Holy Family Orphanage

Holy Family Orphanage

Holy Family Orphanage in July 2011
Location within Michigan
General information
Status Abandoned
Address 600 Altamont Street
Town or city Marquette, Michigan
Country United States
Coordinates 46°32′25″N 87°24′12″W / 46.54028°N 87.40333°W / 46.54028; -87.40333Coordinates: 46°32′25″N 87°24′12″W / 46.54028°N 87.40333°W / 46.54028; -87.40333
Construction started 1914
Opening 1915
Closed 1981
Cost US$100,000
Owner Treasure Lampi
Technical details
Material Brick and South Marquette Sandstone
Holy Family Orphanage
NRHP Reference # 15000701
Added to NRHP October 5, 2015
References
[1][2][3][4][5]

Holy Family Orphanage is an abandoned Catholic orphanage located at 600 Altamont Street in Marquette, Michigan. It was listed on the National Register of Historic Places on October 5, 2015.[1]

The building opened in 1915, served its last orphan in 1967, and was abandoned in 1982.[4] Since being abandoned, the facility has been cited as an allegedly haunted location.[2][3]

Facilities

At its peak, Holy Family Orphanage housed approximately 200 orphans from the Upper Peninsula of Michigan and nearby areas.[2][3][4] The building includes classrooms, bedrooms, bathrooms, laundry facilities, kitchen facilities, and a chapel.[3][4]

The building is mostly constructed of brick, but does include a decorative front entrance made of South Marquette Sandstone.[4]

History

1917 postcard of orphanage

Construction on Holy Family Orphanage began in 1914, and cost approximately US$100,000 ($2,362,458 in 2016).[4]

The building opened in 1915.[2][3][4] Initially the facility accepted mostly children between second and eighth grade, but later infants and older children were accepted as well.[4]

While it was intended originally to only serve white children, its first residents were 60 Native American children transferred from a Catholic home named after St. Joseph in Assinins. The Native American children had been placed in the Assinins home after being taken away from their parents to accommodate their integration into white culture.[4]

In 1963, the Roman Catholic Diocese of Marquette decided to host a group of child refugees from Cuba as a part of Operation Pedro Pan.[3]

The orphanage closed in 1965, but its administrative offices continued to be used until 1981, when the building was abandoned completely.[4]

In 1998, the building was purchased by businessman Roger Rinne. His stated intention was to convert the building into an assisted living facility, but the necessary repairs have not taken place. Initially, he was refusing to sell the building for less than $1.6 million, despite the City of Marquette estimating its value at $200,000.[4] In 2008, a purchase agreement with Rinne for the property was signed by Treasure Lampi, who said she plans to turn it into a school for performing arts. Lampi stated that renovation costs were estimated to be approximately $3 million.[5]

See also

References

  1. 1 2 "AssetDetail". focus.nps.gov. National Park Service. Retrieved October 23, 2015.
  2. 1 2 3 4 "5 Most Haunted Places in Marquette". Travel Marquette Michigan. Travel Marquette. Retrieved October 23, 2015.
  3. 1 2 3 4 5 6 Frye, Megan (October 20, 2015). "The 11 Most Insane Abandoned Places in Michigan". thrillist. Retrieved October 23, 2015.
  4. 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 "Holy Family Orphanage: Last Rites for the Cavalcade King". Substreet. Retrieved 2015-10-23.
  5. 1 2 Hokum, Kim (April 24, 2008). "Orphanage revival?". miningjournal.net (The Mining Journal). Retrieved 2015-10-23.
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