page_title: Italian Hall
section_title: Construction
hierarchical_section_title: Italian Hall / History / Construction
caption_attribution_description: English: Paul Humphrey Macneil (1883&#8211;1964) [1] was an architect. He designed Italian Hall in Calumet, Michigan.
context_page_description: Italian Hall was a two-story commercial and recreational building in Calumet, Michigan, built in 1908 and demolished in 1984. Two prior buildings known popularly as "Italian Hall" had stood on the site. The first floor housed commercial space with a large hall on the second floor. The building served as headquarters for the Società Mutua Beneficenza Italiana and hosted community events. The hall is notorious as the site of a disaster in 1913 in which over 70 people died after a false cry of "fire" at a Christmas party. Since demolition, the site has served as a memorial park. The property is a Michigan State Historic Site and the building was formerly on the National Register of Historic Places.
context_section_description: The benevolent society Società Mutua Beneficenza Italiana organized in 1875 and was incorporated under state law in 1889. The organization's hall was nearly completed when it collapsed in 1890 in heavy winds. In 1891, it was rebuilt as a large wooden building with two storefronts on the first floor and a hall on the second. This building burned down on January 1, 1908, without causing any injuries or fatalities. All these prior buildings on the site have been popularly known as "Italian Hall".
  The most recent Italian Hall was constructed in 1908 at a cost of $25,000 to serve as the society's headquarters. It was designed by architect Paul Humphrey Macneil and built by P. J. Donahue as general contractor. The building was dedicated on Columbus Day, 1908. The dedication speech was written by James MacNaughton, the general manager of the Calumet and Hecla Mining Company, but, due to a family death, he could not attend and it was read by someone else.
caption: Architect Paul H. Macneil
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