         
History in Creston
just realised i havnt posted my research findings so far. i say so far as i found out a lot more stuff recently and still need to cross reference and check facts. i was researching the inhabitants in the apartments above but also the shop fronts, including The Rock Shop. this whole building was known from 1911 (and probably earlier) as Blickley Block. the street numbers back then were 263, 265 and 267. they then switched in 1912 to the present day numbering system (1515-1519 both odd and even numbers) something i found interesting in these number changes, was the way in which they show the way that the apartments were subdivided sometime between 1912 and 1917 and came to incorporate half numbers too. from the number of people that lived at 1517 1/2 is seems that that number refers to the whole floor above the shop fronts. i have complied a table of the residents from 1911 - 1925, including occupation and information about other properties owned. it seems to be not uncommon for people to rent in one place whilst also being householder of a different building. this struck me as one way in which the community must have been tighter knit as people chose to live in close proximity (presumably for economic reasons) even though they owned their own place and in some cases a business too. another weird thing is that there were hardly any couples listed as living here, i found predominantly bachelors and widows. this could mean that rather then 'apartments' as we know them, this building could have been more of a boardinghouse. i won't post the table of residents as im already rambling but if anyone is interested id be happy to make them a copy. with the lists of residents i began colorcoding residents whose names recurred more then twice (this maybe why i had that dream about becky and i finding residents maps!) i became very interested in a woman named Elizabeth L. Mills who lived at 1519 between 1908-12 and then at 15171/2 until sometime before 1925. she was a dressmaker and a widow of Charles W Mills. i felt a connection to her as not only was she the longest tennent, but also because of what i was able to imagine about her life from the information. tracing her back to 1905 she was a housekeeper at 281 Flat str. and by 1925 she was living at 1371 Plainfield. from 1929 until 1941 she is listed at 1545 Queen av NE which is the street that runs parallel behind plainfield. confirming what paul said about creston residents not moving far from the area. all of these places are marked on the map i brought in which is on the wall. i then began researching her deceased husband Charles W. if the records i found were correct, he was born around 1815 and died around1892. these dates seem to fit. in 1882-3he was a partner in Mills and Lacey manufacturing/ druggists making embalming fluid and boarded at the Sweets Hotel (did i read that that is now the country club?) address listed as 209 S Divison. by 1903 the company was still listed under the same name though i presume he had died by then. since the i have found that Elizabeth had a daughter, and a possible residence for her at the age of around 11. also found info on Charles W mills' parents with dates for both about birth, race (white) occupation and property ect. also possible elizabeths maiden name Bartlett. all of this needs to be checked as there were a few occasions where the dates were a year or two out either side. -sorry this is long!! kate 2/23
From a Letter 1924 James Richard S Secretary of Creston Citizen's Association The Creston Citizen's Association "Mouth Piece of 15000 people" Info. taken from letter. The association has been working on Creston Park, Briggs Park, and Riverside Park. Along with building a Sidewalk on Knapp "just across the City Limits" the sidewalk will be used to access Fair Plains Cemetery. The Association has also contributed to the building of the Ann Street Bridge, Leonard Street Bridge, and the Street Car extension No Date From a Letter to Mr. EB 120 Waverly Ave SE City (describing the citizen's association) The Association is strictly non partisan and nonsectarian "its purposes broadly speaking, are to advance the industrial economic, educational and recreational interests of the community and to generally promote any idea calculated to the general benefit and welfare of the community" The letter also mentions that there are 15 other similar associations in the city. 1924 Lodges and Associations registration form Secretary James Richard Creston Citizen's Association present membership 300 President John W. Scott Meetings held the first Tuesday of every month at Pages Hall Corner of Plainfield and Quimby Change of location to Coit Ave and Quimby St. City Directories History of 1431 Plainfield Ave. At Coit NE Dates Buisness Residents 1889-1903 Consolidated Chemical Co./ Pages hall Page and son druggist and residence John S, Eliza, and William J Page 1906 Pages Drugstore JW Browne Proprietor 1908 Kent County Savings Bank Branch 1912 Kent State Bank Mrs. Linkfield Page Block and Hall 1962 Creston Branch of GR Public Library From News paper clippings Grand Rapids Herald July 10 1910 From The Building News and Gossip column. "Building Lively in Creston region" " Cheapness not considered-Many houses of Good Medium class are being erected out there." houses described as 2 story frame, cement foundations, 7 or 8 rooms, bath, gas, electricity, heated by furnaces, full sized cellar, a cistern- well or city water, oak and yellow pine floors, built by perspective occupants. The Grand Rapids Herald March 25, 1914 possible association projects new fight of stairs up Newberry to Lookout park bubbling fountain soon installed at the square in Creston. The Grand Rapids Herald August 12, 1914 Annual Picnic of citizen's association held at North Park New Issues enforcing the auto ordinance extension of Plainfield Ave. Car Line Electric lights on Plainfield Ave. and Leonard St. Grand Rapids Herald "The Fifth Ward will now be known as Creston and the residents will now be known as Crestonites" no longer to be known as fifthwarders or Northenders Meeting held at Shannahan's Hall on Plainfield to celebrate the name change. Said of the citizen's association " a movement of this kind a movement for the good of the community has no ulterior motives. You can cast aside your petty jealousies and spite and work together for the public good" a quote form the Assistant city Attorney S.W. Baker The Grand Rapids Hereald 1931 "The Herald and Merchants of District will sponsor fairy queen contest" vaudeville, other entertainment, band concerts, circus acts, center of activities will be at Plainfield and Coit. 1931 "HAPPY THRONG OF 6000 ATTENDS CRESTON " 5 year old Ailene Anderson Fairy Queen Ad from News paper Clipping BUY GRAND RAPIDS "PATRONIZE HIM WHO PATRONIZE YOU" jenn s.
