947 24 26018 https://digitalcollections.library.gvsu.edu/files/original/12c3ef442c9938c700df00bc3c262206.jpg 7ee9a24b3076dc018141549695bd14fd Dublin Core The Dublin Core metadata element set is common to all Omeka records, including items, files, and collections. For more information see, http://dublincore.org/documents/dces/. Title A name given to the resource Decorated Publishers' Bindings Subject The topic of the resource Book covers Covers (Illustration) Graphic arts Publishers and publishing Pictorial bindings Description An account of the resource From the early 1870s to roughly 1930, many publishers issued their commercial book covers with a remarkable variety of graphic designs and illustrations. This sixty-year period saw many artists and designers contributing to this art form. While some can be identified from their style or initials, others remain unknown. Source A related resource from which the described resource is derived Seidman Rare Books Collection Michigan Novels Collection Regional Historical Collection Lincoln and the Civil War Collection Publisher An entity responsible for making the resource available Grand Valley State University. University Libraries. Special Collections & University Archives Date A point or period of time associated with an event in the lifecycle of the resource 2017-08-30 Rights Information about rights held in and over the resource <a href="http://rightsstatements.org/page/InC/1.0/?language=en">In Copyright</a>, <a href="http://rightsstatements.org/page/NoC-US/1.0/?language=en">No Copyright - United States</a> Format The file format, physical medium, or dimensions of the resource image/jpg Language A language of the resource eng Type The nature or genre of the resource Image Identifier An unambiguous reference to the resource within a given context DC-01 Still Image A static visual representation. Examples include paintings, drawings, graphic designs, plans and maps. Recommended best practice is to assign the type Text to images of textual materials. Source Seidman Rare Books. N1010.A78 N38 1905 Dublin Core The Dublin Core metadata element set is common to all Omeka records, including items, files, and collections. For more information see, http://dublincore.org/documents/dces/. Identifier An unambiguous reference to the resource within a given context DC-01_Bindings0055 Title A name given to the resource The Art of the National Gallery Creator An entity primarily responsible for making the resource Sacker, Amy M. (Designer) Description An account of the resource Binding of The Art of the National Gallery: A Critical Survey of the Schools and Painters as Represented in the British Collection, by Julia deWolf Addison, published by Page Co., 1905. Subject The topic of the resource Book covers Covers (Illustration) Graphic arts Publishers and publishing Pictorial bindings Language A language of the resource eng Rights Information about rights held in and over the resource <a href="http://rightsstatements.org/page/NoC-US/1.0/?language=en">No Copyright - United States</a> Type The nature or genre of the resource Image Format The file format, physical medium, or dimensions of the resource image/jpeg Date A point or period of time associated with an event in the lifecycle of the resource 1905 Publisher An entity responsible for making the resource available Grand Valley State University. University Libraries. Lemmen Library and Archives https://digitalcollections.library.gvsu.edu/files/original/673e2e61a409d53022263407ce2fbc17.jpg 3690e3b795d9c292b4397f1044def2d7 Dublin Core The Dublin Core metadata element set is common to all Omeka records, including items, files, and collections. For more information see, http://dublincore.org/documents/dces/. Title A name given to the resource Decorated Publishers' Bindings Subject The topic of the resource Book covers Covers (Illustration) Graphic arts Publishers and publishing Pictorial bindings Description An account of the resource From the early 1870s to roughly 1930, many publishers issued their commercial book covers with a remarkable variety of graphic designs and illustrations. This sixty-year period saw many artists and designers contributing to this art form. While some can be identified from their style or initials, others remain unknown. Source A related resource from which the described resource is derived Seidman Rare Books Collection Michigan Novels Collection Regional Historical Collection Lincoln and the Civil War Collection Publisher An entity responsible for making the resource available Grand Valley State University. University Libraries. Special Collections & University Archives Date A point or period of time associated with an event in the lifecycle of the resource 2017-08-30 Rights Information about rights held in and over the resource <a href="http://rightsstatements.org/page/InC/1.0/?language=en">In Copyright</a>, <a href="http://rightsstatements.org/page/NoC-US/1.0/?language=en">No Copyright - United States</a> Format The file format, physical medium, or dimensions of the resource image/jpg Language A language of the resource eng Type The nature or genre of the resource Image Identifier An unambiguous reference to the resource within a given context DC-01 Still Image A static visual representation. Examples include paintings, drawings, graphic designs, plans and maps. Recommended best practice is to assign the type Text to images of textual materials. Source Seidman Rare Books. N1010.A78 N48 1908 Dublin Core The Dublin Core metadata element set is common to all Omeka records, including items, files, and collections. For more information see, http://dublincore.org/documents/dces/. Identifier An unambiguous reference to the resource within a given context DC-01_Bindings0056 Title A name given to the resource The Art of the Netherland Galleries Description An account of the resource Binding of The Art of the Netherland Galleries: being a history of the Dutch school of painting illuminated and demonstrated by critical descriptions of the great paintings in the many galleries, by David C. Preyer, published by L. C. Page & Co., 1908. Subject The topic of the resource Book covers Covers (Illustration) Graphic arts Publishers and publishing Pictorial bindings Language A language of the resource eng Rights Information about rights held in and over the resource <a href="http://rightsstatements.org/page/NoC-US/1.0/?language=en">No Copyright - United States</a> Type The nature or genre of the resource Image Format The file format, physical medium, or dimensions of the resource image/jpeg Date A point or period of time associated with an event in the lifecycle of the resource 1908 Publisher An entity responsible for making the resource available Grand Valley State University. University Libraries. Lemmen Library and Archives https://digitalcollections.library.gvsu.edu/files/original/ba9112066c89ceb7c209551c522760f5.jpg 8b8e1a75cd8460f937df6810981a4908 Dublin Core The Dublin Core metadata element set is common to all Omeka records, including items, files, and collections. For more information see, http://dublincore.org/documents/dces/. Title A name given to the resource Decorated Publishers' Bindings Subject The topic of the resource Book covers Covers (Illustration) Graphic arts Publishers and publishing Pictorial bindings Description An account of the resource From the early 1870s to roughly 1930, many publishers issued their commercial book covers with a remarkable variety of graphic designs and illustrations. This sixty-year period saw many artists and designers contributing to this art form. While some can be identified from their style or initials, others remain unknown. Source A related resource from which the described resource is derived Seidman Rare Books Collection Michigan Novels Collection Regional Historical Collection Lincoln and the Civil War Collection Publisher An entity responsible for making the resource available Grand Valley State University. University Libraries. Special Collections & University Archives Date A point or period of time associated with an event in the lifecycle of the resource 2017-08-30 Rights Information about rights held in and over the resource <a href="http://rightsstatements.org/page/InC/1.0/?language=en">In Copyright</a>, <a href="http://rightsstatements.org/page/NoC-US/1.0/?language=en">No Copyright - United States</a> Format The file format, physical medium, or dimensions of the resource image/jpg Language A language of the resource eng Type The nature or genre of the resource Image Identifier An unambiguous reference to the resource within a given context DC-01 Still Image A static visual representation. Examples include paintings, drawings, graphic designs, plans and maps. Recommended best practice is to assign the type Text to images of textual materials. Source Seidman Rare Books. N1010.A78 P58 1903 Dublin Core The Dublin Core metadata element set is common to all Omeka records, including items, files, and collections. For more information see, http://dublincore.org/documents/dces/. Identifier An unambiguous reference to the resource within a given context DC-01_Bindings0057 Title A name given to the resource The Art of the Pitti Palace Creator An entity primarily responsible for making the resource Matthews, Harry B. (Designer) Description An account of the resource Binding of The Art of the Pitti Palace: with a short history of the building of the palace, and its owners, and an appreciation of its treasures, by Julia deW. Addison, published by L.C. Page, 1903. Subject The topic of the resource Book covers Covers (Illustration) Graphic arts Publishers and publishing Pictorial bindings Language A language of the resource eng Rights Information about rights held in and over the resource <a href="http://rightsstatements.org/page/NoC-US/1.0/?language=en">No Copyright - United States</a> Type The nature or genre of the resource Image Format The file format, physical medium, or dimensions of the resource image/jpeg Date A point or period of time associated with an event in the lifecycle of the resource 1903 Publisher An entity responsible for making the resource available Grand Valley State University. University Libraries. Lemmen Library and Archives https://digitalcollections.library.gvsu.edu/files/original/8692b4cae1545b478de45ce414d383d7.jpg 9b4be973f13f2e4382a11a6b3c38cd0c Dublin Core The Dublin Core metadata element set is common to all Omeka records, including items, files, and collections. For more information see, http://dublincore.org/documents/dces/. Title A name given to the resource Decorated Publishers' Bindings Subject The topic of the resource Book covers Covers (Illustration) Graphic arts Publishers and publishing Pictorial bindings