Mt. Mercy Apartments facts for kids
Quick facts for kids |
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Mt. Mercy Academy and Convent
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| Location | 1425 Bridge St., NW, Grand Rapids, Michigan |
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| Area | 29.9 acres (12.1 ha) |
| Built | 1917 |
| Built by | John McNabb & Sons |
| Architect | E. Brielmair & Son, Harry L. Mead, Charles Sullivan, Roger Allen & Associates |
| Architectural style | Tudor Revival |
| NRHP reference No. | 93000769 |
| Added to NRHP | August 5, 1993 |
The Mt. Mercy Academy and Convent was once a special school and home for nuns in Grand Rapids, Michigan. Today, it's called the Mt. Mercy Apartments and provides homes for older people. This historic building was added to the National Register of Historic Places in 1993, meaning it's an important part of American history.
Contents
A Look Back: The Story of Mt. Mercy
Starting a New School
In 1872, a group of nuns called the Sisters of Mercy came to Grand Rapids. They were invited by Father Patrick J. McManus to teach at a new school called St. Andrew's. Four sisters arrived from Brooklyn, New York and started their own religious community.
St. Andrew's School taught both boys and girls. However, Mother Joseph Lynch, the leader of the Mercy Sisters, wanted to open a school just for girls. Father McManus did not agree with this idea.
So, in 1877, the sisters opened the Academy of Our Lady of Mercy for girls. But it soon closed because they didn't have enough money. Facing money problems, the sisters decided to try something new. They opened a hospital in Big Rapids, Michigan in 1879. This hospital helped lumberjacks who worked in the area. This new path was very successful for the order. They stayed in Big Rapids for the rest of the 1800s.
Returning to Grand Rapids
By the 1910s, the lumber industry in Michigan was almost gone. The Sisters of Mercy decided it was time to return to Grand Rapids. In 1914, they bought the Harrison House on Bridge Street. They hired an architect named Joseph F. Smith to update the house. He also added a two-story building for the sisters to live in.
The new home for the sisters opened in 1915. But it quickly became too small. It didn't have enough space for older sisters who were retiring. It also lacked room for the ongoing education of the active sisters.
The order then hired Brielmaier & Son from Milwaukee to design a much larger building. Because of money limits, they decided to build it in parts. Local builders John McNabb & Sons started construction in 1917. The first part was finished in 1918, and a chapel was added in 1919.
Growing the Academy
When the sisters moved back to Grand Rapids, they also started teaching again. In 1918, they opened a school for students from kindergarten to 12th grade. By 1920, the school had 65 students. It was also approved by the University of Michigan, which meant it offered a good education.
The academy continued to grow throughout the 1920s. In 1924, they hired Harry L. Mead to design a building for laundry and power. In 1927, the original Harrison House burned down. The school kept growing, even through tough times like the Great Depression and World War II.
In 1944, the sisters built a new five-level building for classrooms and living spaces. Charles Sullivan designed this building. They expected many more students because of the "baby boom" after the war. However, even this new building wasn't enough. In 1955, the school stopped offering grades 1-6. By 1961, grades 7-8 were also stopped. The boarding school part also closed, leaving only the high school for day students.
With the boarding school closed, they planned to turn the 1944 building into only classrooms. But first, new living spaces for the sisters were needed. Roger Allen & Associates designed a two-story addition to the 1944 building for this purpose.
Changes and New Beginnings
The school reached its highest number of students in 1963. After that, fewer students enrolled through the late 1960s. In 1972, the Sisters of Mercy decided to slowly close the school. Grades 9-10 were removed that summer. The last two classes graduated in 1973 and 1974.
The campus was still used to house retired and sick sisters. But in the 1980s, the order decided to bring all their services together. The remaining sisters moved to new homes in Farmington Hills, Michigan.
The Mt. Mercy complex was empty for some time. Then, in 1991, the Grand Rapids Housing Commission bought it. They wanted to create affordable homes for people with lower incomes. They decided that fixing up the 1962 part of the building would be too hard. So, that section was taken down. A new wing was built in its place. This new part matched the style of the older buildings from 1918 and 1944. Another addition was finished in 2001. Today, the complex still provides homes for older people who need affordable housing.
What the Buildings Look Like
The Mt. Mercy Apartments complex has three main buildings. The largest one is a five-story building shaped like a lowercase "h". It is built in the Tudor Revival style, which looks a bit like old English castles. This main building was constructed in several stages over many years.
The oldest parts of the building, from 1918 and the chapel wing from 1920, have strong steel frames. They are covered with dark brown-red bricks. The west wing, finished in 1944, is made of concrete. Its bricks are a little lighter than the original ones. The east wing, added in 1991, is also made of concrete. It looks similar in size and roof style to the west wing. The bricks on the east wing are even lighter than the other sections. A final addition was made to the back of the building in 2005.
The main building has a square tower at the front where the main entrance is. Around the entrance, you can see fancy stone decorations and pointed tops called pinnacles. Some windows in the tower also have stone designs. Above the entrance, there is a stone space with a statue of the Madonna. Above that is the symbol of the Sisters of Mercy. The top of the building looks like a castle wall with battlements. The stone parts on the roof and walls are capped with stone. The roof is sloped and covered with clay tiles. The very bottom of the building, its foundation, is made of rough-cut stone.
The other two buildings are smaller. One is a two-story building from 1924. It was used for laundry and power. It is covered with brick and is located just north of the chapel. The third building is a single-story, two-bedroom house from 1962. It is also covered in brick and is located north of the main building.
