511 Morris Avenue SE
- Year Built: 1924
- Style: English Cottage
- Description: Yeakey House - 1976 Tour, Walking Tour
- Comments: Mr. John Yeakey built his home in 1924, on the last remaining vacant lot on this street. A leader in the Grand Rapids business community, he founded and owned several companies including Yeakey-Scripps, Wheeler-Van Label Company and the Boston Store. When he built his home, Mr. Yeakey selected the Morris Avenue location because he was working at Herpolsheimer's and many of his associates lived nearby. Taking it's stylings from all the best of the English with it's Jacobethiann portico and Tudor gables, this home, built during Prohibition, incorporated many "practical" extras such as a lockable closet under the basement stairs to house bootleg refreshments. The inviting tented canopy over the terrace recalls the tranquility of an age when urban life was oriented to the street, people enjoyed their neighborhood and looked out instead of turning inward and creating their own very private havens. (chose site to be near Herp's officers; last lot on block to be built)
Owners
- Yeakey, John (Original Owner)
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