page_title: Houghton, Michigan
section_title: Neighborhoods
hierarchical_section_title: Houghton, Michigan / Neighborhoods
caption_attribution_description: English: Downtown Houghton, Michigan, as seem from Hancock, Michigan. The Portage Lake Lift Bridge is visible at lower-right.
context_page_description: Houghton is the largest city and county seat of Houghton County in the U.S. state of Michigan. Located on the Keweenaw Peninsula, Houghton is the largest city in the Copper Country region. It is the fifth largest city in the Upper Peninsula, with a population of 7,708 at the 2010 census. Houghton is the principal city of the Houghton micropolitan area, which includes all of Houghton and Keweenaw County.
  The city of Houghton and the county were named after Douglass Houghton, an American geologist and physician, primarily known for his exploration of the Keweenaw Peninsula. Houghton has been listed as one of the "100 Best Small Towns in America." Houghton is home to Michigan Technological University, a public research college founded in 1885. Michigan Tech hosts a yearly Winter Carnival in February, drawing thousands of visitors from around the world.
context_section_description: Houghton is generally said to be divided into East Houghton, the Central Houghton area (which includes the downtown) and West Houghton.
  East Houghton runs from Franklin Square to the eastern city limits. A principal street is College Avenue, characterized by Colonial Revival homes, which formerly ran from urbanized Houghton "farms, villas and mining operations... and the Michigan School of Mines, now Michigan Technological University;" today the main campus of MTU has taken over much of the College Avenue area and some of East Houghton generally, though it remains a primarily residential neighborhood. (However, this has changed somewhat with construction of the Pearl Street Mall. The Chassell Sands, which are usually considered apart from it, are partially zoned "Industrial.") It is home to East Houghton Park. The park was established in 1974 and contains tennis courts and playground equipment. The Chassell sands may be technically said to be part of this neighborhood, but are usually considered as apart from it, as is Minoru Yamasaki-designed Daniell Heights, married-student housing at Tech.
  Central Houghton is a relatively urbanized area of the town, generally considered as being roughly between Franklin Square and the Portage Lake Lift Bridge. The "heart of Houghton's commercial district" is characterized by sandstone (frequently mined from Jacobsville or Portage Entry) buildings with the frequent "classical detail"; it is centered on Shelden Avenue, the downtown lying in Central Houghton between Montezuma Avenue and Lake Street / Brew Alley / Lakeshore Drive, which are generally considered one continuous street. South of this area are a series of streets with small wooden houses, primarily from mining days, rising over the arc of the hills that the city is built upon. Northward is the waterfront, which has several dockyards, and older buildings alongside it. While Corktown is the area around St. Ignatius Catholic Church, this neighborhood is rarely spoken of today.
  West Houghton is the site of more recent construction compared to the other two neighborhoods. Therefore, the area has a more modern, suburban feel to it than the other areas. This includes larger middle-class houses built with large wooded lots between them. Most prominent in this area, however, are the retail stores which are becoming the new commercial heart of the city. These include Walmart and several recent strip malls, with numerous small stores housed under a single roof. Several prominent beach areas are located on this side of the city. It is often referred to by locals as "ShopKo Heights (Sho Hi)," the "neighborhood behind ShopKo," or "ShopKoville" as a ShopKo store had been located there prior to the company's closure.
caption: Downtown Houghton, as seen from Hancock
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