Willard Building (Grand Rapids, Michigan)

Last updated
Willard Building
Willard Building.jpg
USA Michigan location map.svg
Red pog.svg
Usa edcp location map.svg
Red pog.svg
Location150 E. Fulton St., Grand Rapids, Michigan
Coordinates 42°57′47″N85°39′52″W / 42.96306°N 85.66444°W / 42.96306; -85.66444 (Willard Building)
Arealess than one acre
Built1930 (1930)
Built byOwen-Ames-Kimball Co.
ArchitectBenjamin W. Hertel
Architectural style Classical Revival, Art Deco
NRHP reference No. 12001172 [1]
Added to NRHPJanuary 14, 2013

The Willard Building, also known as the Peacock Building for the distinctive terra cotta decorative birds spaced at the top of the facades, is a retail building located at 150 East Fulton Street in Grand Rapids, Michigan. It was listed on the National Register of Historic Places in 2013. [1]

Contents

History

Dr. Willard M. Burleson began practicing medicine in Grand Rapids in 1899. He was joined by his brother, the practice grew, and he began specializing in the non-surgical treatment of "rectal disorders." In 1911, Burleson purchased an apartment building, the Wellington Flats, located at the present site of the Willard Building. He renamed it the Burleson Sanitarium and moved his practice into the building. At first, unused rooms were rented as hotel rooms, but by 1920 the practice had nine doctors and was using all the rooms. The practice moved out of the building in 1927. Burleson died the next year, and some of his partners went on the form the Ferguson Droste Ferguson Hospital while the Burleson Sanitarium continued to operate under the direction of Burleson's brother. [2]

In 1929, Burleson's estate demolished the former Wellington Flats and hired contractor Owen-Ames-Kimball, and their in-house architect, Benjamin W. Hertel, to construct a new single-story commercial building at the site. The building was completed and open for business in 1930. Among the first tenants were a Kroger grocery and bakery, an antique shop, and a florist. A series of other tenants filled the building through the Great Depression, into the 1950s, and on into the 21st century. [2]

Description

The Willard Building is a single-story, tan brick, L-shaped, commercial building located on a street corner, having two main facades. The building mixes Classical Revival and Art Deco design elements. Multiple storefronts line both facades, separated by terra cotta piers decorated with urns, crests, and acanthus leaf designs. Across the top of the building is an undulating parapet with terra cotta trim. At the top of each pier is a distinctive multi colored terracotta peacock. [2]

Related Research Articles

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Washington Avenue Historic District (St. Louis, Missouri)</span> Historic district in Missouri, United States

The Washington Avenue Historic District is located in Downtown West, St. Louis, Missouri along Washington Avenue, and bounded by Delmar Boulevard to the north, Locust Street to the south, 8th Street on the east, and 18th Street on the west. The buildings date from the late 19th century to the early 1920s. They exhibit a variety of popular architectural styles of those years, but most are revival styles or in the commercial style that would later come to be known as the Chicago School of architecture. Most are large multi-story buildings of brick and stone construction, built as warehouses for the St. Louis garment district. Many have terra cotta accents on their facades. After World War II, the decline in domestic garment production and the preference for single-story industrial space led to many of the buildings being vacant or underused due to functional obsolescence.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Merchants Building</span> United States historic place

The Merchants Building is a commercial building located at 206 East Grand River Avenue in Downtown Detroit. It is also known as the Broadway Merchants Building. It was listed on the National Register of Historic Places in 1983.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Stuber–Stone Building</span> Historic building in Detroit, Michigan, USA

The Stuber–Stone Building is located at 4221–4229 Cass Avenue in Detroit, Michigan. It was listed on the National Register of Historic Places in 1996. It is now known as the Stuberstone Lofts.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Rialto Theater (Tacoma, Washington)</span> United States historic place

The Rialto Theatre in Tacoma, Washington was built in 1918 to showcase movies. Its design reflects the affluence following World War I. It reflects the character of a palace and is the result of efforts by entrepreneur Henry T. Moore and Tacoma architect Roland E. Borhek. Designed to hold 1500 patrons and retail space. The two-and-a-half-story structure is in the historic downtown of Tacoma. The area has long been associated with theaters and entertainment. The theater is freestanding, with a dramatic view on an incline with a classical façade sheathed of glazed white terra cotta. Both the interior and exterior retain most of the original design of Roland E. Borhek. The theater has an auditorium, proscenium with stage, a relocated projection booth, balcony, lobby, and commercial space. It has been altered with the removal of the storefronts and marquee. On the inside, the lobby's decorative ceiling has been hidden and the concession areas expanded.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Lower Woodward Avenue Historic District</span> Historic district in Michigan, United States

The Lower Woodward Avenue Historic District, also known as Merchant's Row, is a mixed-use retail, commercial, and residential district in downtown Detroit, Michigan, located between Campus Martius Park and Grand Circus Park Historic District at 1201 through 1449 Woodward Avenue and 1400 through 1456 Woodward Avenue. The district was listed on the National Register of Historic Places in 1999.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Federal Office Building (Seattle)</span> Historic building in Seattle, Washington, United States

The Federal Office Building, Seattle, Washington is a historic federal office building located at Seattle in King County, Washington.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Elks Temple Building (Cadillac, Michigan)</span> United States historic place

The Elks Temple Building in Cadillac, Michigan was built in 1910 as a lodge meeting hall. It was listed on the National Register of Historic Places in 1988.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Minnesota Building</span> United States historic place