paul: thanks for the links. spent some time reading some of the history stuff. Here are a couple of tidbits to clarify/update. The old Plainfield School was where Star Collision now has their office. Roger Williams is the owner and is a big Creston fan (the Polar Bears, you know). He is also a big fan of the neighborhood. Have known him for 20+ years. He would love to chat with anybody doing historical research. Come to think of it, I could find a handful of older Creston folks who would be great to chat with. Sr. Roberta and Fr. Turk from ST. Al's would be among them. If your students are interested, let me know. Might be kind of fun to do as a small group work. The Sweet farm (now the country club) was also at the original city boundaries. North of Sweet street was considered outside the city! The Briggs family homestead is north on Plainfield,....east side of the street, just south of Sligh. Has a historical marker, in fact. When the addition to Creston high school was built, a number of Sweet Street houses were torn down. It was a huge controversy. Wouldn't happen now; the neighborhood association wouldn't stand for it. Speaking of Sligh Blvd., that was once upon a time a golf course. Fr. Turk , our associate pastor at St. Al's, used to be a caddy there. There is also an interesting history of St. Alphonsus Parish banging around someplace. I'll see if I can snag a copy for you. It's amazing. That parish is different from any other in town. It is served by the Society of the Redemptorists....a religious order with a strong social justice agenda. Very cool. It's what keeps so many of us former city dwellers coming back to Al's to worship. I think the story is that there are 42 religious (brothers, priests, nuns) from the area bounded by Carrier, Lafayette, Page and Plainfield. It's a big deal and the story gets told so many different ways....They are mostly Redemptorists and Dominicans The old theatre (where Sister Roberta used to go as a kid) across from you was owned by the Society for the Preservation and Encouragement of Barbershop Quartet Singing in America. They were great guys. The neighborhood association had a las vegas style fundraiser there once. Other than the removal of the seats, it was in its original shape.. It had great art deco style wall sconces. It also had a barbershop chair in the lobby! The guys kept a beer fridge in the old concession area. Was a gob of fun. well, thanks. Keep up the research. let me know if you want me to gather a group to reminisce and remember.... Helen
David has the sense that the school from the start was intended to have a fine arts and academic emphasis. Between the old school and Plainfield used to be a large green lawn. When you enter the main (old) entrance (under the 7 gargoyles) The first space in the main hall is the Library, which used to be an ornate auditorium. The stage, balcony, wings, and ornate trim can still be seen. When they converted it to a library, they had to level out the floor. David wonders if there is a way into the space under the new floor - and if the old seating might still be intact. The building (having been built in 1923 - shortly after WW1) originally had a bomb shelter. There are still some odd cots around in storage. The structure still exists and is used for some storage. The original gym has been split into offices and classrooms including the art room. I have been in numerous schools in which the gym becomes and art room and they always have amazingly high ceilings. I have not been into the art room yet. One of the rooms includes the balcony from the old gym. There is an old elevator shaft that was original to the building with strange doors. It was just filled in recently. There is a strong ROTC program which includes a firing range. They used to shoot 22 caliber rifles, but now have switched over to air rifles. The range is currently shut down due to a death in a similar firing range in another state. Slowly the ROTC firing ranges are being inspected and re-certified. I could not imagine that there is programmed shooting as part of an educational program, but there is. The land was donated by the Briggs family who had a farm in this area. I think they were involved in development. There is a city park off Knapp called Briggs park. When I asked about mixed-income neighborhoods David felt strongly that Riverside park has historically been important in the stabilization and civic good vibe in the Northeast. The park runs along several miles of the River and provides wide-open spaces for everyone. Also the existence of the park blocked the likely high-end property development that would otherwise privatized the waterfront. Growing up in proximity to the Country Club, David's perception was that the club was separate and isolated; never seen as part of the neighborhood. "They" are part of a backdrop. The division between the club and the neighborhood has become more concrete as the neighborhood has changed from firmly middle-class to more of a low-income area. Also, the suburban development that David grew up in is separate from the neighborhood in much the same way (but I understood at a different level). When I drove around I noticed that the suburban tract is bordered by the club to the west, Knapp to the north, and Kent Hills Elementary school and park to the south. There is a weird zone that exists between the suburban tract, Kent Hills School, Kent Hills Road where it dead-ends. This zone buffers a strip of very exclusive homes which are isolated and surrounded on all sides by odd borders. paul 2/2
