2022-02 GRHS Grand River Times 43-05

Volume 43, number 5

February 2022

Grand River Times The Newsletter of the Grand Rapids Historical Society

Inside this issue: Cover Story: Part II, The Pantlind Hotel Letter from our President page 2 “We Get Mail” - 1899 Yearbook page 5

Taste of Soul Sunday page 6 GRHS YouTube Channel page 6 Photo Sleuth page 7

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Grand River Times

The History of the Amway Grand Plaza Hotel Part II—The Pantlind Hotel

by Ed Paciencia, GRHS Board Trustee Talks of building a brand-new multi-story hotel took place between 1910 and 1911. At first, it was decided to build an eight story, 400 room hotel that would have a banquet hall that could seat 600 guests. The new structure would cost $1 million and take about a year to build. Due to the ever-growing furniture conventions that took place twice a year, owners figured that a 400-room hotel would not be big enough. New plans were drawn up for an eleven story, 550 room hotel that came with an estimated price tag of $1.5 million. A finance committee was formed and given the responsibility of raising the capital needed for the construction of the hotel which included selling bonds.

While the rest of the world was paralyzed with shock and disbelief over the sinking of the Titanic in April 1912, J. Boyd Pantlind and his men tried to remain focused on getting the new hotel designed and built as soon as possible. Architects from New York were hired who then consulted with the finest hotel designers and engineers n the country. The best features in the finest hotels in America and Europe were incorporated into the design on the Photo courtesy of the Amway Grand Plaza Hotel The north half of the new building was new Pantlind. Later that year the constructed first. This allowed the hotel Pantlind Hotel Building Company to continue operating out of the old was formed. The responsibility of building (far left) during construction. this organization was to oversee the construction of the new hotel which included having the authority to close contracts, hold meetings, and make necessary changes and decisions whenever needed.

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Dear GHRS Members: We are taking a program break in February while we line up the remainder of our programming for the rest of the season. Going virtual has been a challenge for many of our speakers. We would all like an in person event, however do not anticipating that happening in the foreseeable future. We invite you to snuggle down for the month. Visit your local library The Grand River Times is the and take out a book on local history, wherever you newsletter of the Grand Rapids Historical Society, published six may live. Check out the Society YouTube offerings. Check out the times annually. Established in 1894, HistoryDetectivesGR YouTube videos. Visit the Grand Rapids Historical the Grand Rapids Historical Society is dedicated to exploring the history Society Facebook page. We will virtually see you again in March. of West Michigan; to discover its romance and tragedy, its heroes and scoundrels, its leaders and its ordinary citizens. The Society collects and preserves our heritage, passing it on to new generations through books, lectures, and education projects.

Be warm, be safe, be healthy.

New Members Pat Combs

Executive Committee: Gina Bivins, president Matthew Daley, vice-president John Gelderloos, treasurer Nan Schichtel, secretary Board members: Charles Bocskey Angela Cluley Thomas Dilley Matthew Ellis Chris Kaupa Gordon Olson, emeritus Ed Paciencia Wilhelm Seeger, emeritus Jeff Sytsma Julie Tabberer Jim Winslow Jessica Riley, editor Grand Rapids Historical Society c/o Grand Rapids Public Library 111 Library St. NE Grand Rapids, MI 49503 Website: www.grhistory.org Grand River Times

Drieka DeGraff Bridget McGuire Jack Misner Carolyn Niehaus Mitchell Padnos

About the Grand Rapids Historical Society. The Grand Rapids Historical Society sponsors eight programs each year, beginning in September and running through May, including lectures, audio/video presentations, demonstrations, collections, or special tours.

Membership. Membership is open to all interested persons with annual dues of $30 per family, $20 for seniors and students, or $400 for a lifetime membership. The membership year runs from May to the following May. Members of the Grand Rapids Historical Society receive eight newsletters each year. Members also receive a 20% discount on books published by the society as well as books published by the Grand Rapids Historical Commission.

Change of Address. If you will be permanently or temporarily moving to a new address, please notify GRHS before your change occurs. Let us know your new address and the date you plan to leave and plan to return. Email to grhs.local@gmail.com, or mail to Grand Rapids Historical Society, c/o Grand Rapids Public Library, 111 Library Street NE, Grand Rapids, MI 49503 2

GRAND RAPIDS HISTORICAL SOCIETY Continued from front page Bids on the new hotel came in at $1.75 million, $250,000 higher than expected. The contract was eventually awarded to the C.H. Fuller Company of Chicago.

Before construction could start, the hotel needed to buy and wreck all of the neighboring buildings on the lot. The last business to hold out was the G.J. Johnson Cigar Company who, after several weeks of negotiating, finally came to an agreement to sell their property.

It was determined that all of the buildings on the north half of the lot would be demolished first.

Then the north half of the hotel would be built first, followed by the demolition and construction of the south half. This would allow the hotel, which was on the south half of the lot, to remain open during the construction process. Once the first phase was done, the hotel would then move into the newly completed north half while phase II, the south half, was completed.

