Walkability is one of the catchphrases used by today’s urban dwellers.
“Eastown was the first to say that walkability should be a given,” said Frances Gentile, Eastown resident and owner of the home based business, Frances Walks Your Dog. “People here have the consciousness that leads them to seek out alternative places to eat and shop.”
The neighborhood is bounded by Fulton Street on the north, Plymouth on the east, Franklin on the south, and Fuller on the west.
Gentile and her husband, Mark Moran, a freelance pianist who also works from home, bought their house because it met the couples’ two requirements: it was under $100,000 and in move-in condition.
“Those two criteria are mutually exclusive,” Gentile said with a laugh, “but we found it: two stories with hardwood floors and natural woodwork throughout, on a quiet street that’s almost an alley. We were drawn to the neighborhood because we were always walking to Argos Books, Kava House, or the Cherie Inn [East Hills Neighborhood] from our apartment on Cherry Street.”
Kathy Proulx also walks the neighborhood. “My friend, Marysue Stegehuis, and I walk all over the neighborhood at least four times a week,” Proulx said.
Proulx and her husband, Greg, have lived in Eastown for thirty-one years. “We’ve raised four sons and eleven dogs here,” she said. “We’ve seen our block go from two-thirds rental to two-thirds owner occupied.
“We watch out for each other. If I see someone in the alley who doesn’t belong there, I call a neighbor down the alley and say, ‘Keep an eye on it.’ I’ve noticed there are a lot more block clubs than there used to be, too.”
Carrie Chludzinski, community organizer for the Eastown Community Association, helps block clubs organize block parties. “Block parties are really a big thing in the neighborhood. Some blocks make a big deal of it; they close down the street, they have bands, and some even bring in firetrucks [to tour].”
Wanted: An Urban Lifestyle
The unusual layout of the neighborhood center—known as the “five corners” where Wealthy Street, Lake Drive, and Norwood meet—was no accident. The streets follow the routes of the former streetcar lines that carried riders between Reeds Lake and downtown Grand Rapids. Riders disembarked in Eastown to switch lines. The streets were a hub of activity with streetcars coming and going, and people shopping while they waited for their streetcar to arrive.
From 1900 to 1910, large, attractive homes began to replace the area’s family farms. There were no factories in the neighborhood and no churches. Eastown became an affluent “bedroom community” of white families headed by doctors, lawyers, and executives who rode the streetcars to jobs outside the neighborhood. The flourishing business district, medical and dental offices, and schools and colleges provided everything families needed.
Jump ahead to 1960. The streetcars were long gone, and there were only three African Americans living in the neighborhood. By 1975, one-quarter of the residents were African American.
Today, the population is still primarily white and African American. But now there are also many persons of Asian, Hispanic, and Native American heritages. That diversity is one of the reasons Eastown is attractive to its residents.
The Jim Witte family moved from the suburbs to Eastown in 2004, after purchasing a building that would house their graphic design business, The W Group, as well as their family.
“My wife, Gera, and I, felt strongly that we wanted our family to understand what it is to be in an urban setting,” Witte said. “We wanted our [young adult] sons to be able to see diversity and embrace that.
“Eastown was designated as Grand Rapids’ first Urban Business District,” Witte added. “This was done to help us keep our neighborhood feel, and to allow businesses to offer apartment space as well as commercial space in their buildings. We found a building that had been vacant for a couple of years. We cleaned it out, rehabbed it, and turned it into a work/live opportunity with our offices downstairs and our living space upstairs.”
A Central Location, Affordably Priced
Nearly 80 percent of Eastown’s two-story Victorian and Colonial homes were built between 1900 and 1929. Today’s homebuyer can expect to pay between $60,000 and $150,000.
“Eastown is a thriving, vital community that attracts people of all ages, both single and married,” said Dawn Longcore, a realtor with Keller Williams. “It’s a very artsy area, and it’s a great place to live because it’s so close to downtown, the malls, and Reeds Lake.”
Many residents are students who attend one of the nearby colleges and rent apartments or houses. “A two-bedroom apartment costs about $600 a month, plus utilities,” Longcore said. “Single family homes with three bedrooms rent for about $750 to $1,000 a month.”
