Grand Rapids

Grand Rapids

Furniture City

$24.99

Publication Date: 5th May 2008

William Haldane opened a cabinet shop in 1836, 14 years before Grand Rapids incorporated. Other furniture companies followed: Berkey and Gay, Widdicomb, Sligh, Hekman, and Phoenix were among those taking advantage of the Grand River for transportation and power, the area's abundant hardwood supply, and a growing immigrant labor pool. The furniture soon attracted national attention. In 1876, the Philadelphia Centennial Exposition proved conclusively that a river town in Michigan had indeed earned the title "Furniture City." Presidents Herbert Hoover, Franklin D. Roosevelt, Harry S. Truman, and ... Read More
Format: Paperback
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William Haldane opened a cabinet shop in 1836, 14 years before Grand Rapids incorporated. Other furniture companies followed: Berkey and Gay, Widdicomb, Sligh, Hekman, and Phoenix were among those taking advantage of the Grand River for transportation and power, the area's abundant hardwood supply, and a growing immigrant labor pool. The furniture soon attracted national attention. In 1876, the Philadelphia Centennial Exposition proved conclusively that a river town in Michigan had indeed earned the title "Furniture City." Presidents Herbert Hoover, Franklin D. Roosevelt, Harry S. Truman, and ... Read More
Description
William Haldane opened a cabinet shop in 1836, 14 years before Grand Rapids incorporated. Other furniture companies followed: Berkey and Gay, Widdicomb, Sligh, Hekman, and Phoenix were among those taking advantage of the Grand River for transportation and power, the area's abundant hardwood supply, and a growing immigrant labor pool. The furniture soon attracted national attention. In 1876, the Philadelphia Centennial Exposition proved conclusively that a river town in Michigan had indeed earned the title "Furniture City." Presidents Herbert Hoover, Franklin D. Roosevelt, Harry S. Truman, and Dwight D. Eisenhower all worked at Grand Rapids-made desks. Fifteen manufacturers joined forces to build 1,000 Handley Page bombers during
World War I. The Japanese Instrument of Surrender was signed on September 2, 1945, at a table made in Grand Rapids. Despite fires, floods, strikes, depressions, and wars, Grand Rapids led the industry until the 1950s and 1960s, when the factories began moving to North Carolina. Today the area, along with nearby Holland and Zeeland, dominates the office furniture industry.
Details
  • Pages: 128
  • Publisher: Arcadia Publishing Inc.
  • Imprint: Arcadia Publishing
  • Series: Images of America
  • Publication Date: 5th May 2008
  • State: Michigan
  • Illustration Note: Black and White
  • ISBN: 9780738552002
  • Format: Paperback
  • BISACs:
    TRAVEL / Pictorials (see also PHOTOGRAPHY / Subjects & Themes / Regional)
    PHOTOGRAPHY / Subjects & Themes / Regional (see also TRAVEL / Pictorials)
    PHOTOGRAPHY / Subjects & Themes / Historical
    HISTORY / United States / State & Local / Midwest (IA, IL, IN, KS, MI, MN, MO, ND, NE, OH, SD, WI)
Author Bio
Author and historian Norma Lewis lives in Grand Haven, Michigan. Michigan Scoundrels is her tenth book for Arcadia Publishing/The History Press.
William Haldane opened a cabinet shop in 1836, 14 years before Grand Rapids incorporated. Other furniture companies followed: Berkey and Gay, Widdicomb, Sligh, Hekman, and Phoenix were among those taking advantage of the Grand River for transportation and power, the area's abundant hardwood supply, and a growing immigrant labor pool. The furniture soon attracted national attention. In 1876, the Philadelphia Centennial Exposition proved conclusively that a river town in Michigan had indeed earned the title "Furniture City." Presidents Herbert Hoover, Franklin D. Roosevelt, Harry S. Truman, and Dwight D. Eisenhower all worked at Grand Rapids-made desks. Fifteen manufacturers joined forces to build 1,000 Handley Page bombers during
World War I. The Japanese Instrument of Surrender was signed on September 2, 1945, at a table made in Grand Rapids. Despite fires, floods, strikes, depressions, and wars, Grand Rapids led the industry until the 1950s and 1960s, when the factories began moving to North Carolina. Today the area, along with nearby Holland and Zeeland, dominates the office furniture industry.
  • Pages: 128
  • Publisher: Arcadia Publishing Inc.
  • Imprint: Arcadia Publishing
  • Series: Images of America
  • Publication Date: 5th May 2008
  • State: Michigan
  • Illustrations Note: Black and White
  • ISBN: 9780738552002
  • Format: Paperback
  • BISACs:
    TRAVEL / Pictorials (see also PHOTOGRAPHY / Subjects & Themes / Regional)
    PHOTOGRAPHY / Subjects & Themes / Regional (see also TRAVEL / Pictorials)
    PHOTOGRAPHY / Subjects & Themes / Historical
    HISTORY / United States / State & Local / Midwest (IA, IL, IN, KS, MI, MN, MO, ND, NE, OH, SD, WI)
Author and historian Norma Lewis lives in Grand Haven, Michigan. Michigan Scoundrels is her tenth book for Arcadia Publishing/The History Press.