Heritage Hills -
Heritage Hills is a historic neighborhood of 1300 properties
near downtown Grand Rapids. The houses in this area date back to the mid 1800’s
and represent 60 different architectural styles.
The first general meeting of what would become the Heritage Hills Association took place on June 24, 1968 at the WOTV building and was attended by 125 people. These people hoped to stop the possible destruction of 75% of the area by urban renewal projects.
On March 11, 1971 Heritage Hills was placed on the National
Register of Historic Places.
This stopped the Grand
Rapids Public Schools’ College Park renewal project that would have destroyed
all the homes from Bostwick to College between Lyon and Fountain. On April 23,
1973 the City Commission adopted a local historic preservation ordinance.
Heritage Hill became Grand Rapid’s first historic district.
The
first Heritage Hill Tour of Historic Homes was held in May 1969. Now, the
Heritage Hill Weekend Tour of Homes occurs the first weekend in October.
Click here to take a driving tour of Heritage Hills with your family.