One of my favorite places in Marquette is Presque Isle Park. “Presque” in French (pronounced presk-EEL, which rhymes with desk-wheel) Isle means almost an island. The 323-acre wooded peninsula is almost an island and is a beloved place of relaxation and exercise for generations of Marquetters. Thanks to one of the founders of Marquette, Peter White, the federally owned island with a lighthouse on the point was preserved by an act of Congress on July 12, 1886, ceding the land to the State of Michigan to be used as a recreational park.
Earlier this summer, Nadia, Ocean, and I spent an afternoon in Central Park in Manhattan. Reading about the history of Presque Isle Park, I found that the designer of NYC’s Central Park, Frederick Law Olmsted was visiting Marquette in 1891, travelling up from Chicago’s World Fair. Marquette officials asked him his thoughts on the future design of the park.
“It should not be marred by the intrusion of artificial objects… Preserve it, treasure it, as little altered as may be for all time… We beg to congratulate Marquette on having one of the most beautiful parks in the world, and to earnestly advise that its natural beauty be religiously preserved at whatever inconvenience, as it will be worth far more than everything that art and wealth can create in a park.” Frederick Law Olmsted 1891, in his letter of recommendation to Marquette on Presque Isle
I couldn’t agree with Olmsted more! I wish more shoreline in Michigan, both on the Great Lakes and inland lakes and rivers was preserved, instead of being sold to private landowners. I don’t like seeing people’s homes cluttering a shoreline.
Nadia and I went for a sunset walk while Oliver and Ocean went to the cinema. It was a glorious evening, with the sun setting in Marquette in the summer after 10:00 PM. I enjoy simple pleasures more and more as I get older and a walk through the woods along the mighty Lake Superior with my glamorous wife is all that man can ask for in this life.
Thank you, Peter White, for your tireless efforts lobbying Congress to grant Michigan the land. Thank you, Fred Olmsted, for the wisdom to preserve the “almost island” as it always was.
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