Location
Leland, MI
Original Construction
1880’s
Construction Cost
$2,500,000
Completion Date
Ongoing
National Historic Register 

Persisting as a living legacy of more than a century of the maritime culture of the Great Lakes region, the National Register site called Fishtown exists as a collection of weather-beaten fishing shanties and shops, concrete block smokehouses, overhanging docks, fishing tugs, net racks, artifacts, and charter boats along the Leland River that represent the culmination of its dynamic past. The Fishtown Preservation Society bought the collection of structures, boats and artifacts with the goal of protecting the place from intrusive development. The challenge of this ongoing project is maintaining the historic integrity of the site and all of its character defining features, while at the same time incorporating the needed updates to preserve and enhance sustainability, as well as allowing for the on-going evolution of the property to ensure its future social and economic vitality as one of the few remaining Great Lakes commercial fisheries.

The HopkinsBurns team, with Johnson Hill Land Ethics Studio, developed the Master Plan for the preservation and restoration of the site and its structures. Their work was key in the development of a cultural resource assessment, a survey of 10 structures and site to evaluate existing conditions and historic integrity, development of design guidelines and standards for sympathetic infill and adaptive reuse, as well as public outreach and facilitation during public charrettes. HopkinsBurns incorporated the cutting edge technology of high definition laser scanning to enhance and streamline the work of architectural documentation. Subsequently, the team developed a Historic Structures Report in a ground breaking approach which uniquely combined the methods of folklore and historic preservation. To preserve the fish shanties as a cultural exhibit HopkinsBurns recommended a “touch lightly” approach for these buildings. This provides for a restoration and adaptive reuse approach in applying sound preservation techniques while reducing the visual effects of creating major changes to the resource. The team also developed an interpretive plan with exhibit designs for the site to expand the visitor’s educational immersion into the Great Lakes fishing story. The Historic Structures Report was so well received that it was turned into an award winning book.