Although the skyline of the city has changed with the competition to build the tallest building in Grand Rapids, one item remains the same – the many steeples of the churches that are the foundation of our ancestors who settled along the banks of the Grand River.
Each of these represents our past and the immigrants that settled in our area to give Grand Rapids the nickname “Furniture City”.
In this series you will follow the Steeple Chase throughout this great city and view the awe inspiring architecture of our forefathers. The distinct architectural styles represent the great churches of Europe from which these immigrants fled to find a new life in the United States.
This is not meant to promote any one religion, but to show how all have blended together within the City of Grand Rapids to make this one great place to live.
St. James
After the end of the Civil War, three acres of land was purchased for $1,000 at corner of Bridge and Cadwell streets with the dream of St. Andrew’s congregation to change the swampy, mud-hole into a new parish church serving the poor in this West-side neighborhood. Excavation started in 1867 for the new parish in what was then a predominantly Irish community.
Utilizing the stones found on the land, the foundation of the church was begun in 1869 by the local farmers. Under great pomp and circumstance, the cornerstone was laid on July 20, 1870 and the structure began to take form. In the cornerstone a tin box containing the date of the ceremony and a description of the proposed edifice was hidden.
On July 21, 1872 this new church was completed for a total cost of $38,000. Following the dedication ceremony and blessing, the first mass in St. James was performed by Father James Claude Pulcher.
(source: http://www.basilicagr.org/brief-history/st-james-history/)