Historic Properties in Holland

Historic Holland

The City of Holland is home to many historic properties that are listed on the National Register of Historic Places, the Michigan State Register of Historic Sites, or identified locally as important to the history of our community.

Holland had a library from its very beginning; the first formed in 1847 as an entity of the township school board. The holdings were small, and when the city was incorporated in 1867, those collections were split between the City of Holland and Holland Township. The books were shelved in a small room at city hall, on the second floor above the firehouse at 106 E. 8^th Street. It wasn’t until 1875 that the City assumed responsibility of the library, and by ordinance created “The City Library of the City of Holland.”

The city library remained in the firehouse until 1897, when it was then relocated above the Model Drug Store. At that time the library had over 600 patrons, with daily circulation exceeding 400 books. In 1911 the library moved again, this time to its own wing on the second floor of the new city hall, where it remained for 50 years. By 1921 the library collection had grown to 12,000 volumes, with an annual circulation of 50,000. In 1923 the number of library cards was equal to the number of homes in the city.

As library patronship, holdings, and circulation continued to grow, Hazel Hayes was hired as Holland’s first professional librarian. In 1953 she began the campaign to move the library into its own dedicated building for the first time. The book collection had grown to 24,000 volumes, with an annual circulation of 122,000.

Acting on a tip, Hayes wrote to Ray Herrick, asking for help funding the project. He stepped forward as the primary benefactor for the new building. Mr. Herrick was born in Muskegon and moved to Holland at 14 years old in 1904. In 1910 he moved to Detroit to work on Henry Ford’s assembly line. There he stayed for 20 years, until starting his own small engine manufacturing company in Marshall, later moving operations to Tecumseh, Michigan. In making the donation, Herrick requested that the city be responsible for purchasing the land and furnishings, and name the building, “The Herrick Public Library.”

The city followed through on this promise, purchasing a lot on River Avenue between 12^th and 13^th Streets that had once been home to the Red Brick Tourist Rooms. Ray Herrick was the chief contractor for the project, hiring the architect, subcontractors, and overseeing day-to-day work until construction was finished. The library was dedicated on May 7, 1960.

The library served its public well until the 1990s, when the need for another expansion became necessary. A tripling of the space was proposed for a cost of over $10 million. A fundraising campaign was supported by local benefactors, and Ray Herrick’s son, Kenneth, contributed a generous $1 million donation. At this time the library also converted from a city to regional library, supported by the City of Holland, Park Township, and Holland Charter Township. The expanded Herrick District Library was dedicated on June 19, 1999.

By the mid-2010s, the library was continuing to circulate over 1.3 million books and materials a year! 2025 saw the conclusion of another multi-year renovation project, allowing the library to better serve patrons’ 21^st Century needs. Today you can find books, magazines, movies, and music on their shelves. EBooks, eAudiobooks, eMovies and TV, eMusic, and eMagazines are available to read, listen, stream or download from the digital library. Patrons can use library computers and printers, attend library events, story time, research family trees, visit the LEGO Lab, or grow skills in the new digital lab for adults called Groundworks. Learn more at https://herrickdl.org/

Herrick District Library is located within the Holland Historic District.

Many people found prosperity during the 1920s, and Holland’s business community was no exception. In 1923, August Landwehr, co-founder and owner of the Holland Furnace Company, announced plans to build a new hotel in Holland in true roaring twenties fashion. It would be erected on the north-east corner of Central Avenue and 8^th Street, replacing the aged Hotel Holland. It would house meeting rooms for local societies and clubs; restaurants, lounges, and dance halls; guest rooms, suites, and permanent residences. Bringing a type of luxury to Holland previously only seen in places like Grand Rapids and Muskegon.

Total costs were estimated at $500,000. All local labor was used, including Frank Dyke, Holland’s leading contractor for the time, and local suppliers were tapped for its interior furnishings. The project was partially funded by realty bonds, purchased by residents and local businesses. Brickwork was completed by November 1924, and the Warm Friend Tavern opened with much celebration in May 1925.

The hotel’s name was coined from the popular company slogan, “Holland Furnaces Make Warm Friends.” There was some controversy at the time in the use of “tavern,” especially among the community’s more conservative crowd. In fact, the Warm Friend did not receive its first liquor license until 1937, twelve years after its grand opening, and three years following the nationwide end of prohibition.

The six-story hotel is constructed of stone on the first floor, and brick with stone quoins above. The façade is divided into three sections vertically, with limestone belt courses defining the heads and sills of each window. A Flemish style stepped parapet tops the building, with two stone carved beavers flanking either side. Beavers were chosen to represent the industrious, cooperative, and determined work ethic of the Holland Furnace Company.

