Skip to main content

Grand Rapids Views. 1920-

 File — Box: 11.5, Folder: 4

Scope and Contents

1. Len Aire Photo Co. Aerial. Michigan, Crescent & Lyon Streets, north to south. Division, Ionia, Ottawa Street, with a bit of Bond, east to west. Downtown on the east side of the river. Crescent Hill Park to Regent Theatre near the future site of the Calder La Grande Vitesse, Old City Hall, Old County Bldg., Fox Brewery, Old Police Station, Elks, Immanuel Lutheran, … Neg. 4447, 7/22/2005. 2. Len Aire Photo Co. Aerial. “GR-39” View appears to be Belknap Lookout Park Reservoir(?), with Division/Plainfield and Monroe streets running top to bottom at left, and Coldbrook Street running across the image at the bottom. 3. Len Aire Photo Co. Aerial. “GR-38”. Another view of Belknap Lookout from the opposite. View to the North with a bit of the Grand River top left, and the Belknap Park top right. Appears to be Michigan Street at the bottom right, with the Fox Brewery and the Immanuel Lutheran Church. 4.William Andrews Advertising Photography. Aerial Photo #12 View to the SE from the west side across the highways to downtown. 5. William Andrews Advertising Photography. Aerial. Unidentified industrial view with apartment complex center right. See also 12-2 for more Andrews images. 6. Bernie Photos. Aerial. Belknap? 7. Urban Renewal, Central Business District. GR Press. Aerial from the West Side looking each. Part of the downtown area has been outlined in black ink, including the area to be razed for the VanderVeen Center. Construction of 131 in the foreground. 8. Camera Shop Photo 261528. Accession stamp, Feb. 14, 1929? “Airplane view of Grand Rapids”. Copy Neg. #2110. Aerial view from the West Side across the river to downtown. McKay Tower and the Pantlind are center left. 9. Copy photo of image above. Look for another copy with the aerials in 12-2. 10. Labeled Annual Report, back cover. 1951. New Armory, Michigan and Fuller Ave. GR Press Photo. View shows a large flat roofed building with parking lot in the foreground, service stations across the street, no I-96 yet, a vista in the background rising to a church center left, which is probably Blessed Sacrament Catholic Church on Diamond St. 11. Bird's eye view of a city planning model for downtown, with Vandenberg enter in place, but no Eberhard Center or the Museums on the west side of the river yet off Pearl St. 12. Aerial over 131 from the South with the Grand River in the upper left corner, and downtown Grand Rapids top center. 13. I-96 in foreground, at Ottawa exit to downtown not visible, looking NW to business & industrial structures with 131 behind them. 14. Labeled “E-W Xway” on verso, aerial view is of downtown to the NW, showing 131 N &W on the other side of the Grand River. View is before the downtown urban renewal projects which removed the old City Hall, old County Building Regent Theater and other structures in what would become the Vandenberg Center. Also there is no addition to the Main Library yet. 15. Aerial over I-96 looking SW toward the Vandenberg Center. Hand drawn lines have been made on the photo in the area of Michigan & Division to past Bostwick. 16. Aerial view to the SW, with I-96 in the foreground, looking toward the Vandenberg Center in construction. The Calder sculpture is not yet in place. Early 1969. 17.-18. Two aerial views of Downtown across the Grand River near the Forslund building and F. Raniville Co. on Pearl St. at the bridge. 17. With the McKay Tower and Pantlind centered in one 18. Views to the NE in the other. Frame structure in place for the building across from the new City & County Building, ca. 1970. 19. Another view probably from the shoot above, looking East out Lyon St. from the Civil Auditorium, with the Vandenberg Center, and the steel structure of the building in progress across Ottawa St. 20. Older vista of downtown Grand Rapids in the future area of Vandenberg Center from Crescent St. Hill. Shows the tower for Old City Hall left of center and the tower for the old County Building right of center. Neg. #823 21. View west toward the Grand River, probably from Belknap Lookout, with houses and furniture factory east side of River. 22. Bird's eye roof top view of downtown buildings with the Grand River hidden at the right. Building centered in the view has “Leonard Industrial Building” sign, with this building located at 40-50 Market Ave. NW in 1940. Lower right, the Peggy Ann women's clothing store was at 125 Monroe Ave. at Market. Kresge's is also at the Market and Monroe intersection. 23. Bird's eye view, early 20th century, with Michigan St. in lower right corner. A photocopied sheet accompanying the photo has been annotated with the addresses of the various buildings in the view, including 15 Michigan NW in the foreground, the Miami & Hinton Apartments on Parmenter Place behind this Michigan building, and structures on Fairview and Livingston. 24. Grand River in foreground with Sullivan's Carpets building and various buildings and highway in the background. 25. Church and rooftops hidden behind a bank of snow in the foreground. May be L-R, St. Cecilia's, the Park Church, and a corner of the Ryerson Building roof top right.

Dates

  • circa 1837-2011

Extent

From the Collection: 32 Linear Feet (Approximately 60 boxes)

Language of Materials

From the Collection: English

General

This folder was previously 054-12-1

Repository Details

Part of the Grand Rapids History Center Repository

Contact:
Grand Rapids Public Library
111 Library Street NE
Grand Rapids Michigan 49503 USA
616-988-5497