September 15, 2004
Miniature Traverse City large scale project
Model of Traverse City as it appeared in 1931 will include 200 buildings and stretch 6,000 square feet
By
Herald staff writer
With precise attention to minute detail and an eye for historical accuracy, a group of dedicated volunteers is recreating a miniature model of downtown Traverse City as it appeared in 1931.
The miniature city, now on display at the Music House Museum in Acme, is a recreation of the model first commissioned by mayor Con Foster in 1932 as part of a Works Progress Administration project. The original display, containing more than 100 city buildings, was on display at Clinch Park for more than 40 years.
After years of deterioration, the model was placed into storage in 1973 before being purchased by Howard Stoddard in 1983. Stoddard's heirs donated the model to the Music House Museum in 1993 to be restored for public display.
"The condition of the original model was just a little better than an odd assortment of painted boxes. Many of the buildings had accumulated moisture and just collapsed," said Music House Museum curator and manager, Andy Struble.
"It became more of a re-creation project than a restoration project," Struble noted.
In the 10 or so years that the project has been ongoing, some 50 volunteers have given a hand to the project.
"It takes a group of people to make the project work. We have retired architects who help with the drawings, historians who find out detailed information about the buildings and the hands-on model builders," said mini-city manager Frederick Zwemer, who has been involved in the project for four years.
"The degree of detail is much greater today than on the original. This is pretty close to museum quality - like you would see in Washington," Zwemer said.
The display, now including most of Front Street from Cass to Union as well as a few other significant buildings, is planned to eventually include 200 buildings covering 6,000 square feet.
"A lot of visitors reminisce about what they remember about the buildings, or about seeing the original model in Clinch Park. Everyone seems to enjoy it," Zwemer said.
The miniature Traverse City model will be on display from noon to 4 p.m. Saturday at the Music House Museum in Acme. For more information, call 938-9300.