The Warm Friend Tavern became Holland’s trademark hotel, hosting Holland Furnace Company salesmen, visiting businessmen, local leading families, politicians, and Tulip Time visitors for many years. The Dutch Grill was its signature restaurant, and in the early years bell boys wore baggy Dutch pants, and waitresses in Dutch costumes. It witnessed a bank robbery across the street in 1932, resulting in bullet scars still visible today. Royalty and celebrities enjoyed their stays there, and even Presidents Regan and Ford were among its guests.

The Warm Friend Tavern unfortunately met the same fate as its parent company, falling to Holland Furnace’s 1965 bankruptcy. Brothers Jack and Arthur Vannette, two local restauranters, purchased the property, stripping it of its liquor license, and renaming it the Warm Friend Motor Inn. The Vannette’s ran the hotel and its various restaurants with much success for the next 16 years. In 1981 they sold the historic hotel to Resthaven Patrons, who were in desperate need of expanded facilities to care for Holland’s aging population. Resthaven retrofitted the building into a 130-bed senior center, at the cost of 2 million dollars, less than half what it would have been to build a new facility. Warm Friend Resthaven continues to operate there today, giving Holland’s senior population access to downtown living, and all the amenities it has to offer.

The Warm Friend is located within the Downtown (8^th Street) National Register Historic District.

Holland Furnace Company (Black River Public Schools) – 491 Columbia Avenue

Holland Furnace Company began in 1906, operating on a three-acre industrial site at 21^st and Columbia Avenue, near Prospect Park. It was founded by John P. Kolla and his son-in-law, August H. Landwehr, both originally of Ohio. In a time when Americans were moving away from traditional woodstove heating, the company brought new cast iron, coal-burning, replacements to homes across the nation along with their catchy slogan, “Holland furnaces make warm friends.”

In its first year, the plant manufactured 1,500 furnaces at the hands of 55 employees. Of those furnaces, it was estimated that 30 went to Holland homes. By 1928, annual sales had topped 46,000 furnaces, with half the homes in Holland having one! Holland Furnace Company didn’t just keep Holland warm; it was also a major employer during its time. At its peak in 1930, 400 local workers were employed, compensated with the highest pay in town. Key to the company’s success was its direct-to-consumer approach. Its products were sold door-to-door by salesmen, operating out of branch offices. In that same year, 1930, Holland Furnace employed 5,000 people nationwide, with over 500 branch offices!

With this explosion of growth, the factory saw several major expansions over its years. New office buildings, manufacturing spaces, and distribution warehouses were constantly under construction. It wasn’t until founders Kolla and Landwehr retired from leadership at the company that the three-story brick and limestone headquarters was built in 1931. The late-Art Deco style building was designed by Frank Davidson, with construction supervised by Frank Dyke, General Contractor. Publicity at the time said, “The building is the most modern office building that is possible to construct.” Heated by eight Holland Furnaces in the winter, and cooled by air conditioning in the summer, it provided a comfortable work climate, along with large windows for natural light, and soft rubberized flooring. The building also had its own telephone exchange and switchboard, rare for the time.

Unfortunately, the Great Depression, followed by WWII, soon brought about a steep drop in domestic furnace sales. Just when the company began to recover, newer technologies dominated the market. Fueled by oil and natural gas, new furnaces were smaller, more efficient, and cleaner than their cast iron counter parts. Holland Furnace remained a market player through the 50s, but never again saw the success it had in its early years.

Without further innovation, and with several corporate and familial scandals on the books by the 1960s, the business went under. Its towering headquarters was sold to Holland Suco Color Company, a subsidiary of Chemetron Corporation. Chemetron produced color pigments for paint, printing ink, and plastics. They purchased several Holland Furnace Company buildings as they were vacated in the 1950s and 60s. The company had its own colorful history, including its sale to German-based BASF-Wyandotte Corporation in 1980. BASF was the last industry to occupy the Columbia Avenue site, donating the building to Black River Public Schools in 1999.

Windmill Island Gardens, 1 Lincoln Avenue

Windmill Island Gardens stands at the northernmost reaches of the city limits. This area, along shores of the Black River, was lowland marsh for much of Holland’s early history. Dryer spots were used for cattle grazing, farming, and recreational activities such as picnicking, fishing, and bird watching. It wasn’t until the 1960s that work began on draining and filling the land to make way for a much larger park.