I had fun looking up the Kent Country Club, which I didn't even know existed till this point. I found that surprising because looking at a map you can see it's huge. In a library book not-for-checkout, I found an in-depth history written by and for the people of the club. Highlights: It's the oldest golf club in Michigan, built in 1901. Edward Lowe was inspired in 1896 after a trip to the Royal and Ancient Golf Club in Scotland. His vision was of a place where GR's affluent could go to enjoy nature. As the "Country Club", they originally leased property at Fisk Lake on the corner of Plymouth and Wealthy (animals such as deer were supplied to provide for a natural atmosphere). Members -men and wmn- were elected annually, paying $5 and $2.50 per year respectively ($2.50 = the daily wage of a furniture factory worker). Moved to Creston (the neighborhood previously known as the "Bloody Fifth" due to its city zone and the history of the folks who lived there!) Club bought the farm of Martin Sweet, one of the many farmers in debt during the 1890s. The location was convenient because it was close to the city– members could get to the club easily via the North Park Streetcar line, which was extended as far north as the Club gate. All Streetcar Company officers were members. Factoid: In the agreement with the bank, 58 remaining acres of wheat were reserved until harvest time. To solve the problem of having to work around it, the club bought the wheat crop. A rolling green was born! As Creston developed through the years, there's been some struggle over property use, specifically with roadways and land. (Lots of money rests in the club, on land that was often bought at bargain prices. See Creston High School) Owners of the club bought property along the south side of the Club land (Kent Hills Rd, Sweet St), which served to protect it from the city's efforts to develop it. Around 1923: Citizen's Association proposed extending College Ave to allow for traffic to the northern business district of Creston. Proposal made to extend College and turn the Club into a municipal club– the proposal never made it to the ballot, because before it got there the Club generously offered to donate a site north of Knapp for the municipal club. Another dispute, over extending Sweet Street. The Kent Hills community didn't want to disrupt their property (values). Plan was made to develop the "Keeler property", a strip of land along the east side of the Club (along Fuller). Public utilities were allowed to be put through the Keeler lot, but not roads. This land was developed on purpose to not be through-ways. Property protected from city planners...all in a day's work for our Country Club! ;) (kind of) fun facts: >> the golf term "par" (meaning 'new lower score') was an adaptation of the Wall Street term for "standard value" >> the term "bogey" (one stroke more than par) came from a popular song of the day called "The Bogey Man". Something to do with a goblin making you play bad golf I think. >> the name "Creston" comes from the crest of hills that surrounds GR–the residents wanted to name it something nicer to beat the stigma of being from "the Bloody Fifth" ~rachel j
I started out researching the St. Alphonsis Parish on our library day, which I've heard referred to as "St. Al's" by local Crestonites. It was built in 1888 when John Clancy gave sixty grand for grouds and buildings of the orphan asylum (the first building of the parish). The first masses were held September 2, 1888, and the congregation grew steadily; in 1893 it had 225 families and by 1932 it had 520 families and 414 children in the St. Alphonsis Parish School system. I also wrote down a list of the Fathers to date who have served in that Parish. Now we found out on an excursion to local businesses that they give out free hot meals to anyone in the neighborhood thursday nights. Would be interesting to attend. THEN I tried to research the Kent Hills road odd dead end.... without much success in findings. I also was intrigued by the store of junk that is abandoned next to the rock shop, and so i researched it.... and found that it went back and forth from being housing and an auto supply store.... and then in 1978 it became "Granny's Attic Flea Market" and continued to be that until 1995, when 1511 Plainfield became unlisted or listed as "unknown" in the books. I looked online at Paul's suggestion to a place where it could tell me through taxes the owner of the space, and I found her name and looked up a phone number, so I will be calling that number to inquire soon about this curious space, which is annoying to business owners and citizens of Creston for it is a cluttery mess and eyesore, yet interesting as all get out to me. I will find this Granny, and I would love to investigate in her attic and see what is in there.
