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    "label": "Newspaper Clippings: Pantlind Hotel",
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    "contentType": "document",
    "title": "Newspaper Clippings: Pantlind Hotel",
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        "Frederica Pantlind Papers",
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        "Grand Rapids (Mich.)"
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    "ocrText": "THE FLINT\nJOURNAL\nA teach\nthen fol\nBy CHRIS CHRISTOI\nJournal staff writer\nGym teacher Patti 1\nplain the constant dizzy\nfatigue that nagged he:\ngan last fall at Grand ]\nWiles had seen doctors\nheadaces. But now th\nworse.\nShe broke out in un\nHer speech became S\nwould blur and she wot\nclasses. Finally, in Dec\nglands swelled so much\nmended a cancer test.\n\"He told me I mig\n'disease,\" said the 26-1\nand gymnastics coach.\nwas wrong with me. I've\nly person. I thought I\nwas going to kill me.\"\nTHE MYSTERY un\nWiles learned from do\nprobably suffered a to\nrine. Tests ordered by\nschool's west campus\nthat-chlorine had leak\nstorage room under t\nand filtered into other\nWiles' office was ne\nEngineering inspec\nair circulation in the\nReag\nfrom\nFrom Washington\nreports\nWASHINGTON\ndent Reagan decided\nto trim his planned in\nJOURNAL PHOTO DANIEL GEARINO\ndefense spending 01\nthe next three fiscal\nThe refurbished Amway Grand Hotel, viewed from the\n$13 billion, a figure\nend of the Monroe Street Mall\nconsiderably short 0\nfice of Management\net Director David A.\nSoap, God credited\nrecommended an\nmeans new, larger (\nmestic programs.\nLast month, p\nin a downtown rescue\nchief of staff James\nIII said the president\npared\" to cut defen\nfor 1983 and 1984 by\nold matron that has gotten a new trousseau\nto $30 billion, and W\nEDITOR'S NOTE: With the\nafter a $20-million facelifting.\nspokesmen have\nopening of Flint's Hyatt Regency\nTHE AMWAY GRAND is the finishing\nthose figures on a\nHotel less than two months\npiece. In Grand Rapids' effort to become\noccasions since.\naway, a Journal reporter traveled\nMichigan's No. 2 convention city, behind\nBut Saturday, W\nto Grand Rapids for the opening\nDetroit. Adjacent to the hotel is the city's\nof a similar - and to Flint, a\ncivic and cultural complex, the Grand Cen-\ncompetitive - convention hotel,\nter. Across the river from the hotel is the\nthe Amway Grand Plaza. Related\nnew Ford Presidential Museum. Behind\nstory G1.\nthe hotel, a 28-story, 300-room addition is\nbeing built.\nIt makes a nice package. In fact, if the\nBy DANIEL GEARINO\nbusiness of building convention hotels was\nJournal staff writer\na horse race, Flint just got beat out of the\nGRAND RAPIDS - Pity this poor city.\ngate.\nDefens\nHere it sits in the west of the state,\n\"I personally think (Amway) saved\naway from major league sports, away from\ndowntown,\" said a leading Grand Rapids\nDetroit's big-city culture, away from all\nbusinessman of the Amway hotel invest-\nment. It. is an opinion shared by many of\npaying\nthe appurtenances of auto-industrial life.\nthat city's polltical and business leaders -\nHere it sits, governed by a bevy of\nAmway has become to Grand Rapids what\nfailu\nDutch burghers whose primary business\nthe Mott Foundation has been to Flint.\nScanned from Box 1 of the Frederica Pantlind Papers at the Gerald R. Ford Presidential Library\nA VINTAGE of DISTINCTION\nFive Generations of\nLEDYARD DESCENDANTS\nPhoto by Maurice Curnes La Claire\nMRS. GEORGE A. WHINERY\nMRS. C. L. LOCKWOOD, JR.\nMRS. J. BOYD PANTLIND\nMRS. QUEEN L. WONDERLY\nMiss KATHERINE PANTLIND WHINERY\nW\nILLIAM B. LEDYARD was one of the early\nJessie A. (Mrs. J. Boyd) Pantlind, his granddaughter,\nsettlers of Grand Rapids coming here in 1858 and\na daughter of Mrs. Moses V. Aldrich who was Mr.\nimmediately becoming interested in the affairs of the\nLedyard's daughter.\ngrowing community. He established a private bank in\nKatherine Pantlind (Mrs. C. L.) Lockwood, Jr.,\n1861 and in 1865 assisted in the organization of the City\ndaughter of Mrs. Pantlind and great granddaughter of\nNational Bank, forerunner of what is today the National\nMr. Ledyard.\nBank of Grand Rapids. He was associated with this\ninstitution until his death in 1890.