The idea of bringing a real Dutch windmill to Holland was discussed for many years before becoming a reality in 1964. City leaders, including Mayor Nelson Bosman, ambassador Willard Wichers, and businessman Carter P. Brown, worked hard to secure permission from the Netherlands to purchase and relocate one of the last windmills to leave the country. The area to become Windmill Island was selected based on several characteristics, including its Netherlands-like terrain, and clear winds from lakes Macatawa and Michigan. Canals were dug. Fill was laid. Bridges built. And the island as we know it today soon rose from the marsh. A new base for the windmill was constructed, from Michigan brick but laid in the traditional Dutch fashion, and soon the windmill De Zwaan was reconstructed atop it. Opening day in 1965 saw large crowds, and attendance by Prince Bernhard of the Netherlands and Michigan Governor George Romney. That year, 117,000 visitors came to the island!

De Zwaan originally ground grain in the small town of Vinkel, in the province of North Braband, the Netherlands. It is a smock mill, of post and beam construction, reaching seven stories high. De Zwaan was constructed in 1884, using parts of even older mills dating to the early 1800s. It operated until the 1940s, when it sustained significant damage during World War II. De Zwaan fell into disrepair, as Dutch efforts to restore the mill failed. It was at this point that it became eligible for purchase by the City of Holland. A special exception to the Historic Buildings and Ancient Monuments Act of 1961, which recognized windmills as national monuments.

While DeZwaan was the main attraction at Windmill Island, several smaller buildings in the park were also constructed to support operations. 1965 saw the construction of the Post House, a replica of a 14^th century wayside inn, and replica Dutch-style buildings to house small exhibits and shops, including the popular Little Netherlands display. Soon followed a historic Dutch carousel, and a permanent home for the city’s Carl Frei street organ. Each attraction – carousel, exhibit, and organ – have their own unique histories!

Since the earliest days of the park, 12 provincial flags of the Netherlands greet visitors upon entering. Dutch drawbridges guide guests over the canals. In the spring, tulip fields abound. Now aptly named Windmill Island Gardens, gorgeous seasonal plantings dominate the landscape, just as much of an attraction as the windmill itself! At winter, Magic at the Mill, lights up the grounds with festive light displays. Windmill Island Gardens is a 36-acre municipal park, open year-round to city residents. De Zwaan Windmill is listed on the State Register of Historic Sites, and the National Register of Historic Places.

Old City Hall and Firehouse No. 2

Located at 106 E. 8^th Street, Old City Hall and Firehouse No. 2 is the oldest public building still standing in Holland. Built in 1883-84, it served as the first city-owned, city hall. It was also an active fire station for almost 100 years!

Designed by the architectural firm Robinson and Barnaby of Grand Rapids, the structure is believed to be one of the earliest Dutch Revival buildings constructed in this part of Michigan. The hose drying tower is a key feature of this design style. At one point, an additional lookout post stood atop the tower. Local builder James Huntley was contracted to build the all-brick structure, at the cost of $4,700. It took two years to construct.

Prior to the construction of a dedicated government building, Holland rented space for city hall and the firehouse downtown. Another firehouse was located near where the police station stands today. Company No. 1 served the west side of town, and Company No. 2 served the east. Once construction was completed on the new structure, Common Council began meeting on the second floor of the structure, with fire operations below on the ground floor. The first fire engines to operated out of the vehicle bays were horse drawn! Holland did not purchase its first motorized fire “truck” until 1917.

Many of the building’s original interior finishes were preserved over time, including the brass fire pole, wainscotting, and wooden railings. Firehouse No. 2 operated from this location until their new fire station was built on Waverly Avenue in 1977 (and again in 2024). The space on 8^th Street adapted and changed over time to grow with the department, including the introduction of large overhead doors, a bright red color scheme, and a boardroom addition and carport to the west side of the building. After 1977, the fire house was transferred from city ownership to that of Architects Collective, a restoration group that worked to restore the structure closer to its 1883 appearance. The red painted brick was cleaned to reveal yellow, Chicago common brick underneath. The wide overhead door was removed, replaced with a historical smaller rounded double door. And the original characteristics of the windows and door headers and sills were restored and highlighted.

Since its major restoration, the firehouse has continued to be stewarded by its owners – it has remained in private hands. Most recently, the structure underwent a major façade reconstruction in 2024, with additional work continuing in the west addition and carport into 2025.

