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Historical Sites of Grand Rapids
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Meyer May House - In 1908 Meyer and Sophie May hired Frank Lloyd Wright, a famous architect, to design and build them a house at 450 Madison SE. Meyer May was a well known clothier in Grand Rapids, Michigan. The Prairie style house was completed in 1909. In 1917 Sophie died at the age of 38 and Meyer was left to care for their two small adopted children. In 1921 Meyer married Rae Stern, a widow from Chicago, with two children. It was at this time that Meyer built an addition onto the house. In 1929 Meyer and Rae divorced and he continued to live in the house until his death on November 7, 1936 at the age of 65. After his death, the house sat empty for six years. It was then bought a sold a couple different times and made into apartments. In 1985 Steelcase purchased the house and began researching its original design and restoring it. The Meyer May House opened to the public in the fall of 1987.
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