\nKatherine Pantlind (Mrs. George A.) Whinery,\ndaughter of the late Fred Z. Pantlind, granddaughter of\nThe group which is shown here represents five genera-\nMrs. J. B. Pantlind and great-great granddaughter of\ntions, all direct descendants of Mr. Ledyard. They are:\nMr. Ledyard, and little Katherine Pantlind Whinery,\ndaughter of Mrs. Whinery, great granddaughter of Mrs.\nQueen L. (Mrs. Joseph H.) Wonderly, daughter of\nPantlind and great-great-great granddaughter of Mr.\nMr. Ledyard.\nLedyard.\nThe GRAND RAPIDS Mirror\nMarch-April, 1934\n15\nPantlindHoyel\nBefore the advent of the automobile and suburb\nliving, the central business district of a city th\nsize of Grand Rapids was the hub of many\nactivities. These included government,\nentertainment, commerce, banking, and\nprofessional services. Essential to a thriving\ndowntown was a healthy hotel business.\nBy 1890 there were more than forty\nhotels that could accommodate over three\nG.A.I\nthousand people. In those days before mass\ncommunication and speedy transportation, it \\\noften necessary for commercial and other\nvisitors to stay in Grand Rapids more than on\nday to complete their business.\nBy no means the first hotel, but certainly the m.\nenduring, was the Sweet (Pantlind) Hotel.\nIn 1868 Martin L. Sweet built his hotel on the\nnorthwest corner of Monroe and Pearl. It was\npurchased by J. Boyd Pantlind in 1902, who\nquickly turned it into the leading hotel in tow\nA \"new\", completely rebuilt, Pantlind was\nfinished in 1924. With 750 rooms it became\nthe host of many conventions, including a\n1920's Grand Army of the Republic gathering\nWith the completion of the Civic Auditorium\nacross the street, the Pantlind has continued\n1\nthrive as a regional convention center. The\nphotographs on this page, from top to botton\nwere taken in 1910, mid-1920's and 1930.\nDADS\nBACK\nROOM\nThe physical structure of the city is a constantly changing mosaic which has a profound\ninfluence on our work and on our leisure-time activities. The decisions of government\nofficials, businessmen, and social leaders are the driving force which sustains the continual\nmodification of the urban structures. The result is a pattern of continuity and change that\ncompels a city to keep recreating itself in a new image to meet the needs of each succeeding\ngeneration of citizens. The central business district, for example, is a mixture of decline and\nhopeful signs of a new revitalization.\nDespite the fact that downtown Grand Rapids is no longer a center for hotels, due.to the\nautomobile and decentralization, the Pantlind Hotel carries on in its proud tradition.\nIncreasingly dependent on the convention trade, this single remaining full-service hotel\ncontinues to be successful. In the photograph above, conventioneers of the Order of the\nEastern Star gather in the lobby of the Pantlind. For those who wish to return to the past\nduring a lunch hour or for an evening, the Pantlind offers the Back Room Saloon (below left).\nIts decor reminds one of an 1890's drinking establishment. The Pantlind also hosts many\nbanquets each year in its Grand Ballroom and other halls. In the photograph at right below,\nRichard VanderVeen, Congressman from Michigan's 5th District, attends a political\nfund-raising dinner.\nUPSTAIRS\n*SALOON\nBACK\nROOM\nThe physical structure of the city is a constantly changing mosaic which has a profound\ninfluence on our work and on our leisure-time activities. The decisions of government\nofficials, businessmen, and social leaders are the driving force which sustains the continual\nmodification of the urban structures. The result is a pattern of continuity and change that\ncompels a city to keep recreating itself in a new image to meet the needs of each succeeding\ngeneration of citizens. The central business district, for example, is a mixture of decline and\nhopeful signs of a new revitalization.\nDespite the fact that downtown Grand Rapids is no longer a center for hotels, due to the\nautomobile and decentralization, the Pantlind Hotel carries on in its proud tradition.\nIncreasingly dependent on the convention trade, this single remaining full-service hotel\ncontinues to be successful. In the photograph above, conventioneers of the Order of the\nEastern Star gather in the lobby of the Pantlind. For those who wish to return to the past\nduring a lunch hour or for an evening, the Pantlind offers the Back Room Saloon (below left).