Flat Iron Building

Okay – here is the first post:  The Flat Iron Building.  This elegant building is literally the cornerstone of the downtown and the Monroe Mall.  The location couldn’t be better.  Right across from the beautiful new Grand Rapids Art Museum (GRAM) and in the heart of all of the festivals, concerts, events that take place on the Monroe Mall year round.   In the brief description of this building’s history, I have listed links to sites with more information including more about the plans of the current owner/developer.

Here are the facts: The Flat Iron Building was built by Moses Aldrich and his father-in-law William B. Ledyard 1859-1860 and is the oldest commercial building in downtown Grand Rapids.  The building is part of the “Ledyard Block” a designated landmark with national significance.  Moses V. Aldrich was an important business man of the time and the Mayor of Grand Rapids 1868-1869-1870.  The Flat Iron Building is considered to be “Civil War Italianate” architecture. It was home to retail stores, a bank on the first floor and offices and a boarding house upstairs. The adjacent buildings are narrow, four-story brick buildings also Italianate style with window trim that matches the others.  http://www.theledyard.com/pdfs/mapgr.pdf

Although this building is a mainstay of the downtown area, it has not been fully “functional” for many years.  The upper floors have not been in use since the 1940′s.  It is now under renovation for commercial use following LEED standards and to make available 31,500 square feet of retail and commercial  space.   http://v3.rapidgrowthmedia.com/denews/FltIron0122.aspx

The Flat Iron Building is a brick structure most likely due to the fact that wood frame buildings were susceptible to fire.  ”In 1857, 25 buildings along Monroe between Market and Ottawa avenues burned.”  http://andydragt.com/2010/02/redeveloping-the-flat-iron-building/

Next post.  The building that now sits on the former site of Moses Aldrich’s home.  Hint:  College and Cherry.