National Register of Historic Places

Heartside Historic District

Grand Rapids, Kent County, Michigan
Listed
March 2, 1982
Type
District
Period
Listed
Ref No.
82002844

About this property

Heartside is a neighborhood located near downtown Grand Rapids, Michigan. Heartside district is a developing area in the city known for its art. It has restaurants, a park with a playground and splash-pad, and a recently opened farmer's market. However, it also has experienced much urban decay, features numerous abandoned buildings, and contains a large presence of homelessness. Heartside was originally a marshy area near the Grand River. In about the 1850s, as Grand Rapids grew larger, Heartside became a shanty town, populated by recent immigrants, particularly Irish. By the 1870s, the area had developed into a compact neighborhood containing small one and two-story clapboard houses. In 1870, the Grand Rapids and Indiana Railroad ran a line through Heartside, and constructed a station at what is now Ionia Avenue and Oakes Street. The railroad, and the easy accessibility of transportation, led to a rapid growth of the region north of Grand Rapids and commercial and industrial development in Heartside. By 1900, Heartside was heavily built up with wholesale and manufacturing buildings, as well as stores and apartment buildings, hotels, and a new Union Depot. The Heartside Historic District is a smaller section of the larger Heartside neighborhood, containing many of the historically significant buildings. The historic district consists of six full blocks and parts of two others, containing structures located along Ionia, Commerce, and Division Avenues, from Cherry Street on the south to Fulton and Louis Street on the north. The district contains 62 buildings, of which 55 are historically significant. The buildings are constructed of brick or, in some cases, sandstone, and are primarily two to six stories tall. All but fifteen were constructed before 1929, and are predominantly Italianate, Late Victorian, Richardsonian Romanesque, and early twentieth-century commercial in style. The district was increased in size in 2022.

Location

Grand Rapids, Kent County, Michigan
42.96207, -85.66952

Categories

COMMERCEARCHITECTURE
National Register nomination ›
Sources

Property data from the National Register of Historic Places, National Park Service (public domain).

Description adapted from Wikipedia under the Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 4.0 International License.

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Everything a full report reveals about Heartside Historic District

This page lists Heartside Historic District. A full Aubrey report for an address near it pulls together this listing alongside battlefield records, land patents, and every other historical record within a chosen radius:

Overview
An interactive map of the location with historic sites, battles and Native heritage plotted, and its full story era by era.
The Land
The historic sites and place names around the location, and how this land was settled and used.
Geology
The bedrock beneath the site, its age and rock type, reaching back millions of years.
LiDAR Terrain
Laser-scanned terrain that reveals earthworks and old features hidden in the landscape.
Conflict & War
The battles, raids and skirmishes fought near here, across every era of American conflict.
The Civil War
The Civil War on this ground, 1861 to 1865: who held it, and the battles, camps and regiments nearby.
The Soldiers
The men who marched from here in the Civil War, named and traced where the record allows.
Native Heritage
The Native nations who held this land, mapped across time from before European contact to today.
Settlement
Who claimed and held this ground, from Indigenous homelands through the colonial powers to the United States.
The Community
How the town grew, who came, and what kind of place it became, traced through the census record.
Rivers & Rail
The rivers, canals and railroads that connected this place between 1830 and 1911.
Notable People
The people born, buried or genuinely tied to this exact place, with their stories.
Historical Maps
Historic maps of the location layered over how it looks today.
Finds & Access
Museum objects tied to the area, and the laws on searching, collecting and access here.
Literature
The old books, county histories and archives that mention this place, quoted with their sources.
Spotlight
A deep dive into the most remarkable, lesser-known history of the place, traced back to the record.
Points of Interest
The most significant historic sites and landmarks near the location, and why they matter.
Timeline
The whole story of the location told era by era, from first peoples to the present day.
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Nearby Historic Sites

Ladies' Literary Club
Industrial
0.1 mi
Kent County Civil War Monument
Civil War
0.1 mi
Peck Block
Industrial
0.1 mi
Medical Arts Building
Industrial
0.2 mi
Grand Rapids Savings Bank Building
Industrial
0.2 mi

Questions about this property

When was Heartside Historic District listed on the National Register?

Heartside Historic District was listed on the National Register of Historic Places on March 2, 1982.

What type of historic resource is Heartside Historic District?

Heartside Historic District is classified as a district in the National Register of Historic Places.

What is the period of significance for Heartside Historic District?

The period of significance for Heartside Historic District is recorded as the listed era.

Can I research the history near Heartside Historic District?

Yes. Aubrey Research reports search National Register listings, battlefield records, land patents, and other primary historical sources within any radius of a US address. A report for an address near Heartside Historic District will include this listing and all other historical records in the area.

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