Abram W. Pike House facts for kids
Quick facts for kids |
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Abram W. Pike House
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 Location in Michigan
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| Location | 230 Fulton Street East, Grand Rapids, Michigan  United States |
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| Built | 1844 |
| NRHP reference No. | 70000276 |
| Added to NRHP | July 8, 1970 |
At 172-years-old, the Pike House is one of Michigan's historical treasures. Built in 1844, it is one of the oldest homes still standing in Michigan and is listed on the National Register of Historic Places. The name, the Pike House, comes from the original occupier, Abram W. Pike. Abram Pike, a fur trader, came to Michigan in 1827. Pike lived in Port Sheldon on Lake Michigan, at the mouth of the Pigeon River, and was employed as the company clerk for the Port Sheldon Land Company.
At the time, there were hopes that Port Sheldon would become a major metropolis. Though this vision was never fully realized, the Ottawa House Hotel was completed before the project's eventual financial ruin. The Ottawa House Hotel was only open for five years but was recognized as one of the most impressive buildings in Port Sheldon. When Abram Pike relocated to Grand Rapids in 1844 he had four of the six pillars from the grandiose Ottawa House Hotel which were dragged by oxen and attached to the front of his home, which now stands—unmistakably—at 230 E. Fulton St.
The house was occupied as a family residence until 1922. In 1922, it was turned into the Grand Rapids Art Gallery—now the Grand Rapids Art Museum—and remained so until the museum moved in 1978. In 2014, amidst building renovations, workers uncovered an original “Grand Rapids Art Museum” sign, painted in large, bold letters atop the entry-way to the Pike House.
In 2014 the Pike House was purchased by Grand Rapids bankruptcy law firm, Keller & Almassian, PLC, who remain in the property today.