\nIts decor reminds one of an 1890's drinking establishment. The Pantlind also hosts many\nbanquets each year in its Grand Ballroom and other halls. In the photograph at right below,\nRichard VanderVeen, Congressman from Michigan's 5th District, attends a political\nfund-raising dinner.\nUPSTAIRS\n*SALDON\nPantlind Skaff\nHotels and restaurants employed a diversified work force. Substantial\nnumbers of black workers found employment in downtown restaurants\nand hotels, as is apparent in the picture above of the Pantlind\nHotel staff in the 1940's.\nBoth male and female workers found the newly developed opportunities in\nwhite-collar work to their liking. The 1920's photograph below of a\nsecretarial school illustrates this increasingly viable alternative to\ntraditional factory work. Many chose this type of training and employment\nas Grand Rapids emerged as a regional center in the economy of\nwestern Michigan.\n44\nThe Grand Rapids Press, Thursday, Sept. 11, 1980\nProud\nhotel's\nhistory\nrelived\nThe history of the Pantlind Hotel has\nbeen written and rewritten. But it's the\nfuture that's most intriguing now - a fu-\nture of beauty and class promised by new\nowners.\nAmway Corp. bought the Pantlind two\nyears ago to create a first-class hotel com-\nplex that, combined with the new civic\ncenter, would transform that part of\ndowntown into a major convention cen-\nter, similar to Detroit's Renaissance Cen-\nter.\nPresently, the old Pantlind is undergo-\ning a restoration slated to return the\nThe old Sweet's Hotel, predecessor to the-Pantlind, was raised four\n\"grand old lady\" to its post-World War I\nbring it above the flood level. Rooms went for $2 a day.\nelegance.\nIn addition, Amway has plans to build a\n28-story hotel along the river. The hotel,\nwhich will be about twice the height of\nMcKay Tower, will have a wall of tinted\nglass facing the river.\nThe old and new hotels are to be con-\nnected by a large registration area where\nCampau Avenue is, between Pearl and\nLyon streets.\n\"The entry will be a covered motor lob-\nby on Peari Street,\" explains Jack Wilkie,\nan Amway spokesman. \"All guests will\nregister in the lobby being built where\nCampau Street is.\"\nPlans for the Amway Grand Plaza Ho-\ntel, a complex that will include both the\ntower and the old hotel, call for two glass-\nenclosed skywalks connecting it to the\ncivic center and to a 750-car parking\nramp being built south of Pearl Street.\nThe complex also will be connected to the\nExhibitors Building on Lyon Street.\n\"The interiors will be tied in together,\"\nsays Marvin DeWinter, project architect.\n\"You could, for example, enter the front\ndoor of the Exhibitors Building on Lyon\nand walk all the way through one megas-\ntructure.\"\nThe site of the old Pantlind has a rich\nhistory.\nWhen Louis Campau first arrived here,\nthe river was much wider at this spot.\nThere were four islands. The first stood\nabout where the new hotel is being built.\nThe others trailed down the river.\nThe hotel run by J. Boyd Pantlind, right, and his son, Fred, was knowr\nIn 1833, Campau sold the land where\nout the world as a first-rate establishment.\nthe Pantlind would one day stand to a\nmillwright, Luther Lincoln, to build a saw-\nmill.\nrooms for $2 a day.\nThe time when J. Boyd Pantl\nThere was a stipulation to the sale, how-\nThe grand opening of Sweet's Hotel on\nson ran the establishment was\never. Lincoln had to promise not to sell\nSept. 23, 1869, according to an invitation\nof hotel life in Grand Rapids.\nthe land to one of Campau's competitors,\nfound a few years ago, featured a grand\nKatherine Pantlind Whin\na government surveyor and land specula-\nball with music by \"Prof. Thomas' cornet\nPantlind's daughter, rememl\ntor by the name of Lucius Lyon.\nband.\"\ndays fondly. She also remembe\nLincoln started his mill and stuck by his\nFive years later, the entire building\ngrandfather, J. Boyd Pantli\nagreement, but a year later, sold the land\nwas raised four feet when Canal Street\n\"natty dresser\" with tailored :\nto Abram Wadsworth, who finished the\nwas filled in to bring it above flood level.