The Union Brewery was established at 111 South Division in 1863 by George Brandt was demolished and the Brandt Block constructed to take advantage of the commercial transformation of Division Avenue. The upper floors were used by the Knights of Pythias Lodge. The second floor had meeting and social rooms. The third floor had suites of rooms with an onsite manager for out of town visitors of bachelor members. The Miller & Harris Furniture Company moved into the first floor in 1909. In 1912 the company changed its name to the Harris Sample Furniture Company and purchased the building in 1921, becoming its sole occupant for the next 48 years. Each year in the spring and fall furniture buyers from across the country would converge for the Grand Rapids International Furniture Market to view and purchase from the new lines which were shown though sample pieces at the various exhibitions showrooms. Phillip Klingman conceived the idea of purchasing these samples to save out of town manufactures shipping charges. After Klingman’s Sample Furniture Store was opened, others followed suit. The Harris Sample Furniture Company was one of the first.

Location

111 South Division is located in the Heartside-Downtown neighborhood. Geographic coordinates are 42.960977° N, 85.66776° WLatitude: 42°57′39.517″N
Longitude: 85°40′3.936″W.

References

Portions of this post were originally written by Heather Ibrahim for the Heartside Mainstreet Program, reproduced with permission.