Description An account of the resource From the early 1870s to roughly 1930, many publishers issued their commercial book covers with a remarkable variety of graphic designs and illustrations. This sixty-year period saw many artists and designers contributing to this art form. While some can be identified from their style or initials, others remain unknown. Source A related resource from which the described resource is derived Seidman Rare Books Collection Michigan Novels Collection Regional Historical Collection Lincoln and the Civil War Collection Publisher An entity responsible for making the resource available Grand Valley State University. University Libraries. Special Collections & University Archives Date A point or period of time associated with an event in the lifecycle of the resource 2017-08-30 Rights Information about rights held in and over the resource <a href="http://rightsstatements.org/page/InC/1.0/?language=en">In Copyright</a>, <a href="http://rightsstatements.org/page/NoC-US/1.0/?language=en">No Copyright - United States</a> Format The file format, physical medium, or dimensions of the resource image/jpg Language A language of the resource eng Type The nature or genre of the resource Image Identifier An unambiguous reference to the resource within a given context DC-01 Still Image A static visual representation. Examples include paintings, drawings, graphic designs, plans and maps. Recommended best practice is to assign the type Text to images of textual materials. Source Seidman Rare Books. N1010.A78 U34 1912 Dublin Core The Dublin Core metadata element set is common to all Omeka records, including items, files, and collections. For more information see, http://dublincore.org/documents/dces/. Identifier An unambiguous reference to the resource within a given context DC-01_Bindings0058 Title A name given to the resource The Art of the Uffizi Palace and the Florence Academy Description An account of the resource Binding of The Art of the Uffizi Palace and the Florence Academy: together with that of the minor museums of Florence, with explanatory and appreciative comment on the notable works therein preserved, and their history and significance, by Charles C. Heyl, published by L.C. Page, 1912. Subject The topic of the resource Book covers Covers (Illustration) Graphic arts Publishers and publishing Pictorial bindings Language A language of the resource eng Rights Information about rights held in and over the resource <a href="http://rightsstatements.org/page/NoC-US/1.0/?language=en">No Copyright - United States</a> Type The nature or genre of the resource Image Format The file format, physical medium, or dimensions of the resource image/jpeg Date A point or period of time associated with an event in the lifecycle of the resource 1912 Publisher An entity responsible for making the resource available Grand Valley State University. University Libraries. Lemmen Library and Archives https://digitalcollections.library.gvsu.edu/files/original/a7b16add9677142a251e671a0d0cfd8c.jpg 02006a22cf9f0d709d6d149935020ddc Dublin Core The Dublin Core metadata element set is common to all Omeka records, including items, files, and collections. For more information see, http://dublincore.org/documents/dces/. Title A name given to the resource Decorated Publishers' Bindings Subject The topic of the resource Book covers Covers (Illustration) Graphic arts Publishers and publishing Pictorial bindings Description An account of the resource From the early 1870s to roughly 1930, many publishers issued their commercial book covers with a remarkable variety of graphic designs and illustrations. This sixty-year period saw many artists and designers contributing to this art form. While some can be identified from their style or initials, others remain unknown. Source A related resource from which the described resource is derived Seidman Rare Books Collection Michigan Novels Collection Regional Historical Collection Lincoln and the Civil War Collection Publisher An entity responsible for making the resource available Grand Valley State University. University Libraries. Special Collections & University Archives Date A point or period of time associated with an event in the lifecycle of the resource 2017-08-30 Rights Information about rights held in and over the resource <a href="http://rightsstatements.org/page/InC/1.0/?language=en">In Copyright</a>, <a href="http://rightsstatements.org/page/NoC-US/1.0/?language=en">No Copyright - United States</a> Format The file format, physical medium, or dimensions of the resource image/jpg Language A language of the resource eng Type The nature or genre of the resource Image Identifier An unambiguous reference to the resource within a given context DC-01 Still Image A static visual representation. Examples include paintings, drawings, graphic designs, plans and maps. Recommended best practice is to assign the type Text to images of textual materials. Source Seidman Rare Books. N1010.A78 V38 1902 Dublin Core The Dublin Core metadata element set is common to all Omeka records, including items, files, and collections. For more information see, http://dublincore.org/documents/dces/. Identifier An unambiguous reference to the resource within a given context DC-01_Bindings0059 Title A name given to the resource The Art of the Vatican Creator An entity primarily responsible for making the resource Matthews, Harry B. (Designer) Description An account of the resource Binding of The Art of the Vatican: Being a Brief History of the Palace, and an Account of the Principal Art Treasures Within Its Walls, by Mary Knight Potter, published by Page Co., 1902. Subject The topic of the resource Book covers Covers (Illustration) Graphic arts Publishers and publishing Pictorial bindings Language A language of the resource eng Rights Information about rights held in and over the resource <a href="http://rightsstatements.org/page/NoC-US/1.0/?language=en">No Copyright - United States</a> Type The nature or genre of the resource Image Format The file format, physical medium, or dimensions of the resource image/jpeg Date A point or period of time associated with an event in the lifecycle of the resource 1902 Publisher An entity responsible for making the resource available Grand Valley State University. University Libraries. Lemmen Library and Archives https://digitalcollections.library.gvsu.edu/files/original/692e3f97970dae965ce3c9f3e87dacad.jpg e8012ce184bc9c6dd9b7035141504500 Dublin Core The Dublin Core metadata element set is common to all Omeka records, including items, files, and collections. For more information see, http://dublincore.org/documents/dces/. Title A name given to the resource Decorated Publishers' Bindings Subject The topic of the resource Book covers Covers (Illustration) Graphic arts Publishers and publishing Pictorial bindings Description An account of the resource From the early 1870s to roughly 1930, many publishers issued their commercial book covers with a remarkable variety of graphic designs and illustrations. This sixty-year period saw many artists and designers contributing to this art form. While some can be identified from their style or initials, others remain unknown. Source A related resource from which the described resource is derived Seidman Rare Books Collection Michigan Novels Collection Regional Historical Collection Lincoln and the Civil War Collection Publisher An entity responsible for making the resource available Grand Valley State University. University Libraries. Special Collections & University Archives Date A point or period of time associated with an event in the lifecycle of the resource 2017-08-30 Rights Information about rights held in and over the resource <a href="http://rightsstatements.org/page/InC/1.0/?language=en">In Copyright</a>, <a href="http://rightsstatements.org/page/NoC-US/1.0/?language=en">No Copyright - United States</a> Format The file format, physical medium, or dimensions of the resource image/jpg Language A language of the resource eng Type The nature or genre of the resource Image Identifier An unambiguous reference to the resource within a given context DC-01 Still Image A static visual representation. Examples include paintings, drawings, graphic designs, plans and maps. Recommended best practice is to assign the type Text to images of textual materials. Source Seidman Rare Books. N1010.A78 V54 1911 Dublin Core The Dublin Core metadata element set is common to all Omeka records, including items, files, and collections. For more information see, http://dublincore.org/documents/dces/. Identifier An unambiguous reference to the resource within a given context DC-01_Bindings0060 Title A name given to the resource The Art of the Vienna Galleries Description An account of the resource Binding of The Art of the Vienna Galleries: giving a brief history of the public and private galleries of Vienna, with a critical description of the paintings therein contained, by David C. Preyer, published by Page & Co., 1911. Subject The topic of the resource Book covers Covers (Illustration) Graphic arts Publishers and publishing Pictorial bindings Language A language of the resource eng Rights Information about rights held in and over the resource <a href="http://rightsstatements.org/page/NoC-US/1.0/?language=en">No Copyright - United States</a> Type The nature or genre of the resource Image Format The file format, physical medium, or dimensions of the resource image/jpeg Date A point or period of time associated with an event in the lifecycle of the resource 1911 Publisher An entity responsible for making the resource available Grand Valley State University. University Libraries. Lemmen Library and Archives https://digitalcollections.library.gvsu.edu/files/original/0f59327ffafa99aa1127d603f580873f.mp3 a6c6fba443f68a469fd784549b224571 https://digitalcollections.library.gvsu.edu/files/original/6d8ae6467bd6746bb1eea1a0783747a8.pdf 2c7b9a49a1092e6a9b94fb4c31d72c4a PDF Text Text The Art of Worship A Celebration of the Arts Scripture: Psalm 148; Revelation 4 Richard A. Rhem Christ Community Church Spring Lake, Michigan June 9, 2002 Transcription of the spoken sermon Some weeks ago when I knew we were going to have some especially beautiful artistic expressions in this service, I thought it would be appropriate to reflect a bit on an experience such as this where we are blessed, where we are exposed to beautiful artistic expression and to think about the art of worship. As I did that more particularly to the immediate preparation, I recognized that there is an art of worship in terms of the execution of the flow and the movement of it all. There is also the art in the worship, the concrete expressions which are the artistic gifts