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Grand Rapids Public Library
Grand Rapids History & Special Collections
Research Guides (revised Nov. 2002)

HOW TO RESEARCH
THE HISTORY OF A HOUSE (OR BUILDING)
There are three basic rules to remember when researching the history of a house or building. While these rules are not infallible, they almost always hold true.

Rule 1: No one has ever compiled the history of your house or building.
Rule 2: What people have told you is usually more myth than truth.
Rule 3: To insure accuracy, you will have to do your own research.

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The following sources are useful when researching the history of a Grand Rapids or Kent County house or building in the GRHSCD Collections:

City & County Directories.
Usage: Directly accessible. In paper or microfilm. No photocopying from paper volumes due to rarity & fragile condition. Copies can be made from years on microfilm.
This is the most comprehensive way available to document the existence of a particular structure. Directories contain the name, address and sometimes occupation of the occupant(s) and/or owner of a structure.

• Since 1999, these directories cover the entire Kent County area. Previously, non-Grand Rapids addresses were only covered in a few late 19th century volumes, and sometimes the Suburban Directories.
• The Suburban Directories cover 1957 to 1997.
• The Grand Rapids City/County Directories cover 1865 to present alphabetically by the name of the occupant, if known. Some business directories are available from 1856 (ask the staff).
• From 1910 to the present, a section arranged alphabetically by street name allows the researchers to trace occupants by a specific address. In 1912 there were major changes in street address numbers, and some street names changed as well. Use the 1912 volume to find both the old and the later street address for a building, then search other library indexes under both addresses.

For comprehensive research of a building, from its construction to the present, use the directories to expand your research by identifying earlier or alternative addresses, and names of occupants. Then, search in other GRHSCD files, using your expanded list of clues.

Betty Gibout Real Estate Listing Cards Collection.
Usage: Staff paging; complete a Yellow Request card.
Listing cards are the original descriptive cards from the listing of an area house or building through a local realtor.

• Organized by address alphabetically and available from 1955 to 1994.
• Does not include buildings sold directly by the owner, by land contract, or other unique sales.
• Contain a description, owner/seller's name, usually a photo, and the listing price.
• May contain the old-style legal description for use at the County Treasurer's Office.
• Some addresses have no cards, some can have as many as 25 or more.
• Some cards are available for buildings that have been torn down in the Real Estate Razed Buildings File.

Newspapers - Special Construction Articles
Usage: If the date of construction is known, researchers can go directly to the newspaper on microfilm for that date. Otherwise, ask staff to search the Architectural Newspaper Clippings Index, currently in construction.

A. Grand Rapids Herald. From 1907 until its demise in 1959, the Grand Rapids Herald contained a Sunday building section that included articles about properties recently constructed. These articles sometimes named the architect, and/or builder, and/or contractor. Also a description of the property, a photo, or perhaps the owner's name, address or neighborhood, might be given.
B. The Grand Rapids Press had a similar but less extensive section, usually on Saturday.

Newspapers - General articles in Grand Rapids newspapers
Usage: Newspapers available on microfilm. Little direct indexing available. Ask staff for assistance in finding citations on other sources that might lead to newspaper articles.
Newspapers are key resources of information on major commercial and/or institutional buildings.

• From 1844 to the present, newspapers are available on microfilm.
• Comprehensive indexing is available from ca. 1986 to the present.
• Limited indexing is available from 1957 to 1985.
• Indirect indexing is available using the following files. Ask staff for assistance.
• Lydens Card Files. Indexing by subject.
• Portrait & Biographical Index & Files. Indexing by names of prominent persons
• Robinson Studio Collection Herald Index. Indexing of photos, which may have run with a related article.
• Obituaries Indexes and files. Obituaries and news articles about prominent deaths may contain information on the disposition of wills and the deceased's property.
• Vertical Files. Photocopies of newspaper clippings by topic.

Newspapers - Clipping Files
Usage: Ask staff for assistance, and for the list of topics included in clipping files or vertical files.
In addition to those newspaper clippings included in Vertical Files, entire notebooks or files of photocopied newspaper clippings are available that may give building information.

Maps & Atlases
Usage: Directly accessible.

A. Kent County Atlases.Available for 1855, 1863, 1876, 1894, 1907, atlases indicate landowners and some building locations for structures outside incorporated areas.
B. Plat Maps. Available for 1919, 1939, 1961, 1971, 1955, 1977, 1981, and 1996, these maps graphically represent the unincorporated plot of ground by the named owner, outside of Kent County incorporated area.
C. Sanborn Fire Insurance Maps. Three editions are available on microfilm; 1888-1895, 1912-1930, 1930-1950. The 1953 edition is available in hard copy. These maps include an outline of every building, naming the building material and other pertinent fire information, for the Grand Rapids city incorporated area only.

