We moved into our home on Pontiac in December of 2019. The previous owners, Tim and Lori Johnston, had lived in the home for about 5 years when they mentioned to their next door neighbors they were considering selling. The neighbors, Josh and Emily Van Vels, happen to be our close friends. After their conversation Josh messaged Jeff and joked about becoming next door neighbors. It was all fun and games until we signed the papers one week later.
Not long after we moved in I became interested in the home’s history and over the past year I’ve invested some of my time into researching. Sources include the Grand Rapids Public Library both in person and online, various conversations with neighbors who’ve witnessed the story of our home first hand and, my favorite, a coffee conversation with Pam VanderPloeg who’s an expert in Grand Rapids architecture and the author of ‘Ottawa Hills Book,’ released in 2021. I had entirely way too much fun piecing together our home’s story.
Let’s rewind to 1946 when the home was built by John and Mary VanDenBerg. John was the President of VanDenBerg Brothers Furniture located in downtown Grand Rapids at 221 Monroe Ave NW - the spot where you’ll now find DeVos Place. The retail furniture company was founded in 1911 by John and his brother Christian VanDenBerg. The company’s original location was at 908-924 Grandville Avenue until the 1940s when a fire destroyed the building. It was then that they moved locations to the storefront on Monroe. That same year they also purchased the ‘Blodgett Building’ at 15 Ionia SW where today you’ll find the taproom best known for their seasoned fries, HopCat. The brothers used the building to store extra furniture.
Vandenberg Bros. Furniture Storefront on Monroe Avenue
An advertisement for Vandenberg Bros. Furniture
We assume it was the VanDenBerg family’s firm foundation in furniture design that lead to the stand out architecture choices for their new home on Pontiac. The Vandenbergs moved from their previous home at 1255 Franklin which is just a short 5 minute walk from their new house on Pontiac. The 2,389 square-foot home was constructed for $10,000 and the VanDenBergs chose modern Art Deco design features such as the curved front vestibule and breakfast nook. They included beveled corners and built-in-shelves throughout the home and perhaps the most notable feature is the curved wall with floor to ceiling windows that dominate the front of the house.
It’s rumored that the curved shape of the front entrance and living room windows were a design request by Mrs. Vandenberg. They say she wanted the house to have a ‘tea cup and saucer look’ to it. There is no documented proof of this rumor, however it’s a fun thing that neighbors have shared with us during one of our monthly neighborhood happy hours.
The curved section of windows in the front of the house that frames the living room is arguably our favorite part of the home. It’s where we host friends for one on one conversations and drink wine together. The one feature, however, we feel the Vandebergs missed during their design planning is a fireplace feature. The addition of a modern floating fireplace in the center of our four chair space is on our short list. My beginner photoshop skills give you an idea of what we are picturing. But outside of a few minor adjustments that we made after occupancy (wall colors, carpet, new lighting, oh… and we turned the bomb shelter in the basement into the kids playroom - true story), the addition of the fireplace will be our only major update to the home.
The living room today where we’d like to add a modern floating fireplace.
The Pontiac house is part of the historic Ottawa Hills Neighborhood. Ottawa Hills is bordered by Franklin Street on the North, Cadillac (approximately) on the East, Hall Street to the South and Giddings on the West. In the heart of the neighborhood is the Iroquios Elementary Campus of Grand Rapids Christian Schools which is the former site of Ottawa Hills Public High School. When the new elementary school was built they kept some of the iconic infrastructure from the former high school that’s now located in its entryway.
Ottawa Hills was made into a residential neighborhood in the early 1900s and built on top of the former Grand Rapids Golf Club. The first house went up in 1922 and the remainder of the homes were built up until the 1950s. The neighborhood sticks out on a map because of its winding roads which are a stark difference from the common grid pattern mostly followed by the rest of the city. The roads are said to mirror the fairways of the former golf course. Neighbors today enjoy making claims to former tee boxes being located in their front yards - something also talked about during happy hour gatherings.
The Vandenbergs lived in the home for about 10 years when they sold to Dr. Ronald Benson and his wife Dorothy in 1956. Dr. Benson was a Radiologist at St. Mary’s Hospital downtown. The Bensons also owned a cottage on Whitefish Lake just north of Cedar Springs - another gem I found in the archives at the Public Library. The record of sale stated that the Bensons purchased the home for $54,000 and the price included ‘all carpeting and draperies, an ‘O.K.’ dishwasher and garbage disposal, a push button sprinkling system (not sure where that went - we don’t have one now), with fireproof construction.’ I also learned that we are one of the few homes in the neighborhood that’s built from concrete. On the map below the blue indicates concrete construction. Ours is in the lower right corner. The other blue spot on the left happens to belong to our friends the Kok Family.
A map showing a portion of the Ottawa Hills Neighborhood. The ‘blue’ indicates concrete structures.
The Bensons owned the home through 1988 when they sold to James and Dar Carter. Mr. Carter was an engineer at Cartex Corporation. They lived in the home for only 3 years before selling to Mary J. Ryan who was a receptionist at Law Weathers & Richardson.
Throughout the next 20 years the house was purchased and sold a handful of times. At one point the exterior was painted a shade of robins egg blue. A hot tub was added on the side patio where our grill is located today; the house still has a hot tub but it’s now located in the backyard. There was once a basketball hoop that hung over the garage. And a weather vane was added to the peak of the front entrance turret which still hangs out there today. I’m kind of a fan.
Another especially fun rumor about the home is that at some point during this timeframe Steelcase Inc. (where I’ve worked for over 5 years) owned the home and it was said to be used for hosting important customers. Not a far stretch because Steelcase does this very thing with its ownership of the Meyer May House today. I’m only able to say this is rumor because despite my best efforts using the library real estate archives and the records kept at Steelcase I have not been able to confirm.
An assessment of the home showing roof dimensions and layout.
An old assessment of the home. Date not listed.
The house was once a light shade of blue.
By 2011 the house was in dire need of updating. Both the Johnstons and our neighbors who live across the street shared with us that a builder purchased the home for a steal and lived in the home during the renovation that took him just about two years. At the time of purchase the house was a Pepto Bismol shade of pink, the kitchen had aggressive black and white checkered flooring and the walls were neon yellow. Nothing says ‘welcome home’ more than a hot shade of yellow! But the builder knew what he was doing and restored the home to its former glory all while maintaining much of the homes original unique design features.
The kitchen nook before renovations in 2011.
In 2011 the house was a light shade of pink.
In 2013 the Johnstons became the newest residents of Pontiac. The floors had been replaced with 50 year old bamboo. The walls were stripped and painted. The kitchen no longer resembled a diner but still had the rounded kitchen nook and glass block window above the stove. The stone pathway leading to the front entrance was restored. And those massive windows let in brand new daylight.
Post renovations in 2013 just before the Johnstons purchased the home.
The living room post renovations in 2013 and showing the original front windows and front entryway door.
The kitchen in 2013.
The dining room post renovations in 2013 featuring the original windows.
Throughout its life, the Art Deco house on Pontiac has been described as many things: a Florida Bungalow, a Contemporary Ranch, a Unique California Continental, and when the Bensons listed the home back in 1988 the description read a ‘Most Unique Ranch’ that is ‘one of the most unique and quality built homes in Grand Rapids.’ A year after calling Pontiac our home, we tend to agree.
A real estate listing from 1988 when the Bensons listed the home for sale.
We are very pleased to call 1578 Pontiac ‘ours.’ I sometimes joke with Jeff that we will die in this house. But I’m mostly being serious. This is the house where we will build our memories together as a family for many years to come. I’m looking forward to it.