Paul 1/31
I began to research a house that I came across on our walk the first day of class. It's number 30 Sweet NE, I was immediatly drawn to it, and could tell it was much older than the houses around it. I began to research it and found that it was built in 1890 and owned by a John H. Hanrahan. I traced him until he married and then had three daughters, one who died quite young. I'm still getting the details of the family's history, but they did live in that same house for over 50 years. After the two daughters sold it, it went from owner to owner and became sort of run-down. I became so fascinated with the idea that an entire nuclear family's history was in that house, and now there's no trace of it left (I talked to the current renter) The fragility of that history and how quickly it's forgotten made me start to think about our histories. Not only in the larger picture of our lives but in what we'll be doing at the rock shop. How much of a mark will we be leaving, and will we actually become part of that history? Becky
In June 1924 G. Glenn Fleser constructed the Creston Theatre at 1516 Plainfield. As the proprietor of the Crestonette Vaudette (built 1920, burlesque?) at 1408 Plainfield, Fleser was already well invested in community entertainment venues. That it was built in 1924, three years before the introduction of synchronized sound, it can be logically concluded that the Creston began its life as a silent theater, and likely made the conversion by the mid 1930s. At some point (1940s?) it came under the control of Harry Himmelstein, who ran it as a second run children’s theater until February 1972. A boastful man, Himmelstein would proudly declare, “The popcorn is the best in town, the restrooms the cleanest, and the price the cheapest.” By the early 1970s these attractions, however, were not filling the seats. On February 6, 1972 a cover article was published in Wonderland Magazine, an accompaniment to the Grand Rapids Press, called The Himmelstein Decision. Reporter Jon Halverson covered Himmelstein’s decision to change from a children’s theater to more “adult fare.” It closed its series of Saturday Disney double features with 20,000 Leagues Under the Sea and King of the Bears, and by Monday was showing pornography. I looked at the film listing section of the press for that day (a Tuesday, I think) and found alongside mainstream film adverts (Dr. No, etc.) show times for The Butterfly, the first title shown at the new Creston Theatre. (Incidentally, the butterfly was also playing at the Cascade Blue across town.) how bizarre that the press was running ads for pornography! By 1985, the theatre was for sale. Sometime after 1985 it was converted into an office building, encased with a new veneer, and painted gray. Lacking any kind of signage, im not yet sure what resides in there today. An interesting parallel can be made between the conversion of Himmelstein’s theatre and America’s national changing views on pornographic materials. It was this same year (though several months later) that Deep Throat and Behind the Green Door, America’s first legally released hardcore pornographic films were released. I recently read an article in sight and sound comparing the cultural perception of pornography as they developed in American and the United Kingdom (where hardcore pornography was barred) in the press article, himmelstein says something to the effect that he had to make the decision whether to continue showing wholesome films or start showing adult oriented films "like everyone else." this quote and the fact that other theaters were also showing the butterfly suggests a local trend that parallels the national change.it would be interesting to examine our neighborhood in the context of a countrywide shift in perception. That Himmelstein changed his theater in this watershed year for American pornography is utterly fascinating to me. i guess i see this examination taking the form of a paper. oh, also as i was researching the theatre, i kept running into people around the library who had personal recollections of the theatre. two of the librarians told me about the door prizes the theatre would offer at its saturday matinees. apparently you could win "40 strings of REDDDDDDDDDD licorice." it would be great to do something like that at one of the events at our space, offer door prizes in that tradition. another guy who was researching civil war gravesites told me about how he used to go the theatre all the time when he was younger, and another theatre on market (the avalon) that was also turned into a porn theater. "why do i know all these old porn theaters?" he asked. "oh, you know..." he answered himself with a wink. it was both amazing and terribly creepy.  zona, this is unrelated but kind of interesting. reeds lake, one of the metro area's few inland lakes also had a steamship. i wonder if they were operated by the same company, or was it just a free for all on steamships? l, geo. George, At some point I recall that theater was owned by a barbershop quartet organization. I always imagined that they would meet and sing for each other. I wonder about the Vaudette building down the street. -Paul
I reviewed the sanborn maps for our area from 1912 and 1935. I hope to print out some tabloid size versions, but the focus was bad on a bunch of them and I need to re-shoot them. One thing I found out in studying the maps was the story behind the way that Lafayette Street curves around cutting into the side of the hill and terminates into plainfield. The 1912 map shows Lafayette dead-ending into Quimby and the space occupied by Lafayette street at Plainfield was part of a huge old school called Plainfield school. I looks like in encompassed the space now occupied by the parking lot north of the building across the street. Paul w.