106 E. 8^th Street, Old City Hall and Firehouse No. 2, was listed on the National Register of Historic Places in 1984.

Pilgrim Home Cemetery is the final resting place for Holland’s founding families, and many generations to follow. Located on 16^th Street east of Fairbanks Avenue, this cemetery was once at the center of early life in Holland. The Holland Cemetery, as it was first called, began as a traditional churchyard cemetery. It surrounded Holland’s first log church, with its congregation led by Albertus C. Van Raalte. The church was centrally located, with the shores of Black Lake to the north, and Old Wing Mission to the south. In 1856 the congregation relocated to today’s Pillar Church, replacing the log church, and leaving the cemetery on the outskirts of town.

By the 1870s the old cemetery grounds were too small to accommodate a growing city. In 1876, 13 additional acres of land were purchased to expand the Holland Cemetery, followed by more land acquired in 1886. By 1889 Holland’s leaders believed a new name for the cemetery was needed, and selected Pilgrim Home, to reflect and honor its origins. During this time the Graafschaap Cemetery on West 32^nd Street was also established to serve the west end of the community but did not come into city ownership until 1956.

The next big expansion for Pilgrim Home Cemetery happened at the outset of the Great Depression. On the south side of 16^th Street two adjoining parcels became available. Immediately across from Pilgrim Home stood Fairlawn Memorial Park, which has served residents of Holland Township since 1855. To the east, the Holland Community Fairgrounds, a once active site for annual fair activities, that had fallen on hard times. The City acquired both parcels, and through New Deal policies like the Works Progress Administration (WPA), integrated them into a new, larger, Pilgrim Home that many would still recognize today.

The WPA provided employment opportunities during the Great Depression, and several municipal improvements in Holland during this time can be traced to their efforts. At Pilgrim Home, cemetery workers installed new underground waterlines, surveyed plots, and maintained landscaping. Their work was not to be confused with that of the sexton, who dug the graves and maintained the records for the cemetery. William H. Vande Water Sr. was Pilgrim Home’s sexton for 27 years, retiring in 1936 at age 88! He dug 2,700 graves during that time, lowering caskets into the ground at first with leather straps and later hoists.

Pilgrim Home Cemetery remains a place for quiet reflection and reverence. Every year at Memorial Day a service is held on the grounds, a tradition that began with the first Decoration Day observance in 1875. If you visit, look for the four stone foundation markers on the north side, as they mark the location of the original log church.

Benjamin Van Raalte House, 1076 E. 16th Street

Van Raalte Farm is home to one of the few remaining structures in the area directly connected to the family of Albertus C. Van Raalte, Holland’s founder. Affectionately referred to as “The Maples,” due to the large trees planted around the property, the Benjamin Van Raalte House was built by Van Raalte’s son in 1872, after his return from the Civil War. The surrounding land was a gift from his father, which Benjamin cultivated and farmed for nearly 45 years.

The farmhouse is a two-story clapboard sided building, with a one-story wing off the back. It has elements of Classical Revival and Italianate styles in its architecture. The hipped roof has wide eaves, with a broad entablature comprised of an architrave and frieze beneath. Each corner of the house has narrow pilasters, and the window frames feature segmental-arch heads set within flat-topped, Classical surrounds. Much of the home’s interior remains original, with an addition to the back wing dating to the 1970s.

Benjamin Van Raalte ran his business from the homestead. As a distributor of farm implements, he constructed the Red Barn in the 1880s to serve as a show place for equipment. This barn still stands today. The Red Barn was constructed from milled lumber – commercially cut at a sawmill – which differed from the other outbuildings on the property. The Gray Barn, which also still stands, pre-dates both the farmhouse and Red Barn in age. It is timber-framed, with hand-cut lumber, and was likely in use at another location for many years before it was disassembled and rebuilt in the 1870s. There was another barn previously attached to the Gray Barn that was removed in the 1940s. Its large timbers were preserved and show it was of equally old age.

Benjamin Van Raalte lived at The Maples until his death in 1917. His daughter, Juila, and her husband, Orlando Reimold, inherited the property. Active in business in Illinois and New York, The Maples was their family’s summer home. During this time the farmland was still cultivated, and the family had their own gardens. After the passing of Julia, son Andy Reimold inherited the property, followed by his son, Steven Reimold. Each generation cared for the home, maintaining its history and connection to family.

In 1983, the Reimold siblings sold the homestead and the surrounding 160 acres to the City of Holland. It has since been transformed into a city park, featuring extensive hiking trails, a picnic shelter, playground, sledding hill, dog park, and more. Each September the site comes alive during the Holland Civil War Muster weekend, and each spring the expansive maple trees are tapped for the DeGraff Nature Center Sugar Shack.

