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Description:
This area is the 'main four corners' or 'the light' in Williamston, and is the location of the historic Andrews Hotel (That big blue building...).



This building is one of four sites in Williamston listed on the State of Michigan Historic Register, and is one of the oldest extant buildings in town. The rightmost (monochrome) photo on the left is circa 1900, the middle one is circa 2003 and the (color) one on the left is how it looks today.



The site originally held a wooden hotel, 'The Spaulding House' which burned in the 1860s. It was replaced with another wooden structure, which by the 1880s had become so rundown that the owner decided to tear it down. In 1887, he chose to replace it with the brick building you see on the site today.

This site was originally developed as a hotel on the plank road leading from Detroit to Lansing. Today this building is residential apartments on the second and third floors, and commercial space (a video rental store and jewelry store) on the ground level. This redevelopment was largely due to the efforts of the Williamston Downtown Development Authority (DDA) in the 1980s.



In the 1970s this building had fallen into great disrepair (I'm being generous there ... there were holes in the roof!), and its fate polarized the community: more 'progressive' groups including the local newspaper wanted to see it razed, and championed replacing it with an Esso gas station which would have allowed us to 'get rid of that old eyesore' and put something 'fresh and modern' in the center of town. Largely because the economics didn't work, (but also because the then City Council refused to modify ordinances to allow a gas station on this site) that plan failed, and a private group attempted to renovate the structure. This group was underfunded, and failed, however, their attempts attracted the attention of the DDA and (now owner) Gil Wilkins, who leveraged state and local grants to restore and re-purpose the building.



I for one, am glad that the "we need to be modern and business friendly and let the gas station happen" camp failed to enact its vision of what Williamston should become. When you pass by, think good thoughts and pray history and tradition won't pass forever, and marvel as the building presides in its THIRD CENTURY of existence at the main four corners of town with grace and a bit of grandeur.



They just don't build them like this any more -- enjoy the peek into the past this building offers.

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Williamston History

Tags:

history , historic register , williamston , historic architecture