G.A. HENDRICKS DIES SUDDENLY
FURNITURE MANUFACTURER AND SPORTSMAN; IN BUSINESS FOR 25 YEARS HERE
GUSTAVE A. HENDRICKS, 58, whose prominence in the Grand Rapids furniture industry dated back a quarter of a century, making him a well known figure in the business life of the city, died Thursday at 12:25 p.m., at his home, 300 Paris ave., S.E.
Although Mr. Hendricks had not been in his usual good health since February (he had been ailing with a cold) his condition was in no wise considered serious. His death was unexpected and a shock to his many friends and associates.
Mr. Hendricks was best known as head of the Fine Arts Furniture corporation, which operated the Pantlind Exhibition building and the Fine Arts building, two of the leading down-town buildings where furniture manufacturers exhibited their samples.
PLANNED FURNITURE SKYSCRAPER
Having built these two structures in 1924 and 1925 respectively as private developments, Mr. Hendricks then visioned them as units of a mighty furniture capitol building which he planned to erect 34 stories high on the present site of the civic auditorium.
The fruition of that dream, however, was shattered by the onslaught of the depression which began to appear in the furniture industry a year or more earlier than in general business conditions.
Active in state Republican circles, he was a warm personal friend of former Gov. Fred W. Green, who, during his administration, named Mr. Hendricks chairman of the Mackinac Island state park commission, a post which he held for three years.
LOVER OF OUTDOORS
Mr. Hendricks was an ardent sportsman and a lover of animals and the out-of-doors. He was never happier than when entertaining his many friends at his elaborate summer home, Octagon Castle, at Biteley.
A native of Huntington, Ind., Mr. Hendricks had his early schooling there and came to Grand Rapids in 1903 as a sales representative of the Burroughs Adding Machine company. He liked Grand Rapids and made his home here.
The following year, he formed the ADJUSTABLE TABLE COMPANY and later established the WHITE STEEL SANITARY FURNITURE COMPANY, the management of which he maintained until his death.
He ventured into commercial real estate with the purchase in 1923 of the Berkey and Gay administration building, 442 Monroe ave., N.W., home of the offices of the old Berkey & Gay company. This led to the building of the Pantlind and Fine Arts exhibition buildings.
PROMINENT SOCIALLY
Both he and Mrs. Hendricks were prominent in the social life of the city. Mr. Hendricks was a member of the Peninsular, Elks, Cascade Hills and Highland Country clubs and was a member of the Grand Rapids Real Estate board. He was president of the Fine Arts corporation, which took over the management of the Pantlind Exhibition building and the Fine Arts building in 1932.
Besides his widow, MRS. GERTRUDE M. HENDRICKS, also formerly of Huntington, Ind., he is survived by a son, GUSTAVE A. JR., and a daughter, CAROLYN.
Funeral services will be held on Saturday from the residence, 300 Paris ave., S.E. Interment will be in Graceland mausoleum.
Pallbearers for the Hendricks funeral will be Fred Rowe, Fred Kramer, E.L. Kinsey, Martin T. VandenBosch, Fred Collins and Charles A. Phelps.
Honorary pallbearers will be R.E. Casey, former Gov. Fred W. Green, Dr. Ferris N. Smith, F.D. McKay, Martin J. Dregge, John L.A. Galster, Henry Galster, L.J. DeLamarter, Perey Peck, F.L. Dilling, W.B. Banks, J. Hampton Hoult, Lee W. Finch, H.C. Lawrence, Leon T. Closterhouse, J.H. Brewer, G.A. Wolf, A.P. Johnson, N. Rugee White, D.A. Warner, J.H. Amberg, Dr. Mortimer E. Roberts, H. Shatsky, George W. Welsh, Fred Chapman, Dr. J.B. Whinery, Frank G. Deane, R.C. Vandercook, Felix H.H. Flynn, B.P. Kenyon, W.J. Wallace, J. Fred Lyon and John R. Emley.