to the community. And so, for a few moments, think with me about the experience that we are having together about art and worship, and the art of worship. I have to give you just a brief autobiographical sketch and that is that I was an absolute cultural barbarian in my youth. Out of a very wonderful and devout home that was pious and solid and full of love and grace such that I could not wish anything else, there was a total vacuum in terms of artistic exposure. No sense of the classical in art at all. And my father was a very serious and devout elder in the church in which I grew up, a very solid, stolid, provincial, parochial church with a Dutch ethnic flavor, of good peasant stock, by and large. To my father, being a serious elder, the finest sermon was the longest sermon on the shortest text, and I will reveal to you my own sickness as a child because I used to take a little notebook along so that at Sunday dinner I could render the theme, the text, and the three points of the sermon. There were always, of course, three points. The sermon, point one, point two, point three, and the application. I always embarrassed my older sisters by being able to whip it all off, but it was three hymns, two prayers, and a sermon. I even remember as a child some grumbling when the uppity organist (I've never seen one, but they can be that, I'm told) offered some Bach in place of the old favorite hymns. After all, if the old hymns were good enough for Jesus, they were good enough for us, too. So, that is the environment out of which I came. Now, let me tell you about three experiences I had. One was about thirty-five years ago in Pittsburgh, an overnight during which I wandered downtown © Grand Valley State University �The Art of Worship Richard A. Rhem Page 2 Pittsburgh into a cathedral. I don't know what it was, Episcopal or Catholic, but it was a magnificent space. The sun was setting and the light was filtering through stained glass and the high vaulted arches, and it was a moment for me, I'm telling you about it thirty-five years later, it was the first time that I ever became aware that beauty could be the vehicle of the experience of the transcendent. It was a marked moment in my life. I didn't understand it then, but I experienced it then. It may have been because the church at which I was a pastor at the time had the ugliest sanctuary in North America. It had a flat ceiling and it was so big and when they needed more seats, they added chunk, and in order to hold up the roof, they put two metal poles in the middle of the aisle. They called them Aaron and Herr, because they upheld the arms of Moses as he was praying. It was an absolutely ugly place that was broader than it was deep, and you really had to be a good preacher to make it in that place, I'll tell you. Out of that experience I go to Pittsburgh and I have this Epiphany moment. Some years later I was at McCormick Seminary at a seminar on the Apostles Creed and the great Lutheran theologian, Joseph Sittler said, "You know, you Presbyterian Reformed types always come at it through the head, the intellect, whereas the Catholic tradition comes at it through the senses, so that there is an intuitive grasping of the present reality of God. Smell and sight and touch - all of that which is the other path to God, and perhaps it is really the only path to God because God will not be known or experienced through rational deliberation. The mind simply breaks down at the point of the experience of God, at the holy and the sacred." Well, light bulbs went on in my head. I who had been bred on the Heidelberg Catechism that says that God will not have God's people taught through stained glass windows with images and dumb idols, but rather by the lively preaching of the word, suddenly saw that there was no need to choose between the lively preaching of the word and all of the magnificence of that Catholic tradition which is so rich in its artistic and aesthetic dimension. Then, in Leiden, the Netherlands a few years after that, I was wandering alone in the city where I had spent four years, and I wandered into the Hooglandse Kerk, a great old church that had been taken over by the Reformers in the sixteenth century from the Catholic tradition, and they scrubbed it clean of every sign of Catholic idolatry. And they had recently redone the church. There were clear glass windows, whitewashed walls, stone floor, and on a huge pillar hung a pulpit which screamed out of the Reformed tradition that it's the sermon, Baby! Around that pulpit there were folding chairs and it was sterile and the starkness of the sterility struck me, and I walked up the street and went into the one Catholic church in Leiden and felt like I was entering a warm womb. There with muted light and candles flickering and the chancel regaled with brass and gold and flowers, marble and granite - all of that inviting me in, embracing me, as it were, and the contrasting experience two blocks away reminded me of my Pittsburgh experience which I remembered sharply but had not reflected upon. But the © Grand Valley State University �The Art of Worship Richard A. Rhem Page 3 McCormick Seminary experience had been cause to reflect upon. Now with understanding I allowed myself to be invited in to that sacred and holy presence that was replete with such beautiful artistic expression. What I learned and what my experience has suggested to me is that the aesthetic is the vehicle for the experience of the holy. That beauty is the wing upon which the soul sours into the presence of God in such a way that no rational discourse can ever break the soul, because the presence of God is that which hits us at the subconscious level. It hits us in the depths of the soul. It is not a mind thing and it is not a head trip, for it blows the mind, the sacred and the Holy. Beauty and artistic expression is that which invites us into that experience. As I was thinking about these things, I was reminded of an article somebody gave me some months ago, and I had not thought about it in terms of what I am talking about this morning at all, but it is the story about new vestments being introduced to St. Mary the Virgin's, an Episcopal Church on 46th Street in New York City, a half block from Times Square. They say of this church – known as "Smoky Mary's" for its liberal use of incense, the church officially described as Anglo-Catholic – that it is about as close to Rome as a Protestant church can get. Its service is intoxicatingly ornate and draws a wildly diverse congregation of New Yorkers, black and white and everything else, uptown, downtown, out of town. It goes on to talk about a young man, Patrick Bowlin, who was a dressmaker, and who captured this vocation of making vestments and is totally committed to it and delighting in it. He made these vestments at Smoky Mary's. Frank Griswold, the head Bishop of the Episcopal Church, and two deacons stand regaled in absolutely magnificent vestments, gold and yellow silk, and on and on, but the fascinating thing to me as the story went on talking about vestments in terms of that about which we are talking today, one person is quoted as saying that it represents a real return to what we call the sacramentals, and he says the bare-bones, the Bible kind of thing, is not feeding the senses, so what you see is the church trying to appeal to the senses in the best sense of the word. They realize that liturgy and vestments are a way to inflame the senses, and these make another path to God. I thought, that is exactly what I am trying to say. A worship filled with artistic expression, with appointments, space, with care given to every detail, and then to inflame the senses in order that, through inflamed senses, we might find a path to God, for I am convinced that it is the aesthetic dimension that can best introduce us to the presence of God. It is a tricky area. There are diverse people and diverse cultures and diverse religious traditions, and we are talking about style and taste, and there can be a lot of arguments about this, but I want to give a word for the kind of experience that we have cultivated here over the years and continue to cultivate. Not that it is the only way. When I watch late-night TV, I see what Harvey Cox says in his book, © Grand Valley State University �The Art of Worship Richard A. Rhem Page 4 Fire From Heaven, that Pentecostalism is sweeping the globe and when I see hands raised and eyes glazed over, people in another dimension, I have to admit that that is so foreign to me, yet I don't want to denigrate it, although I do feel somewhat like the story of the gentleman who was about three rows from the back who said, "Amen!" as the preacher was speaking. Five minutes later, another "Amen!" a little louder, and the usher came up and tapped him on the shoulder and said, "Sir," and the man said, "I've got religion!" The usher said, "You didn't get it here." Now, not to denigrate it, but to acknowledge a wide spectrum of opinion and taste and style. Nonetheless, I want to say that the aesthetic dimension can be that vehicle, that means by which the soul is lifted into the presence of God, and again, more than the intellectual discourse of the pulpit, it is the being "washed over" by that beauty, that beautiful expression in any one of its forms that allows us almost subconsciously to experience the holy and the sacred and God. Dorothee Solle, a German theologian, activist, has written a book recently about mysticism and her own quest, and she said, "I have two women friends who recently left for the Catholic Church and I don't approve of that. I don't believe anyway in these divisions among churches and why would they go to the Roman Catholic Church that says no to women, no to humane sexuality and no to intellectual freedom?” Then she says that, in the liturgy of the Catholic Church, they found God, and isn't that what we all are seeking, finally, the kind of experience that would leave us, on occasion, limp, the kind of experience that would enable us to go out, perhaps not making any rational statement about the experience, but just that something had washed over us that had renewed and restored us. I don't know, I don't want to say this in opposition to intelligent and mindful religion. The best statement of it – I have it in the insert for you; you can read it when you go home – by John Knox, the English theologian in his little Christology, where he says that symbols can lose their power sometimes because the symbol no longer grasps us with its truth claim; the truth no longer resonates in us. Then he says the heart cannot long rest in what the mind finds false. But, he goes on to say, "I'm not setting the mind and the heart over against each