Heritage Hill Garden Tour will feature 10 private gardens and two organization gardens in this year’s event. (Supplied)
Ten private gardens and two organizational gardens will be part of the 2022 Heritage Hill Garden Tour, which is set for Saturday, June 18, from 9 a.m. to 3 p.m.
Each garden is a unique reflection of the creative, nature-loving gardeners who tend them. From showy displays in front gardens bursting with color to hidden gems waiting behind a home to warmly welcome guests, the possibilities of what a garden can be will inspire.
Some of the gardens included on this self-guided tour are:
President Gerald Ford’s boyhood back yard now filled with statuary and rare plantings.
Wonderland over 40 years in the making that surrounds an enchanting home.
A serene and elegant backyard setting that includes a complete outdoor kitchen.
A stately brick home perfectly surrounded by beautiful plantings.
A small but artfully designed garden that makes wise use of every space.
A front yard garden that catches the eye of everyone who passes by.
Free-flowing flower garden on Prospect Ave. that wears new colors for every season.
Formal fountains galore surrounding a home on College.
Peaceful natural water feature that accents a shade garden.
A sweet little garden on Paris Ave.
Vibrant annuals and perennials at the Voigt House tended by volunteers.
Formal gardens at the Meyer May House that are reminiscent of Frank Lloyd Wright’s organic architecture.
Individual ticketsare $12 in advance, $15 on the day of the tour. Group tickets may be purchased in advance for $8 each for 20 or more tickets, $5 each for 50 or more tickets. Group pricing is not available on the day of the tour.
Tickets are available for pre-sale through midnight on June 17 via our website, www.heritagehillweb.org or contact the office during operating hours at 616-459-8950.
Tickets can be purchased at the ticket booth at the Child Discovery Center, 409 Lafayette Ave. SE. on the day of tour. Pre-sold tickets may be picked up at will call on the day of the tour.
The tour occurs rain or shine. Refunds are not available. Masks are welcomed for the safety of garden hosts and visitors.
Parking will be available at:
Child Discovery Center at 409 Lafayette Ave. SE
Elders Helpers at500 Cherry St. S.E.
On-street parking is often available. Please adhere to posted parking restrictions.
Jim Payne and Char Kruzich’s College Avenue home will be part of this year’s Heritage Hill Tour. (WKTV/D.A. Reed)
The annual Heritage Hill Weekend Tour of Homes is excited to welcome visitors May 21-22 after a two-year hiatus.
One of the country’s oldest urban historic districts, Heritage Hill has been heralded by “This Old House” as one of the country’s “Best Old House Neighborhoods.” The Heritage Hill Association encourages guests to explore seven homes of families who have courteously opened their doors, as well as two public buildings recently restored by Grand Rapids Community College.
More than 1,300 homes dating from 1843 compile Heritage Hill, and represent nearly every style of American architecture, from Greek Revival to Prairie. Since 1969, a varying line-up of seven to eight private homes and two to three historic buildings have been opened to the public each year with guides who share each building’s unique story and special features.
“This tour is a great opportunity to take a walk back in time,” Jim Payne, owner of Heritage Hill home located at 27 College Avenue NE, told WKTV. “Visitors get to experience different types of architecture and art and reflect on another era.”
The wood in the home is reflective of the original molding and floors. (WKTV/D.A. Reed)
Jim Payne and Char Kruzich opened the doors of their Heritage Hill home to this WKTV writer, willingly giving a tour of their well-loved and rehabilitated house. Built in 1882 and sporting the American Craftsman Style, 27 College Ave. is on the must-see list of homes on the Heritage Hill Tour.
Both freelance artists themselves, Jim and Char had a hand in every renovated detail, working closely for the more than 14 years with architect Mitch Witkowski and carpenter Tim Karsen and incorporating their own unique designs and artwork into their home. A distinctive integration into the residence are two art studios on the third floor, allowing the owners to “create while living in a work of art.”
Though almost all of the interior is new, Jim and Char kept the original floors of the home and even the original newel post to the staircase leading to the upper floors. “We kept the post and modeled the rest of the room and staircase around its original design,” Jim said.
A unique piece of history was found inside the walls of their historic home during the renovation. “There was a piece of trim from 1909, signed by the carpenter, inside the wall,” said Jim. “He had taped coins from that year to the wood.”
“Our carpenter did the same,” Char said with a smile. “He signed a piece of wood and then taped current coins to it before closing up the walls.”
While the inside of the home has been drastically altered, allowing better movement from room to room and improved airflow throughout the residence, the exterior has been restored to its original architectural design. Dormers and gables provide a complex façade and emphasize the Craftsman Style’s natural materials and fine craftsmanship.
When asked about restrictions for renovating their home due to the historic nature of the residence, Jim and Char said the only boundaries the Historic Preservation Commission, (HPC), imposes on homeowners is in regard to the exterior of the homes.
“Color of paint is not restricted, but things that would alter the exterior of the home like windows, doors and railings, require HPC approval,” Jim said. “That way construction of decks and sliding glass doors, things that aren’t true to the era of the homes, are avoided.”
The exterior of the home at 27 College Ave. NE
The entrance
The dining area
The living room
Living space
Office space
Living area
An original post and molding
While there might be restrictions on outside renovations, Jim and Char said HPC has no boundaries on the interior of the home. This allows historic homeowners to preserve the exterior architecture while creating an interior that suits their personal tastes.
“They want you to be able to rehabilitate these homes,” Char said. “They want you to be able to raise families here. To live here, not just reside here.”
