Welcome! This website features histories of buildings, owners, architects & builders primarily centered in metropolitan Grand Rapids and West Michigan.

Every website needs to be rebuilt from time to time. This is one of those times when projects are in process. I'm sharing the cover of my Grand Rapids Downtown Buildings book on this page. If you love the city as I do, you will enjoy paging through these short histories of 180 buildings. The travel book size of this softcover guide makes it easy to take along on a walking tour of the central city. You can purchase a copy here or at the wonderful Grand Rapids Pubic Museum “Old Curiosity Shop,” or the delightful Periwinkle Fog shop on Ottawa NW.

Something special that I’ve been working on is a catalog raisonne of the work of Architect Alexander McColl. It has been a great honor to research the 300-plus documented homes and buildings designed by the talented architect who left a lasting legacy of gracious residential architecture. These homes and other buildings can be found throughout Grand Rapids and East Grand Rapids, along the Lakeshore, in Kalamazoo, and north in the Crystal Downs/Frankfort area. McColl was also commissioned to build large estates in other Michigan cities. This researcher is so grateful to be working with the McColl family descendants to reconstruct the architect’s incredible legacy, especially as they have been steadfast in preserving original documents and records. Look for this catalog of Alexander McColl’s work in the summer of 2026.

Also, check out the Winter-Spring 2026 Michigan Postcard Club Newsletter, which I just finished and is published here. We have a great new collaboration with the Osher Lifelong Learning Institute at Aquinas College in Grand Rapids.

Look for the new issue of Midtown House Stories available here in March 2026. A Midtown Neighborhood Association podcast interview may happen sometime in late March. This small quarterly newsletter-style publication is my homage to our wonderful neighborhood, located just east of the historic Heritage Hill area. Midtown is a great early streetcar neighborhood featuring original Craftsman-style bungalows and early-1900s homes!

Please check back again soon for new website content. In the meantime, use the Navigation Bar to read material listed on the drop-down menus. One of my favorite new website features is a page on Grand Rapids sites listed on the National Historic Register of Historic Places. The first entry just went up - Mathias Alten’s home and studio. Thank you for stopping by!

Pam VanderPloeg