destijl

That was the 'remodeled' Mays of Michigan store.

As much as I would love to see a rail route, the Rapid could certainly be more useful to airport travelers if: they had a route that traveled continuously from downtown to the airport. The current situation of having to transfer at Woodland Mall is a pain. said route also operated in line with the times that flights depart and arrive, including weekends. So many people are forced to taxi/uber/lyft etc. because the bus can't get them to the airport when they need to be there..

This is not the entire story, but I think this played into it: I seem to remember that Meijer had initially planned to build a store a mile south on property they owned in Grand Rapids Twp. The township would not allow them to build the store on that site, so they built a store one mile north instead, on property within the city limits of Grand Rapids. I don't recall if the property had already been annexed prior to the plans for the store, or if it was part of the process to develop the land. The Grand Rapids Township property was eventually developed as Frederick Meijer Gardens.

Is this the old Dexter Lock site?

I wonder if the structure was torn down to improve the visibility from 28th Street.

The houses are within the boundaries of the Heritage Hill Historic District. Are they not protected?

https://www.nytimes.com/2020/01/23/realestate/where-are-the-best-places-for-millennials-to-live-and-work.html Another 'list' post..

The new airline is probably good news for people wanting to fly to Milwaukee (just my guess). The expansion is the bigger news, IMO.

It was actually East Elementary (formerly East Newhall School). My sixth grade classroom was in the basement.

My dad worked for the architect. I know I have a similar publication from when Woodland Mall was new buried in storage. I thought it was interesting that the MichCon building was originally powered with 100% natural gas. Wonder how long that lasted.

For anyone interested in the history of the building, here's a scan of the brochure given to new tenants when the building opened. MichCon Building 1.pdf The photo on the second to last page is an interesting view of the urban renewal..

Another 'take with a grain of salt' ranking. https://magazine.realtor/daily-news/2019/01/14/7-safest-most-affordable-cities-in-america

"Vies" doesn't translate well though..

Looks like La Grave Avenue.

Here's a newspaper clipping about this..

Bloomberg article sites a Federal Housing Finance Agency report that Grand Rapids had the largest gain in home prices. Bloomberg

I believe it was the Vinkemulder Building.

Random downtown pics, circa 1980s and 90s.

dailymail Developers-Michigan-strip-away-modern-glass-panels-reveal-century-old-buildings-hidden-underneath

As promised, here are pictures I took in the mid 80's during the 'skinning' of the former Helmer Building. I know I posted some of these years ago, but this is my full collection. I found some other interesting shots of downtown form the 80s and 90s, but I'll post them in the appropriate thread.. Sadly, the FotoMat damaged some of the film before processing the prints..

I think I have more of the 'before' pictures that I can post. I'll have to dig though storage to find them, but I have a better scanner now..

WOOD TV studios, all of the medical buildings along State Street and Cherry Street, the old Kent Skills Center, multiple nondescript apartment buildings, to name a few..

never mind. just a glitch.

The way I read the article, the housing example was property in Grand Rapids, but the tech employee in the story moved to the place one hour south..

Are the "rowhouses" that were behind it also gone?