Downtown Silver Bay

Established in 1954 as a company town to accommodate Reserve Mining's taconite processing plant, Silver Bay was built in an upland valley adjacent to Lake Superior. Its downtown, originally designed during the automobile era, comprises a central shopping center encircled by small retail spaces, reflecting a suburban-style development pattern akin to contemporaneous suburbs. The impetus for our involvement with Silver Bay arose from the community's aspiration for a more defined and recognizable downtown. Collaboratively, Damon Farber and the City devised a comprehensive strategy capitalizing on Silver Bay's advantageous position as a trail nexus and midway point along the North Shore. The plan encompasses the creation of an expansive city park, a formalized Main Street, fresh housing initiatives, and enhanced and modernized retail establishments. Envisioned as a launchpad for embarking on Superior Hiking Trail journeys to Tettegouche State Park, a culinary and provisioning stopover, a live music venue, a launch site for biking the Gichi Gami Trail along the shoreline, and ideally, a place of residence, downtown Silver Bay is poised for transformation.