Abram W. Pike House

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Abram W. Pike House
AbramWPikeHouseGrandRapidsMI.jpg
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Location230 Fulton Street East,
Grand Rapids, Michigan
Flag of the United States (23px).png  United States
Coordinates 42°57′42″N85°39′47″W / 42.96167°N 85.66306°W / 42.96167; -85.66306
Built1844
NRHP reference No. 70000276
Added to NRHPJuly 8, 1970

The Abram W. Pike House is a historic home built in Grand Rapids, Michigan. Built in 1844, it is one of the oldest homes still standing in Michigan and is listed on the National Register of Historic Places. [1] The home is named after its original occupier, Abram W. Pike. Pike was a fur trader who came to Michigan in 1827. He lived in Port Sheldon on Lake Michigan, at the mouth of the Pigeon River, and was employed as the company clerk for the Port Sheldon Land Company. [2]

Contents

At the time, there were hopes that Port Sheldon would become a major metropolis. Though this vision was never fully realized, the Ottawa House Hotel was completed before the project's eventual financial ruin. The Ottawa House Hotel was only open for five years but was recognized as one of the most impressive buildings in Port Sheldon. [2] When Abram Pike relocated to Grand Rapids in 1844, he had four of the six pillars from the grandiose Ottawa House Hotel drug by ox and attached to the front of his home, which now stands—unmistakably—at 230 E. Fulton Street.

The house was occupied as a family residence until 1922, upon which it was turned into the Grand Rapids Art Gallery (Now the Grand Rapids Art Museum) and remained so until the museum moved in 1978. [3] In 2014, amidst building renovations, workers uncovered an original “Grand Rapids Art Museum” sign, painted in large, bold letters atop the entryway to the Pike House. [4]

In 2014, the Pike House was purchased by Grand Rapids bankruptcy law firm, Keller & Almassian, PLC, which remains in the property today. [5]

Historical connections

Abram W Pike and the Port Sheldon Land Company

Abram Pike came from Ohio to serve as the company clerk for the Port Sheldon Land Company. Pike was a businessman and fur trader. He was known for his friendly relations and business dealings with Native Americans and spoke a few different local dialects. [2] Port Sheldon was expected to become a great metropolis of the 'West' by capitalizing on the location's abundance of natural resources and the prevalence of the shipping industry on Lake Michigan. A notable, completed work of Port Sheldon was the Ottawa House Hotel. The grandiose hotel opened its doors in 1839. By 1847 the structure was being pillaged for lumber and firewood. [6] Port Sheldon had gone bankrupt. After staying behind to sell off the company's remaining assets, Pike then dragged, by Ox, four of the six pillars from the front of the Ottawa House Hotel to Grand Rapids where he constructed his residence at 230 East Fulton. [2]

Emily Clark and the Grand Rapids Art Museum

Emily Jewell married Melvin J. Clark in 1861 in Solon Township, West Michigan. The two quickly rose to prominence in the Grand Rapids business and socialite community. Mrs. Clark is known to this day for her many philanthropic contributions to the Grand Rapids community and surrounding area. In 1920, Mrs. Clark purchased the Pike House with intent to bequeath the property to the Art Association of Grand Rapids, misplaced of a permanent home for their gallery. In 1922 230 E. Fulton became the first Grand Rapids Art Gallery, known today as the Grand Rapids Art Museum (GRAM), and remained so until the Museum relocated in 1978. [7]

Architectural description

Date of construction: 1844

Architectural significance: Four large white columns on the front exterior of the house. Antebellum Greek Revival style architecture.

Dorothy Pratt said of 230 E Fulton in "A Guide to Early American Homes": "This is one of the outstanding Greek Revival houses in Michigan, built by Abram Pike and occupied as a family residence until 1922."

Mathias Alten discovery

In 2014, during building renovations, a large painted sign reading "Grand Rapids Art Museum" was uncovered across the top of the exterior entryway to the building. The granddaughter of Mathias Alten, still residing in the area, visited the property to say that the sign was painted by her grandfather when he was a young man, new to Grand Rapids. [8] Mathias Alten would go on to become a painter of Grand Rapids and West Michigan, [9] adding to the significance of this discovery in the history and art communities. [10]

Timeline

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References

  1. ↑ "National Register of Historic Places". National Park Service. Retrieved 12 Feb 2016.
  2. 1 2 3 4 Beld, Gordon (2011). "Port Sheldon: Michigan's Missing Metropolis". Michigan History Magazine. 95 (2).
  3. ↑ "First Art Museum". History Grand Rapids. Retrieved 18 Feb 2016.
  4. ↑ Harger, Jim (13 June 2014). "That's a genuine Alten". The Grand Rapids Press.
  5. ↑ Zentmeyer, Anya (July 16, 2015). "Historic Grand Rapids Pike House becomes new home for lawyers at Keller & Almassian". Rapid Growth. Retrieved 2022-11-10.
  6. ↑ Collier, Kevin. "Could Fortune Still be Buried at Former Port Sheldon Hotel Site?". Grand Haven Tribune. Retrieved 15 March 2016.
  7. ↑ "Glance at the Past – The First Art Museum | The Rapidian". The Rapidian | therapidian.org. Retrieved 2023-06-04.
  8. ↑ "Art history surprise uncovered at 170-year-old house in Grand Rapids". MLive.com. 12 June 2014. Retrieved 2016-03-07.
  9. ↑ "Mathias Alten Catalogue Raisonné – Home Page". www.mathiasalten.com. Archived from the original on 2016-03-03. Retrieved 2016-03-07.
  10. ↑ "Art history surprise at old house in Grand Rapids". The Washington Times . Retrieved 2023-06-04.
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