Special Source:

Heritage Hill Architectural Historical Inventory Cards. Prepared as a part of the application for historic designation, these microfilmed cards contain information on selected houses in the Heritage Hill Historic District.
Heritage Hill Reference Sources. Kept at the Service Desk, including an index of "Calendar" homes.
Richard Harms Architectural Database. Similar to the Architectural Newspaper Clippings Index, this datafile gives information on area buildings & architects. Ask staff to search; no citations to the original source of the information are given.

Periodicals
Some historical magazines and indexes, such as the Michigan Trademan, the Grand Rapids Mirror, Grand Rapids Progress, Grand Rapids Spectator, may include information on area businesses and images of their structures. Additionally, ask staff to check for trade periodicals related to the factory or building being researched.

Books

• Books about architecture are generally classified in the 720's. This call number area, both in GRHSCD & the circulating collections may include illustrated books about specific house styles, about buildings constructed by specific architectural firms, or located in specific areas. A search of the online catalog or the old card catalog may yield additional titles with information about buildings, in other call number areas.
• Books about prefabricated houses, some including house plans, may be located on the shelf by call number, or may be included in the Grand Rapids Building (Coll. 254) archival collection.
• Books about neighborhoods may also be available, such as Burton Heights by Margo L. Lopez, M977.446.L881b
• Books about an institution may also include information on their buildings.
• Books on the general history of Grand Rapids, such as The Story of Grand Rapids, edited by Z.Z. Lydens, include brief descriptive information on area buildings. Copies of these books are at the GRHSCD Service Desk, and may also be available in the GRPL circulating collections.

Archival Resources
The Grand Rapids History & Special Collections houses over 300 archival collections, including manuscripts, images, ephemera, and occasionally architectural drawings. The content of each archival collection is documented in the finding aid for that collection, available at the GRHSCD Service Desk, and gradually being added to the GRHSCD Web Site. Also, the Master Images Index is available at the GRHSCD Service Desk.
Any number of the archival collections may contain images or documents relevant for building research. However, the following collections are most specifically about buildings:

• Coll. 245, The Past Perfect Historical Preservation Records. This new & growing collection includes images, documents & architectural drawings related to the work of the firm Past Perfect, which attempts to preserve historic buildings & communities.
• Coll. 254, The Grand Rapids Building Collection, including architects and planners, architecture and planning, historical preservation, city planning, landscape architecture. This is a newly defined collection that includes published documents, images, and architectural drawings. This collection continues to grow as new materials are received.
• Coll. 125, the Robinson Studio Collection. Includes photographic negatives of Grand Rapids subjects from 1938-1989. Ask for the Geographic Index.

• Coll. 054 GRPL Photo Collection.
• Coll. 078 GRPL Postcard Collection.
• Coll. 091 Grand Rapids Illustrated Collection
• Coll. 093 Laura Lorenson Photograph Collection
• Coll. 118. GRPL Urban Renewal Pictorials
• Coll. 273. Father Dennis Morrow Buildings Photos, for images of razed buildings.
• Coll. 286. Grand Rapids City Assessor's Office Razed Buildings Files.

Images, including photographs & negatives, glass negatives, slides, postcards, laser copies, etc. Use the Master Images Index, located at the GRHSCD Service Desk, to find collections that contain images for a particular subject, and sometimes by address. Expand your search by using names & addresses for broad location areas or neighboring addresses, which may also include information on your site.

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Information may be available elsewhere:

1. From your neighbor or your local neighborhood association.
2. Sometimes previous owners may still be available and approachable.
3. From an area historical society, or branch library.
4. From other archival collections, such as the State Archives or the Bentley Historical Archives at the University of Michigan..use your imagination to find other source of information

Following are two key government sources:

• AVAILABLE IN THE COUNTY TREASURER'S OFFICE
       Tax History. Available from c. 1875 onward at the County Treasurer's office, 300 Monroe NW. They provide the owner, tax assessment, and a limited description of the structure. You must have the old-style legal description including the name of the developer's subdivision, block and the lot number.
• AVAILABLE IN THE CITY ASSESSOR'S OFFICE
       City Assessment Files. Located in the City Assessor's office in City Hall, these files contain information on each standing structure in the city. Information includes date built, description of structure, and photos. This information is also available on computer in the Assessor's office. Similar offices exist for other incorporated Kent County communities.