Pam VanderPloeg documents and shares historic, modern, and contemporary buildings and their architects and builders. Articles and stories are found on the drop-down menus.

Photos and text are copyright 2025 unless noted. Unauthorized use of text or images is prohibited by law.

PUBLICATIONS IN PRINT

Grand Rapids Downtown Buildings $30.

Researched and Photographed by Pam VanderPloeg

Available at the Curiosity Shop, Grand Rapids Public Museum (272 Pearl NW).

This book features 180 buildings on located on 14 contiguous streets in Grand Rapids vibrant downtown. Here the monumental brick buildings of the 1800s stand tall, harmoniously juxtaposed with sleek 20th and 21st-century concrete and glass towers. Nearly all of the buildings are identified with architect and builder and include a brief description of their place in Grand Rapids’ storied history.

Pick up your copy at the Public Museum Gift Shop. Support the Museum and enjoy this book in a comfy armchair or on a pleasant downtown stroll.

Ottawa Hills: Early Owners, Architects & Builders $40.

New 2025 printing with an expanded introduction. This book will soon be available from the new website shop. For immediate availability contact: buildingstorypress@gmail.com.

Many thanks to the Ottawa Hills Garden Tour sponsors for the fun book signing opportunity on Saturday, June 28, 2025!

Congratulations to the OHNA board and Ottawa Hills residents for the well-deserved opportunity to share their awesome neighborhood in the July 9 -23 episode of WGVU’s Living West Michigan: “It’s a Beautiful Day in the Neighborhood,” hosted by Jennifer Moss, as she tours the neighborhood. This segment aired July 9 and 12 on WGVU and can be watched by linking here: Ottawa Hills.

UPCOMING EVENTS

Look for Pam VanderPloeg’s Fall Article in the West Michigan Postcard Newsletter—”FURNITURE CITY HOTELS--From Wood to Brick to Luxury and Glitz.”

Pantlind Lecture Series, OLLI at Aquinas College— “The Story of the Pantlind Hotel” on Wednesday, October 08, from 9:30 to 11 as shared by VanderPloeg at the new OLLI location on the second floor of the Grace Hauenstein Library. Wednesday, October 15 — A followup Tour of the hotel, now the Amway Grand Plaza Hotel, led by the Director of Rooms, Lindsay Hovingh. Watch for a link to the OLLI website for the Fall Catalog and how to register.

“Grand Rapids Downtown Buildings” —West Michigan Genealogical Society, November 1, 2025 at 1:30 p.m. Grand Rapids Public Library Auditorium.

FURNITURE CITY HOTELS--From Wood to Brick to Luxury and Glitz by Pam VanderPloeg, Monday, December 1, 7pm at Trinity United Methodist Church, 1100 Lake Drive SE — As late 19th-century Grand Rapids grew prosperous, the race was on to build the most impressive modern hotels to serve the booming furniture market and attract the convention trade. These hotels featured restaurants that won the hearts of visitors and locals alike. This is a brief history of Grand Rapids' iconic downtown hotels, with postcards as one of the great promotional tools of the hotel industry.

NEW BOOK PROJECTS IN PROGRESS

ARCHITECT ALEXANDER MCCOLL —A Catalog of 200 homes and buildings. McColl, a tremendously talented and hard-working architect, became one of the city’s most prolific and popular residential designers of upscale period-style homes. Graduating from the University of Michigan in 1916, McColl began immediately designing homes and buildings and continued working until his death in 1968. In the last decades of his life and work, McColl added to West Michigan’s mid-century housing stock, designing high-end modern homes and atomic ranch-style houses. He left behind an impressive body of residential design, but due to age of the homes and the value of the property, some have become endangered. This catalog captures many of the existing and demolished properties, but the author understands that there are many left to be discovered.

The work of GRAND RAPIDS MODERN ARCHITECTS & BUILDERS — Long in the making, this study of Grand Rapids architectural history focuses on the architects and builders who brought the 20th-century modern and post-World War II midcentury design to the metropolitan city with custom homes and suburban developments, churches, and iconic commercial buildings—some gone and many restored and loved.

Midtown GR Neighborhood— Stories about the homes and sites in this late 19th- and early 20th-century neighborhood that developed via street car transportation. A walkable neighborhood growing in popularity, its hotspots include the popular Fulton Street Farmer’s Market, Martha’s Vineyard (technically in Heritage Hills), Houseman Field, and the Fulton Street Cemetery, the city’s oldest cemetery. The many interesting Midtown residents include the former First Lady Betty Bloomer Ford (wife of 38th President Gerald R. Ford), who grew up on Fountain Street NE.

Content Creator and Site Administrator Pam VanderPloeg is the recipient of the 2023 Albert Baxter Award from the Grand Rapids Historical Society for significant contributions to the preservation and interpretation of Grand River Valley history and the 2021 David D. Smith Humanitarian Award from the Grand Rapids Chapter, American Institute of Architects for elevating architecture in the community. VanderPloeg’s background is in Library Administration and Research, with Master’s Degrees from Indiana University and Aquinas College.