The Benjamin Van Raalte House was listed on the National Register of Historic Places in 1990 and is listed on the Michigan State Register of Historic Sites. Van Raalte Farm is a City of Holland local historic district. Explore more about the property here: https://www.cityofholland.com/facilities/facility/details/Van-Raalte-Farm-23

Baker Furniture Factory – 533 Columbia Avenue

An abundance of lumber, waterways, and skilled craftsmen helped make early Holland industry synonymous with furniture manufacturing. In the early 1900s, one-third of Holland’s labor force was employed in furniture operations. Early businesses included West Michigan Furniture, Ottawa Furniture, Holland Furniture, Bay View Furniture, Charles P. Limbert Furniture, and Bush & Lane. Later years saw Baker Furniture, Charles P. Sligh Company, Herman Miller, Haworth Inc., and Worden hit the landscape. Today, only a few remain as Holland’s industry has continued to diversify.

Perhaps the easiest former furniture factory to spot in the landscape today is Baker Furniture, at Columbia Avenue and 24^th Street. This location was originally home to Bush & Lane, a piano factory that later pivoted to furniture before dissolving in the wake of the Great Depression. The first factory building was constructed in 1911, followed shortly thereafter by an expansion in 1919 to the north. At its peak, over 350 workers were employed there. Following the death of its founder in 1928, coupled with a steady decline in piano sales in the later half of the decade, the company pivoted to the newest craze in home entertainment – radio cabinets. This endeavor did not last long, and the factory was bankrupt by 1930.

It didn’t take long to get the plant up and running again, this time as the new home of Baker Furniture Co. The original business started south of Holland, in Hamilton, by Siebe Baker. In 1900 he moved operations to Allegan, where the factory prospered for three decades. Under his son Hollis S. Baker, the factory moved to Holland, occupying the vacant piano factory in 1933. This was a boon to the city, providing over 200 new jobs, and reactivating the prime industrial site.

Over the following decades, Baker expanded to two other locations in Holland and even ran its own museum. Local ownership ended in 1965, as the company was subsequently bought and sold until the final plant closed in 2004. All manufacturing moved to North Carolina, where Baker Furniture still operates today.

The 24^th Street factory was converted to residential and commercial loft units in 2005. Many of the original features of the factory were preserved, including its soaring windows, 14-foot ceilings, and large support beams. Original advertising and painted signs on the brick exterior have been restored and maintained, proudly preserving the history of the site through adaptive reuse.

Allis Chalmers Corliss Steam Engine –
SW Corner of Waverly and 32^nd Street

The bright red machine at the corner of 32^nd and Waverly is a horizontal Corliss stationary steam engine originally built by the Allis-Chalmers Company in 1905. It powered operations at the Bush & Lane Piano Company and Baker Furniture Factory for 54 years!

At the 1904 St. Louis World’s Fair, the Allis-Chalmers Company was one of many manufactures on display showcasing technical achievements in power generation. It was here that representatives from Bush & Lane saw the Corliss Steam Engine in action and promptly ordered one for their new factory under construction in Holland, Michigan. The engine was installed there in 1905 as the sole power source for all machinery in the building.

Steam engines use force produced by steam pressure to push a piston back and forth inside a cylinder. That pushing force connects to a rod and crank, which creates rotational force that can be harnessed for work. This engine was connected to a line-shaft system by a rare rope-belting system that wrapped around the outer surface of the engine’s flywheel. The line-shaft system distributed this rotating power supply to the manufacturing areas of the building. Corliss engines are distinguished by a special rotary valve gear, which allows for more efficient inlet of steam and outlet of exhaust from the engine.

Horizontal stationary steam engines were used for driving mills and factories. Other types of steam engines were used as locomotives on railways, tractor and agricultural engines, and steam turbines for power generation. Steam engines were a dominant source of power from the 18^th century until the first half of the 20^th century, only declining as electricity and the internal combustion engine became more widespread.

Following the onset of the Great Depression in 1929, Bush & Lane went bankrupt in 1930, and in 1933, the facility was purchased by Baker Furniture. The engine ran for two shifts every day until its retirement from service in 1959. In 1967, it was removed from the factory and displayed near the Baker Furniture Museum, which once stood near where Freedom Village is today. When construction began on Freedom Village, the engine was removed and donated to the City of Holland and put into storage. It was first restored during the summer of 2003 by a group of volunteers and installed in its current location. It was again repainted and restored in spring 2025 and remains as a shining testament to Holland’s industrial heritage.