THE GRAND RAPIDS HERALD, Friday, 27 March 1936, Pg. 1, Col. 7 and Pg. 4, Col. 4
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HENDRICKS BUYS BERKEY & GAY SHOW BUILDING
HEAD OF ADJUSTABLE TABLE CO. ACQUIRES LOWER MONROE-AV. PROPERTY
TO REMODEL STRUCTURE
OFFICERS OF FURNITURE FIRM TO BE INSTALLED IN MASON-ST. UNIT.
GUSTAVE A HENDRICKS of the ADJUSTABLE TABLE CO. has purchased the Berkey & Gay office and exposition building, Monroe-av. and Hastings-st., possession to be given Aug. 1, and is having plans made for its remodeling into a furniture exposition building to be ready for the January sale next winter. The Berkey & Gay Furniture Co. will remove its offices to the factory building at Monroe-av. and Mason-st., carrying out the original plans of concentrating its operations under a single roof, but for the July sale will show in the old building.
PROPERTY IN FINE CONDITION.
The property purchased has a frontage of 74 feet on Monroe, 220 feet on Hastings through to Bond-av., and 100 feet on Bond. The buildings are seven story brick, built under the personal supervision of JULIUS BERKEY and the work so well done that not a sag or seam is to be found in them. The buildings are sprinkled throughout, steam heated and are equipped with passenger and freight elevators. Their floor space is 121,800 square feet, making it one of the largest exposition buildings in the city.
PLANS TO REMODEL.
The remodeling planned by Mr. Hendricks will be confined principally to the first floor. There will be a central corridor to the elevator with small spaces for select exhibits on either side. The upper floors will be redecorated and the lighting rearranged. A special feature will be made of the roof garden where cafe service will be given during the sales season.
The building is centrally located, four blocks from the Pantlind, less than a block from the Rowe and easily accessible by all the car lines. It is at the gateway to the factory districts in the north end. Occupied by Berkey & Gay for so many years it has a well defined pathway to its front door, one that all furniture men know. It has railroad siding in the rear on the Bond-av. side and will be the only exposition building here to be so equipped. It also has a covered driveway for the team deliveries.
The purchase was negotiated through the S.R. Fletcher agency. The transaction, it is said, involves a matter of a quarter of a million dollars.
THE GRAND RAPIDS PRESS, Grand Rapids, Mich., Tues., Mar. 27, 1923, Pg. 20, Col. 1, Art. 1
*****
FURNITURE CAPITOL FINANCED; CONSTRUCTION SOON TO BEGIN
BUILDING WILL BE THIRD TALLEST IN AMERICA AND TAKE THE GENERAL FORM OF THE PYRAMIDS--380,000 SQUARE FEET UNDER OPTION NOW.
TOTAL COST WILL BE ABOUT TEN MILLION
Plans for the new FURNITURE CAPITOL BUILDING have been finally approved by G.A. HENDRICKS, who is to build it, and contractors are now figuring on it preparatory to making the bids. The old buildings on the site of the new structure have for some time been vacated and their demolition is soon to begin. During the furniture market the old buildings have been used by Mr. Hendricks as parking places for furniture men having their cars here. Parking and storage has been free to them during their stay in the market.
This building, which it is the expectation of Mr. Hendricks to have ready for occupancy for the June-July market, 1928, will be one of the greatest buildings in the world. It will be unique, too, since it will be expressive of the city in which it is located, and of the purpose to which it is to be put. Its name, "The Furniture Capital" will be expressive of Grand Rapids as "The Furniture Capital of America," and carrying out the "Capitol" idea, its giant 34-story tower will be surmounted by a "Capitol" dome.
It is to be the home of good furniture in America. In it will be exhibited the finest furniture made in America. It will be a year 'round structure to which dealers may at any time come and place their orders for goods from the samples on display. It will contain a furniture museum in which the best furniture of the ages will be assembled, along with the samples of the finest furniture which has been made by Grand Rapids and other factories showing in the Grand Rapids market.
The builder of the great structure is G.A. Hendricks, already the owner of the splendid FINE ARTS BUILDING and of the PANTLIND EXHIBITION BUILDING. Gus Hendricks is always an optimist, but the erection of this big building, having rentable floor space practically equivalent to that of the American Furniture mart, is entirely expressive of the confidence Mr. Hendricks has in Grand Rapids, both as a center of furniture manufacture and as a furniture market.
