Division Avenue: A Trip Back in Time – Part 1

Part 1 will look back at the evolution of South Division from the very beginning when it was just an Indian trail. Over time it became a dirt road that connected Grand Rapids to Kalamazoo. Over the next 100 years, attempts would be made to improve the quality of the road bed by using various materials, some of which were failures. At one time the quality of the road was so bad that a poem was written about the misfortunes of traveling on the road.

Not only was the street widened, but several of the buildings were either cut back or moved back to gain the extra room needed for the wider road. The ones that were cut back had a new face put on them which explains why some of the buildings that were built in the 1800’s have a date of 1928 on the front of them.

This first part will also look at how South Division played a major role in the local Christmas economy. Back then there were no big malls or shopping centers on Alpine, Plainfield, or 28 th Street to go to, as they didn’t come into the picture until the late 1950’s and 60’s. The only other street in the city to compete with South Division would have been Monroe, and that street didn’t have nearly the number of retail businesses on it as South Division did. With this, the city made the effort to keep Christmas shoppers in the spirit by decorating every light pole with wreaths and garland.

The rest of part 1 will look at some of the buildings located between Fulton and Wealthy Streets. Things like the buildings architecture, the businesses that occupied them and some of the events that took place in and around them will be featured. Some of these events include a major parade and visitor during World War II, the deadliest hotel fire in Grand Rapids history, and the big Cybernet scandal. Many interesting facts will be shown during this presentation, including how the first brick business block to be built on South Division still stands today and is now the oldest brick building on South Division. Another interesting fact to be shown and talked about will be the Cody Hotel, which was owned and operated by the cousins of Buffalo Bill Cody, the famous western showman. During the nearly 15 years of research done for this project, many artifacts from this stretch of South Division were collected and are scheduled to be on display in October at the Grand Rapids Public Library’s Local History Department on the fourth floor.

I have had an interest in buildings since I was a kid growing up in the suburbs of Syracuse New York. My family moved to Wyoming Michigan when I was in 4th grade.

When I was a teenager, my brother and our neighborhood friends would ride our bikes to the zoo during summer vacation. They would ride through Johnson Park in favor of the scenery while I took a different route, via South Division, so I could see the old buildings.

I have been in the building and construction business for 15 years and in the trade for 22 years. In 2006 I rebuilt the two front entrances on the former Grand Rapids Calendar Building located at 906 S. Division. That is where I got the idea and inspiration to write a book on the History of South Division and its buildings. I’ve been working on it ever since which brings us to tonight’s event.

“Division Avenue: A Trip Back in Time – Part 1”, Wednesday, November 13, 2019, 7:00 p.m. presented by Ed Paciencia.