Sigsbee Park Elementary is one of several schools nestled among the residences. There are also St. Stephen Catholic, St. Thomas Catholic, Campus School, and the Early Childhood Center. Just across the northern boundary on Fulton Street is William C. Abney Academy charter school. Middle and high school students are bussed to any of several schools just outside the neighborhood.
Sigsbee Park Elementary has a playground that’s open to the public. Martin Luther King Park on Franklin Street is a quick walk from the south side of the neighborhood, and its B-ball courts, tennis courts, playground, city pool, and boxing gym attract much activity.
Convenience and Character
Situated near the center of the neighborhood is the business district. Locally owned stores and restaurants share the five corners with chain stores Blockbuster, CVS, and Subway. Instead of being a typical business thoroughfare, the shops and restaurants spread out from the Wealthy/Lake Drive/Norwood hub like the spokes of a wheel. Wealthy Street’s historic brick surface adds old-time charm.
Clothiers like Clothing Matters, Green Heiress, and The New Yorker do business among gift shops and bookstores such as Gallery 154, Spirit Dreams, Terra Stella, and Redux Books.
Residents can take care of daily errands at any of the local banks, the US Post Office, Car Lover’s Car Wash, or one of the barbershops or salons.
Wolfgang’s, Pita House, Eastown Deli, Bombay Cuisine, Yesterdog, Brandywine Restaurant, and Szechuan Garden offer choice places to eat.
Metropolitan Hospital and the Blodgett Campus of Spectrum Health are both just minutes away from any Eastown home.
And the neighborhood is constantly undergoing improvement.
“The Streetscape Committee [of the Eastown Business Association] is working with Grand Rapids’ Parks and Recreation Department to facilitate changes at Wilcox Park,” said Jim Witte, EBA board member. “The park was designed with a rose garden near Robinson Road. We want to bring back the character it once had, open up the pavilion and the wading pool, and maybe do concerts in the summer, or a movie night.”
A Global Community
While the old Eastown had no churches, today’s Eastown has a selection of Catholic, Christian Reformed, and nondenominational.
Uptown Assembly of God sits in the heart of the business district, in a former theater-turned-bar. Uptown has the usual offerings of Sunday morning and evening services, and a family night on Wednesdays. But they also have something most churches don’t—a college.
Global University, based in Springfield, MO, provides the class structure for biblically based classes in evangelism, Bible study, financial management, Spanish, and other subjects, which are taught by Uptown’s pastors.
“We’re accredited through Assemblies of God, and you can get masters and bachelors degrees,” said Sherry Washburn, assistant pastor. “You don’t have to belong to the church to attend classes.”
Eastown has something for every lifestyle, ethnicity, and age group, and the people who live there hope to keep it that way…all within walking distance.
For more information about Eastown visit the:
- Investing Guide
- Visiting Guide
Directions to Eastown
From the North:
Take US-131 South toward Grand Rapids and merge onto I-196 East via Exit 86A on the left toward Lansing. Take the Fuller Ave exit, Exit 79. Turn right onto Fuller Ave NE and then turn left onto Lake Dr SE. Arrive in Eastown.
From the East:
Take I-96 West toward Grand Rapids and keep left to take I-196 West toward Downtown Grand Rapids/Holland. Take Exit 79 for Fuller Ave and turn left onto Fuller Ave NE. Turn left onto Lake Dr SE and arrive in Eastown.
From the South:
Take US-131 North toward Grand Rapids and merge onto I-196 East via Exit 86A toward Lansing. Take the Fuller Ave exit, Exit 79. Turn right onto Fuller Ave NE and then turn left onto Lake Dr SE. Arrive in Eastown.
From the West:
Take I-196 East toward Grand Rapids. Take the Fuller Ave exit, Exit 79. Turn right onto Fuller Ave NE and then turn left onto Lake Dr SE. Arrive in Eastown.
Take I-96 East toward Grand Rapids and merge onto US-131 South via Exit 31A towards Grand Rapids/Kalamazoo. Merge onto I-196 East via Exit 86A on the left toward Lansing. Take the Fuller Ave exit, Exit 79. Turn right onto Fuller Ave NE and then turn left onto Lake Dr SE. Arrive in Eastown.