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111 South Division Development

John E

By John E
in Grand Rapids

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bgillettephoto Unincorporated Area

bgillettephoto

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As a creative director I don't venture too far behind the scenes in the way of planning, but I'll do my best to answer and I'll seek further information the next time I meet up with Bob. My time is split between this and my architectural photography business so I just don't have the time to get as involved as I'd like. I also don't want to risk saying too much, as to respect confidentiality, as well as to make sure I don't get people excited for anything that ends up not being feasible. 

 

Regarding the "HARRIS" sign, of course it's going to stay. It wouldn't be the Harris Building without it. Whether it will be fully restored or simply rewired and preserved is still up for debate. I do know that there are plans to do something with it for ArtPrize, but there won't be any permanent modification of the sign. 

 

As for the upper cornice, I agree that something needs to be done. I'll have to ask Bob what the plans are. Ideally the facade will be fixed up to the same level as the rest of the buildings on the block. At the moment I'm trying to get ahold of the original blueprints for the building which will be helpful in figuring out how it should look. 

 

9035122076_874d370a4b_c.jpg

THE HARRIS BUILDING by Brad Gillette, on Flickr

 

The graffiti on the south wall will stay for now although that may change if some of our ideas for the third floor go forward. I believe there are also plans for a mural in the back alley. Bob is definitely appreciative of the arts, including that of the urban variety. When the original plans for the building were put on hold due to the crash in 2009, the building certainly didn't stay dormant and has hosted Site Lab, pop-up shops, fashion shows, photo shoots, and some... uhh... parties... He's been really cool about letting us younger folk use the space to pursue our creative endeavors. Other than bringing things up to code there aren't plans for the upper floors until after ArtPrize and there are some great entries that will fully utilize the building's current state.

 

I don't see the charm in the rusted out look.  I'd love to see the Harris sign completely restored. The ladder can be removed.

It seems so simple, but from what I've learned in the past year working on these historic renovation projects, even something as simple as removing a ladder can involve jumping through hoops.

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bgillettephoto Unincorporated Area

bgillettephoto

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I wasn't agreeing that the ladder should go (I want to keep it), just making a reference to how much red tape is involved for such minor changes.

Anyways, I've been scouring the web for old pics of the building and this series of photos does a good job of showing what happened to the cornice. Another victim to urban renewal's metal sheeting.

LKGETztl.jpg

F3aLLpPl.jpg

Ijf7cnxl.jpg

0vWpTTBl.jpg

1yBquJBl.jpg

I sent a message to an old friend who I heard has the building's original blueprints. I was hoping to either buy them or rent them to make some high-res scans but it seems that he's ignoring me...

Here's a few more random shots from the past week. The back alley still looks pretty uninviting, but you should've seen how it was before!

9045748456_c70dcfa3fc_c.jpg

THE HARRIS BUILDING by Brad Gillette, on Flickr

9043923889_586f7c7821_c.jpg

THE HARRIS BUILDING by Brad Gillette, on Flickr

I'll keep this thread updated with photos as things progress. I'm also working on putting together an archive of photos from the history of the building and past events.

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GRDadof3 Ecumenopolis

GRDadof3

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I wasn't agreeing that the ladder should go (I want to keep it), just making a reference to how much red tape is involved for such minor changes.

Anyways, I've been scouring the web for old pics of the building and this series of photos does a good job of showing what happened to the cornice. Another victim to urban renewal's metal sheeting.

LKGETztl.jpg

F3aLLpPl.jpg

Ijf7cnxl.jpg

0vWpTTBl.jpg

1yBquJBl.jpg

I sent a message to an old friend who I heard has the building's original blueprints. I was hoping to either buy them or rent them to make some high-res scans but it seems that he's ignoring me...

Here's a few more random shots from the past week. The back alley still looks pretty uninviting, but you should've seen how it was before!

9045748456_c70dcfa3fc_c.jpg

THE HARRIS BUILDING by Brad Gillette, on Flickr

9043923889_586f7c7821_c.jpg

THE HARRIS BUILDING by Brad Gillette, on Flickr

I'll keep this thread updated with photos as things progress. I'm also working on putting together an archive of photos from the history of the building and past events.

 

 

The basement in that building would make a great serial killer hangout. Got any pics?

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bgillettephoto Unincorporated Area

bgillettephoto

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The basement in that building would make a great serial killer hangout. Got any pics?