Construction began in the summer of 1913 with challenges right from the beginning. Workers had a difficult time reaching the bedrock for the new high rise to rest on. In some spots holes were drilled nearly 90 feet down just to reach it. These were then filled with steel and concrete to form piers that would support the eleven-story structure. Construction continued into 1914 and in September of that year, the north half of the hotel (phase I) was completed.

As the hotel was being built, several prominent hotel men from across the country came to check out the Pantlind and to see the progress of the building. These men were potential future managers of the new hotel as J. Boyd. Pantlind was looking to be relieved of running the hotel once construction was completed.

The new building was completed in late 1915 but the formal opening was delayed for several weeks because much of the new furniture for the hotel was delayed. One might ask; how can furniture made right here in Furniture City be delayed? The answer—manufacturers were waiting the on the arrival of dyestuffs, some of which were coming from Europe.

The Pantlind finally held its grand opening on January 1, 1916. The event was incredible to say the least. Senators and several prominent hotel proprietors along with many important businessmen from across the country came to see the new Pantlind. The hotel was credited for having a number of “firsts”, such as being the first hotel of its size in a city the size of Grand Rapids. Others included; the first to have an entire floor of 7-foot 2inch beds for tall men, and the first hotel of its kind to have a cafeteria. The Pantlind also boasted that it had the largest lobby in the mid-west and one of the largest in the country. The new hotel had heat throughout the building instead of woodburning stoves in every room like the former Sweets Hotel did. It was said that this kept one to six men Circa 1920’s busy sawing wood during the winter months.

Even before the new hotel was built, the Pantlind had always been known for its high-quality food.

During the early 1920’s, the cafeteria was offering, boiled ham and potato salad for .41 cents, lobster salad for .50 cents, and cold half baby lobster for .80 cents, and Pantlind Special Ice Cream for .10 cents just to name a few. The Continental Room offered club breakfast ranging from .50 to $1.

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Continued from page 3 By 1922, the Pantlind had developed a reputation as “One of the Finest Hotels in America”. At this time the hotel also had its own newsletter called “The Pantlind Tribune”. The paper ran stories about local and national business, had a list of places to go to church, a list of what was playing at the theatres, names of all the prominent people staying at the hotel, and a list of hotel services like a barber shop, a bank, and railroad reservations.

Later in 1922, bonds were issued once again to raise some $400,000 for an eleven story, 180 room addition to the hotels northwest corner. This new addition would be directly across from the new Interurban Railway Station which was soon to be built.

When J. Boyd Pantlind died on Christmas Day that same year, his son, Fred Z., was elected president in his father’s honor.

In May of 1924, the West Side Ladies Literary Club hosted a Card Party Benefit in the hotel’s ballroom.

The benefit was for a The Pantlind Hotel front desk, circa 1950’s young lady who was severely burned over much of her body as she was trying to escape using a rope from her fourth-floor room. Her cousin, with whom she was staying, died in the fire.

During the 1930’s, the Great Depression brought severe financial difficulties for the hotel. The Pantlind managed to survive and by the middle of World War II, was known as one of the leading convention headquarters. The hotel and the nearby Civic Auditorium, had the ability to accommodate meetings of up to 5,000 people and banquets of up to 2,5000. Rooms at this time were priced at $2.75 & up.

In 1952, the hotel underwent a major upgrade that included a mural on the lobby wall behind the front desk. This would be the same wall where the gold “Sunburst” hangs today.

In November 1962, WZZM 13 started broadcasting from the first floor of the Pantlind where Ruth’s Chris Steakhouse sits today.

Courtesy Photo Evidence of this can seen in old photographs that show the Circa mid-1970’s television broadcasting tower on top of the hotel.

One year later in 1963, a new bar, The Back Room Saloon, opened for business in the back of the hotel. The bar would go on to be a popular spot for many years to come.

By the early 1970’s, the Pantlind had TV’s, air conditioning, carpeting, and telephones in every room.

However, even with the big Urban Renewal project that took place a few years earlier, none of this was enough to keep Grand Rapids from becoming a “dying town”. As a result, the future of the Pantlind Hotel was looking pretty dark.

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“WE GET MAIL” - Daisy Sokop 1899 Yearbook By: Jessica Riley The Grand Rapids Historical Society regularly receives interesting donations. The majority of these donations are forwarded to the Grand Rapids History Center at the Main Branch of the Grand Rapids Public Library. We receive postcards, newspaper articles, photos, etc.

Our most recent acquisition has stirred up a lot of interest. A person from Tennessee found a yearbook in an abandoned building on the shore of the Tennessee River is Meigs County, TN and mailed it to us. There is no obvious reason or answer as to how this yearbook ended up out of state. It is the 1899 yearbook for Central High School (also listed as Grand Rapids High School) and it belonged to a girl named Daisy Margaret Sokop. A quick look on Ancestry showed that Daisy was the daughter of Frank and Clara Sokop. Daisy had two brothers, Clarence and Charles. Her father was from Germany and her mother was from Wisconsin. In 1900, when Daisy was 20 years old, she was living with her family on Mt. Vernon St. and they had a servant.

