Belle Tower of Petoskey is the adaptive reuse of a historic 1891 former Seventh-Day Adventist church at 224 Michigan Street in downtown Petoskey, Michigan. Listed on the National Register of Historic Places as the former Seventh Day Adventist Church, the building is a distinctive two-story frame Queen Anne structure known for its front-gable form, decorative wood detailing, prominent window treatment, and entrance tower with an onion-like dome.
This session will use Belle Tower as a case study in practical, community-centered historic preservation. The presentation will explore the building’s architectural and religious history, its connection to the broader story of Seventh-day Adventists in Michigan, and the challenges of bringing a long-underused historic property back into active public life. Michigan played a central role in Seventh-day Adventist history: Battle Creek became an important center of the Adventist movement in the 1850s, and the denomination was formally organized there in 1863. The project also connects Northern Michigan’s Adventist history, and one of America’s most significant historical figures thanks to a case of malaria.
Participants will learn how the Belle Tower project balances preservation standards, building code realities, public use goals, local approvals, financing tools, and phased rehabilitation. The session will also discuss storytelling as a preservation tool: how historic research, community partnerships, fundraising, and programming can help reintroduce a building to the public before restoration is complete. Belle Tower offers a real-world example of how preservation can move beyond saving a structure to restore civic purpose, local identity, and long-term community value.