Look just ahead-you’ll spot Heritage Hill by its grand, ornate houses like the one in front of you: a towering Victorian beauty with intricate woodwork and a broad, welcoming porch, surrounded by old trees and nestled quietly along the residential street.
Alright, you’ve landed in the heart of Heritage Hill-the kind of neighborhood so packed with history and character that even the streetlights seem to have a story to tell! Imagine it’s the late 1800s. Strolling along these leafy avenues, you’d hear the distant clatter of horse-drawn carriages and catch the scent of pine from the lumber mills-not surprising, because a lot of these homes were built by lumber barons, along with teachers, judges, and legislators. This district is actually Grand Rapids’ oldest residential area, filled with about 1,300 homes spanning every American architectural style you can imagine: Greek Revival columns, airy Prairie windows, gingerbread Queen Anne trim, and brick arches worthy of a chateau. If you think picking your favorite flavor at an ice cream shop is hard, try choosing your favorite house here!
The drama here in Heritage Hill wasn’t just reserved for television. In the 1960s, bulldozers were poised to raze nearly three-quarters of the neighborhood, smashing decades of history under the banner of “urban renewal.” But the residents, who clearly took “love thy neighbor” and “love thy neighborhood” to heart, quickly banded together. They formed the Heritage Hill Association, grabbed their legal pads, and-armed with a brand-new National Historic Preservation Act-headed to court. Spoiler alert: they won. This little corner of Grand Rapids became the very first neighborhood in the country to save itself in court using that law. Take that, bulldozers!
Since being added to the National Register of Historic Places in 1971, Heritage Hill has flourished. The Association looks after all sorts of things, from land use to traffic, and even throws an annual home tour every May. Walk the streets then, and you might get a peek inside some of these stunning houses-though for today, I’d recommend not randomly knocking on doors.
Heritage Hill covers about a square mile and is now home to 4,400 residents and that wonderful, slightly quirky sense of community. Fun fact: the legendary Melville Bissell, inventor of the carpet sweeper, once lived here! If you spot WOOD-TV Channel 8, that’s where his house once stood. And yes, somewhere in the mix, you’ll find a genuine Frank Lloyd Wright design from 1908. Not bad for a neighborhood that once faced the wrecking ball, right?
