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.
City View Church
Initially a Christian Reformed church, the building that is now home to City View Church was the first Dutch Christian Reformed Church (CRC) on the west side of the Grand River.
The founding congregation of Alpine Christian Reformed Church was organized on May 25, 1881 and land was donated at the corner of Alpine Avenue and 11th Avenue for the church building. Initially a small wooden building with a tall steeple, the first services were held in the fall of 1882 in the Dutch language.
The church congregation soon expanded and in 1902 new building construction was started at the cost of $16,000. A dedication service for the new building was held on March 17, 1904. In 1914, the building was destroyed by fire, but the congregation was determined to rebuild. The current structure was completed for a cost of $35,000. At that time, there was also a push to add English speaking sermons.
The church remained a CRC until 1992 when the Alpine Avenue congregation merged with Highland Hills to form Westend Christian Reformed Church. In 1994 the property was purchased from Westend CRC by City View, a Baptist Church.
(Source http://babel.hathitrust.org/cgi/pt?id=mdp.39015071424421;view=1up;seq=13, http://dutch-reformed.wikia.com/wiki/Alpine_Avenue_Christian_Reformed_Church,_Grand_Rapids,_Michigan, https://www.accesskent.com/deeds/search.do#viewRelated)