Our gallery is housed in what was originally called the “Schale Building” (constructed in 1895). Its commercial space was once filled with businesses ranging from life insurance companies and lawyers to physicians and portrait photographers, among other enterprises.
The Schale Building’s turret (not to be confused with what is now Berg’s Landing – front right) can be seen in this vintage postcard. Note the trolley tracks in the street and Hotel Menominee, which once stood where the restaurant’s parking lot is today.
Tenants occupied the upstairs spaces while businesses came and went over time. Barbers and beauty shops existed alongside dentists and dealers of jewelry or toys.
Unlike many addresses in Menominee that changed when the north-south Streets and east-west Avenues were introduced in 1950, the Schale Building retained the same number, just shifting from 601 Sheridan Road to 601 1st Street.
Also around 1950, the building changed hands and was renamed the “Ihler Building”. After a decade of vacancy, it became home to the Menominee-Herald Leader and Action-Satellite newspapers, followed by Art Rage and Art & Decor, then the Albergreen and Shades of Green art galleries.
In recent years, the building evolved through these art co-ops and galleries before settling into the board-led, artist-owned business it is today. Members share various responsibilities to ensure its success.
First Street Art Gallery & More 