Arleigh (Bud) C. Hitchcock, Jr. was born Sept. 1, 1924 in Owosso, Michigan, the only son of Arlie Hitchcock and Hazel Mann Hitchcock, both of Michigan. Bud Hitchcock served as a pilot in the Air Force during World War II, from June 1944 to Dec. 1945 (B-26; 9th AF321st Medium Bomber Group 574th Bomb Squadron). He continued in the Air Force reserves until August 1955, with the rank of 1st Lieutenant. After WWII, he studied architecture at the University of Michigan, receiving his BS degree in 1949. During this time period he married Patricia Knappen Matheson; they later divorced. Their son Scott Matheson Hitchcock is a current spokesperson for his father's work on the Homestyle Center.

By 1951 Arleigh Hitchcock was a sales manager for Herman Miller, the well known furniture manufacturer in Zeeland, Michigan near Grand Rapids. His resume in this collection also lists positions as Director of Marketing with other Grand Rapids furniture manufacturers, including Shaw-Walker, Irwin Seating Co. and Steelcase Corp., though no dates are given. Hitchcock is believed to have held the position at Herman Miller until some time in 1954. It is perhaps through his sales contacts for Herman Miller that he met Jason L. Honigman, a Detroit lawyer and vice president of Market Realty Company. It is Honigman who is credited with conceiving the Home Research Foundation and Home Style Center, and hiring Hitchcock as the Executive Director for the Foundation. From 1954 to May 10, 1957, when the Home Research Foundation was disbanded due to lack of funds, Hitchcock worked tirelessly to promote the project.

Hitchcock's later employment includes positions as Executive VP with Precision Manufacturing; President V. B. Actuators, Inc. (space research); VP, V. B. Research & Development Inc. (consultants, space research); Chairman, CSI Environmental Sciences Intl., Montreal. He is said to have 40 inventions to his credit. His resume also lists near death experiences at the ages of 8, 12, 20 and 49 years. It is perhaps these experiences which turned his life direction, to become an ordained minister, obtain a Masters in Psychology, and a PhD in Parapsychology. He became a public speaker in these fields. Hitchcock died June 20, 1999 at St. Augustine, Florida.

As one periodical article of the era called it, the Homestyle Center was conceived as an “outdoor museum for houses,” to be located in Grand Rapids, Michigan. These designer houses were to be examples of the work of leading American architects of the era. Experts in interior design and landscape design would also contribute to the exhibits. It was expected that the Center would be a leading tourist attraction for Grand Rapids, complimented by the city's links to the furniture industry. In fact, the origin of the idea for the Center was said to have come from an earlier idea for a “Furniture Village” to demonstrate and exhibit local and national furniture products. The much more elaborate Homestyle Center is a version of todays home shows and Model homes, and was expected to provide the viewers with access to new information on designs and well as new home and construction products. The plan was to renovate the homes each year, to bring in new design ideas and project lines.

The project was conceived by Detroit realtor Jason L. Honigman, and promoted by the young University of Michigan trained architecture Arleigh “Bud” C. Hitchcock, from 1954 through 1957. The Home Research Foundation and the Homestyle Center were widely reported by the professional design community and in the professional design literature during this time. Named as participating architects were such notables of the era such as Buckminster Fuller, Paul Rudolph, Kazumi Adachi and others, though Frank Lloyd Wright is reported to have said he would have to be in charge of the entire project in order to participate.

For such an elaborate project, however, an investment of 2.5 million dollars was originally anticipated and the first of the planned structures was never actually built, for the want of the necessary funds. The project promoters, with Hitchcock as the spokesman, asked in 1957 for a $3,200,000 bond issue to be put on the ballet for a June 4 special election. The Greater Grand Rapids Civic Study Committee advised the City Commission against this. And, when further bids for financial support were made to the local Chamber of Commerce, there was no strong positive support. So, in May of 1957, the offices of the Foundation were closed in Grand Rapids, with post mortem articles now putting the necessary project costs at $4,000,000. While it was suggested by Hitchcock that the idea for a Home Style Center would be offered to several other American cities, it is unknown if any further efforts to develop such as project were made.

The site planned at that time for the project buildings is now the site of Frederik Meijer Gardens and Sculpture Park. The architects listed in the Prospectus for the project included: Kazumi Adachi; John E. Dinwiddle; Alden B. Dow; R. Buckminster Fuller; Harwell H. Harris; Jones & Emmons; Robert Little; George Nelson; Eliot Noyes; Painter, Weeks & McCarty; Ralph Rapson; Paul Rudolph; the University of Illinois, Champaign, Urbana; Royal Barry Wills; Clifford B. Wright; Wurster, Bernardi & Emmons; and Gene Zema. This prospectus also names the interior designers and landscape architects associated with the project. The Design and Standards Committee for the Home Research Center included Peitro Bellushi, L. Morgan Yost, Rodney M. Lockwood, David C. Shipher, Martin L. Bartling, Sidney N. Shurcliff, Arleigh Hitchcock, and two other Grand Rapids representative, architect Kenneth C. Welch, and James P. Erdman, of the Grand Rapids Furniture Makers Guild.