the Art Deco style.
• Post Office (1934) 221 Quincy Street. This building, constructed during the Great Depression
  Great Depression
  The Great Depression was a severe worldwide economic depression in the decade preceding World War II. The timing of the Great Depression varied across nations, but in most countries it started in about 1929 and lasted until the late 1930s or early 1940s...
  
  , was a Public Works Authority project, overseen by architect Louis A. Simon. The original design called for a more ornate facade and galbed slate roof, but as the building neared completion the current flat roof and simplified facade was used.
• First National Bank (1905) 240 Quincy Street. This building was originally constructed in 1905, but in 1913 the facade was renovated, converting it to a Neo-Classical style with limestone columns, entry pediment, and balustrade at the top. A third story was added to the building in the 1940s.
• Nutini's Supper Club (1906) 321 Quincy Street. This building still sports its pressed-metal cornice, with the original brackets and other details.