• Sunday-What'sUP August 11 - 12:23 pm

We've mentioned Electric Park before on the Pasty Cam, and it made a Cameo appearance in the story of Crestview Resort. This is one of the best renderings of the futuristic Park located between Calumet and Hancock, a photo we used in a previous "Day in History" also. The map is by the late Kevin Musser on the CopperRange.org website, still hosted here at Pasty Central in memory of Kevin. Thanks also to Bill Haller for the shot of the old trolley tracks, part of the scant evidence of Electric Park that is still with us.

I thought of the top photo yesterday while Edie and I were traveling around the Keweenaw to repair some of our Pasty.NET wireless HotSpots. Back in the early 1900's electricity was at a comparable stage of development, as the Internet is today. We've been fortunate to follow the Internet's history from the unique vantage point of the U.P., all the from the establishment of the World Wide Web in September of 1994. The Snow Thermometer on US-41 was one of the first photos to appear from the U.P. on the WWW, and Pasty.com came online about a year later. It wasn't until the Winter of 97-98 that we realized there should be something posted every day on the web, in order to give folks a reason every day to visit.

The railroad companies wanted to give tourists and local residents a reason to visit (and thus pay for transportation) some remote attractions in the Keweenaw. Ever wonder why Crestview and Electric Park weren't built within walking distance of the Copper Country's population centers? It had something to do with a train ride...

Last evening I spent a considerable amount of time climbing around in the attic of Mariner North in Copper Harbor, replacing a failed router that serves their guests. Fortunately the work was done before the day ended, and gave me enough time to publish yesterday's Pasty Cam photos before midnight (in case you missed it). We actually were sitting in our car behind the Copper Harbor visitor center, Edie and I and Shadow, all swatting mosquitoes as the clock ticked closer to 11:59pm. I was thinking about how the lighting around the Visitors Center reminded me of this picture of Electric Park, and those other nightime visitors over 100 years ago.

As an added bonus when we got home there was a flash in the sky as a meteor streaked up overhead in the clear Keweenaw sky. They say this evening will be the peak, as the perseid meteor shower lights up the night.

Have a good week :o)

Another grand 'Shoebox Memory', Charlie! Had to keep those trains running.:>

Sure hope you and Edie were able to get some sleep after all that running around!

lots of history given today; LOVE it; thanks!

What a great history of this 'hot spot'! Not just
a spectacular photo, but a map and a picture of
the old tracks ~ the whole package!

Have heard that this year's Perseid meteor shower
should be one of the best due to the stage of the
moon. Hope everyone who can takes advantage of
the show, even if they have to set their alarm to
get up to see it!

p.s. Glad everything is going well on the home
front, Edie & Charlie!

Amen to that 'homefront' statement, jbuck.

Very interesting. Was this anything like the old interurban lines that used rail cars that operated with the rail car connected to a utility wire running parallel with the track?

My mother-in-law told me she, her sisters, and her close friends would get on the trolley and go to electric park to hear the bands and dance. She told me how popular this was for the young people living in the Copper Country; it was a great meeting place.

I know in the 60's, we (the teens) would go to the Teen Center located in Laurium to dance. It too brought a lot of teens from the surrounding area together. Now, I do not know if they have anything like this for the youth of the area.

Thomas Baird (Thomas):
"… Was this anything like the old interurban lines that used rail cars that operated with the rail car connected to a utility wire running parallel with the track?"

I don't know about "the old interurban lines", but you can find much more detail on the Houghton County Traction Company (click →) here.

Remember many a dance at the teen center in Laurium. Also at the power house in Houghton.

Thank you for re-posting this on FB Charlie. I
haven't seen it in a few years. I only wish I
could go back in time and experience Electric Park
in all its glory. Thank you again.