Michigan Bell/AT&T Telephone Building – 13 W. 10^th Street

The grand commercial building at 13 W. 10^th Street was constructed by the Michigan Bell Telephone Company in 1929. It is built in the Flemish Revival style with characteristic stepped parapets at the gable ends. The symmetrical main façade is decorated with patterned, Flemish-bond brickwork, voussoirs, quoins, stringcourses and colored tile panels. The main façade includes 16 over 16 double-hung windows on the second and third floors separated by the colored tiled panels. There are two entrances with fan light windows over double doors and surrounded by stone pilasters and pediments. A small round window is located in the center of each gable.

It is unknown who in Holland had the first speaking telephone, with private lines installed as early as 1877. It wasn’t until 1883 that the first public telephone lines were erected, through joint efforts between Holland’s two rival phone companies – Citizens Telephone Company and Michigan Bell Telephone. The network rapidly grew, and by 1884 Hollanders could call up more than fifty Michigan cities! These early telephones were designed to have operators – people standing by at switchboard to manually connect calls. Service subscriptions started at $36 a year, and Benjamin VanRaalte was the first residential customer.

The two companies competed for business in Holland for 25 years. Subscribers could only call phones on the same service as them, until 1918 when a state law was passed to force providers to connect their wires and share lines. In 1923 Michigan Bell bought out Citizens Telephone for $3 million, and the two businesses combined.

In early 1929 Michigan Bell announced plans to build a new three-story telephone building in Holland. With its cornerstone laid in October 1929, and dedication in August 1930, the building was home to an additional $570,000 investment in direct dial circuits, the newest innovation at the time. The dedication ceremony took place at midnight, where two hundred civic leaders gathered to witness the first transatlantic phone call in Holland – over 4,500 miles – to the office of Gerrit Diekema, US Minister to the Netherlands, The Hauge.

Michigan Bell Telephone continued to face ups and downs, with declining enrollment during the Great Depression, countered by sky rocketing demand during World War II. It wasn’t until 1982 that Michigan Bell Telephone Company became a part of Ameritech, a midwestern regional holding company. It was then acquired by SBC Communications in 1999, who then acquired the AT&T Corporation in 2006. Today, almost 100 years since it was built, AT&T still operates out of the building.

13 W. 10^th Street is listed on the National Register of Historic Places as a contributing resource to the Holland Historic District.

Centennial Park – 250 Central Avenue

Centennial Park is a central gathering place for civic activity, recreation, and community celebrations, with a history spanning nearly 150 years.

Originally platted as Market Square in 1847, the future park was an open grassy field with a fenced perimeter. Livestock grazed within its boundaries, and weeds abounded. By 1869 several city services were relocated to a building on the northwest corner of the park. Government offices, a library, council room, firehouse, and a jail were housed here nearly 40 years before City Hall was built adjacent to the park in 1911.

In 1874, Michigan Governor John J. Bagley asked his constituents to plant trees in honor of the nation’s upcoming 100^th Anniversary in 1876. In Holland, Reverend Henry Uiterwijk influenced Mayor John Van Landegend to transform Market Square into a park for the cause. In early 1876 the City of Holland renamed the square Centennial Park and established a Committee on Park Improvement which went on to adopt a plan for the new space. Park entrances were located at each of its four corners, connected to diagonal paths converging at a central flagstaff, an imposing 130’ tall. Dozens of maple trees populated the interior, with 125 additional maples tightly lining the outside perimeter – each planted by Holland families, responding to Governor Bagley’s call.

By 1900, a new park plan was underway, led by landscape designer Wencel L. Cukierski and park superintendent John A. Kooyers. This new take on the park was heavily influenced by Victorian and Beaux Arts design principles. Over the following two decades several improvements including the first tulip beds, a koi pond garden, and distinctive y- shaped intersections to facilitate movement were introduced. The central flagstaff was replaced by a grand fountain of tufa stone, donated by Teunis Ten Houten, and crafted to resemble the base of a windmill. Jets of water sprayed from the top and sides, cascading over nearly 800 plants tucked into the surface.

The advent of Tulip Time in 1929 brought new focus to the park annually. In the decades following you could find thousands of tulips planted in whimsical beds depicting windmills, wooden shoes, and stars. Dutch Dancers lined the streets surrounding the park, performing for eager audiences. Artisan market merchants sold a variety of wares, reminiscent of the city founders’ original intentions for the square. Many of these traditions continue today.

Several notable features of Centennial Park were added in the later decades of the 20^th Century, including the gazebo, the Van Raalte monument, and the Veteran’s Memorial.