\nby white percale, spats, a bow\nmill. Wadsworth, in turn, promptly sold\nHundreds of jack screws were placed on\nglasses attached to a grosgrair\nthe parcel to Lyon, engendering Cam-\nthe foundation and turned at the signal of\nAn avid collector with dozer\npau's wrath.\na whistle.\nof memorabilia from the ol\nThe sawmill was washed away a few\nDuring the four days it took to raise the\nWhinery lives in East Grand I\nyears later in the flood of 1838.\nbuilding, the hotel operated normally.\nher husband, George Whinery\nBy 1852 there was a warehouse on the\nNot a dish was broken.\nShe is the oldest living desc\nspot and Daniel Ball, a banker who rose to\nSweet's name lasted until 1902. An\nBoyd Pantlind and, at 70, refei\nthe heights of wealth and success only to\nOhio-born businessman of Scottish ances-\nas \"the matriarch of the Pantli\ndie in poverty, bought the property and\ntry, J. Boyd Pantlind, had bought the busi-\n\"He was the most vivid char\nerected a bank there in 1859.\nness in 1898. He finally renamed it after\nknew,\" she says of her grar\nTwo years later, Martin L. Sweet, a\nhis uncle, A. Vorhis Pantlind.\nwas the first grandchild and I\nNew York native who made a fortune\nA few years later, with the furniture\nspecial treatment.\nhere in the grain business, bought the\nindustry dominating downtown Grand\n\"He was a great horsem\nbank and ran it as a very successful enter-\nRapids, a group of Grand Rapids busi-\nbought me my first pony. He\nprise.\nnessmen formed the Pantlind Hotel\npride in my riding.\"\nIn 1868, Sweet branched out into the\nBuilding Co. and erected the present ho-\nWhinery recalls that her\nhotel business. He closed the bank and\ntel.\nwas short, \"rather round,\"\nfilled in the river between the shoreline\nJ. Boyd Pantlind was made manager\nkling brown eyes.\" He was 8\nand Island Number One.\nand, during his reign and that of his son\nstory teller with a gift for usi\nOn this newly created land, he erected\nFred, the hotel was known throughout the\n\"He always had a smile an\nfour-story hotel around the bank and let\nworld as a first-rate establishment.\nous sense of humor,\" she say:\nThe Grand Rapids Press, Thursday, Sept. 11, 1980\n45\nPantlind\nwatching wide-eyed from front row seats\nFuller Avenue NE, about where Kent\nhappy opinion of Grand Rapids than any\non the hotel's balcony overlooking Mon-\nCommunity Hospital is, and Ellis com-\nother single citizen who ever gave it the\nroe Avenue,\" Whinery says. \"What excite-\nplained that the Pantlind should be turn-\nbenefits of a long and fruitful career.\"\nContinued\nment - clowns, elephants and bands and\ning the hotel's garbage over for city use.\nAfter the Pantlinds died, the hotel\nbareback riders, and the calliope bring-\nPantlind refused and the entire matter\npassed into other hands. It was owned by\nlind came during Prohibition. That was\ning up the rear.\"\nended up in court where Pantlind lost his\nJack, Ted and Charles Roberts when Am-\nnot an easy period for the hotel or its\nThe elder Pantlind had a 250-acre farm\ncase.\nway bought it.\nowners. Tony, the bartender, became\nwhere Woodlawn Cemetery on Kalama-\n\"J. Boyd always felt he'd been shafted,\"\nWhen the hotel closed last year, it\nTony, the soda jerk.\nzoo Avenue SE is today. Pantlind would\nWhinery says.\nboasted a long list of dignitaries and ce-\n\"Granddad used to say, 'You lose mon-\nfeed his pigs from the hotel's garbage.\nJ. Boyd Pantlind died Christmas Day,\nlebrities who'd stayed there, including\ney on the food and make it on the liquor.'\nThis profitable arrangement lasted un-\n1922. When recalling his death, Whinery\nWilliam Jennings Bryan, Babe Ruth,\nOne of the more exciting times for a\ntil the city's mayor of the time, George\nrefers to a newspaper article that ap-\nJames Cagney, Queen Juliana of the\nchild in the Pantlind came whenever a\nEllis, complained that the city was being\npeared in the old Grand Rapids Herald,\nNetherlands, Boris Karloff, Spencer Tra-\ncircus arrived in town.\nshortchanged.\nthat stated:\ncy, John and Robert Kennedy and, of\n\"When there was a parade, we'd be\nThe city maintained its own piggery on\n\"He contributed more to the nation's\ncourse, President Gerald R. Ford.\nPeople Are Saying\nCITIZENS INDUST\nDowntown Just Isn't\nLike the Old Days\nM\nA\nY\nS"
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