{"id":1052,"date":"2025-04-30T12:00:00","date_gmt":"2025-04-30T12:00:00","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/kevinforsyth.net\/ELMAC\/?p=1052"},"modified":"2026-04-11T03:30:49","modified_gmt":"2026-04-11T03:30:49","slug":"college-heights","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/kevinforsyth.net\/ELMAC\/college-heights\/","title":{"rendered":"College Heights (1904)"},"content":{"rendered":"\n
\"Plat
Original plat map of College Heights, designed by Chace Newman and surveyed with assistance from R. J. Robb. Tinted by the author to highlight the street design, with the Oak Hill descent marked in red. Image source: Michigan OLSR<\/a>.<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n\n\n

In 1903, Chace and Emma Newman purchased ten acres of land immediately west of Oakwood<\/a>. A year later, they platted the southern portion of that property, fronting on Grand River Avenue, as “College Heights.” While Towar noted the plat as having created “the city\u2019s original skyline drive,” its real legacy lies in how it addressed a significant problem with Oakwood’s street layout.1<\/a><\/sup><\/p>\n\n\n\n

As seen in the map here, Oakwood’s Oak Hill Avenue (now often styled “Oakhill Avenue” on city signage and digital maps) was originally designed to follow a curving path at the western edge of that plat, descending from the ridge and heading due south toward Grand River Avenue. However, this failed to account for the steep grade at that point, and the proposed route dropped abruptly into the low, swampy area that would later become Valley Court Park. Though it appeared as a proper city street on maps for almost six decades\u2014including Newman’s 1915 map\u2014it was, in practice, little more than a dirt track, barely usable except by the most adventurous traveler.2<\/a><\/sup><\/p>\n\n\n\n

Newman resolved the issue by extending Oak Hill Avenue westward into College Heights, where the street could follow a softer curve and a more gradual descent to Grand River. That extension\u2014now known as Hillcrest Avenue\u2014went through several confusing name changes over the years:<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\"Street
This terraced hillside is the former Oak Hill descent. The A. J. Clark house (built 1904) is at top. Image source: Google Street View.<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n\n\n