Centennial Park was listed on the National Register of Historic Places in 1990 as a contributing resource to the Holland Historic District Addition. In 2021 an extensive study was conducted of the park, resulting in the Centennial Park Vision & Management Plan. The history shared here is credited to that study.

Holland Civic Center – 150 W. 8^th Street

Before it was the Holland Civic Center, 150 W. 8th Street was the site of the Cappon & Bertsch Leather Company. Founded in 1857 by Issac Cappon (Holland’s first mayor) and business partner John Bertsch, the tannery began as a small operation in the woods near Lake Macatawa (then known as Black Lake). As demand for leather goods boomed during the Civil War, Cappon and Bertsch expanded their company, building the plant at 150 W. 8^th Street in 1864. Growth was halted by the Great Fire of 1871, which destroyed the tannery and much of Holland’s commercial and residential neighborhoods.

Rather than relocate to Grand Rapids, where some of their business offices were located, Cappon and Bertsch chose to rebuild and reinvest in the factory in Holland. A prosperous decision, as by the 1880s it was the largest tannery in the state. The complex featured a five-story drying and processing plant, and several bark storage areas. By 1894 the tannery was Holland’s leader in employment and economic impact. The firm employed 400 workers and processed over one hundred thousand animal hides annually. Most leather produced went into saddles, harnesses, and shoe sole products.

Following Cappon’s death in 1902, the company was sold and incorporated as part of the Armour Company, meatpackers out of Chicago. Into the 1920s the demand for leather products began to wane, following World War I and the proliferation of automobiles. The tannery in Holland was dissolved in 1926, with all structures demolished the following year.

The tannery site sat vacant for many years. Nearly a decade later in 1937, Hollanders identified the need for community recreation and civic space. This idea was brought up several more times, until a proposal was finally passed by City Council in early 1941. The land was promptly purchased from the Armour Company for $10,800.

The advent of World War II delayed the project by many years, it wouldn’t be until 1952 that a $500,000 bond would be issued for the project. In the interim, the site was used for temporary housing in the 1940s, the site of several “Salvage for Victory” scrap drives, and the east half of the lot was converted to parking in 1951. Construction on the Civic Center began in 1953, and the final cost was $616,000.

The first basketball game in the new facility was the Harlem Globetrotters vs. a local all-star team and drew a standing-room-only crowd of 2,700 people!

Flash forward to today, the Civic Center underwent a $16.5 million renovation in 2018. It now features more than 55,000 square feet of modernized space, including the addition of an east lobby and viewing tower, indoor farmers market with roll up doors, expanded office, full-service kitchen, and a second-floor room with balconies. Also on the second floor, a memory wall exhibit highlighting its history. During the recent renovations, original floorboards from the tannery were recovered and are also now on display.

Holland Museum – 31 W. 10^th Street

31 W. 10^th Street was constructed in 1914-15 as the first purpose-built post office in Holland. Postmaster Gerrit Van Schelven supervised construction, which took twelve months and totaled $70,000. The two-story Classical Revival building has a balustraded roofline above a denticulated cornice. Four Corinthian columns flank the front entry, and are decorated with ironwork above the main doorway, iron railings, and iron lights. Later additions followed, including delivery bays to the east to help facilitate mail delivery operations.

Holland’s first mail distribution point was established in 1848, as year after the first Dutch immigrants started arriving. An official post office followed in 1851, under the supervision of its first postmaster, Henry Post. Mail was first collected and delivered to the Holland post office on foot, then later by stagecoach, train, and finally automobile by 1911. Door-to-door home delivery began in 1897, prior to that all residents picked up their mail directly from the post office.

Holland’s population steadily grew over the late 19^th century. In the years before 1915, the post office moved around to several different rented spaces on 8^th Street, often dictated by who was postmaster at the time. This included offices in the Kuite building at 12 W. 8^th Street (today, aptly, Postcards from Paradise), and the First State Bank block at 4 E. 8^th Street (today, Bowerman’s on 8^th). Prior to the post office, the corner of 10^th Street and River Avenue was home to the Phoenix planning mill, where wood building materials like lath, doors, sashes, window frames, blinds, molding, and casings were fabricated. Following its closure in 1905, the mill was purchased demolished to make way for new construction.