ONE OF THE WORLD'S TALLEST
Very briefly the Furniture Capitol will be as follows:
The tower will be 34 stories in height, the top being 430 feet above the ground. That will make the structure the third highest in the United States, according to present figures recently issued. Its height will be exceeded only by Woolworth's and by the Equitable. These two structures also are the only ones to have more stories. The Woolworth building is 792 feet high with 58 stories. Equitable is 550.6 feet high with 41 stories and the Furniture Capitol will be 430 feet high with 34 stories.
The total floor area of the structure will be 1,250,000 square feet with a rentable area of 1,125,000 square feet. Equitable building has a rentable area of 1,236,000 square feet and General Motors building of Detroit has a rentable area of 1,125,871 square feet. The rentable area of the American Furniture Mart is 1,250,000 but the building is not nearly so high as the Furniture Capitol will be.
Nineteen floors of the Furniture Capitol will have 34,000 square feet each of floor space, while even the topmost floor of the tower will have 5,000 square feet. Above this will be the octagonal observation tower surmounted by a 64-foot dome.
The structure which is to cost $10,000,000 will be of Egyptian architecture, the exterior being in terra cotta of Egyptian design. To still further carry out the Egyptian idea the building will present somewhat the appearance of the pyramids with offsets. Four promeades, all the way around the building, will be paved with brick with flower boxes and hanging gardens and other attractions to add to the beauty and interest of the structure.
Eight passenger elevators, each capable of rising 800 feet per minute, will take up passengers, while four freight elevators, with a speed of 200 feet per minute, will care for getting the furniture up and down.
Financing the project has been completed, plans will not again be altered so far as the exterior, at least, is concerned and 380,000 square feet of the rentable floor area has already been optioned. Construction will begin very quickly now and completion of the building is expected in the mid-summer market of 1928.
GRAND RAPIDS HERALD, Grand Rapids, Mich., Mon., July 12, 1926, Pg. 8, Cols. 3-7
G.A. HENDRICKS DIES SUDDENLY
FURNITURE MANUFACTURER AND SPORTSMAN; IN BUSINESS FOR 25 YEARS HERE
GUSTAVE A. HENDRICKS, 58, whose prominence in the Grand Rapids furniture industry dated back a quarter of a century, making him a well known figure in the business life of the city, died Thursday at 12:25 p.m., at his home, 300 Paris ave., S.E.
Although Mr. Hendricks had not been in his usual good health since February (he had been ailing with a cold) his condition was in no wise considered serious. His death was unexpected and a shock to his many friends and associates.
Mr. Hendricks was best known as head of the Fine Arts Furniture corporation, which operated the Pantlind Exhibition building and the Fine Arts building, two of the leading down-town buildings where furniture manufacturers exhibited their samples.
PLANNED FURNITURE SKYSCRAPER
Having built these two structures in 1924 and 1925 respectively as private developments, Mr. Hendricks then visioned them as units of a mighty furniture capitol building which he planned to erect 34 stories high on the present site of the civic auditorium.
The fruition of that dream, however, was shattered by the onslaught of the depression which began to appear in the furniture industry a year or more earlier than in general business conditions.
Active in state Republican circles, he was a warm personal friend of former Gov. Fred W. Green, who, during his administration, named Mr. Hendricks chairman of the Mackinac Island state park commission, a post which he held for three years.
LOVER OF OUTDOORS
Mr. Hendricks was an ardent sportsman and a lover of animals and the out-of-doors. He was never happier than when entertaining his many friends at his elaborate summer home, Octagon Castle, at Biteley.
A native of Huntington, Ind., Mr. Hendricks had his early schooling there and came to Grand Rapids in 1903 as a sales representative of the Burroughs Adding Machine company. He liked Grand Rapids and made his home here.
The following year, he formed the ADJUSTABLE TABLE COMPANY and later established the WHITE STEEL SANITARY FURNITURE COMPANY, the management of which he maintained until his death.
