STURGEON BAY – Nearly four years after work started on its restoration, the Door County Granary will host a soft opening of the 123-year-old, historic former grain elevator-turned-museum and public event space Saturday, Sept. 21 during the Harvest Fest community celebration in Sturgeon Bay.
Those coming to the opening, which runs from 1 to 5 p.m., can take docent-led tours of the building, listen to live music by local bands Helen Accordion Cordon and The Gliddiots, and hear a history talk by Daniel Liedtke of the National Railroad Museum in Ashwaubenon. Board members and volunteers from the Sturgeon Bay Historical Society will be on hand to answer questions and collect any stories community members may have of their or their ancestors’ use of the granary back in its working days.
The historical society said in a press release the 90-foot-tall former Teweles & Brandeis Grain Elevator currently is the only restored wooden port elevator remaining on the Great Lakes. Towering over the Sturgeon Bay channel from its location off Oak Street on the West Side waterfront, it was built in 1901 and was, and is, considered by many a landmark of the waterfront and the city’s agricultural history.
But it sat unused for many years, and the city bought the property in 2012. After being told it was dangerous and irreparable in late 2017, the city decided to dismantle the granary with hopes of redeveloping the property.
But a group of citizens concerned with preservation of historic buildings and structures formed the Sturgeon Bay Historical Society Foundation and fought to preserve the granary, getting it named to the State Register of Historic Places in 2017 and the National Register of Historic Places a few months later.
A private party bought the granary from the city and donated it to the historical society, and it was moved across the Maple-Oregon Bridge, sitting across the water from its original location for more than a year while its future was debated.
The historical society and the city eventually reached an agreement that saw the granary move back across the bridge to its original location, where it’s being restored and redeveloped into the new community center and events venue. An official groundbreaking was held in November 2021. The preliminary design by Milwaukee-based architecture firm La Dallman earned a Citation in the 2021 Progressive Architecture Awards sponsored by Architect magazine.
For this soft opening, the ground floor of the granary, originally called the “workhouse floor” and intended to serve as a grand entrance and events space, and the railway car-inspired Box Car Annex with public amenities will be open, said Nicole Matson, director of operations for the historical society and project manager for the granary.
Over the next year, the historical society will work to raise additional funds to provide access to the head house at the top of the building and install interpretive elements, with the goal of holding a grand opening in 2025.
“We’re excited to welcome the community in to see this Sturgeon Bay treasure,” Matson said in the press release. “People have been watching progress on this iconic building for years. We encourage them to visit to learn more about the granary’s historical significance and the craftsmanship on display here. And we welcome everyone to come back in 2025 for the grand opening, to climb to the head house and to experience the museum exhibits.”
Contributions to future restoration on the granary and its historical exhibits are being accepted. For more information on the granary or the Sept. 21 soft opening, visit doorcountygranary.org.
Contact Christopher Clough at 920-562-8900 or cclough@gannett.com.
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This article originally appeared on Green Bay Press-Gazette: Door County Granary hosts Sept. 21 soft opening during Harvest Fest
