619 Lafayette Ave NE
361 N Lafayette before 1912
S 5 FT OF LOT 16 & N 43 FT OF LOT 17* CORBIT S & CO ADDITION
http://maps.ci.grand-rapids.mi.us/website/countymap/image.pl?ppn=41-14-19-333-028
They had a converted-to-gas coal furnace. This house was built about 1910. Bath and 1/4, three bedrooms, separate stairs to the attic, one-stall garage.
25 Jul 1929 WD L752 P57 Bastian VanRy to FE Chambers and wife, Kathleen
Permit History:
Mar 20, 1925 B. Van Ry re-shingle
Oct 15, 1956 Miss K. Chambers reroof
Nov 6, 1956 Kathleen Chambers convert furnace to gas
Oct 5, 1981 Grace Howard AVD
It was very well built and very well cared for. As a kid, I thought this was the most beautiful house I had ever seen. It had beautiful woodwork and wood floors, very well polished. It had a foyer, a living room, dining room and kitchen with eating area. There was a toilet downstairs in a closet. The main bathroom was upstairs along with three bedrooms. There was a rear stairway. I was most impressed that they had two vacuum cleaners, one on each floor. They had a one-car garage to the left of their house on top of a steep hill. They didn't use it. We played on the driveway all the time. We played mother-may-I.
The Residents:
1900 Census - no entry
1912 - Bastian Van Ry
1930 - Fred Chambers, cabinet maker in a hospital
Three sisters lived here. Mrs. Chambers and Mrs. Howard worked at Butterworth Hospital. Miss Russell cared for the house.
Mrs. Chambers was mean and squirted us with her hose but my dad said she had cancer and we had to understand. Mrs. Howard made us stuffed animals, a black horse with white polka-dots, a pink kitty, a sock monkey, an Alice-in-Wonderland doll. I still have Alice. They kept a covered dish with candy out on a table, Miss Russell would give us a piece. I couldn't understand having a WHOLE dish of candy just sitting out uneatened.
From article My neighborhood
From Heading History and the City of GrandRapids
From web site: MyCityofGrandRapids.info