Berridge Hotel facts for kids
Quick facts for kids |
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Berridge Hotel
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| Location | 421 Garland St., Flint, Michigan |
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| Area | 0.1 acres (0.040 ha) |
| Built | 1926 |
| Built by | John A. Pearl |
| Architectural style | Classical Revival |
| NRHP reference No. | 08000219 |
| Added to NRHP | March 27, 2008 |
The Berridge Hotel, also known as Berridge Place, is a historic building in Flint, Michigan. It is located at 421 Garland Street. This building used to be a hotel, but it has been updated and is now used as apartments. The Berridge Hotel was added to the National Register of Historic Places in 2008, which means it is an important historical site.
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History of the Berridge Hotel
Who Was John C. Berridge?
John C. Berridge was born in Flint in 1879. His father, Walter Berridge, owned a local store that sold groceries, medicines, and meats. John went to the Detroit College of Medicine and became a pharmacist in 1900.
In 1908, John came back to Flint. He became a partner in the Flint Drug Company. Later, he became the only owner of the company.
Why Was the Hotel Built?
In the early 1900s, Flint was growing very fast. This was because the car industry was booming. The city's population grew a lot, from less than 40,000 people in 1910 to over 150,000 by 1930.
This fast growth meant there weren't enough homes for everyone. Many new car workers needed places to live. John Berridge saw this need. In 1919, he bought and moved into the Tinlinn Apartments. This was a fancy apartment building on Garland Street.
In 1926, John Berridge decided to build a new, large hotel and apartment building. He hired a builder named John A. Pearl from Detroit. The new building was put on the lot right next to the Tinlinn Apartments.
Opening and Later Owners
The Berridge Hotel opened in 1928. It was a hotel that offered lower-cost rooms for people to stay in for weeks at a time. It was probably made for people who were new to Flint and looking for a place to live.
John Berridge ran the hotel until 1938. After that, a bank took over the hotel and the Tinlinn Apartments. C.J. Buehlmann, who managed another hotel in Flint, bought the Berridge Hotel. He ran it until he passed away in 1957. After him, his wife and daughter managed the hotel.
Over the years, different companies owned and ran the hotel. In 1980, Mr. and Mrs. Walter Drawl bought it. They ran the hotel until 2006. Many of their guests were long-haul truck drivers.
Renovation and New Life
In 2006, the Genesee County Land Bank bought the hotel. They spent about $6 million to fix it up. The building was changed into 17 modern apartments, called "loft apartments." In 2008, the building reopened with its new name, the Berridge Place.
What Does the Berridge Hotel Look Like?
The Berridge Hotel is a building with 3 and a half stories. It has a flat roof and is made of red-orange bricks. The building is shaped like the letter "U."
The front of the building has seven sections, called bays. There is one main entrance in the middle. This entrance has special stone pillars on each side. On either side of the main entrance, there are two storefronts. These are one story tall and have three sections each. They have stone pillars at their corners.
A brick band with a stone ledge separates the first floor from the upper floors. The windows on the upper floors have stone sills (the bottom part of the window frame). The corners of the building have decorative stone blocks. At the very top, there is a decorative band, a brick design, and a sticking-out ledge. In the middle of the top, there is a metal sign with "1928" on it. Just below that, another metal sign says "Flint Berridge Hotel."
