Fairview (1903)

Map by the author, based on Newman, 1915.

The original platting of Fairview, created by Charles M. Chittenden and Arthur C. Bird and recorded on April 16, 1903, consisted of the Grand River Avenue frontage of the Chittenden farm. North of the avenue this extended from just west of Bailey Street east to Gunson Street; and south of the avenue from Bogue Street to River Street. Most of the original street names—including four that were previously used in other subdivisions—have been changed: Elm (now Bailey), Haslett (now Collingwood), Park (now Kedzie), Maple (now Durand), East (now Gunson), and College (now Bogue). Orchard Street retains its original name, though the experimental orchard that was its namesake, on the college grounds across Grand River Avenue, is long gone.

Interestingly, J. D. Towar makes a point of stating that “it is not recorded that Bailey Street and the Liberty Hyde Bailey School were named after the same name.” There is a gap in time: the street was renamed no later than 1912, at least a decade before the school was built. Nevertheless, given Liberty Bailey’s celebrity status as a horticulturalist and the propensity for renaming Fairview streets after college luminaries, it might be a safe assumption.[Towar, p. 55]

The first addition to Fairview north of Grand River Avenue was a small one that extended Bailey Street to (what would later be) Ann Street with an unbroken row of lots on each side of the street. By 1913 the area to the west between Fairview and College Grove had filled in, and the second addition to Fairview had expanded that subdivision eastward to the corner of Ann and Gunson Streets. The result: Albert Street then ended at the alley west of Bailey Street, and started again at the alley east of Bailey. It was not long before portions of three lots were made part of the right-of-way for Albert Street.

Albertus interruptus, excerpted from Newman, 1915. Although Newman’s map seems to imply that Ann Street would be extended across parts of the northernmost lots of the addition, this is not the case.

This frontage plat was designed with an alley running along the rear of the lots. This was, of course, an excellent feature for property that was destined for commercial use, as the alley provides convenient access for delivery vehicles. In the mid-1990s the city transformed the neglected alley from a utilitarian space punctuated by diesel fumes and skateboarders, to an inviting, brick-paved “pedestrian promenade”—complete with diesel fumes and skateboarders.

All surviving historic buildings in this area are within the Fairview № 2 expansion.

Liberty Hyde Bailey School, 300 Bailey St. (1922)
Rollo May House, 202 Collingwood (1922)
291 Durand St. (1926)
Edward Porter Kinney House, 829 E. Grand River (c. 1903 – c. 1986)	(demolished)

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