The Holy Family Orphans Home is located at 600 Altamont St in Marquette, MI. The building has been vacant since the mid 1980s when the Marquette Catholic Diocese sold the building and surrounding land. Since then, the property has changed hands numerous times, seized for back taxes, reacquired, etc. From what I can determine, the owner of the property is in default on his property taxes again.
It has been been discussed whether to to auction off the property and/or demolish the building. The latest news is that there is an individual who would like to convert the orphange into Apartments, but the owner of the building in Arizona, who has yet to start work on the building, claims the building is worth far more than it actually is. The city has discussed condemming this site so that they could allow the other guy to acquire the property and restore the building.
The orphanage was opened in 1915 and was closed in 1965. There are many rumors of children being beaten and killed at the orphanage. It is even said that the building is haunted, with the surrounding residents claiming to see and hear wierd things coming from the building. One striking story of the orphanage is that one winter, a child was playing outside in a blizzard/snowstorm, and caught pheumnoia, which lead to her death. When she died, her body was displayed on a table for all the orphans to see as a lesson of why not to play outside.
I have searched through some records at NMU, and I have been contacted by one former inhabitant of the orphanage, and no one can seem to confirm these rumors that I've heard. Most first hand accounts that I have been able to find of the orphanage seem to take on a positive role, so these stories may just be urban myth. If anyone does know of a reputable source of information that confirms or explains these myths, I would love to know of it.
I was in the building in August of 2003, and took numerous photos of the interior. There are about 78 pictures total. Take a peak for yourself!
View photos
njp -- 05 November 2003
Last Updated: 01 June 2004