On a different subject that i experienced while doing the research, i found that for many years the location of the Frosty Boy was a gas station. In discussion with paul he explained a interesting way of thinking. He said if you were to flatten histoy this location would be serving gas based ice cream. This is a intruiging way to look at the history of a location. jesse hora
 I researched the water flitration plant, on monroe north of leonard. It was placed in service in 1912, and wiped out tyhpoid fever in grand rapids. In 1940 a pipeline was built from grand rapids to lake michigan to add to the stations water supply. In 1945 our plant was the first in the nation to add flouride to the water supply. In 1960 a new plant was built on the shore of lake michigan to cover the water needs of our expanding city. Then in 1983 there was a coliform bacteria scare which led to the plant being closed in 1993. in 2001 a group tried to turn the plant into a research facility but the plan was scrapped due to lack of funds, currently developers are looking to convert the aged facitly into office space, or condominums. The buidling is suprisingly ornate, built with flemish redbrick, green tile roofs, and intricate metalwork over the entranceways. It looks more like a mansion, or a seat of governtment, than a mundane public service building. This building represented public pride, and somewhere along the way we have lost that pride. our utility buildings are now hidden, or placed miles away from the city, where in older times they were celebrated, new technologies, things to be marveled at. I think it shows how much we take for granted. Neil
i have just finished the 'embracing history' handout and was struck by how closely it ties in with goals that we can acomplish through our local history research. having missed the Derive and the first day of class i have become aware that i am treating the research as my glimpse into the community. i have been looking into the changing inhabitants of the apartments both above the rock shop, and the rest of the building which was formerly known as Blickley Block. by exmaining the lives of these people and changing roles of the space, i am feeling the 'emotional engagement' which is refered to, as vital at the end of the text. i was also interested in the local handbooks which were mentioned in reference to raising awareness about cultural landscapes. maybe we could collate some of our research into a booklet for local residents to raise interest not only in the rock shop but also the surrounding area. after becky approached a local resident about the history of their house it seemed suprising that people weren't aware of the history surrounding them. another interesting point was the importance of the changing roles of historical spaces. part of my enthusiasm for the research was sparked by imagining what went on in the building. although we will only be there for a short time, i still think our involvement is significant in this ongoing history. with steves agreement maybe we could put together a time capsule as a record or our habitation which could be put in the building somewhere for the future. i would be interested in any feedback on this idea. i am also looking forward to continuing the with the progress we have already made :) kate ——- sun 1/23
I have been researching the Grand River and I have found some fascinating things out there that I never knew. The Grand River is know for having riverboats traveling up and down on it which I think is really cool that river use to look like the Mississippi I wonder if they did river boat gambling as we do in this day. The last time a steamboat traveled down the Grand River was in April of 1971. As with all rivers the Grand has flooded many time some years more than other in of January of 1973 the Grand flooded so much that in the downtown area they were serving people supplies by boats down the main roads of Grand Rapids. Right now the Grand Is 8 feet above flood levels and there are homes under water/ ice as I write this, and we have tons of snow that has not melted I wonder if this year will be as exciting as 1973. Another interesting fact on the river was in 1883 logging on the river was a major way of life and there were series of “big booms” along the river I Grand Rapids. Big booms are multiple planks on the river where the mills pick their choice logs for the mills to process. And during this time in 1883 the river began to flood and there was a huge log jam that over took the Grand.
I began researching the railroad corridor near Taylor, Sweet, and Monroe. I wasn’t really sure what I was looking for because information is hard to find on rails. When I found out that the railroad is called the Grand Trunk, I found a lot of newspaper articles about it. I also found a few pictures from 1937, 1941, and 1963 of businesses and houses along those streets. In one of the 1937 photos I could see license plate numbers that were interesting, because the cars that were parked next to each other had similar plate numbers: K39134, K24109, K77735, K70809, K38698, and K31522….kind of strange. One of my main buildings of interest is at 1530 Taylor Street which was the Waltz-Holst Blow Pipe Co. The building is very much abandoned now, but I did find a website for them… they are now in Ada. http://www.waltzholst.com/services.htm Jules  |
