This Christmas take home a piece of historic downtown Oxford and hang it on your tree.
A limited edition, custom-made pewter ornament commemorating the Northeast Oakland Historical Museum at the northwest corner of Washington and Burdick streets will be available next week at participating local businesses for only $10.
The Oxford Downtown Development Authority (DDA) commissioned the Lake Orion-based Queensland Marketing, Inc. to make 250 ornaments in an effort to promote the downtown’s historic buildings, according to village Manager Joe Young.
‘We approached the DDA about it,? said Karen Ulrich, president of Queensland Marketing. ‘We have been making these (types of) ornaments for about 12 years. They have been wonderfully successful across the country.?
‘Our business is logo merchandise and logo apparel,? Ulrich explained. ‘We help businesses and communities promote themselves. This is one of the unique things we offer for DDAs and historical societies, even churches.?
The oval-shaped, two-dimensional Oxford ornament is about 2? inches wide and about 2 inches tall, according to Ulrich, who sits on the board of directors for the Oxford Area Chamber of Commerce.
It will feature a raised image of the museum on the front side and the name of the building on the back along with the year the ornament was released.
Each ornament will come in a little velour pouch with a ‘romance card? describing the featured building and giving some historical details about it.
Before it became the historical museum in August 1972, the building served as the Oxford Savings Bank from 1922 until 1966.
Besides being wonderful keepsakes, Ulrich said the ornaments are a way for the DDA to ‘help the public understand and appreciate the historic nature? of downtown Oxford’s buildings.
‘We’re hoping we can do this for a number of years for a lot of the historic buildings in Oxford,? said Ulrich, noting they don’t all have to be of buildings that are still standing. ‘We’ve done buildings that are no longer there based on photographs.?
For seven years, Queensland Marketing produced ornaments of historic buildings in downtown Rochester for that community’s DDA. Each year four ornaments featuring four different historic buildings were produced.
Queensland Marketing also provides a custom pewter ornament for Walled Lake. For now, the Oxford museum ornament will be available at the Sweet & Savory Bake Shop, Oxford Antique Mall, Great Lakes Mercantile, Beadifferent, Mark A. Young Jewelers, Pandora’s Box, Time & Again Clothier, Ink & Paper Invitation Studio, The Gourmet Concept and other merchants.