It's all cleaned up now, but it certainly was before. There's even a built-in vault. I heard the DAAC/Scavenger Hunt building next door has an interesting basement as well. The cool thing about the basement is that it's a walk-out level at alley and the parking lot behind the United Way. Along with the windows in alley there are bricked/boarded up windows all along the parking lot side that will be refitted with glass so there should be a good amount of natural light. I'll get some pics the next time I'm down there.

The plan right now is to move the trash pickup from the alley to the parking lot then clean and landscape the alley to use as outdoor seating for a restaurant, cafe, or lounge in the basement. With the alley visible from the bars on Commerce I think it could make for a cool after-hours spot. This is all very early in the planning stages though as there are a lot of variables that will need to be figured out first.

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wingbert Burg

wingbert

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Anyways, I've been scouring the web for old pics of the building and this series of photos does a good job of showing what happened to the cornice. Another victim to urban renewal's metal sheeting.

0vWpTTBl.jpg

1yBquJBl.jpg

 

 

 

I'm a tad amazed that the Harris sign survived through the metal cladding era. 

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GRDadof3 Ecumenopolis

GRDadof3

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It's all cleaned up now, but it certainly was before. There's even a built-in vault. I heard the DAAC/Scavenger Hunt building next door has an interesting basement as well. The cool thing about the basement is that it's a walk-out level at alley and the parking lot behind the United Way. Along with the windows in alley there are bricked/boarded up windows all along the parking lot side that will be refitted with glass so there should be a good amount of natural light. I'll get some pics the next time I'm down there.

The plan right now is to move the trash pickup from the alley to the parking lot then clean and landscape the alley to use as outdoor seating for a restaurant, cafe, or lounge in the basement. With the alley visible from the bars on Commerce I think it could make for a cool after-hours spot. This is all very early in the planning stages though as there are a lot of variables that will need to be figured out first.

 

When I was in it, it was pretty emptied out. That was the creepy part of it, particularly as you headed toward the Division Ave side.

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GRDadof3 Ecumenopolis

GRDadof3

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The 60's needs a big heavy slap in the face.  How did people ever think that was a decent solution for a buildings facade???

 

Because that's what the suburban shopping malls looked like. They were sleek and clean-lined, because it was the jet age. Cornice work and brick represented pre -war and European influence, which people shunned in the 50's and 60's (so I've read somewhere).

 

I think someone posted on here too that Alcoa was a huge supplier of those sidings facades, and a lot of cities implemented them.

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bgillettephoto Unincorporated Area

bgillettephoto

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When I was in it, it was pretty emptied out. That was the creepy part of it, particularly as you headed toward the Division Ave side.

 

I suppose there's a creepy bathroom back there. The floors on the north side are a bit uneven. I proposed turning it into a small reflecting pool with little boats but nobody listened.

 

You can't really beat Detroit's old Michigan Central Terminal for creepy basement status. 

 

I think the aluminum facades were somewhat beneficial in preserving the original brick and glass. 

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fotoman311 Burg

fotoman311

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The basement windows are in.

1043977_485256984875855_1661072868_n.jpg

 

 

John,

It's not appropriate to steal a photo from Facebook and post it here without giving proper credit and posting a link.

 

https://www.facebook.com/home.php#!/photo.php?fbid=485256984875855&set=a.476464652421755.1073741829.473854496016104&type=1&theater

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John E Burg

John E

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John,

It's not appropriate to steal a photo from Facebook and post it here without giving proper credit and posting a link.

 

https://www.facebook.com/home.php#!/photo.php?fbid=485256984875855&set=a.476464652421755.1073741829.473854496016104&type=1&theater

Thank you. I missed posting the link. I used the image url to post here and missed giving the source.

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bgillettephoto Unincorporated Area

bgillettephoto

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The basement windows are in.

 

You're getting my updates up before I can!  ;)

 

Here's a few more shots including some from the inside:

9152678651_5852c10c06_c.jpg

THE HARRIS BUILDING by Brad Gillette, on Flickr

9154362852_e29a5bb160_c.jpg

THE HARRIS BUILDING by Brad Gillette, on Flickr

9152047591_c19d9b6d3e_c.jpg

THE HARRIS BUILDING by Brad Gillette, on Flickr

9154099016_b11e688925_c.jpg

THE HARRIS BUILDING by Brad Gillette, on Flickr

I'll add a few more once I get a chance to process them.

I also noticed that there used to be some sculptural stonework surrounding the round stained glass window that was unfortunately chiseled away when they put the metal sheeting up.

If you pass by you'll see that The Local Epicurean has moved into their new space. I'll be down at the building late Sunday afternoon shooting some more photos if anyone wants to stop by for a tour.

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