The Vertin Gallery

The Vertin Gallery was built as the Vertin’s Department Store as the center of the downtown in Calumet in  1885, retailing everything a miner or millionaire family might need.   Vertin Brother & Co. closed in 1985, as a result of the mine closings.  The huge structure served as Hawkin’s Hitching post and a Teen Club briefly in the mid-1990s, and  then remained vacant until the fall of 2004.   The Historic Vertin Building resides within the boundaries of the Keweenaw National Historic Park ( which was designated in 1992); at the heart of the Village of Calumet, a National Historic Landmark district since 1989, a local Historic District since 2002, and a Michigan Mainstreet location.

In the Autumn of 2004 the Vertin Gallery opened its doors and currently houses the work of over 130 artists. The gallery focuses on work by artists living in, from, or otherwise connected to Michigan’s Upper Peninsula, making it a unique culture center for the Midwest. Much of the work featured in the gallery is inspired by or drawn from the local landscape and culture.