Graham Jaehnig/Daily Mining Gazette There is very little left of three historic structures on Calumet’s Main Street after a devastating fire destroyed them on May 22. One of the structures, oringally built in 1903 as Nelson’s Restaurant, then became the Parkside Bakery in the 1950s, and was last called the Ever Green, was destroyed in the blaze, and has sparked several social media comments from both former customers and wait staff.

CALUMET — While village residents are still trying to come to terms with the May 22 fire that destroyed most of the east side of the 100 block of Fifth Street, the Calumet Village Council has scheduled a special meeting for Monday, which will address petitions from the public, street closure, discussion on of the fire, and also updates.

Main Street Calumet updated its social media page on Monday, stating:

The Village of Calumet experienced a devastating fire in the early morning hours of May 22nd, 2021. Three of our historic buildings were lost in the 100 block of Fifth Street. While these structures are considered a total loss, no lives were lost during the event. The Village is so grateful to the many firefighters from around the Copper Country who attended to our community. We will do our best to keep our residents and concerned community members updated on this situation.

Village Manager Caleb Katz said on Monday that the state Fire Marshall was on the scene of the fire that morning and had conducted his investigation into the cause of the fire. He added that agents with the U.S. Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives (ATF) has also inspected the scene and is conducting its own investigation, but there is only speculation on why that agency is involved at this point. The fire, which destroyed three buildings and damaged a fourth, is suspected as arson.

The Main Street Calumet post went on to say that the loss of of buildings in our historic district has been heartbreaking and it’s hard to imagine the 100 Block without them.

“However, we hope to see this loss as an opportunity for redevelopment,” the post stated. “The economic development team in our community has already been working with property owners on assisting in the process of clean up and potential rebuilding or redevelopment of the sites.”