He ventured into commercial real estate with the purchase in 1923 of the Berkey and Gay administration building, 442 Monroe ave., N.W., home of the offices of the old Berkey & Gay company. This led to the building of the Pantlind and Fine Arts exhibition buildings.
PROMINENT SOCIALLY
Both he and Mrs. Hendricks were prominent in the social life of the city. Mr. Hendricks was a member of the Peninsular, Elks, Cascade Hills and Highland Country clubs and was a member of the Grand Rapids Real Estate board. He was president of the Fine Arts corporation, which took over the management of the Pantlind Exhibition building and the Fine Arts building in 1932.
Besides his widow, MRS. GERTRUDE M. HENDRICKS, also formerly of Huntington, Ind., he is survived by a son, GUSTAVE A. JR., and a daughter, CAROLYN.
Funeral services will be held on Saturday from the residence, 300 Paris ave., S.E. Interment will be in Graceland mausoleum.
Pallbearers for the Hendricks funeral will be Fred Rowe, Fred Kramer, E.L. Kinsey, Martin T. VandenBosch, Fred Collins and Charles A. Phelps.
Honorary pallbearers will be R.E. Casey, former Gov. Fred W. Green, Dr. Ferris N. Smith, F.D. McKay, Martin J. Dregge, John L.A. Galster, Henry Galster, L.J. DeLamarter, Perey Peck, F.L. Dilling, W.B. Banks, J. Hampton Hoult, Lee W. Finch, H.C. Lawrence, Leon T. Closterhouse, J.H. Brewer, G.A. Wolf, A.P. Johnson, N. Rugee White, D.A. Warner, J.H. Amberg, Dr. Mortimer E. Roberts, H. Shatsky, George W. Welsh, Fred Chapman, Dr. J.B. Whinery, Frank G. Deane, R.C. Vandercook, Felix H.H. Flynn, B.P. Kenyon, W.J. Wallace, J. Fred Lyon and John R. Emley.
THE GRAND RAPIDS HERALD, Friday, 27 March 1936, Pg. 1, Col. 7 and Pg. 4, Col. 4
************************~ooOoo~************************
HENDRICKS BUYS BERKEY & GAY SHOW BUILDING
HEAD OF ADJUSTABLE TABLE CO. ACQUIRES LOWER MONROE-AV. PROPERTY
TO REMODEL STRUCTURE
OFFICERS OF FURNITURE FIRM TO BE INSTALLED IN MASON-ST. UNIT.
GUSTAVE A HENDRICKS of the ADJUSTABLE TABLE CO. has purchased the Berkey & Gay office and exposition building, Monroe-av. and Hastings-st., possession to be given Aug. 1, and is having plans made for its remodeling into a furniture exposition building to be ready for the January sale next winter. The Berkey & Gay Furniture Co. will remove its offices to the factory building at Monroe-av. and Mason-st., carrying out the original plans of concentrating its operations under a single roof, but for the July sale will show in the old building.
PROPERTY IN FINE CONDITION.
The property purchased has a frontage of 74 feet on Monroe, 220 feet on Hastings through to Bond-av., and 100 feet on Bond. The buildings are seven story brick, built under the personal supervision of JULIUS BERKEY and the work so well done that not a sag or seam is to be found in them. The buildings are sprinkled throughout, steam heated and are equipped with passenger and freight elevators. Their floor space is 121,800 square feet, making it one of the largest exposition buildings in the city.
PLANS TO REMODEL.
The remodeling planned by Mr. Hendricks will be confined principally to the first floor. There will be a central corridor to the elevator with small spaces for select exhibits on either side. The upper floors will be redecorated and the lighting rearranged. A special feature will be made of the roof garden where cafe service will be given during the sales season.
The building is centrally located, four blocks from the Pantlind, less than a block from the Rowe and easily accessible by all the car lines. It is at the gateway to the factory districts in the north end. Occupied by Berkey & Gay for so many years it has a well defined pathway to its front door, one that all furniture men know. It has railroad siding in the rear on the Bond-av. side and will be the only exposition building here to be so equipped. It also has a covered driveway for the team deliveries.
The purchase was negotiated through the S.R. Fletcher agency. The transaction, it is said, involves a matter of a quarter of a million dollars.
