Alpena has always been known as a waterfront community.

Simply put, its strategic location where the Thunder Bay River watershed terminates into Thunder Bay is the main reason humans came and stayed here for thousands of years.

As the logging industry saw the immense potential of northern Michigan’s white pine forests for profits, the banks of the river were filled with lumber mills who used the river to float lumber and send it on its way to Lake Huron to larger ports like Detroit and Chicago.

Through the 1890s, the booming lumber industry solidified Alpena’s status as the “Metropolis of the North.”

A new commercial district was built up around the river to accommodate the needs of businessmen and new residents to the area arriving by boat or rail. Buildings were constructed along 2nd Avenue and around the riverfront to house businesses, from dry goods stores to harness shops to saloons to churches, as well as boarding houses and private homes.

As the forests fell, lumber businesses moved westward and mills closed. Alpena’s economy stagnated from the 1900s through the 1910s, until a new industry emerged: limestone.

Limestone deposits produced soda ash, and byproducts were used to create cement, followed by the creation of the first block-making machine. Those new industries also took advantage of the riverfront — and Thunder Bay — to easily transport their materials in and out of the region.

Alpena’s industrial base continued to fuel the city through the post-World War II era, when the city’s population peaked at over 14,000.The riverfront remained industrial, home to the Fletcher Paper Co. and Abitibi.

It’s no surprise that many of the non-industrial buildings located along the riverfront that were built in that era do not have any windows that overlook the river.

Fast-forward to 2024. The railroad no longer runs downtown. Fletcher Paper’s doors have been closed for over 20 years. This year, DPI closed. The bridge goes up and down, but primarily for the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration’s activities: the glass-bottom boat, research vessels, and visitors from Viking cruise ships.

What is next for the future of our riverfront?

The river — even more so than the Lake Huron coastline that we are more famously known for — has always reflected the changing economies and priorities of Alpena.

When you walk the riverfront today, you can see that at work. The transition away from industrial uses has not happened — and will not happen — overnight.

The opening of the Great Lakes Maritime Heritage Center in the early 2000s — the visitor center for the first designated national marine sanctuary on the Great Lakes — was transformational to show potential of what the riverfront’s future could be.The Depot on Fletcher Street, the Alpena bi-path, the Holiday Inn Express, and new city parks have inched toward the goal of having a riverfront that is clean, usable, and stewarded by the community.

The opportunity for riverfront development in Alpena is tremendous.

With the Alpena Downtown Development Authority boundary expansion, incorporating the full riverfront from the marina to 14th Street was a top priority. From a bird’s-eye view, the river reveals itself: the heart of our downtown district, a key artery that sets the tone for the development of the commercial district around it.

The former Boys and Girls Club location, the former Fletcher Paper Mill, and the former Alpena Power Co. site are some of the key sites whose redevelopment would transform the nature of the riverfront and our downtown. The DPI site, coming for sale this year, could dramatically alter the city’s landscape — just like it did in the 1950s, when it went from coastline owned by the city to an 80-acre industrial site.

What is the future of the riverfront?

I envision mixed-use buildings that usher new businesses that utilize that beautiful natural resource and provide housing that serves residents across income levels. I envision a higher emphasis on outdoor recreation, with trails, new events, public access, and infrastructure that supports multi-modal use.

I envision a community that views itself as stewards of the river, balancing its economic potential with its role as a cultural and natural resource.

It is easy to see how the riverfront historically was one of the least desirable areas in the city, as factories polluted the air and water around it.

Now, that is no longer the case — but its long use for industrial pursuits has left an immense (and expensive) mess to clean up.

Walk around the riverfront and you will see those efforts have already begun.

But we still have a long way to go.

Anne Gentry graduated from Brown University with a degree in comparative literature and has studied in Italy and South Australia. She is currently executive director of the Alpena Downtown Development Authority.