Volume 37, number 4
January 2016
Grand River Times The Newsletter of the Grand Rapids Historical Society Inside this issue:
East Hills: Past, Present, Future PRESENTED BY:
Cover Story: January program Letter from our President page 2
Rachel Lee Thursday, January 14, 2016, 7:00 p.m. Aquinas College—Donnelly Center
The East Hills neighborhood has a unique history that adds to its current vibrant character. It History Detectives has, however, taken a lot of hard page 4 work and citizen involvement to regain some of the character that the neighborhood possessed in its 2016 Program Schedule early beginnings. The majority of page 5 the East Hills neighborhood was built in the late 19th Century, when it was made up of orchards Happening in History and farms. During the late page 6 1800s, the city of Grand Rapids experienced the effects of the industrial revolution and massive Photo Sleuth immigration of Europeans. Many page 7 of these different ethnic groups settled in the East Hills area of the city because it was accessible due to the streetcar. These walkable communities connected the residents to schools, churches, commercial needs, industrial, and transit. Development occurred along transit routes at the time in form Search: Grand Rapids Historical Society of the streetcar, which went along Cherry Street, Eastern Avenue, ________________________________ Lake Drive, Wealthy Street, and Union Avenue making it easy for the residents to travel downtown or to Reeds Lake. From 1870 to 1920 Next program: After the January program, the Grand Rapids the population of Grand Rapids grew from 16,507 to 137,634. The local businesses began to grow along with the neighborhoods and Historical Society’s next program offered goods to the residents. For years the neighborhood served its will be on February 11, 2016 at the residents and was considered a safe neighborhood for families. Donnelly Center at Aquinas College. The speakers will be Yvonne Sims and Jo Ellyn Clarey. Their program is titled: Community Builders: Early African American Women in Grand Rapids.
Grand River Times
During the 1960’s East Hills went from being a thriving active community to a neighborhood filled with blight, crime, and abandonment. This was quite a different picture than that of its early beginnings, as the area was left for neglect as residents headed for the newly created suburbs.
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