Her father Frank was an iron merchant.

In the 1910 census Daisy was working as an “office girl” in an “iron office”, presumably with her father. In the next two censuses (1920 and 1930) she is living with her parents. By the 1940 census she is a bookkeeper and she owns her home. Daisy Sokop died in 1961 and is buried in Oakhill Cemetery. When she died, she was the owner of a roofing company started by Senior Class Officers, Class of 1899 her father. It appears that she spent her life in Grand Rapids so it is mysterious that her yearbook ended up in Tennessee.

Fortunately this treasure has made it’s way back to Grand Rapids. Daisy saved a number of mementos in her yearbook from school newspaper articles about a rivalry between the juniors and seniors (some things never change!) to school election ephemera to a copy of the junior class song (among many other items).

There are some fascinating ads in this yearbook for such things as flour, ocean liner tickets, breweries, ice, furniture, coal and more. Here are a few pictures from this yearbook. If anyone knows the Sokop family, please let us know. Otherwise we will donate this Front Cover of 1899 Yearbook yearbook to the library.

Grand Rapids High School Football Team Grand River Times

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February 1 – 28, 2022 Celebrate Black History Month with the Grand Rapids Public Library Join online February 1 – 28, 2022 for programs for both kids and adults that highlight and celebrate the Black community. See www.grpl.org for more details

Taste of Soul Sunday Premiering Sunday, February 20, 2022, 1:00 p.m.– 2:30 p.m.

Virtual Event | GRPL’s Facebook Page and YouTube Channel The library is taking the popular Taste of Soul Sunday event online!

Enjoy a series of free virtual events highlighting members of the community.

The History of Grand Rapids African American Museum and Archives (GRAAMA) 1:00 pm – 1:30 pm Virtual Event | GRPL’s Facebook Page and YouTube Channel Join for a virtual talk with George Bayard about the history of the Grand Rapids African American Museum and Archives (GRAAMA) and its continued work on preserving African American History in Grand Rapids.

Mr. Bayard is the founder of GRAAMA and has worked extensively in the Grand Rapids community as a business owner and preservationist. A GRAAMA-designed archival display will be available for viewing at the Main Branch throughout the month of February. For more information about GRAAMA please see www.graama.org/

Grand Rapids Historical Society YouTube Channel https://www.youtube.com/c/GrandRapidsHistoricalSociety While GRHS is on hiatus for the month February, take this time to check out our YouTube channel.

Board trustee, Jim Winslow, put a number of different playlists with a lot of local history content on the channel. History Detectives 2022, which went live on January 22, 2022, is up and running on this site. The videos from History Detectives 2020 are also available for viewing. Along with History Detectives we have the following playlists: ~~African-American History ~~Women’s History ~~Grand River History ~~Grand Rapids in Film ~~GRHS Local History Presentations

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GRAND RAPIDS HISTORICAL SOCIETY JOIN THE GRAND RAPIDS HISTORICAL SOCIETY OR GIVE A MEMBERSHIP AS A GIFT The Grand Rapids Historical Society sponsors eight lectures each year.

Members of the society enjoy these benefits: 

The Grand River Times is the newsletter of the Grand Rapids Historical Society. Published and mailed to members eight times a year, it includes current items of historical interest, details of upcoming lectures, historically relevant activities, and short articles.



20% Discount on all books and other items published by the society.

Please enroll me as a member of the Grand Rapids Historical Society: ____ New ___Renewal ____Gift

_____Lifetime:

$400.00 one-time fee

_____Individual/Family Membership

$30.00 per year

_____Senior Citizen or Student

$20.00 per year

Name: Address: City/State/Zip: Email: Please make check payable to the Grand Rapids Historical Society and mail it with this form to: Grand Rapids Historical Society, c/o Grand Rapids Public Library 111 Library Street NE, Grand Rapids, MI 49503

GRAND RAPIDS HISTORICAL SOCIETY PHOTO SLEUTH Our February Photo Sleuth selection comes from the Robinson Photo Studio Collection from the Grand Rapids Public Library and is dated from 1964. Three unidentified women stand together. The woman on the left presents a piece of paper, probably a check, to the woman in the middle. If anyone in this picture looks familiar or if anyone knows about this team please email the Grand Rapids Historical Society at grhs.local@gmail.com Grand River Times

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Non-Profit Org. U.S. postage PAID Grand Rapids, MI Permit No. 234

Grand Rapids Historical Society, Inc. c/o Grand Rapids Public Library 111 Library St. NE Grand Rapids, MI 49503

GRAND RAPIDS HISTORICAL SOCIETY INSIDE THIS ISSUE Cover Story: Part II, The Pantlind Hotel Letter from our President page 2 “We Get Mail” - 1899 Yearbook page 5 Taste of Soul Sunday page 6 GRHS YouTube Channel page 6 Photo Sleuth page 7

For more information on Historical Society programs, please visit www.grhistory.org Grand River Times

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