THE GRAND RAPIDS PRESS, Grand Rapids, Mich., Tues., Mar. 27, 1923, Pg. 20, Col. 1, Art. 1
*****
FURNITURE CAPITOL FINANCED; CONSTRUCTION SOON TO BEGIN
BUILDING WILL BE THIRD TALLEST IN AMERICA AND TAKE THE GENERAL FORM OF THE PYRAMIDS--380,000 SQUARE FEET UNDER OPTION NOW.
TOTAL COST WILL BE ABOUT TEN MILLION
Plans for the new FURNITURE CAPITOL BUILDING have been finally approved by G.A. HENDRICKS, who is to build it, and contractors are now figuring on it preparatory to making the bids. The old buildings on the site of the new structure have for some time been vacated and their demolition is soon to begin. During the furniture market the old buildings have been used by Mr. Hendricks as parking places for furniture men having their cars here. Parking and storage has been free to them during their stay in the market.
This building, which it is the expectation of Mr. Hendricks to have ready for occupancy for the June-July market, 1928, will be one of the greatest buildings in the world. It will be unique, too, since it will be expressive of the city in which it is located, and of the purpose to which it is to be put. Its name, "The Furniture Capital" will be expressive of Grand Rapids as "The Furniture Capital of America," and carrying out the "Capitol" idea, its giant 34-story tower will be surmounted by a "Capitol" dome.
It is to be the home of good furniture in America. In it will be exhibited the finest furniture made in America. It will be a year 'round structure to which dealers may at any time come and place their orders for goods from the samples on display. It will contain a furniture museum in which the best furniture of the ages will be assembled, along with the samples of the finest furniture which has been made by Grand Rapids and other factories showing in the Grand Rapids market.
The builder of the great structure is G.A. Hendricks, already the owner of the splendid FINE ARTS BUILDING and of the PANTLIND EXHIBITION BUILDING. Gus Hendricks is always an optimist, but the erection of this big building, having rentable floor space practically equivalent to that of the American Furniture mart, is entirely expressive of the confidence Mr. Hendricks has in Grand Rapids, both as a center of furniture manufacture and as a furniture market.
ONE OF THE WORLD'S TALLEST
Very briefly the Furniture Capitol will be as follows:
The tower will be 34 stories in height, the top being 430 feet above the ground. That will make the structure the third highest in the United States, according to present figures recently issued. Its height will be exceeded only by Woolworth's and by the Equitable. These two structures also are the only ones to have more stories. The Woolworth building is 792 feet high with 58 stories. Equitable is 550.6 feet high with 41 stories and the Furniture Capitol will be 430 feet high with 34 stories.
The total floor area of the structure will be 1,250,000 square feet with a rentable area of 1,125,000 square feet. Equitable building has a rentable area of 1,236,000 square feet and General Motors building of Detroit has a rentable area of 1,125,871 square feet. The rentable area of the American Furniture Mart is 1,250,000 but the building is not nearly so high as the Furniture Capitol will be.
Nineteen floors of the Furniture Capitol will have 34,000 square feet each of floor space, while even the topmost floor of the tower will have 5,000 square feet. Above this will be the octagonal observation tower surmounted by a 64-foot dome.
The structure which is to cost $10,000,000 will be of Egyptian architecture, the exterior being in terra cotta of Egyptian design. To still further carry out the Egyptian idea the building will present somewhat the appearance of the pyramids with offsets. Four promeades, all the way around the building, will be paved with brick with flower boxes and hanging gardens and other attractions to add to the beauty and interest of the structure.
Eight passenger elevators, each capable of rising 800 feet per minute, will take up passengers, while four freight elevators, with a speed of 200 feet per minute, will care for getting the furniture up and down.
Financing the project has been completed, plans will not again be altered so far as the exterior, at least, is concerned and 380,000 square feet of the rentable floor area has already been optioned. Construction will begin very quickly now and completion of the building is expected in the mid-summer market of 1928.
GRAND RAPIDS HERALD, Grand Rapids, Mich., Mon., July 12, 1926, Pg. 8, Cols. 3-7
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