The Octagon House

Fairview Avenue, called Clinton on the original plat, was the cusp of the Bluffs.    The little segment of Hastings that led off west from Fairview was fascinating to me as a child. The slant of the hill westward towards the river was very steep. Much steeper than the side going the other way.  I think the street proper (as in paved and drivable) did not extend all the way to Ionia (but hey I didn't drive as a child, I walked) On the south side of Hastings was a private Dutch school built right into the side of the hill.  It had a playground above it.  I loved that.  I loved being ABOVE a school and looking down on the roof.  Across the street was an Octagon House with a big porch that seemed to stand on stilts that seemed to be filled with kids.  I loved that street.  I played there every chance I got. Farther north there were two stairways up the bluffs.  The one that replaces Trowbridge is still there.  The other one may have been Newberry.  Men used to walk up and down those stairs to their jobs in the factories below. 

But when the freeway went through it took it all:  The school, the house, the hill. And now most of the factories are gone too. 

When I was working in City Inspection Services who had, I emphasize HAD, the oldest records, I looked up the records for this segment of Hastings Street and READ the information. When I looked at the sewer drawing (now gone) that showed the location of the lateral, it showed the outside lines of the house. So I knew it was the Octagon House. I remember the number 7, but I thought it was the lot number, perhaps it was the address. I recently looked at the old address book at Inspections Services but that page is missing. So I looked for the map of the sewer main which showed the street and lots.  The index is still there Book 2 Pg 14 laid 1894 but that page is missing too.       A conspiracy!!!           Nah, ignorance, carelessness, arrogance.  It's all gone now EXCEPT, Dave Barber who retires April 27 showed me the cards that Dorothy used to type everyday, all day long.  Those records still exist, stored away in a back room, in partial order in the same condition the day Dorothy retired, but they still EXIST. So here they are for you:  You'd better thank Dorothy!

City Assessor's HAD the property card for this house with a 1936 photo but NO MORE. GONE! TRASHED!

And City Engineers to the rescue!  Chris Barfuss to be specific.   Octagon House  Incline   Freeway overlay.  They don't give the address but it appears it may have been on Lot 768 of Steinmann's Assessor's Plat which means that Dexter lots 7 and 8 got combined into Steinmann's lot 768.

For more information on what started the Octagon House craze see The Octagon House - Home For All by Orson S. Fowler originally copyrighted in 1853.  Was reprinted in 1973 by Dover Publications.

 The Library to the rescue                            

The back of this photos says: "7 Hastings.  Built in 1853 by Elihu Smith. -- the little street leading up to the top of the hill off Division back of the Armory". The 1853 city map shows the outline of this house.  Look at the Geography heading on the main page of this website. 

3 Hastings St NE
C R Rice Permit #6003 Dec 12, 1923 Frame Garage worth $300
T R Fan Antwerp #36976 Sep 21, 1950 Coal furnace worth $350
J R Van Antwerp #65576 Oct 12, 1955 Rebuild garage 14x20 worth $500
J Van Antwerp #69518 April 19, 1956 Convert coal furnace to gas $285

4 Hastings St NE
Hastings Street Christian School Permit # 10425 Oct 23, 1947 Install coal furnace $600.
Peter Baas Permit #77550 April 22, 1957 appeal to use empty lot behind school for parking
Peter Baas Permit # 1547 Jul 23, 1958 appeal to use School Bldg for Lodge and monthly parking

7 Hastings St NE     The Octagon House
Anthony Kuklewski Permit #944 Mar 3, 1961 enclose front porch $800

9 Hastings St NE
Frank Chrystler Permit #4587 April 3, 1919 Garage worth $25
Max Plafkin Permit #10397 Aug 26, 1924 Frame Garage worth $100
Agnes Westlake Permit #24250 Oct 10, 1949 Gas space heater

10 Hastings St NE
K Winters, Hastings Street Christian Reformed Church
Permit #3432 Jun 18, 1823 Frame garage worth $100
Permit #40533 April 15, 1929 2 stall frame garage worth $250
Permit #31951 April 21, 1950 Gas conversion burner

11 Hastings St NE Anthony Kukliwski (sic) Permit #68305 Jan 20, 1956 reside worth $1000

13 Hastings St NE G B Kelsey Permit #464 Nov 6, 1922 2 Story frame house and Furnace worth $4000

15 Hastings St NE Van Dyke Realty Company Permit #33407 Dec 21, 1927 2 Story Frame House and Furnace worth $4000

19 Hastings St NE Richard Kenyon Permit #8376 Nov 23, 1960 Gas space heater

Across the street was Hastings Christian School

Division Avenue/Taylor runs along the township line between Grand Rapids Township and Walker Twp.  But Division Avenue ended at Michigan Street while Taylor began at Walbridge Street.  See Village of Kent The Township line runs mid-way across the hill. Lot 278 is to the left or West of this line. Lots 8,7,6,5 are to the right or East of this line. 

That area East of the township line  was subsequently divided by the Dexter fraction Dexter fraction  date unknown

That was re-configured as Steinmann's Assessor's Plat No. 28  Steinmann's Assessor's Plat No. 28 1939. (Note an assessor's plat was simply a description of what was actually there.  The property owners had not followed procedure and did their own thing. And you thought your generation started that.)

The Village of Kent and Dexter Fraction both show Lots 8,7,6,5 with frontage of 64', 62', 62', 62 for a total of 250'.  Steinman shows frontage of 126.17', 40', 84' for a total of 250.17'.  Lot 278 of Kent has a frontage of 202' which is not included in Dexter or Steinman.

Water Main showing the steep incline

Hastings Street Christian School

From heading Architecture

From Article Northeast

From website MyGrandRapids.info
 

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Last modified: 08/05/11