other, but the mind in its quest comes finally to the experience that blows the mind." It is not as though it is a bypass of the mind or the understanding. What we do here is not without intelligible design. It is just that what we are seeking here must move us beyond our mind's limits so that the mind is expanded and stretched, literally, until our minds are blown with the glory and the presence of God, and that kind of worship is more than simply fulfilling the Sunday obligation. That becomes something for which one hungers and thirsts. You can test it by whether or not in the experience of it there is a sense of human wholeness and humane existence that lodges in your soul and whether going out you are marked by the fruit of the Spirit which is love and joy © Grand Valley State University �The Art of Worship Richard A. Rhem Page 5 and peace and longsuffering and gentleness and patience and kindness. As we come together, this assembly demands artful worship full of beautiful art in order that our soul may have wings to soar into the presence where the angels chant, "Holy, Holy, Holy Lord God Almighty! Heaven and earth are full of your glory." © Grand Valley State University � Dublin Core The Dublin Core metadata element set is common to all Omeka records, including items, files, and collections. For more information see, http://dublincore.org/documents/dces/. Title A name given to the resource Richard A. Rhem Collection Description An account of the resource Text and sound recordings of the sermons, prayers, services, and articles of Richard Rhem, pastor emeritus of Christ Community Church in Spring Lake, Michigan, where he served for 37 years. Starting in the mid 1980's, Rhem began to question some of the traditional Christian dogma that he had been espousing from the pulpit. That questioning was a first step in a long and interesting spiritual journey, one that he openly shared with his congregation. His journey is important, in part because it is reflective of the questioning, the yearnings, and the gradual revision of beliefs that many persons in this part of the century have experienced and continue to experience. It is important also because of the affirming and inclusive way his questioning was done and his thinking evolved. His sermons and other written and spoken materials together document the steps in his journey as it took a turn in 1985, yet continued to revolve around the framework and liturgies of the Christian calendar. Subject The topic of the resource Clergy--Michigan Reformed Church in America Christ Community Church (Spring Lake, Mich.) Religion Interfaith worship Sermons Sound Recordings Creator An entity primarily responsible for making the resource Rhem, Richard A. Source A related resource from which the described resource is derived <a href="https://gvsu.lyrasistechnology.org/repositories/2/resources/514">Richard A. Rhem papers (KII-01)</a> Publisher An entity responsible for making the resource available Grand Valley State University. University Libraries. Special Collections & University Archives. Contributor An entity responsible for making contributions to the resource Kaufman Interfaith Institute Rights Information about rights held in and over the resource <a href="http://rightsstatements.org/page/InC/1.0/?language=en">In Copyright</a> Language A language of the resource English Type The nature or genre of the resource Sound Text Identifier An unambiguous reference to the resource within a given context KII-01 Coverage The spatial or temporal topic of the resource, the spatial applicability of the resource, or the jurisdiction under which the resource is relevant 1981-2014 Format The file format, physical medium, or dimensions of the resource audio/mp3 text/pdf Sound A resource primarily intended to be heard. Examples include a music playback file format, an audio compact disc, and recorded speech or sounds. Event Pentecost III Scripture Text Psalm 148, Revelation 4 Location The location of the interview Christ Community Church, Spring Lake, MI Dublin Core The Dublin Core metadata element set is common to all Omeka records, including items, files, and collections. For more information see, http://dublincore.org/documents/dces/. Identifier An unambiguous reference to the resource within a given context KII-01_RA-0-20020609 Date A point or period of time associated with an event in the lifecycle of the resource 2002-06-09 Title A name given to the resource The Art of Worship Creator An entity primarily responsible for making the resource Richard A. Rhem Rights Information about rights held in and over the resource <a href="http://rightsstatements.org/page/InC/1.0/?language=en">In Copyright</a> Subject The topic of the resource Clergy--Michigan Reformed Church in America Christ Community Church (Spring Lake, Mich.) Sermons Relation A related resource Richard A. Rhem - An Archive of Sermons, Prayers, Talks and Stories: http://richardrhem.org/ Language A language of the resource eng Type The nature or genre of the resource Sound Text Format The file format, physical medium, or dimensions of the resource audio/mp3 application/pdf Description An account of the resource A sermon given by Richard A. Rhem (Dick) on June 9, 2002 entitled "The Art of Worship", on the occasion of Pentecost III, at Christ Community Church, Spring Lake, MI. Scripture references: Psalm 148, Revelation 4. Publisher An entity responsible for making the resource available Grand Valley State University. University Libraries. Lemmen Library and Archives Experience of the sacred Worship https://digitalcollections.library.gvsu.edu/files/original/48a10e4425d7e5d3c76df410a653b190.jpg 4365fd78da2d86037b8449088f28056e Dublin Core The Dublin Core metadata element set is common to all Omeka records, including items, files, and collections. For more information see, http://dublincore.org/documents/dces/. Title A name given to the resource Decorated Publishers' Bindings Subject The topic of the resource Book covers Covers (Illustration) Graphic arts Publishers and publishing Pictorial bindings Description An account of the resource From the early 1870s to roughly 1930, many publishers issued their commercial book covers with a remarkable variety of graphic designs and illustrations. This sixty-year period saw many artists and designers contributing to this art form. While some can be identified from their style or initials, others remain unknown. Source A related resource from which the described resource is derived Seidman Rare Books Collection Michigan Novels Collection Regional Historical Collection Lincoln and the Civil War Collection Publisher An entity responsible for making the resource available Grand Valley State University. University Libraries. Special Collections & University Archives Date A point or period of time associated with an event in the lifecycle of the resource 2017-08-30 Rights Information about rights held in and over the resource <a href="http://rightsstatements.org/page/InC/1.0/?language=en">In Copyright</a>, <a href="http://rightsstatements.org/page/NoC-US/1.0/?language=en">No Copyright - United States</a> Format The file format, physical medium, or dimensions of the resource image/jpg Language A language of the resource eng Type The nature or genre of the resource Image Identifier An unambiguous reference to the resource within a given context DC-01 Still Image A static visual representation. Examples include paintings, drawings, graphic designs, plans and maps. Recommended best practice is to assign the type Text to images of textual materials. Source Seidman Rare Books. PS2927 .A85 1899 Dublin Core The Dublin Core metadata element set is common to all Omeka records, including items, files, and collections. For more information see, http://dublincore.org/documents/dces/. Identifier An unambiguous reference to the resource within a given context DC-01_Bindings0414 Title A name given to the resource The Associate Hermits Description An account of the resource Binding of The Associate Hermits, by Frank R. Stockton, published by Harper & Brothers Publishers, 1899. Subject The topic of the resource Book covers Covers (Illustration) Graphic arts Publishers and publishing Pictorial bindings Language A language of the resource eng Rights Information about rights held in and over the resource <a href="http://rightsstatements.org/page/NoC-US/1.0/?language=en">No Copyright - United States</a> Type The nature or genre of the resource Image Format The file format, physical medium, or dimensions of the resource image/jpeg Date A point or period of time associated with an event in the lifecycle of the resource 1899 Publisher An entity responsible for making the resource available Grand Valley State University. University Libraries. Lemmen Library and Archives https://digitalcollections.library.gvsu.edu/files/original/25ea1e23df5ccb6aed633bb4bedf0ca4.pdf 78e337632ca6ed39b6157d6fadb91b44 PDF Text Text The Awe of Worship From the series: The Church: Human Community Text: Isaiah 6:1, 3; Revelation 5:13 Richard A. Rhem Christ Community Church Spring Lake, Michigan November 15, 1998 Transcription of the spoken sermon I was thinking about a statement that Paul made in a discussion in his first letter to the Corinthians as I was thinking about the theme of today’s worship. It has nothing to do with the theme, actually, but rather, with some domestic matters that he was dealing with in the congregation at Corinth, and at one point he said, "Now, as to thus and so, I have no commands from the Lord, but my opinion is, as one who is faithful and trustworthy, ..." That statement from Paul, when I was being educated into an understanding of scripture and how to interpret it, was claimed to be the inspired word of God as much as anything else Paul wrote, because, after all, Paul wrote it and it’s in the Bible. The inspiration of the scripture - that’s a theological doctrine. But, as a matter of fact, I don’t believe that anymore. I want to take the words at face value. What Paul was saying is, on this issue, I don’t really have a clear word from the Lord. Paul certainly was not conscious in writing the letter to the church at Corinth that he was writing what would be considered scripture by the church, subsequently, although, certainly he had a sense of authority, apostolic authority, and I think what he was saying in this case is there are some things about which I am very certain are reflective of the intention of God, but in this case, I don’t know, but let me give you my opinion. That’s what I want to do with you today. Of course, I’m always preaching my opinion. But, it is an understanding or interpretation of a text or a theological doctrine or something. But, today, not so much so. I have