30 years ago

MARQUETTE – Motorists no longer have to drive to Lansing to obtain an instant title to a vehicle, under changes announced by Secretary of State Candice Miller. To improve customer service in the area, the Marquette branch office will provide instant title service. It is among eight branch offices across Michigan and the only one in the Upper Peninsula offering the service. The service is available for new vehicles, used vehicles with a Michigan title and watercraft. The branch office will also provide instant duplicate titles for lost Michigan titles. Customers must present registration for the automobile and proper identification. The instant title fee is $16.

60 years ago

MARQUETTE – Construction of a major addition to the Marquette Post Office is nearing completion, Donald Brink, Au Train, project superintendent, said today. Work on the $368,000 unit for the sorting and handling of mail began in August 1964, and a completion date is tentatively set for mid-October. The addition to the main floor of the building extends the structure 51 feet north of its original limits. A new mailing platform 12 feet wide and 80 feet long is being finished along the north side of the extension, and a widened driveway circling from Third to Washington streets will allow greater maneuverability of semi-trucks used to haul mail. The heating system of the older structure is being modernized through conversion to an oil-firing unit. Tempered air ventilation for the first floor and a partial basement also have been installed. Housed in the Federal Building, besides the post office, are the Navy and Marine Corps recruiting stations, the Internal Revenue Service, federal court, federal judge, U.S. Civil Service Commission, Federal Bureau of Investigation, U.S. Marshal and selective service board. The old Marquette Bottling Works plant and two other structures were razed to make room for the extension.