The Minnesota Building is a historic office building in Saint Paul, Minnesota, United States. The structure was placed on the National Register of Historic Places (NRHP) on June 10, 2009. The building was noted for its design, which was a harbinger for the transition from Classical architecture to the Art Deco/Moderne among commercial buildings in downtown Saint Paul; originally designed in a conservative style, the building became more Moderne as it was being built.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Yonkers Trolley Barn</span> United States historic place

The former Yonkers Trolley Barn is located on Main Street in Yonkers, New York, United States. It is a massive steel frame brick building in the Renaissance Revival style built at the beginning of the 20th century. In 2002 it was listed on the National Register of Historic Places as the last remaining trolley barn in Westchester County and the only remnant of Yonkers' trolley system.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Illinois Traction Building</span> United States historic place

The Illinois Traction Building, located at 41 E. University Ave. in Champaign, Illinois, was the headquarters of the Illinois Traction System, an interurban railroad serving Central Illinois. Built in 1913, the building held the railway's offices and served as the Champaign interurban station until 1936; it later housed the offices of the Illinois Power Company, which descended from the Illinois Traction System. Architect Joseph Royer planned the building in a contemporary commercial design. The building was added to the National Register of Historic Places on September 20, 2006.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Spivey Building</span> United States historic place

The Spivey Building is a 12-story skyscraper located at 417 Missouri Avenue in East St. Louis, Illinois. Built in 1927 by newspaper owner Allen Spivey, the building is the only skyscraper ever constructed in East St. Louis. Architect Albert B. Frankel designed the building in the Commercial style. The building's design features terra cotta spandrels separating its windows vertically and brick pier dividing its window bays. The asymmetrical entrance is surrounded by decorative marble piers, and the first two stories are separated from the rest of the building by a cornice and sill. The top of the building features a two-story parapet with terra cotta surrounds at each window and seven capitals at its peak. During the height of East St. Louis' prosperity through the 1950s, the building housed the offices of professionals in many fields who were considered among the best in the city. However, the building became a victim of the city's steep economic decline and has been abandoned for several decades. The building’s last tenant moved in 1980.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Terry Hutchens Building</span> United States historic place

The Terry Hutchens Building is a historic office and apartment building in Huntsville, Alabama. The seven-story structure was originally constructed in 1925 for the Tennessee Valley Bank, with office space rented to other tenants. In 2002, the upper floors were renovated into condominiums. The structure is of steel reinforced concrete faced with brick, giving a Gothic Revival appearance. The ground floor façade has large display windows separated by brick piers, and has a central, arched entry covered in masonry. The Jefferson Street façade was originally treated the same way, but was modified with a flat wall of thin brick above two storefront entrances. A decorative band with rowlock course brick and terra cotta panels separate the ground floor from the rest of the building. Above, the piers divide each bay containing a pair of one-over-one sash windows; on the seventh floor, a green terra cotta frog sits on the sill, between the windows. Each bay of the cornice is divided by terra cotta decorated with Gothic shapes and medallions on panels of brick. The building was listed on the National Register of Historic Places in 1980.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Farmers and Merchants Savings Bank (Grand Mound, Iowa)</span> United States historic place

Farmers and Merchants Savings Bank, also known as Union Savings Bank and First Trust and Savings Bank, is an historic building located in Grand Mound, Iowa, United States. It was listed on the National Register of Historic Places in 2001.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Gabriel Richard Building</span> United States historic place

The Gabriel Richard Building, also known as the Weil and Company Building, is high-rise located at 305 Michigan Avenue in Downtown Detroit, Michigan. It was listed on the National Register of Historic Places in 2017. The building will open as a residential apartment building known as the Gabriel Houze in late 2017.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Nickels Arcade</span> United States historic place

Nickels Arcade is a commercial building located at 326-330 South State Street in Ann Arbor, Michigan. It was listed on the National Register of Historic Places in 1987. The building is notable as perhaps the only remaining example in Michigan of a free-standing commercial arcade building of a type that was popularized by the Cleveland Arcade.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">St. Cecilia Music Center</span> United States historic place

The St. Cecilia Music Center, built in 1894 as the St. Cecilia Society Building, is a performance space located at 24 Ransom Avenue NE in Grand Rapids, Michigan. It was listed on the National Register of Historic Places in 1971. As of 2019, the building continues to house a musical performance space, ran by the original organization which built it.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Michigan Trust Company Building</span> United States historic place

The Michigan Trust Company Building, also known as the Michigan Trust Building or just the Trust Building, is an office building located at 40 Pearl Street NW in Grand Rapids, Michigan. It was listed on the National Register of Historic Places in 1983.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Grand Rapids Savings Bank Building</span> United States historic place

The Grand Rapids Savings Bank Building is an office building located at 60 Monroe Center, NW, in Grand Rapids, Michigan. It was listed on the National Register of Historic Places in 1990.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Lexington School (Grand Rapids, Michigan)</span> United States historic place

The Lexington School is a former public school building located at 45 Lexington, NW, in Grand Rapids, Michigan, United States. It was listed on the National Register of Historic Places in 2013. As of 2015, the building was slated for redevelopment into apartments.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">American Box Board Company Headquarters and Factory</span> United States historic place

The American Box Board Company Headquarters and Factory is a former factory building located at 470 Market Avenue SW in Grand Rapids, Michigan. It was listed on the National Register of Historic Places in 2020.

References

  1. 1 2 "National Register Information System". National Register of Historic Places . National Park Service. November 2, 2013.
  2. 1 2 3 Grace A.M. Smith (May 31, 2012), National Register of Historic Places Inventory/Nomination: Willard Building, National Park Service