DOOR COUNTY (NBC 26) — As the Sturgeon Bay Historical Society put it: it took eight years of blood, sweat, and tears and even moving the entire structure across the bridge to get to this moment.
- Guests explore the restored granary at its official opening
- Ribbon cutting ceremony celebrates granary’s restoration
- Sturgeon Bay Historical Society explains the granary's journey
(The following is a transcription of the full broadcast story)
Neighbors supporting the revival, like Neil Benson, came out to the ribbon cutting on Wednesday morning in Sturgeon Bay.
"I'm one of those people that said, 'Let's keep it here and do something with it,' and I'm glad they did," Benson said.
Built in 1901 on Sturgeon Bay's west side, the Teweles and Brandeis Granary is now one of the last remaining wooden grain elevators on the Great Lakes.
It was officially designated a historic place by the state in 2017.
THOUGH IT TOOK EIGHT YEARS TO RESTORE, NBC26 WAS AT THE OPENING ON WEDNESDAY:
"We've been following this saga with what they were going to do with it," Benson said.
He remembers when the granary was moved across the Maple-Oregon Bridge in 2018 to save it from demolition.
"And to finally see this is done, it's great," Benson said.
The Sturgeon Bay Historical Society was able to save the granary thanks to donations from a range of supporters, including from Wisconsin Senator Tammy Baldwin.
"A lot of people were skeptical that we would be able to raise the funds," Sturgeon Bay Historical Society Vice President Beth Renstrom said.
The Historical Society says it cost nearly six million dollars including the move to rehabilitate and reopen the granary.
Now, it serves as a living museum open to the public and is also available to rent for private events.
Renstrom says the granary’s restoration highlights the importance of preserving our past.
"This is part of our agricultural history in Door County, in Wisconsin, and across the country," Renstrom said.
The Historical Society says the next phase for the granary is to raise funds to transform the upper level into an interactive space where visitors can learn how the historic structure once operated.
