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Come to GR for the
International Art Festival, ArtPrize!
Email:
heritage@heritagehillweb.org
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2009 HERITAGE HILL HOME TOUR
HOUSE DETAILS
40th Annual Heritage Hill
Weekend Tour of Homes
Saturday and Sunday, October 3rd and 4th, 2009
Hours: 11 am to 5 pm on Saturday
Noon to 6 pm on Sunday
2009 Annual Tour
Brochure
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211 Lafayette NE - This 1901
Craftsman-style house sits on one of Heritage Hill’s busiest streets, but
its backyard oasis can make you forget where you’re at. The current owners
have lived in the house for just barely a year and have already tackled two
of the biggest projects many homeowners face: the renovation of their
kitchen and the creation of a second-floor nursery for their first little
one due just two months after this year’s home tour. |
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17 and 25 Lafayette SE - These two
grand buildings built in the late 1800s house 27 apartments total on a block
that has no single family homes and nearly another 50 apartments to go along
with these. Conversion to apartments was, for the most part, tastefully done
and much of the original charm and beautiful craftsmanship still remains.
Though only two apartments will be seen in each building, tour-goers will
get a good sense of, and marvel at, the craftsmanship and detail these
building have to offer. |
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246 Union SE - Built in 1906, this
house offers stained and leaded glass windows throughout as well as
quarter-sawn oak in both trim work and flooring around every turn. Unique
features like a full main floor bath that actually sits a half flight below
the front staircase and the original, old-fashioned turn-type light switches
are among the features that make this home a treasure. |
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217 Madison SE - Sitting on land that
once comprised an early Grand Rapids cemetery, this circa 1876 home went up
following the eventual move of the graves to the Fulton Street Cemetery in
the late 1830s. It underwent an expansion around 1912 and then was converted
to three apartments in the 1950s. Though a single family today, the house
still retains some remnants of its multi-family use. The main floor,
however, will have visitors thinking they’ve stepped back to the 1912s once
again, especially upon seeing the living room, dining room and the
wonderfully ornate and truly Tudor Gothic library. |
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440 College SE - Built by George L.
Keeler, owner of Keeler Brass, circa 1905, this house is another example of
prairie-style construction: side gabled, symmetrical, but with an off-center
entrance. Unlike many homes of the area, this home has an openness and flow
about it that carries the visitor smoothly from room to room without abrupt
turns and obstacles. The kitchen’s open layout invites the outside in as the
large windows allow an almost conservatory atmosphere to the garden beyond. |
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573 College SE - This Craftsman-style
house, built circa 1895, was not actually occupied by the couple that had it
built until nearly 10 years later. They continued to live just a few houses
up the street and were at that time, it seems, what we would call today,
real estate speculators. They owned several lots (about two dozen at one
point) which they purchased once this part of the neighborhood was platted
around 1894. The home has many fine features, not the least of which is its
brand new kitchen, designed by the one of the owners, a professional chef. |
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439 Lyon NE - This circa 1867 home was
one of the last built on this street, at one time the site of a cavalry
camping grounds during and following the Civil War. This home’s recent
renovation garnered the current owners recognition this past May from the
Grand Rapids Historical Preservation Commission. They walked away with the
award for Outstanding Residential Preservation Project. |
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440 Logan SE - It’s back! This
English-style home built in 1914, was on Tour in 2008 as a work-in-progress.
The reaction from tour-goers was phenomenal, so it was only logical to bring
it back this year, finished! Home to one of the pioneers of the electric
refrigerator and owner of the Grand Rapids Refrigerator Plant – later the
Kelvinator plant, this home’s journey from riches to rags and riches once
again is breathtaking. The current owners have created a bed & breakfast
haven in a home too big for one family to live in, but too beautiful to
change. |
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62 Union SE - This attractive home
draws its influence from the Gothic style with its steeply pitched roofs
which form angular gables and the decorative Gothic details which are used
over the doors and windows. To representatives of the midwestern vernacular
style of architecture, this circa 1885 home is a joy to behold, even though
it has no distinct claim to fame by way of features that define any major
architectural styles. The current owners, having spent over 30 years as
missionaries in Nigeria and Sierra Leone, among other African nations, are
proud to show us their home and a bit of African art and craftsmanship
collected from the villages in which they lived, taught and learned. |
Also on Tour This Year |
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227 E. Fulton – First United Methodist Church
This 1916 massive limestone church building is a modified 14th century Tudor
Gothic. The Chancel Window was designed by Tiffany Studios in New York and
measures 14 feet tall and 26 feet wide. In addition to Tour, the Church is
also an ArtPrize venue with one featured artist. |
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74 Lafayette NE - The McCabe-Marlowe Home
Grand Rapids Community College’s jewel on Lafayette is open once again this
year. Built between 1865 to 1870, this stately Italianate serves as a
hospitality house and provides unique learning experiences for GRCC
hospitality and interior design students. |
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MEYER MAY HOUSE
The venerable Frank Lloyd Wright-designed
home turns 100!
450 MADISON SEA prominent Grand Rapids’ clothier, Meyer May,
commissioned Frank Lloyd Wright to build this Prairie style home in 1909.
The home is Wright’s first commission in Michigan and is true to Wright’s
philosophy that “form and function” are equal. Every aspect of the home’s
design works together to create a unified and harmonious whole. This year
marks the 100th birthday of this spectacular home. |
VOIGT HOUSE
115 COLLEGE SE
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Can you say Oom-Pah-Pah! The German Fest
returns!
In 2009, the Grand Rapids Public Museum ceased regular public hours to tour
this 1895 Chateauesque-style home. The Heritage Hill Home Tour is now one of
the few times to see inside this amazing house. In tribute to the heritage
of the Voigt family, volunteers are presenting the 3rd annual German
festival on the grounds of the home complete with food, drink and sale
items! A treat for the whole family!
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