First Stage of my Grand Rapids Historic Home Portrait Series Now Completed!
The Greater Grand Rapids Area is home to many beautiful neighborhoods filled with interesting homes full of character. After painting a wide variety of homes in many of these neighborhoods, I thought it was only fitting to showcase these home portrait paintings in a “Greater Grand Rapids Area” neighborhood series. I’ve added all of my house portraits from each neighborhood, which offers its own unique story and style, while the individual homes speak to the creativity of their architectural designers and homeowner caretakers.
Baxter Neighborhood
We’ll begin our walk through Grand Rapids in the Baxter neighborhood. Wedged between Eastown and Heritage Hill, this small tight-knit community is resilient in it’s efforts to create a more progressive and inclusive community, as shown by the Baxter Community Center’s 50 plus years of community involvement.
East Hills
Just north of the Baxter neighborhood, is the neighborhood of East Hills. Commonly referred to as Grand Rapids’ “Center of the Universe”, it sits between seven historic neighborhoods and three business districts. The majority of the East Hills neighborhood was built in the late 19th Century, when the area was made up of orchards and farms. On its southern most end, is the vibrant Wealthy Street area with its bars, restaurants, coffee shops, and parks. Known as a hip walkable area, it is popular with members of the community, both young and old.
Cherry Hill
Cherry Hill Historic District was designated in 1994 as an official historic district. It consists of James Street, Charles Street, Henry street, the west side of Eastern between Cherry and Wealthy, the north side of Wealthy between Eastern and Union, Cherry Street between Union and Eastern, and part of Packard Street.
Cherry Hill has seen a welcome revival since the early 1990s when many properties in the area were in poor repair. Crime, drug trafficking and gang activity were also present. Members of the community banded together to protect the beautiful historic homes and at a group meeting they decided to call themselves Cherry Hill.
As covered in Wikipedia, the Cherry Hill Market opened in December, 1991. During this 1991-1994 period, Cherry Hill community organizers started a series of home ownership seminars. In 1992, these were supplemented by “Practical Preservation Workshops” that showed home owners how to rehab their properties.
Eastown
Right next door to East Hills is Eastown, one of the most popular neighborhoods in Grand Rapids. The homes here are full of character, the streets are walkable and the community is inviting. Another popular area booming with coffee shops, restaurants and bars.
Midtown
Fulton Heights
Directly to the north, the next stop on our Grand Rapids House Portrait Collection Journey is the Fulton Heights neighborhood. A welcoming area with historic homes, the homeowners a passion for creating an expressive community. Organized by the Fulton Heights Neighborhood Association, members of the community come together to make decisions that benefit the neighborhood as a whole, including a very active community garden.
Alger Heights
Bryon Center
As can be seen, all the homes displayed in my greater Grand Rapids collection are between 60 – 140 years old, however just for variety, I thought I would check out some of the outer lying areas of Grand Rapids. Bryon Center is a fairly new subdivision but there are some interesting and unique homes among them such as the one below.
Heritage Hill
A quick hop due west, we arrive in a local favorite: the historic Heritage Hill neighborhood. As one of the first residential neighborhoods in Grand Rapids, Heritage Hill is jam-packed with vibrant history and amazing architecture. People travel far and wide to take a drive through the gorgeous streets. According to the Heritage Hill Association, “Battles were constantly waged during the early years of Heritage Hill. Plans to demolish houses for building and parking lots by private developers, commercial groups, religious, medical, educational, social and municipal institutions were fought.” I’m thankful they fought that fight so we have the privilege of enjoying these amazing homes!
Michigan Oaks
Just a quick drive back east from Heritage Hill, we’ll enjoy a nice pass through the Michigan Oaks neighborhood. Here you will find a selection of Mid-Century Modern and ranch style homes, along with older more seasoned subjects. Michigan Oaks is a pleasant area that feels like a nice mix between suburban and urban. With restaurants and coffee shops nearby, and residents from college students to the retired, I found Michigan Oaks to be a warm and welcoming community.
City of East Grand Rapids
Here is a small selection of historic homes in East Grand Rapids. Click here to see my full East Grand Rapids Home Portrait Collection.
Here is a small selection of historic homes in East Grand Rapids. Click here to see my full East Grand Rapids Home Portrait Collection.
Thank you for joining me on this journey through some of the most spectacular neighborhoods in the Greater Grand Rapids Area. I will be adding further Grand Rapids home portrait paintings being as time goes on, so please feel free to come and visit this blog post again. You may just run into another beautiful home, or an entire new neighborhood!
Leisa