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Hey, what's that (and other miscellanea)?

sparky05

By sparky05
in Grand Rapids

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HomePortSupplyCo
HomePortSupplyCo

This is my favorite game to play.    I think I found it!   Piton also implies a mountain.  Looks like Etna Supply building.     Parcels   PPN 41

walker
walker

Not much activity here lately, so while we are all waiting for the virus to pass I thought I'd post this: Back around the time GR_Urbanist posted this I commented that back when I was a kid in

GVSUChris
GVSUChris

Visbeen did it. 

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  • 2 months later...
GR_Urbanist Burg

GR_Urbanist

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That building is so horrible looking. Have you seen it lately? Beige stucco-like material mixed with mud brown brick. It looks 50 years old already, and it's not even finished yet. What a joke.

I guess when they are desperate, they will gladly chuck the "urban village" concept right out the window.

I feel sorry for the suckers that went the extra mile to make their buildings fit the idea only to watch the whole thing become a joke with buildings like this.

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John E Burg

John E

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.

This is called the Oxford Street Trail that connects the Black Hills Neighborhood to the West Side. The second photo is the cool green new bridge over Chestnut Street. The trail begins at Oxford Street. They were hammering in the wood for the concrete pouring that may be happening today. Hopefully, that is. They only have been working on this trail ALL YEAR. I have seen a lot of people checking this trail out all summer. The view going over the river is awesome!

~John

.

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  • 1 month later...
fotoman311 Burg

fotoman311

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Not a random building, but this caught my eye downtown today.

The cast iron tree guards on Ottawa in front of Big O's Pizza have been replaced by a permeable rubber surface, similar to the ones you sometimes see on new running tracks and like the "test" surface on the Plaster Creek Trail at Division Ave.

5235633301_6e82fb8deb_b.jpg

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  • 2 weeks later...
Allison Slater Town

Allison Slater

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^ Aye, but very nice and a good way to approach the problems caused by those cast-iron covers. No more stepping onto a wobbly piece that almost knocks you off balance! Now, from what I remember in regards to the permeable asphalt parking lot over by the old Blodgett Home for Children in East Hills, they'll have to vacuum these twice a year, right?

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joeDowntown Metropolis

joeDowntown

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Stupid question, but is a tree trunk really the best place to lock up the bike? Wouldn't it eventually damage the tree? :)

Joe

^ Aye, but very nice and a good way to approach the problems caused by those cast-iron covers. No more stepping onto a wobbly piece that almost knocks you off balance! Now, from what I remember in regards to the permeable asphalt parking lot over by the old Blodgett Home for Children in East Hills, they'll have to vacuum these twice a year, right?

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fotoman311 Burg

fotoman311

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Stupid question, but is a tree trunk really the best place to lock up the bike? Wouldn't it eventually damage the tree? :)

Joe

It's not usually my first choice and I try to be careful not to impact the tree. You're right though, I probably should have chosen a better location. Sometimes the parking meter is an okay option, and some street signs are somewhat secure. I've been vocal to Jay Fowler of the DDA for a few years to provide more and better bicycle parking. Some of the parking garages have bicycle parking, but it's usually hidden and there are no signs. You have to hunt around for it.

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Raildudes dad Hamlet

Raildudes dad

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Does anyone know what this building is? Is it being used for anything?

google maps street view

It was originally a school. Then it was bought by Amway and used as a training center. I believe it has been vacant for a number of years. Current taxpayer is Activa Management Co on Lucerne which appears to be a DeVos comapny.

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Raildudes dad Hamlet

Raildudes dad

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Here's another one that probably only Raildudes dad would know. What's the little yellow building in this picture? Where was it originally and why is it here? I know the answers sort of so if Raildudes dad or someone else doesn't come back with the answers I'll come back in a few days with the story myself:

YELLOW BUILDING LINK

RR crossing operator's tower from Fulton Street where the Arena is today. The gentlemen that sat in the tower turned the RR flashers on when trains left Union Station and went north. The tower was on the PRR freight house property. The freight house was either sold to Columbian Transfer or they just operated the rail to truck transfer there until the freeway was built. The Columbian building was bought for the Fulton 131 ramps and they relocated to Hall Street and took the tower with them.

Did I get it right? :whistling:

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walker Burg

walker

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RR crossing operator's tower from Fulton Street where the Arena is today. The gentlemen that sat in the tower turned the RR flashers on when trains left Union Station and went north. The tower was on the PRR freight house property. The freight house was either sold to Columbian Transfer or they just operated the rail to truck transfer there until the freeway was built. The Columbian building was bought for the Fulton 131 ramps and they relocated to Hall Street and took the tower with them.

Did I get it right? :whistling:

YOU'RE RIGHT. Columbian Transfer and Storage painted it yellow to match the color of their trucks. The tower was sort of an icon of their business and, as you wrote, they took it with them when they built their new warehouse on Hall Street.

I’m not 100% sure because the base looks different but it may very well be the same tower that is in the second postcard picture of the old Union Station in this old thread:

GR RAILROAD STATIONS

Whether it was the same tower or not, the postcard shows about where the tower was located. The freight warehouses were just off to the right (west.) The freight warehouses were not torn down the same time as Union Station. Columbian operated them till sometime in the seventies. At the time they were vacated there had been some talk of converting them into a farmers market but nothing came of that idea.

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Raildudes dad Hamlet

Raildudes dad

Posted
Posted (edited)

You're correct, the freight houses lasted past the ramps. I had forgot your could get on SB 131 and drive past them. I think they built a new base, but it's the same shanty. Also, the Sparta depot in the postcard link is still in Sparta today. N end of town west of the existing tracks, owned and maintained by the West MI RR Historical Society.

Edited by Raildudes dad
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  • 4 weeks later...
fotoman311 Burg

fotoman311

Posted
Posted

As I was watching this Rob Bell video preview of his new book, I couldn't help but thinking... I think I know where that building is.

Sure enough, I'm pretty sure it's down behind the Boardwalk Condos building. The blank wall is the Spectrum Occupation Health Center.

Google Streetview Link

Also, at the end you can see one of J. Ruiter's urban bicycles that he entered into the 2010 ArtPrize leaning against a wall in the background.

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GRDadof3 Ecumenopolis

GRDadof3

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Posted

As I was watching this Rob Bell video preview of his new book, I couldn't help but thinking... I think I know where that building is.

Sure enough, I'm pretty sure it's down behind the Boardwalk Condos building. The blank wall is the Spectrum Occupation Health Center.

Google Streetview Link

Also, at the end you can see one of J. Ruiter's urban bicycles that he entered into the 2010 ArtPrize leaning against a wall in the background.

Good eye! I wonder what space that is at the end? South Division somewhere?

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AlexPKeaton Burg

AlexPKeaton

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Sure enough, I'm pretty sure it's down behind the Boardwalk Condos building. The blank wall is the Spectrum Occupation Health Center.

Google Streetview Link

Also, at the end you can see one of J. Ruiter's urban bicycles that he entered into the 2010 ArtPrize leaning against a wall in the background.

Hah, I work in that area and saw them filming that a month or two ago as I left my office. I recognized Bell, but I didn't know exactly what they were shooting. Now I know.

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