Bellairsia: Franke Center for the Arts

Franke Center for the Arts

The Franke Center for the Arts is a building in Marshall, Michigan.

History

The building was constructed in 1923 as the city's third Methodist Church. It was a memorial to Charles E. Brooks, who for many year was a lay leader and area minister. The building was completed and dedicated April 13, 1924. It was designed not to be just a church but a recreational and social center building: its gymnasium on the upper floor was used by children of all denominations and, for a time, restrooms were open to the public. Its architecture was not in the classical church tradition and, with religious symbols removed, could easily pass as a library, museum, or community center. The congregation moved to a new Methodist Church north of town in 1970 [1].

In the 1950s it was charter organization for Boy Scout Troop 112, which Bellairs was briefly a member of.

In 1971 it was renovated as a civic center and is today known as the Joyce and Lucy Franke Center for the Arts.

Bellairs Corpus

An unnamed Methodist Church in Duston Heights, Massachusetts, is where Johnny Dixon and the members of Boy Scout Troop 112 have their weekly meetings (The Mummy, the Will, and the Crypt, 15).