certainly biblical text and a biblical basis for what I’m going to say, but I want to say up front that what I’m going to speak about, the congregation, the Church, the human community in worship, involves an opinion on my part. It involves a choice that I have made. The way we worship at Christ Community is a deliberate and intentional choice. There are assemblies all over the globe today in this hour worshiping God in all kinds of settings, using all kinds of liturgy or non-liturgy, in all kinds of feel, mood, mode, posture, and the way any community of faith worships is a deliberate and intentional choice of that community of faith. At least, it is here. In some communities of faith it may just be what has been done forever and forever © Grand Valley State University   �Awe of Worship Richard A. Rhem Page 2   and forever. It seems that that was the way it was when I was a kid. Three hymns, two prayers and a long sermon. And I don’t know that anyone ever thought about it. But, at Christ Community, we have been very intentional about the way we worship, and I want to talk about that this morning. I want to say again, up front, not as some word from the Lord, but as some intentional, deliberate choice on our part, and so, think with me about the action in which we are presently engaged, the action of worship. Now, I’ve already tilted my hand by the very title of the message, "The Awe of Worship." Awe, a little three-letter word, but it carries a wallop. If you would look it up in the dictionary, you’d find that it comes from a Greek word, achos, which is defined as fear, and you might find the word "dread" in there, and you might find the word "reverence" and "respect." The Awe of Worship is an attempt to point to that which marks our worship, that gives it its characteristic mark, its mode and mood. It is awe. Now, not fear in the sense of being afraid, but fear in the sense of reverence and deep respect. The classic study of the religious experience of worship, indeed, of the religious experience itself, was done by a German scholar who died in 1937, Rudolf Otto, and his book is entitled, in English, The Idea of the Holy. And he was one of the pioneers in the study of comparative religions and he went around the world tasting, experiencing, analyzing the religious experience of the human family, and he found that at the core was this sense of awe, that there is a deep address to the inner being of the person, there is a feeling which is a knowing, but a "knowing" in quotation marks because it is not a rational knowing, it is supra-rational. It is beyond the ability, intellectually, to analyze. It is a feeling; it is an experience deep, deep down. He speaks about the Holy, or God, using a word he coins from a Latin word, numen. Numen, in Roman mythology, was the presiding spirit or divinity, and Rudolf Otto, then, in order to coin a new word, to catch attention, and to try to say something in a fresh way, talks about the numenus, which is really God. It’s the Mystery, however you want to speak of it. But, he noted that universally there is this human experience of the numenus, of the Mystery, and he used another Latin phrase, a mysterium tremendum, and you can hear the English word "mystery" and "tremendous." Rather crassly, a tremendous mystery. But, mysterium tremendum has that kind of sense about it of mystery. Rudolf Otto says that the experience to which we are trying to point this morning, that which is universally at the core of the human experience of God which is evoked in worship, which arises, is a feeling that is beyond explanation. An encounter with the Mystery who is unapproachable. Maybe it sounds like so much gobbledygook, but I’m trying to speak reasonably, rationally, understandably about a Mystery that cannot be spoken about reasonably, understandably. But, I think you know what I mean. I think you have all, at one time or another, felt it, experienced it; you’ve known it. And Rudolf Otto says, interestingly enough, that that universal human experience, the awe of that awesomeness beyond our ability to articulate, is that which has with it the © Grand Valley State University �Awe of Worship Richard A. Rhem Page 3   sense of fear or dread or reverence or respect that almost repels us and, at the same time, draws us, allures us. There is that ironic tension within us; we are drawn like a moth to the flame and yet, it is a fearsome, an overwhelming kind of moment and experience. That’s the awe of worship. And, at Christ Community, we have made a deliberate choice and with intention seek to create the possibility of that awe happening. All we can do is build the container. Whether the fire happens or not, whether there is anything evoked in us or not is not at our command or our disposal. That is the mystery of the Mystery. But, I think you know that we are very intentional and deliberate about the way we worship, about the mood and the mode and the posture and the spirit and the feel of this hour. I’ll spend probably three hours tonight on next Sunday morning. I have the pieces from Mr. Bryson, I know what music will be involved and whether there’ll be dance or whatever, and then I will simply live into that experience, trying to weave it together in such a way that it has a certain flow, a certain naturalness. After that, I’m helpless. Then we can execute it. Then we stand waiting, praying, hoping, longing for the experience which is beyond our control or ability to manipulate. That’s how it is here, and in making that intentional choice, we have expressed an opinion that that is worship and (this is a value judgment that I’m going to say anyway), that is worship at its highest and its best. It certainly is consistent with the biblical experiences of worship that we have, for example, Isaiah’s experience. "It was in the year that King Hosiah died." Was it a crisis for the nation? Was it a personal loss for Isaiah? Was it a grief that fell over, like on the day when Kennedy was assassinated? Was it a crisis of the nation as to whether or not Iraq will finally provoke us to war? Anyway, it was in the year that King Hosiah died that Isaiah went into the temple and suddenly the foundations were shaking and the whole temple was filled with smoke, and seraphic beings were everywhere, crying out, "Holy, Holy, Holy is the Lord God Almighty. Heaven and earth is filled with God’s glory." Did you just get a goose bump? I did. And Isaiah felt his utter creatureliness, his lostness, his dependence, total dependence, and he heard a voice, and he said, "I’m unclean." The angel took a coal from off the altar and touched his lips and said, "You’re cleansed." And, being cleansed and graced, he was called and commissioned. It was an experience of deep mystery. The prophet’s life was changed in the encounter with the Holy, whatever that may be. Or, the worship in heaven, before living creatures, the elders, bowls of incense, the prayers of people symbolized in the bowls of incense. The adoration of the Lamb that was slain. And again, that chorus of myriads and myriads and thousands and thousands of angels with a loud voice saying, "Worthy is the Lamb to receive honor and power and glory and wisdom and might, now and forever," and they fell down and they worshiped and they cried, "Amen, so let it be." © Grand Valley State University �Awe of Worship Richard A. Rhem Page 4   Now, it would be a travesty to try and define the pieces of that picture. It’s a picture. It is a scene painted for us that we can feel, we can enter into, even if slightly, and we know some of it ourselves because we have felt our insides quiver. We, too, have now and again, here and there, we have known that out of ourselves and beyond ourselves we were in touch with something that was embracing us and holding us and gracing us, confronting us, lifting us. We speak of being wrapped in worship, our spirits inspired, uplifted into the Holy of Holies. Now and again, here and there, thank God, we do sometimes taste the eternal in the midst of our time, and if it is to happen, it will most likely happen where we come seeking it and where the very environment and the hour is so structured that it just might happen again. In making that choice, we are making a deliberate, intentional choice, and we are swimming against the stream. You know that, don’t you? And I don’t want you to hear me this morning as being critical or condemning, because as I said early on, I’m expressing an opinion and there are all sorts of assemblies and all sorts of modes and moods of worship, and I do suppose that, just as I’m saying that which we try to create registers in the depths of our being, that there are those who find something registered in their being through an entirely different way. On the other hand, I want to say a word about the way we worship in contrast to that which is sweeping the landscape in our day. I would call it worship as entertainment. The organ is out; praise bands are in; choruses whose words generally lack any aesthetic value cast up on a screen to be repeated over and over again, which certainly does touch something and move something. It touches the emotion, somehow or other. Nothing against those things. I love an old-fashioned hymn sing or a Christmas carol sing. I love to gather around the piano when Mr. Bryson is playing and sing my lungs out before I lost my voice. But, now, I’m talking about that holy moment in the week, this moment, and I want to suggest to you that sacred space is so terribly important. I had the opportunity last week, as many of you know, to preach in the Fountain Street Church in Grand Rapids and to walk into that grand cathedral is to have one’s breath taken away. The magnificent stained glass windows, the vaulting architecture, the space itself lifts one’s soul. You cannot help but be still, silent, tranquil, peaceful in that sacred space. And this far humbler space, yet beautiful, carefully appointed with form and fabric, in order to address that below or above your rational faculties, that intuitive sense you have to touch that aesthetic dimension of your life - I didn’t know anything about that growing up. I didn’t know how to worship; as I said, three hymns, two prayers and a long sermon and we were finally out of there. There was no sense of mystery or awe; there was no wrapping in the warm womb of fabric and smell and feel and touch. I didn’t even understand it graduating from seminary. I suppose because, being in the Reformed tradition, we were still 500 years later reacting against the mystery of worship so magnificently captured still in the Roman Catholic church or the Greek Orthodox, Russian Orthodox church, and the Jewish temple. I had to learn it all from scratch. But, having