The United States Post Office operated at 31 W. 10^th Street for over 75 years. In 1987 the federal government constructed a larger facility at 190 E. 8^th Street, where it still operates today. The old post office building did not stay vacant for long, and it soon became the new location of the Netherlands Museum (formerly at 8 E. 12^th Street), which was renamed the Holland Museum in conjunction with the move. The Holland Museum continues to operate out of this location and has undergone several interior and exterior renovations over time to upkeep the building and maintain it for museum purposes. Most recently the building underwent extensive masonry restoration and cleaning, as well as roof and parapet reconstruction in 2024. The structure’s historic integrity and character defining features have been expertly preserved, with evidence of the post office days still present in its architecture and interior finishings.

31 W. 10^th Street is listed on the National Register of Historic Places as contributing to the Holland Historic District.

Centennial Inn – 8 E. 12th Street

8 East 12^th Street has been known over the last century as the Kremers house, Holland City Hospital, the Netherlands Museum, and the Centennial Inn Bed and Breakfast. Local builder George Dalman erected the stately brick and stone Queen Anne at the corner of Central Avenue and 12^th Street for Dr. Henry Kremers and his family just before his term as Holland Mayor in 1888. As a physician and surgeon, it was always Dr. Kremers’ hope that someday Holland would have its own hospital. In the 19^th and early 20^th centuries medical practitioners made house calls or worked out of small offices, which lacked the specialized tools and on-call support we’ve come to expect from the profession today. Following his death in 1914, the Kremers family offered the house and land to City Council for use as a city hospital. The price was $15,000 (half the value of the property) and the Kremers family donated $5,000 to that in Dr. Kremers name.

The hospital opened in January 1919, with few changes made to the interior of the home. Men’s and women’s wards were on the main floor, with private suites and an operating room upstairs. The former carriage house was converted to a clinic, with housing for nurses upstairs. The hospital operated in this location for nearly a decade, before moving to its current location on Michigan Avenue. After another decade as a rental, by 1939 there was a new need in the community, a permanent home for the developing Dutch heritage museum.

With the support of Mayor Henry Geerlings, the Kremers’ house was renovated by the Works Project Administration (WPA), to make the space more suitable for a museum. Walls were removed to create larger exhibition areas, new electrical and plumbing was installed, and it was re-plastered and painted. The Netherlands Museum opened for Tulip Time 1940 and went on to celebrate over fifty festivals in that location. By 1992 it was time to move again, this time to the old post office across the park - and with a new name, the Holland Museum.

After its time as a museum, the Kremers house returned to private hands with its sale to Rein and Kay Wolfert who developed the property into a bed and breakfast. The Centennial Inn continues to operate today under current owners, Lisa and Rob Walcott.

8 East 12^th Street is listed on the National Register of Historic Places as a contributing resource within the Holland Historic District. It is also listed on the Michigan State Register of Historic Sites and features a historic marker for the Netherlands Museum on its west lawn.

City Hall – 270 S. River Avenue

Holland’s City Hall has served as the central hub of civic engagement and community leadership for over a century. Dedicated in 1911 under Mayor Henry Brusse and designed by architect Edwyn A. Bowd of Lansing, construction was undertaken by Rickman and Sons of Kalamazoo and supervised by Fritz N. Jonkman. The limestone and brick Classical Revival building has a large central pediment over the east entrance, carved stone columns, and a hipped tile roof. Its cornerstone was laid on January 1, 1910, kicking off construction that lasted for fifteen months at a cost of $58,000.

Before its construction, city offices had several times outgrown previous accommodations, including their first purpose-built space on the second floor of Firehouse No. 2, at 106 E. 8^th Street. Holland was a rapidly growing city, with municipal staff keeping pace. In 1883, when Firehouse No. 2 was built, Holland’s population was 3,945 – by 1910, this had grown to 10,490!

City Hall’s use has continuously evolved overtime. In the early years, the common council met on the third floor, as did the municipal court. The building also once housed the police department and jail. The library could be found on the second floor for many years until moving into the Herrick District Library space in 1961. Today, City Hall is home to several departments, including Community and Neighborhood Services, Human Relations, Human Resources, the Mayor and City Manager’s offices, City Clerk, Finance, IT, Digital Media and Communications, and more.

City Hall retains its original architectural features and exterior integrity. Several major interior renovations have occurred to keep the space functional for modern government operations, while preserving details such as historic woodwork and molding. An addition was added in 1997, including the current Council Chambers. Most recently the exterior masonry was completely cleaned, repointed, and reinforced to withstand the elements for another hundred years. This project received funding through the Resilient Lakeshore Heritage Grant, awarded by the State Historic Preservation Office (SHPO). City Hall is in the Holland Historic District and is listed on the National Register of Historic Places.

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