Jim agreed. “The Historic Preservation Commission was a great help during the remodel.”
The homeowners revealed that their neighborhood is like a second family. Moving to College Avenue in 1981, they rented a home for five years before buying their current home in 1986, giving them 40 years in their current community.
“Owners or renters, it doesn’t matter,” said Char. “We are all treated like family and are all close.”
The neighborhood even formed the North College Block Club, with families gathering socially many times a year. “Our own kitchen has seen a lot of action,” Char said as she tapped the counter next to her.
Jim and Char urge community members to come out and experience the masterpieces compiling Heritage Hill.
Advance tickets are $18 and can be found at www.heritagehillweb.org. To obtain tickets by check, send to the Heritage Hill Association, 126 College SE, Grand Rapids, MI 49503. Tickets purchased on the days of the tour are $25.
Proceeds benefit the Heritage Hill Association’s programs that support the historic preservation of this unique neighborhood and assist with land use, planning, engaging neighbors and community resources, and crime prevention.
More information about the annual tour and the homes and businesses opening their doors can also be found at www.heritagehillweb.org or by calling 616-459-8950.
Mathias Alten often painted bucolic scenes, such as farmers using oxen, in a nostalgic response to the immense modernization around him in the early 20th Century.
Another constant for the German-born impressionist artist was his depiction of the Michigan landscape, a collection of beloved pieces from the lakeshore, cities and rural areas that experts say helped cement the reference to him as the “Dean of Michigan Painters.”
“Mathias J. Alten: An American Artist at the Turn of the Century,” will begin on Sept. 20 at the Dennos Museum Center in Traverse City.
A painting by Mathis Alten is prepared to be shipped as part of a statewide exhibition of his works. (Supplied/GVSU)
“Narratives of empathy, peace, love, social justice, equity — all core elements to what it means to be human — are told through art,” said Nathan Kemler, director of Grand Valley’s galleries and collections. “I believe the stories art tells belong to everybody and we want to take these stories into our communities and across our state.”
Other scheduled venues are the Daughtrey Gallery at Hillsdale College, the Michigan Historical Museum in Lansing and the Muskegon Museum of Art, said Joel Zwart, curator of exhibitions for the Art Gallery, who added officials are working through hosting dates due to the uncertainty from COVID-19.
The exhibition includes more than 40 works drawn from the Art Gallery collection as well as historical photos and personal artifacts such as brushes to fully tell the story of Alten’s life, Zwart said.
Alten’s artistic work was one of inspiration from travels to major art and cultural centers around the globe and creating pieces that showed the quiet reflection of himself as well as his surroundings when his travel was limited during World War I and the 1918 pandemic.
His lifelong celebration of his surroundings in Michigan, in particular the environmental landscapes, especially resonated with George Gordon, who along with his wife, Barbara, donated 35 paintings in 1998 to initiate Grand Valley’s collection. The momentum that ensued after that initial donation not only led to the distinction of GVSU having the world’s largest public collection of Alten’s work but also the entire artist Catalogue Raisonné and published scholarship.
“All of this is only possible because of the Gordons’ contributions and their passion not only for Mathias Alten but also art in general,” Kemler said. “The Gordons could have done several different things with that collection. They shared our vision that works need to be seen, they need to be shared and they need to be out in front as much as possible, not in storage.”
Alten’s works are on exhibit in the George and Barbara Gordon Gallery on the Pew Grand Rapids Campus. It open from 1-5 p.m. on Fridays and Saturdays, except for holiday weekends, and admission is free.
Looking for a a trip that would follow social distancing guideline but also provide you a chance to explore the state of Michigan?
The West Michigan Tourist Association (WMTA) has released its 2020 Lake Michigan Lighthouse Map and Circle tour. This is a free poster-sized publication which details all of the lighthouses located on the shores of Lake Michigan, as well as the Circle Tour driving route to guide motorists around the lake.
The full circle tour driving route around Lake Michigan is available online, and website visitors may also download a PDF of this year’s Lighthouse Map, or request that a free copy be mailed to them here: www.wmta.org/lake-michigan-lighthouse-map-circle-tour/
White River Lighthouse is located near Whitehall. (WKTV/Joanne Bailey-Boorsma
Vacationers have been looping the lake for generations, but the official “Lake Michigan Circle Tour” route was not established until the 1980s when the Michigan Department of Transportation teamed up with West Michigan Tourist Association to create the route and its official guidebook. Along the way, travelers will find more than 100 lighthouses, countless islands, unique attractions, parks and natural areas, miles of glorious beaches, quaint harbor towns, and one “modern marvel” – the Mackinac Bridge.
While a loosely-organized “circle route” around Lake Superior was promoted by local tourist organizations as early as the 1960s, the first official (and signed) Great Lakes Circle Tour was the Lake Michigan Circle Tour. The only single-nation Circle Tour (Lake Michigan being the only Great Lake completely within the US), the Lake Michigan Circle Tour also has the most mileage of any Circle Tour in the state.
Old Mackinac Point Lighthouse in Mackinaw City. (WKTV/Joanne Bailey-Boorsma)
Working in conjunction with the Michigan Department of Transportation, the West Michigan Tourist Association helped to make the first of the official Great Lakes Circle Tours a reality and the first publication was released in 1988 as a 52-page guide book. The guide book was transformed into a map in 2007, and the Circle Tour driving route can now be found online.
Lake Michigan Lighthouse Map & Circle Tour publications are also available in bulk quantities; please contact Travel@WMTA.org for more information.
