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The McClellan apartment located at 385-1/2 River St. features original wainscoting and light fixture in the kitchen.

The McClellan apartment located at 385-1/2 River St., behind Alex Doucett’s, includes a courtyard – a private retreat just outside where the plants enjoy the sunshine.  

EDITOR’S NOTE: The Lakeside Club’s bi-annual Tour of Homes is set for July 16. In the days leading up to the event, the News Advocate will publish descriptions of each home and garden on the tour. 

As you approach the McClellan apartment located at 385-1/2 River St. from the parking lot behind Alex Doucett’s, you first enter a courtyard – a private retreat just outside where the plants enjoy the sunshine.  

The back entryway/sitting area once was an open porch where you will notice a difference in the brick work of the front and the back walls. Another telling feature that this was an addition is that there are two windows looking into the rest of the apartment and the original exterior door. Recently, the owner needed more bedroom space and cleverly added a privacy wall around a designated sleeping area in one corner.  

Through the door, there is a long, narrow hallway with original floor-to-ceiling built-in drawers and cupboards for storage. Opposite that feature are the original brass coat hooks mounted high enough for long coats. The tremendous amount of light comes from a skylight above the 12 foot ceiling that is peaked so that it brings more light into the space than the original flat ones.

The charming kitchen features cupboards with brass door handles; pulls fashioned by the owner to replicate the ones in the pantry and in the hallway. The original kitchen sink has a rather unique porcelain dish drainer attached. Notice an ample pantry behind a door.

Originally, the washer and dryer were also behind a door, but newer appliances are larger, hence a curtain cover. The wainscoting and light fixture in the kitchen are also original. Although not an antique, there is a unique mirror above the kitchen table with plant holders on either side.  

Throughout the apartment, the window moldings, the trim and the plate rail are all original. The owner has a table that belonged to her parents who found it in an old farmhouse that they bought when first married. Called a “threshing table,” it can be extended by adding leaves to accommodate the many workers who would come during harvest time to thresh or separate wheat or oats.  

Above the table hangs an original movable light fixture with pulleys to allow to change the height. The light fixture in the living room is new, but was chosen for its old appearance.

Small hexagonal-shaped tiles create the floor in the bathroom which also features the original cast-iron tub.The skylight also lights up this room.  

Between the dining and living areas is a set of pocket doors and another between the living area and the bedroom in the front of the apartment. The bedroom includes a wonderful large antique armoire that was purchased in the South. The panels on the door fronts are of a single sheet of wood taken from the root of a tree – hence, no knots, and there is intricate carving on the legs.  

Just off of the main bedroom is a smaller bedroom which once served as a changing room. Another skylight serves to flood the apartment with overhead light in the four middle rooms.

The Lakeside Club's Tour of Homes is set for 1-5 p.m. on July 16. 

Tickets can be purchased online now, available for pick up after 12:30 p.m. on July 16 at the Manistee Municipal Marina, located at 480 River St. in Manistee. Those taking the tour can find refreshments and an opportunity to win door prizes provided at the marina.

Tickets are $15 and can be purchased in advance at lakesideclubmanistee.org/ or on the day of the event at the Manistee Municipal Marina. Tickets also are available at Kelli's Hallmark, Manistee County Visitors Bureau, TJ's Pub, Alex Doucett's, MacBeth & Company in Onekama. For more information, visit lakesideclubmanistee.org

Since the apartment was originally heated by three wood stoves, the owner had to decide how to modernize the heating system. Not wanting to sacrifice the historic look of the place, a basement boiler was added which sends heat up to reclaimed radiators that have been installed throughout.

As you exit the living room, you will find a landing and stairway to the storefront below. The building, which McClellan bought in 1999, was originally built by Charles Dummer in 1886. Coincidentally, one of the first types of commerce inhabiting the building was a “bazaar” which sold many of the same types of things sold today in Alex Doucett's — home items and unique finds.

Before you leave the store, you will see small tiles inside and outside the front door. That indicates that when first built, the entrance used to be tucked in from the street a bit more. Now, the apartment stairs are incorporated within the store — home and business in one.