Ever wonder who built that house in Heritage Hill? Who lived there, when it was built, what significance the building might have?

The image below is what is called the Heritage Hill Inventory, which can be found in the Local History department. Conducted during the early to mid 1970’s this inventory lists all of the residential properties within the Heritage Hill Historic District. Within this inventory one can find names of the original owners, when the building was built, biographical information on the owner, significance of the building, etc.

The listing above is for a property on Lafayette Avenue that was built in 1878. The house was built for one Thomas Gilbert, former mayor of Grand Rapids. A statue of this mayor resides across the street in Veterans Park.

Actually this question came from a patron who was sure the property was built in 1904 and only recently had become apartments. According to a 1906 City Directory this one time single family home had become subdivided into apartments at the turn of the century!

Filed under: Local History, Research
Tags: Local History, Research
by tgleisne on July 17, 2009