learned it, having come to experience it and © Grand Valley State University �Awe of Worship Richard A. Rhem Page 5   appreciate it, I am determined that it will prevail here over against that trend, that contemporary trend in which mega-churches are growing by leaps and bounds on such a diet. I’m expressing an opinion and I’m an old fossil, and I don’t have a very open mind on this question, and so you’re probably stuck with the way it is as long as you’re stuck with me. And I acknowledge that it’s a deliberate, intentional choice, but I would say that it is that medium that has the greatest possibility of reaching into your inner being and leaving you speechless, full of wonder, lost in praise. My critical question to the contemporary trend, worship as entertainment, is: Can that medium bear the experience? Can the transcendent, the Awesome One find as a vehicle for encounter the chatty, casual, informal gathering of folks? That’s a serious question. I raise it here, there, other places. I’m a minority voice. I have had many say to me, "Oh, yes, it can. The Transcendent, the Holy One can be mediated through any vehicle, any medium." I’m not so sure. There is a little song that I’ve heard a time or two. I do not know the words, I could not sing the tune, but I know the title, and the title is "Our God is Awesome." And, I mean, it really gets goin’, it’s "Our God is awesome, our God is awesome!" And I want to say, "Come on, sit down, quiet down, be silent. Stop! For, what you’re singing about is denied by the manner and the mode in which you sing! There are times to sing and dance before the Lord. But, when I talk, when I think, when I open myself to the awesomeness of God, then I shouldn’t be hopping around like a Jiminy Cricket. So, that’s what you’re stuck with. So, how do you come? Open, open of mind, open of heart, senses tingling with anticipation. Obviously, then, prayerful, alert, aware of sights and sounds and the words and the music and the way the tapestry weaves together and flows and moves, and ready, then, to be moved along in a spirit of praise and adoration, engaging with the exposition, arguing with it, sorting it through, finding that upon which to contemplate, meditate, think, but all of it an honest opening of one’s life to the Holy, to the possibility, here and now, even now the heavens might open and angels appear, in word and music, in sight and sound, in the smoke of incense - all of it, all of it the accouterments brought together in order to create the occasion in which it just might happen. And, isn’t it grand? Isn’t it grand to be here in a place like this, a space like this, with people like this, a community, a human community, the Church, in worship, where the liturgy holds up the whole of life into the presence of God, where the newborn are baptized and those who died are given the final blessing, where young couples are united in marriage and young people are heard to stand and say, "I believe," and where we have vision clarified, where we are confronted honestly with ourselves and our flaws and failings, where we hear a word of grace, where our deepest concerns can be laid bare, where we can be embraced, where we can sing our hearts out, where our souls can be released to dancing, where we can have that fully, totally human experience of the Holy Other, full of grace. My God, I love it! © Grand Valley State University � https://digitalcollections.library.gvsu.edu/files/original/45c779fe3b58b2a5dd1b5eba7aecdd37.mp3 cee2c629671cd9b5cd9a7382b1c9daa3 Dublin Core The Dublin Core metadata element set is common to all Omeka records, including items, files, and collections. For more information see, http://dublincore.org/documents/dces/. Title A name given to the resource Richard A. Rhem Collection Description An account of the resource Text and sound recordings of the sermons, prayers, services, and articles of Richard Rhem, pastor emeritus of Christ Community Church in Spring Lake, Michigan, where he served for 37 years. Starting in the mid 1980's, Rhem began to question some of the traditional Christian dogma that he had been espousing from the pulpit. That questioning was a first step in a long and interesting spiritual journey, one that he openly shared with his congregation. His journey is important, in part because it is reflective of the questioning, the yearnings, and the gradual revision of beliefs that many persons in this part of the century have experienced and continue to experience. It is important also because of the affirming and inclusive way his questioning was done and his thinking evolved. His sermons and other written and spoken materials together document the steps in his journey as it took a turn in 1985, yet continued to revolve around the framework and liturgies of the Christian calendar. Subject The topic of the resource Clergy--Michigan Reformed Church in America Christ Community Church (Spring Lake, Mich.) Religion Interfaith worship Sermons Sound Recordings Creator An entity primarily responsible for making the resource Rhem, Richard A. Source A related resource from which the described resource is derived <a href="https://gvsu.lyrasistechnology.org/repositories/2/resources/514">Richard A. Rhem papers (KII-01)</a> Publisher An entity responsible for making the resource available Grand Valley State University. University Libraries. Special Collections & University Archives. Contributor An entity responsible for making contributions to the resource Kaufman Interfaith Institute Rights Information about rights held in and over the resource <a href="http://rightsstatements.org/page/InC/1.0/?language=en">In Copyright</a> Language A language of the resource English Type The nature or genre of the resource Sound Text Identifier An unambiguous reference to the resource within a given context KII-01 Coverage The spatial or temporal topic of the resource, the spatial applicability of the resource, or the jurisdiction under which the resource is relevant 1981-2014 Format The file format, physical medium, or dimensions of the resource audio/mp3 text/pdf Sound A resource primarily intended to be heard. Examples include a music playback file format, an audio compact disc, and recorded speech or sounds. Event Pentecost XXIV Series The Church: Human Community Scripture Text Isaiah 6:1,3, Revelation 5:13 Location The location of the interview Christ Community Church, Spring Lake, MI Dublin Core The Dublin Core metadata element set is common to all Omeka records, including items, files, and collections. For more information see, http://dublincore.org/documents/dces/. Identifier An unambiguous reference to the resource within a given context KII-01_RA-0-19981115 Date A point or period of time associated with an event in the lifecycle of the resource 1998-11-15 Title A name given to the resource The Awe of Worship Creator An entity primarily responsible for making the resource Richard A. Rhem Publisher An entity responsible for making the resource available Grand Valley State University Rights Information about rights held in and over the resource <a href="http://rightsstatements.org/page/InC/1.0/?language=en">In Copyright</a> Subject The topic of the resource Clergy--Michigan Reformed Church in America Christ Community Church (Spring Lake, Mich.) Sermons Relation A related resource Richard A. Rhem - An Archive of Sermons, Prayers, Talks and Stories: http://richardrhem.org/ Language A language of the resource eng Type The nature or genre of the resource Text Sound Format The file format, physical medium, or dimensions of the resource audio/mp3 application/pdf Description An account of the resource A sermon given by Richard A. Rhem (Dick) on November 15, 1998 entitled "The Awe of Worship", as part of the series "The Church: Human Community", on the occasion of Pentecost XXIV, at Christ Community Church, Spring Lake, MI. Scripture references: Isaiah 6:1,3, Revelation 5:13. Awe Community of Faith Divine Mystery Worship https://digitalcollections.library.gvsu.edu/files/original/a175db7213273a60e5127d2c88be8711.jpg 8efd4b18beca21a76ede5ad6bc24eea0 Dublin Core The Dublin Core metadata element set is common to all Omeka records, including items, files, and collections. For more information see, http://dublincore.org/documents/dces/. Title A name given to the resource Decorated Publishers' Bindings Subject The topic of the resource Book covers Covers (Illustration) Graphic arts Publishers and publishing Pictorial bindings Description An account of the resource From the early 1870s to roughly 1930, many publishers issued their commercial book covers with a remarkable variety of graphic designs and illustrations. This sixty-year period saw many artists and designers contributing to this art form. While some can be identified from their style or initials, others remain unknown. Source A related resource from which the described resource is derived Seidman Rare Books Collection Michigan Novels Collection Regional Historical Collection Lincoln and the Civil War Collection Publisher An entity responsible for making the resource available Grand Valley State University. University Libraries. Special Collections & University Archives Date A point or period of time associated with an event in the lifecycle of the resource 2017-08-30 Rights Information about rights held in and over the resource <a href="http://rightsstatements.org/page/InC/1.0/?language=en">In Copyright</a>, <a href="http://rightsstatements.org/page/NoC-US/1.0/?language=en">No Copyright - United States</a> Format The file format, physical medium, or dimensions of the resource image/jpg Language A language of the resource eng Type The nature or genre of the resource Image Identifier An unambiguous reference to the resource within a given context DC-01 Still Image A static visual representation. Examples include paintings, drawings, graphic designs, plans and maps. Recommended best practice is to assign the type Text to images of textual materials. Source Seidman Rare Books. PS3545.E362 B36 1900 Dublin Core The Dublin Core metadata element set is common to all Omeka records, including items, files, and collections. For more information see, http://dublincore.org/documents/dces/. Identifier An unambiguous reference to the resource within a given context DC-01_Bindings0241 Title A name given to the resource The Banker and the Bear Creator An entity primarily responsible for making the resource CX (Designer) Description An account of the resource Binding of The Banker and the Bear, by Henry Kitchell Webster, published by The Macmillan Company, 1900. Subject The topic of the resource Book covers Covers (Illustration) Graphic arts Publishers and publishing Pictorial bindings Language A language of the