The East Building, located in Eastown at 1514 Wealthy SE, was built in 1906 by the Grand Rapids Railway Company as a streetcar garage. It is now home to numerous Eastown businesses, including several eateries.
History
Eastown emerged as a streetcar suburb alongside the rise of the streetcar as a dominant means of urban transportation in the late 19th and early 20th centuries. The Grand Rapids Railway Company, which owned and operated Grand Rapids' streetcar lines, constructed the East Building in 1906 to house streetcars that were not in use. The location was convenient, as it was the Wealthy and Lake Drive streetcar lines' transfer point. The building was converted to office and retail space in 1946.
