The Streets
    of Old
    Grand Rapids

    New Second Level Now Open!

    Stroll through a 3/4 scale, detailed re-creation of Grand Rapids in the 1890s, with 13 storefronts based on real businesses and buildings. 

    Enter near the streetcar through the Union Depot railroad station. Play with century-old toys in Herpolsheimer’s. Visit the Opera House. Ponder life in a different era.

    Two visitors look at printed materials in the Van Dort Print Shop
    Accesibility icon of wheelchair user moving forward

    Accessibility Note: A lift to the second floor is available for guests to the right of Voigt Herpolsheimer’s Department Store. with mobility needs that prevent them from using the stairs. Please leave strollers and wagons on the first level if not absolutely required. 

    Storefronts of Streets

    Below are some of the businesses and organizations you’ll encounter on your visit. Of the 13 storefronts, four feature well-versed volunteers when they’re available. They have lots of stories and fun facts to share with guests. 

    Check Van Dort Print Shop, Rudell Drug Store, Voigt Herpolsheimer Department Store, and the Fire Station to see if a volunteer is present to answer your questions about Grand Rapids in the 1890s!

    Kent Scientific Institute Sign with shelves of specimens in the background

    Kent Scientific Institute (Second Floor)

    Discover the origins of the Grand Rapids Public Museum you know today. The Kent Scientific Institute was formed in 1868 through the merger of John Ball’s Grand Rapids Lyceum of Natural History and its Cabinet of Curiosities with a local scientific club of high school students. Upon entering the exhibit, guests will step into a late-1800s classroom repurposed to house growing collections.

    The Kent Scientific Institute will feature some of the Grand Rapids Public Museum’s earliest natural history specimens, offering a glimpse into the institution’s foundations and the curious spirit that inspired its creation.

    Dr. E.S. Holmes Dentist Office written on a glass window

    E.S. Holmes Dentist Office (Second Floor)

    Enter a recreation of Dr. Ezra Sprague Holmes’ dentist’s office. Holmes, who served as president of the Michigan Dental Association from 1869 to 1870, also had strong ties to the Kent Scientific Institute. 

    Dr. Holmes was heavily involved in the professionalization of dentistry in Michigan and developed instruments and methods that were the foundation of much modern practice. Many of the artifacts in the exhibit were donated by Holmes himself, including tools, books, the cabinet, and plaster casts of teeth. The room is drastically different from the sterile, modern offices seen today, with a red velvet dentist chair and ornate decor.

    Two volunteers in Van Dort print shop, one at the printing press

    Van Dort Print Shop

    Mr. Anthony Van Dort ran a print shop that did small jobs. If you wanted to get calling cards, hand bills, or invitations he was the man to see. The print shop was not hooked up to electricity yet, even though it had been available in Grand Rapids since the early 1880s. 

    If Van Dort’s Print Shop existed today, it would be just a block southeast of the Grand Rapids Art Museum.

    If a volunteer is in the shop, ask about the antique printing press. Run on the power of humans alone, this press still works! You’ll find examples of printed materials from this machine inside.

    Two men in pharmacy jackets in the Rudell Pharmacy

    Rudell Drug Store

    This store is the only business in the exhibit not originally based in Grand Rapids, but it is also the only store featuring all original fixtures. In 1969, when the Rudell Drug Store closed, the entire interior of the building was disassembled and shipped to Grand Rapids to become part of the Public Museum.

    William Rudell owned the Rudell Drug store in Sault Ste. Marie Michigan and displayed his certificate showing that he was a registered pharmacist. His daughters, Frances and Marjorie attended Pharmacy School and became the first registered women pharmacists in the Sault. 

    A woman in the Herpolsheimer department store

    Voigt Herpolsheimer Department Store

    William G. Herpolsheimer and C. G. A. Voigt met while working as clerks in a dry goods store in Michigan City, Indiana.  The two decided to open their own competing store, which was established in 1865.  After 5 years of doing business in Michigan City, they moved to the growing city of Grand Rapids.  In 1902 the two principles decided to part ways with the Herpolsheimers continuing to run the dry goods store while the Voigt family moved into the milling business. 

    With a large storefront and interior, furnishings for the home, and carpeting each had their own department at Voigt Herpolsheimers & Company. They had a wholesale address on Ottawa and a retail address on Monroe for each side of the street they touched. Herpolsheimer’s Firm continued to operate department stores until it was sold in 1987 making it one of the longest-running retail establishments in West Michigan.

    A volunteer stands by the old horse drawn, steam powered fire engine.

    Fire Station

    Buildings were being built higher by the 1890’s so the fire department invested in a steam pumper. It forced water up several stories high with significant pressure and helped with the numerous fires that occurred throughout the city. By 1900 there were 124 firefighters and 56 horses located in 13 different fire stations across Grand Rapids.

    If Engine House #2 were to exist today, it would be located in the Musculoskeletal Center on Barclay Avenue, right across from the Meijer Heart Center associated with Spectrum Health.

    The Coinola Orchestrion

    Visit the Powers’ Opera House to hear history come alive. Place a quarter in the slot of our Coinola Orchestrion to hear a band play without a musician in sight. You can watch a video of this incredible instrument playing. “There’s Everything Nice About You,” a song from 1927.

    Take A Virtual Tour

    Play Streets of Old Grand Rapids Video