"Why is there a wooden platform behind him leading to a blank wall?"

The wooden platform is actually a bridge over a set of railroad tracks that lead out to cranes for unloading coal in the Marquette Harbor. The wall is for safety as it was a 16' drop down to the tracks. See attached links for different view of Front Street and the City of Marquette around that time. You can see the same wood bridge in one and the cranes in the other. Also you can see the ore docks that gravity load iron ore into ore boats to take the iron ore to Pittsburgh. Iron mining was and still is a big business in Marquette County. The photo in question was taken standing on the a steel bridge leading to the old ore dock that can be seen in the attached photos.

https://www.shorpy.com/node/12493?size=_original#caption

https://www.shorpy.com/node/12492?size=_original#caption

Now that is good product placement for a dentist to open up shop next door to an ice cream parlor. I wonder if he is a partner in both locations.

ware·room [noun \ˈwer-ˌrüm, -ˌru̇m\] A room in which goods are exhibited for sale. First known use: 1811.

Regarding the wooden wall, that appears to be for a railroad line running underneath the street. You'll see a railroad station to your left, as well as a different street cover along this extent. I believe the wall was to keep people away from the train tracks.

Presumably ware rooms are what you find in a warehouse, in this case storing furniture.

I wonder what kind of rooms are ________RE ROOMS? See the brickwork high on the hotel(?) on the left.

[From the panorama we later published. Now we just have to figure out what it means. - tterrace]

It's noon by the building clock, and the locals are mobbing the ice cream parlor.

The picture of this town 103 years ago is full of life and interesting little moments; boys chatting, someone selling balloons (?), a man leaning on his cane with panache while another just watches the world go by, beautifully dressed women with children shopping -- a myriad of details I am fascinated by. Jump to the same spot in 2012 and ... nothing. Hard to imagine anyone doing Shorpy's wonderful job in the future because what aficionado of history would want to spend time looking a HD closeups of empty streets, cars and maybe a pedestrian or two. Bottom line, one picture is endlessly absorbing, the other totally boring. Makes you wonder about "progress."

So many questions: What's the guy selling that has the kids so interested? Why are some in uniform? Speaking of which, the man across the street (front right) appears to be in a policeman's uniform, but the hat is too informal. Also, he has a cane. Why is there a wooden platform behind him leading to a blank wall? And that kid there can't be doing what he looks like he's doing. Can he?

Between a glitch in Google Street View and the difference in the lenses, it's impossible to capture the same angle - but this is close. A nice assortment of "still standing" and "long gone." (Pedestrians and trolley cars seem to be in the latter category.)