Comments on: Agassiz Park (p2)

By: Gordy

Gordy — Sun, 19 Sep 2010 15:51:49 +0000

While going through the News and Views for 1948, the football/baseball field was not built or leased to the school system originally. It was actually a Board of Trustees of various organizations who contributed effort and funds to build the field. It was designed as an enclosed (fenced) baseball and football field with full lighting, according them the first of its kind in the area. C&H threw in 1000 dollars for building the field. According to the News and Views, the Trustees were C&H, Calumet School District 1, Calumet High School Alumni Assoc, Keweenaw Lions Club, Calumet Township, Calumet Chamber of Commerce and the Laurium Chamber of Commerce. Donations paid for the field. It was open for football games in Sept, a night game at that

By: ccexplorer

ccexplorer — Thu, 04 Mar 2010 20:35:07 +0000

Paint! I failed to notice that. I guess it wasn’t lighting after all. Someone painted his face. (I guess Agassiz wasn’t as revered by the local populace as his son thought)

By: Dale Beitz

Dale Beitz — Thu, 04 Mar 2010 19:47:04 +0000

OK, Mike, now that you point it out I can see the “headdress” as the top of a smokestack. In the link you included to the archived photos, the text says that at the time Calumet High ROTC students were cleaning the paint-smeared statue, so it probably is paint that’s making those white spots. As it sits in front of the library today that paint has been removed. Mystery solved!

By: ccexplorer

ccexplorer — Thu, 04 Mar 2010 19:38:28 +0000

I agree the picture looks odd, but I think its just a combination of lighting and the statues physical degradation. The sun is shining directly on the face of the statue, and most likely it was a little overexposed in the original photo. The same overly bright spot can also be seen on his chest. Also keep in mind Mr. Agassiz's been sitting out here for half a century by the time this photo was taken (1969). He's bound to look a little worse for wear. Another photo taken during the same time can be found HERE. (scroll down to select the second photo) As for his headpiece, thats the top of the Superior Boiler House stack (the brick one that continues to stand today)

By: Dale Beitz

Dale Beitz — Thu, 04 Mar 2010 19:27:39 +0000

I agree, there’s something odd about that first pic. In the later pic of the statue in front of the library the color tone of the statue seems to be uniform, but in that first pic the face almost looks white while the robes look darker. Also the first pic looks like it has some sort of headdress or something on it that doesn’t appear in the later pic. There are two trees immediately behind the statue, a pine on the left and a deciduous on the right. The leaves look like they’re all gone from the right hand tree, but I suppose that could be a squirrel’s nest or something in the tree. It’s hard to tell. Very strange…

By: dc

dc — Thu, 04 Mar 2010 18:37:57 +0000

Is Aggasiz wearing a mask in that first photo?!

Also, this is a really cool series, Mike. I had never realized just how big the park used to be — or even that that little park there on Park street was a remnant of it.