resource eng Rights Information about rights held in and over the resource <a href="http://rightsstatements.org/page/NoC-US/1.0/?language=en">No Copyright - United States</a> Type The nature or genre of the resource Image Format The file format, physical medium, or dimensions of the resource image/jpeg Date A point or period of time associated with an event in the lifecycle of the resource 1900 Publisher An entity responsible for making the resource available Grand Valley State University. University Libraries. Lemmen Library and Archives https://digitalcollections.library.gvsu.edu/files/original/e825ac2d2acee42a18e5503ec23f6e74.jpg c5f0f81a297581ba165ea76b29649491 Dublin Core The Dublin Core metadata element set is common to all Omeka records, including items, files, and collections. For more information see, http://dublincore.org/documents/dces/. Title A name given to the resource Decorated Publishers' Bindings Subject The topic of the resource Book covers Covers (Illustration) Graphic arts Publishers and publishing Pictorial bindings Description An account of the resource From the early 1870s to roughly 1930, many publishers issued their commercial book covers with a remarkable variety of graphic designs and illustrations. This sixty-year period saw many artists and designers contributing to this art form. While some can be identified from their style or initials, others remain unknown. Source A related resource from which the described resource is derived Seidman Rare Books Collection Michigan Novels Collection Regional Historical Collection Lincoln and the Civil War Collection Publisher An entity responsible for making the resource available Grand Valley State University. University Libraries. Special Collections & University Archives Date A point or period of time associated with an event in the lifecycle of the resource 2017-08-30 Rights Information about rights held in and over the resource <a href="http://rightsstatements.org/page/InC/1.0/?language=en">In Copyright</a>, <a href="http://rightsstatements.org/page/NoC-US/1.0/?language=en">No Copyright - United States</a> Format The file format, physical medium, or dimensions of the resource image/jpg Language A language of the resource eng Type The nature or genre of the resource Image Identifier An unambiguous reference to the resource within a given context DC-01 Still Image A static visual representation. Examples include paintings, drawings, graphic designs, plans and maps. Recommended best practice is to assign the type Text to images of textual materials. Source Regional Historical Collection. PS3503.E1135 B37 1908 Dublin Core The Dublin Core metadata element set is common to all Omeka records, including items, files, and collections. For more information see, http://dublincore.org/documents/dces/. Identifier An unambiguous reference to the resource within a given context DC-01_Bindings0068 Title A name given to the resource The Barrier: A Novel Creator An entity primarily responsible for making the resource Stuart, Bertha (Designer) Description An account of the resource Binding of The Barrier: A Novel, by Rex Beach, published by Harper & Bros., 1908. Subject The topic of the resource Book covers Covers (Illustration) Graphic arts Publishers and publishing Pictorial bindings Language A language of the resource eng Rights Information about rights held in and over the resource <a href="http://rightsstatements.org/page/NoC-US/1.0/?language=en">No Copyright - United States</a> Type The nature or genre of the resource Image Format The file format, physical medium, or dimensions of the resource image/jpeg Date A point or period of time associated with an event in the lifecycle of the resource 1908 Publisher An entity responsible for making the resource available Grand Valley State University. University Libraries. Lemmen Library and Archives https://digitalcollections.library.gvsu.edu/files/original/2aa431081619cbe179dd13ec71beb3d8.pdf bff545e0209adaa8a2bc02a2a3f266d4 PDF Text Text z cc ...I A. = ~ I- en cc :i: > 1- - ( .) > cc m LI.I = IFROM THE LIBRARY QFi Plannlng & Zonlng Center, Inc. �e11 THE BAY CITY MASTER PLAN �CI TY 0F MAS T E R B AY CI TY P L A. N PREPARED BY CITY OF BAY CITY PLANNING DEPARTMENT 301 WASHINGTON AVENUE BAY CI TY, r1 I CH I GAN �:. - ,·- · -. -,. CITY OF BAY CITY /\11t1P. R. llachtel, Mayor CITY COMMISSION Ti111othy G. Sullivan Ward W. VanDerwi 11 , I I l<obed Moehr i e Dr~I ores M. Ludwig l<i ctiard J. Laskowski Michael l.l . Marti11dc1lr l llo111a c, /\. 13a i ,·d Terr y Sutter ,loll11 M. llc1rt111a11 rLANNING COMMISSION Mark Zunolti Gerald E. Carroll Vincent Duranceau Wi 11 i am J. Grundner ?u nr Lurive CITY STAFF Eell' l Ki v i s to , Ci t y P1 a11 n e rRu c; sel l Lundberg, /\ssista11t Planner I( 1: . McGi 11 ivr-ay, Dhector of Community Development /\l McFudyen, Director of Redevelop111ent & Housing Services llonuld lleffelbower, City Engineer \Ii 11 ic1111 \fright, Dit-ectni- of Dovmtown Development Authol'ity �• CITY PLANNING COMMISSION 3111 N . Wi\S!IIIJ1;1 ,, r, ., vr CITY OF BAY CITY BAY CII/ MI CHIGAN 48 706 /\pril, 19112 H1: CITI7ENS OF BAY CITY /\ND ALL OTHERS INTERESTED Itl /\ GETTER CITY Ifl vii I I Cl! TO LI VE AND WORK 1hr c1ttached Master rla11 is the officially adopted long-range comprehensive plan used by the Bay City Planning Co1rnnission as their general guide in making land use, transpnl'lc1tion, and c0t11111unit_y ft1cilities decisions. Thi s plan i s based on The Bay City Plan prepared for the City by Gerald Luedtke and /\:,sociatr.s . A large 11u111ber of the "Luedtke" plans were printed and distributed throughout the City. flu111erous meetings and discussion s were held on the Luedtke plan. Se veral changes were suggested. Many of these changes are incorporated in the attached Master Plan whict1 we fee l now represents what most people want our City to be like in tl1r~ future. It is the rlanning Comrnission's intent to up-date this plan every five years to reflect changes in values, technology and socio-economic conditions. Your comments on ways to improv e thi s plan a1 ·e v1clcome. Pr' ~ p e c t f u 11y s ubm i t t ecl , 1\/\Y CllY PL/\NNIMG COMMISSIOM r-1,ll'k 7 annl l i r I1.1 i 1·111 il 11 r-11 / q_j l1 �! W 1 • : • 1- 1W 1 FOREW/\RD Tl1e Bay City Plan sets for·th recommendations for public and private development during the next 20 years. The plan is concerned with the physical, economic, social, and aesthetic development and improvement of the city. The plan was prepured through intensive discussions with community organizations and individual citizens throughout Bay City during the past year. This is a bold plan. Bay City is an older city which needs such a bold plan with innovative and farreaching ideas if it is to remain viable and to grow. As this plan is implemented through the years, it will be revised and changed many times; but the basic ideas upon which the plan is founded should remain valid for several decades. This plan should serve as a challenge to the leaders of Bay City to seek the highest quality of future development in the city. �·r/\BLE OF CONTENTS P/\GE LI ST OF ILLUSTRATION S f 1 L/\NNING DETERMINANT S l1L/\NN I NG ) SSUES i i 1 6 POLICIES OF THE PLAN lS CONSERVATION OF EXI STING NEIGHBORHOODS 21 llEw Hous I NG DEVELOrMErn 27 n1vERFRONT REDEVELOPMENT STRATEGY 35 [oMMERCIAL DEVELOPMENT 4fJ ll! GH-/\ccESSIBILITY DEVELOPMENT AREAS 47 INDUSTRIAL DEVELOPMENT 11~ OPEN SPACE 54 IIIOROUGHF/\RE SYSTEM 57 STRATEGY FOR ELIMINATION OF INCOMPATIBLE LAND USES 62 THE QUALITY OF LIFE 65 APPENDIX A - LIST OF SUB-AREA AND SPECIAL PURPOSE PLANS 69 �LIST OF ILLUSTRATIONS PAGE GENERALIZED EXISTING LAND UsE 7 UrrnERUT I LI ZED AREAS 9 AREAS IN TRANSITION RESIDENTIAL AREAS 12 7-5 30 RIVERFRONT REDEVELOPMENT AREAS 38 COMMERCIAL AREAS 43 48 50 55 5g 63 68 NEIGHBORHOOD PLANNING AREAS IIIGH ACCESSIBILITY DEVELOPMENT AREAS INDUSTRIAL AREAS OrEN SPACE AREAS MAJOR THOROUGHFARES INCOMPATIBLE LAND USES /\E STHET I CALLY DISPLEASING FuruRE LAND UsE PLAN INSIDE BACK COVER I I �rLAtlt~ I NG DETERn I N/\N rs IIISTORICAL DEVELOPME!Jr Bdween lB36 and 1864, live sepat·ate conununities were e s tablished within the present r.oq1orat.e li111its of 13ay Cily. l1 01·ts111outh and Lower Saginil\'i were platted on the east bank of the Saginr1w !<ive1· in 1836 and 1837, respectively. 13angor, Salzburg and Lake City were platted on Lite 1-1r.st bank in 1851, 1862, and 1864, respectively. lite econo1ny of all five co111111unities was based on the rich forest of the Saginaw Valley. Locations along the river near the Saginaw Bay were ideal for milling and shipping lu111ber, and the Saginaw Valley rrovided plenty of lu111ber. The Pioneer Directory of 18fi8 claimed tltat the St1ginaw tract was probably the most extensive and invaluable in the wot ·ld. The f1irecto1·y reported that the Saginaw tract covered thousands of acres and contained enouqh high-quality timber to provide an abundant supply for several generations. By 1868, there were at least 32 sa~11ills operating in Bay County, 11,w; t. 1"Jithi11 the r1rrt1 1·1hicl1 is nov1 Bay City. fhe 111ost dramr1tic grm·1th in the area which vias to beco111e Bay City occurred between 1860 and 1884 when the population increased from approximr1tely 1,600 to approximately 39,000. Only t1-10 other citir. s i11 the United States grew at a fiisler rate during that generation. Lu111beri11g and milling spurred many related industries. Wooden products from pails to st1iling ships were manufactured. Iron and steel mills viere established to supply boilers ,rnd other machinery for the sa~nills. Brine from wells was used to produce salt; wood was burned to evaporate water from the brine. Most 1,iood-related industries were located along the banks of the Saginaw River. They occupied relatively small sites in comparison to some 111odern industrirs, but the riverfront industrial pattern they established remains today. Population growth and thr. burgeoning lumber economy resulted in adjustments in local political boundaries. !11 1857, the state legislature created Bay County out of Arenac, �Midland, and Saginaw Counti <'s . Port smouth and Lower Saginaw united under the name of Bay City in 1857 . In 1877 , Ba nks (formerly Bangor), Wenona (formerly Lake City), and Salzburg, united under th e na111r o f We s t Bay City. In 186 5 , the Third Street Bridge was con s tructed across the Saginaw River . Before 1900, three other bridges spanned the river. Bay City and West Bay Cit v forined an integrated unit v1hich was politically unifi ed as the Ci t v of Bc1 y 1. it y i11 Flf11'.i _ . .., ? �• Bay City's lu111brring crc1 v1.i -, QVet- llefore the turn of l11e ce ntury. The Saginaw Valley c leared and atte111pl r; t_,, 111i 11 lu111her from the Upp e r Peninsula were unsuccessful. Mi 11 operation s c l osed, ,1s did 111an y other indu s tries IJased on the lumber economy. llmvevei-, so111e inclustri ec; r; 111viv ecl by adjusting to new conditions. During the late lU00' s and ea1·ly 1900' s, '; liipliuildin'.], construction, and industrial equipment 111anufr1 c t11r-ing and other 11ew i11d11 s trie s 1-1ere established. Th es e new industries became i111porti1nt co111ponr11t c; of !1,1v Cit y ' s t1-1entieth century Pc ono111y. 1-1 ,Js r'orUU\T I ON ·111 1010, Bay City had a 11o~•ulation of over 45,000 people. Fifty years later, the U. S. Ce ns us r 0c ord ed El ay Cit y 's lai-gest population, 53,604. Since then, Bay City has e '< per iencerl a dec l in r i11 population. The 1970 Census enumerated about 49,500 residents, a clr cr-eilc;e o f over ~,00 0 fro111 1%0 . Census 13ureau preliminary 1980 total population for B,i y Cit y i s 41, 59'.1, a dr~c i-eil c;e of i1l111ost 8,000 people. lhP large drop in total popula1 i1111 is p1· i111,wi l y ,1f.trili11trrl fr J "r. lii· inking" family s i ze. 1 Subtle. hut i111po r·ti1 11t c lic111 •1rs in tli r age s tructure of B,1y City's population have been LakiWJ plt1ce durinq recr•1it: dPc ,Hl rs. The most imrortant change is the decline in the pt-opo t-tion o f re c; ide11ts in t.l1P higlily produ c tive 30 to 49 years old age group. In 1960, p(' r so ns 30 to 49 ye,1r s old r ep 1·r'sentccl ?.4.9 percent of tile city's population. In 1970, they rep t·esented 20.2 pri ce 11t. Mo st of thi s decline can be attributed to outmigration. 