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Grand Rapids Then and Now


6th Gen local

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Well it was suggested to start a separate thread for these pictures I have from around Grand Rapids taken circa.1991. I posted the first batch in the West Michigan - Metro Grand Rapids Photos of the Day thread. Do you have some older construction photos of the GR area? Sorry for the quality, these are 35mm 4x6 pictures scanned to my computer.

Here goes, can you match up a current shot of these pictures?

GrandRapidscirca19912.jpg

Stadium Arena is just left of center in this picture and the first reddish brick building is just going up on the old Green Ridge Golf course up on Alpine Avenue just to the right of the tower in the foreground of the picture.

GrandRapidscirca19913.jpg

The old burnt old looking warehouses are I believe are on the North side of Ann Street, West of the river.

GrandRapidscirca19914.jpg

Stadium Arena is just right of Center and the white Water tower on 4-Mile just West of Alpine is in the distance on the left side of the picture.

GrandRapidscirca19915.jpg

Westbound I-196 from that little lookout North of the highway and Spectrum health. Just to the right of I-196 on the river is a little 2 story hotel that used to be a halfway house or something. Its long gone now.

GrandRapidscirca199126.jpg

Eastbound I-196 from the West side of the river. No development at Butterworth Hospital and the Medical Hill project may not even be someones dream yet in this picture.

GrandRapidscirca199127.jpg

A plaza towers construction picture I missed from the first thread I was posting these in.

GrandRapidscirca199129.jpg

You can't see this view any longer.

GrandRapidscirca199131.jpg

The Hall of Justice and the Police Building before DeVos Place was built.

GrandRapidscirca199134.jpg

Before Spectrum health there was Butterworth Hospital and Blodget Hospital. I think the VanAndel Institute would get in the way of this picture today.

GrandRapidscirca199135.jpg

The Northwest end of the old Monroe Amphitheater, currently Rosa Parks circle. I actually liked that cascading water monument and the kids loved it on hot summer days.

GrandRapidscirca199155.jpg

Monroe Mall?! Chinese food anyone?

GrandRapidscirca199158.jpg

The future site of the VanAndel Institute. The Butterworth Hospital Nurse school dormitory is the brick building on the right hand side of the picture.

GrandRapidscirca199160.jpg

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I liked the photo of the brick "fountain/waterfall" thing. That wasn't up for very long. Aside from being replaced by Rosa Parks Circle and the reopening of the street, can anyone explain to me why it was so short lived?

Edited by d59
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Oh, I totally disagree Wolverine. The old brick pattern was much richer than the current pre-cast concrete panels that are on there now.

In this picture

GrandRapidscirca19914.jpg

that is a warehouse on North Monroe that is still there and looks like that still, the "red tower" thing is the Monroe Avenue Filtration Plant that is now renovated and being re-used as office space, and the Baker Furniture factory still being used by them today.

I'll have to study these some more to find some interesting tidbits.

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Wow this very interesting. So much has been done over the years. Yuck, I'm sure glad they replaced the ugly looking brick design on the Grand Plaza Tower. That design pattern is ugly.

I think the Plaza Towers looked MUCH better with that facade, I didn't even know it was changed. I think the Plaza Towers as they are now are pretty ugly, the brown brick is nice.

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Oh, I totally disagree Wolverine. The old brick pattern was much richer than the current pre-cast concrete panels that are on there now.

I can't say that I like either version in their entirety. The red brick is certainly a much nicer material, but I'm not fond of all of the little tan sqaures that made an almost cherbord patern on the facade. I like the new design for the longer sections of horizontal windows on the corner but not the concrete clading.

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Well for the record, I'm no fan of precast concrete either. But the new facade at least looks less frantic. That checkboard placement of those grayish colored squares between the windows on the old facade is terrible looking. For some reason, architects of the 90's had a liking of putting unnecessary geometrical forms where they don't belong. I think if the Plaza was built today with a brick facade, it would be done much more beautifully. I also question what kind of brick they used then. I heard it was falling apart as well, so I'm guessing it was precast brick panels. If they would have continued the horizontal bands up the tower like they did at the base, then you'd have a winner.

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I can't say that I like either version in their entirety. The red brick is certainly a much nicer material, but I'm not fond of all of the little tan sqaures that made an almost cherbord patern on the facade. I like the new design for the longer sections of horizontal windows on the corner but not the concrete clading.

Its my understanding that the original developer of what was then known as "East Bank" cut costs by using materials that were not recommended by the architect, to the point that the architects made the developer 'sign off' on the changes.

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Well for the record, I'm no fan of precast concrete either. But the new facade at least looks less frantic. That checkboard placement of those grayish colored squares between the windows on the old facade is terrible looking. For some reason, architects of the 90's had a liking of putting unnecessary geometrical forms where they don't belong. I think if the Plaza was built today with a brick facade, it would be done much more beautifully. I also question what kind of brick they used then. I heard it was falling apart as well, so I'm guessing it was precast brick panels. If they would have continued the horizontal bands up the tower like they did at the base, then you'd have a winner.

Could you imagine the cost of trying to put this entire building in brick? I don't think that it would have been economically feasible to do something like that. And God forbid any of them coming loose, that would have not made the area too pedestrian friendly. :thumbsup:

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I can't say that I like either version in their entirety.

Agreed. There's nothing terribly exciting about Plaza Towers.

It isn't exactly 1991, but if anyone would lend me their Cessna for the weekend :wub: , I'd love to get a before & after comparision of this shot:

post-1818-1142314645_thumb.jpg

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Agreed. There's nothing terribly exciting about Plaza Towers.

It isn't exactly 1991, but if anyone would lend me their Cessna for the weekend :wub: , I'd love to get a before & after comparision of this shot:

What is the building on the triangular land on fulton, louis and ottawa? There is a parking lot there now, but it looks like there was a decent sized building there at one time.

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Agreed. There's nothing terribly exciting about Plaza Towers.

It isn't exactly 1991, but if anyone would lend me their Cessna for the weekend :wub: , I'd love to get a before & after comparision of this shot:

GR091102_7%20copy.jpg

Photo by photography-plus (obviously).

The lady that takes the pictures has a whole bunch and will sell you prints. I have one framed next to one of those 1880's-era renderings of downtown, and both of the images are from the same angle. It makes for a pretty neat "then-and-now". :thumbsup:

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I thinks thats the Van Hoeks Shoes building. Yes it had the same chessy 60's makeover that many buildings had in the DT area back then. It has since been removed and looks 100% better

Does anyone have any pictures of the way this building used to be? I am posting this from my office in that building now, it now goes by Aldrich Place. Ed DeVries & Co. a really nice job redoing it. I just can't remember what it used to look like.

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