Beckwith Park

Beckwith Park. . On this site in January 1893, the Beckwith and Lee families opened and dedicated the Beckwith Memorial Building in honor of Philo D. Beckwith (1825-1889). P.D. Beckwith moved to Dowagiac in 1854 and became one of the most important individuals to reside in the city. His Round Oak Stove Company brought the Industrial Revolution to Dowagiac, he served as mayor and on city boards, and he led many philanthropic activities that improved the City of Dowagiac., Built in the Romanesque style with arched entryways and a façade of Lake Superior Red Sandstone, the Beckwith Memorial Building itself was an architectural wonder for the small city of Dowagiac. To honor Beckwith's reputation as a 'Free Thinker,' the structure included busts of noted composers, philosophers, authors and orators, including Beethoven, Voltaire, Shakespeare and Robert Ingersoll. Notable for the 19th century, the busts above the arches depicted women, including author George Sands, actress Sarah Bernhardt and suffragette Susan B. Anthony., Though it housed retail and office space, the primary feature of the building was the Beckwith Theater, which brought national theater groups and later vaudeville and movies to Dowagiac. The building later housed the Dowagiac Police, the Wigwam Restaurant and served as the headquarters for Wolverine Mutual Insurance Company., By the mid-1960s, the Beckwith Memorial Building was in declining condition and it was razed in 1966. Remnants have been salvaged and saved, with many items on display at the Dowagiac Area History Museum. When the building was torn down, this wall was left intact, a portion of one of the entry arches remains at the right and you can see other architectural features higher up, including the eroded bust of Susan B. Anthony.