13ay City residents 1-1ho 1;1e1·p hetv1r:en 30 and 49 years old in 1970 were between 20 and 39 yrMs old in 19611 . In 191,0, rlJ y City had 11,400 residents between 20 and 39 years old. Tr n ycilrs l at er, 13ay City had only 10,000 residents between 30 and 49 years old. Thus, t Ii e re wa s a 1q pe t' c e n t. cl r c I i ne i n the s i z e o f t h i s a ge g ro u p . 0 b s e r ve rs o f pop u 1a t i on c ha11g es s inc e 1970 believe that out.migration has continurd to reduce the proportion of rt1y City's pnpulr1tion i11 tfir, Jn t.o 4g ye,-=ir old grnup. ·, �~~~-~~~~~-~--~~~~~~ [coNOMY Motor vehicle manufacturing is even more important to Bay City than to the State of Michigan as a whole. llo1-1ever, Bay City is less dependent on manufacturing activities in generr1l than is Michigan. Michigan Employment Security Commission data for 1976 indicate that all 111anufi1cturing activities provided 30.6 percent of the jobs in Bay County and 32.4 percent of the jobs in Michigan. Motor vehicle manufacturing provided 11 .4 percent of the jobs in Bay County, but only 10.9 percent of the jobs in Michigan. In 1976, nonmanufacturing employment accounted for 55. l percent of the jobs in Bay County, but only 49.4 percent of the jobs in Michigan. In 1976, Bay County had a c:; 0111ewha t l m-ier proportion of govern111ent jobs than did M"ichi gan. Manufactul'ing firms, including 111otor vehicle manufacturing firms, are among the largest e111ployers in Bay City. The Bay City Chevrolet plant e111ploys over 4,000 workers. Two flay City auto parts 111anufacturing firms employ between 150 and 500 workers. Bay City's rrestolite Company e111ploys over 1,000 workers in electrical products manufacturing. The Industrial Brownhoist Division of the American Hoist and Derrick Company employs he tween 500 and l , 000 v-mrkers in Bay City. The Michigan Employment Security Commission has projected e111ployment growth for the State of Michigan and for Bay County between 1976 and 1985. Over a 11 employment growth for Bay County is expected to keep fairly close pace with employment growth in the state. Hov1ever, manufacturing e111ployment in Bay County is expected to increase at a slower rate than manufacturing employment in the state, and motor vehicle manufacturing employment in Bay County is expected to grow at a much slower rate than in the state. Nondurable goods manufacturing employment in Bay County is expected to increase at a much faster rate than in the state. E111ploy111ent growth in Bay City beyond 1985 will depend on the ability of existing industries to expand and also on the ability of the city to attract new industry. The potenlit1l for attracting 11c1·1 industry may be reduced by anticipated declines in the automobile 4 �~~~--~~~~-~--~~~~~~ 111anufacturing component of the national economy, and by the tendency for newer rapidgro1,,th industries to locate in sunbelt states. Bringing new industrial development to Bay City will require attractive industrial sites and a vigorous marketing program. Bay City has a number of assets which should help attract new development. Chief among these assets are the city's relationship to the Saginaw Bay and Lake Huron, and its urban infra" true tur·e. l<EG I ON/\L SETT I NG Bay City i s the s111alle st and 111ost northerly standard metropolitan statistical area in t·1 icliigan. It is link r d tn the Detroit area via the I-75 Freeway. The cities of Saginaw rJn d Flint lie between Bay City and Detroit. The 1-69 Freeway intersects near Flint and 1 inks Bay City with Lansing, Jackson, and Kalamazoo. U.S. 23 joins I-75 south of Flint ,1 11rl link s Bay City to /\nn /\rbor. Bay City is part of an econrnnic constellation which includes the cities of Saginaw and Midland. Saginao,.1 is the largest of the three (1976 population 84,000). Bay City ranks se cond in size (1976 population 46,000). Midland is the smallest (1976 population 37,000). Bay, Saginaw, and Midland counties exhibit a strong inter-relationship in their employment und residency patterns. Michigan Employment Security Commission data for 1973 indicate that, of the 37,265 Bay County residents who were employed, 8,032 worked outside the co unty~ 4,937 in Saginaw County, 2,639 in Midland County, and 456 elsewhere. Of the 71,520 Saginaw County residents who were employed in 1973, 7,514 worked outside Saginaw County; 1,672 in Bay County, and tile rest elsewhere. Of the 20,034 Midland County residents e111ployPd in 1973, 3,384 worked outside Midland County; 805 in Bay County and the rest else1-,here. The Saginaw metropolitan area is more heavily dependent on durable goods manufactur· ing, particularly transportation equipment manufacturing, than is the Bay City metropolitan area. In the Midl,rnd metropolitan area, Dow Chemical is the most important employer. Since 1940, both Saginaw and Midland counties have grovm at a faster rate than Bay County. 5 �~~~~~~~~-----~--~~~ l1L/\NN I NG ISSUES Ex1sTING LAND UsE Bay City's existing land-11se pattern reflects the historic economic importance of the Saginaw River. Almost 75 percent of the city's river frontage, exclusive of the Middleqrounds, is devoted to industrial and warehousing uses. The Bay City Central Business llistrict is located adjacent to the Saginaw River. Many Central Business District 11roperties which front on the Saginaw River are occupied by warehousing or industrial ll S CS. Bily City has acquired a significant amount of public recreation space on the Saginaw Hiver. Veterans Memorial Park and the Middlegrounds recreation area are the two largest open-srace areas with access to the river. Wenonah Park in the Central Business District rrnnts on the Saginav-1 Rivrr. Bily City's residential areas extend to the southeast and the northwest of the Saginaw llivet·. There is very little residential development directly on the Saginaw River. The City's residential areas are traversed by business developments located in strips along ,,,a .ior thoroughfares. 6 �' I I iI ....__ -z < --z -. , _' • • • • -I I I I I I I I I I I ~ r. ) ' f. ' ----z ~ ' ~ ' , ,. ' I -- , ,. ' ,. _ _J r- r.r.. ;>-'.'. , ' r- :r :., L_ ':;=' .r :, wJ =- _) -:r. f .., :., == ~ :r. - ·-:: . ! I __. ,,., = :.. - I ! ·-~ :::: ·, .; ?~ :.... --- -----·-- -::- - ·- /?---.. NOIHM =.,.,. --=- _,-- :r. ., ~ I - :... :., r f ~i 7 - ' .,.,. --: r ... f - -, :., ~ . ... ,. , .: �~~~~~---~~---~~~--- 0vERUTILIZED AREAS Overutilized areas result from excessive development densities which concentrate more activity in an area than the streets and other public facilities can comfortably accommodate. The residential area south of Center Avenue is the most extensively overutilized area in Bay City. This area contains large, old homes built on small lots. Many of the llo111es have been converted for multiple-family use. The streets are congested and there i s inadequate off-street parking. Many school sites in the city are overutilized because of inadequate parking or poor accessibility. The Bay City Central High School creates traffic congestion on Columbus Avenue and has inadequate parking. Other school sites which generate excessive traffic on local streets include the T.L. Handy and Washington schools. 13ay Medical Center Hospital is a major overutilized site which creates traffic co11\Jestion on Columbus Avenue and has inadequate parking. Overutilized sites in or near the Central Business Dist1·ict include City Hall, the County Building, the Bay City Post Office, and the Telephone Exchange. Detailed planning to improve circulation and provide aclditional parking in the Central Business District area was underway simultaneous with t I1(' pr P. pen· tt t i on o f the 8c1 y Ci t y r 1a n . liNOt RUT I LI ZED /\REAS Und erutilized areas include vacant land which was never developed and vacant land which lia s been cleared and is wttiting new development. Underutilized areas also include dP.veloped land with underntilized buildings. Underutilized areas are major opportunities to r1 cliieve desirable nevi d0velop111ent for the city. llw city's most i111portant tmderutilized site is northwest of the James Clements Airport. /\tone ti111e, consideration was given to developing this area with industrial facilities. Industrial development has not been vigorously pursued because of the area's unstable c-, oil s , potential flooding, ttnd the lack of improved streets and utilities. 8 �J, I ~~-- i ~ ~---_: ,. ! I I; __ _J I iI Wooos1o e .. - f f '' ' i ~--- 'i i lI ~i i 'P---- Center-,.---~-=--.::"'\~: i Il I I Columbus i ..................... i ___ _..,, I if, ..-, ---.. --f - ' < ,-. --,_, -----'---~ .- - - ' z -- t f I ~. ~·L-------. ~: -'"-- - : ., -----=--- ..,,...- ! I ./ - ....- .. ....:. �~~~~~ - ~~~~~---~--~~ One major underutilized site is located on the Middlegrounds Island south of the Lafayette Street Bridge. Access to this site is difficult, but its riverfront location could make it iliglily attractive foi· the right type of development. A substantial nu111ber of the underutilized sites are located within Bay City's established industrial belts along the Saginaw River. Some of these underutilized sites are owned by industries with existing facilities on adjacent sites. Others are held for future use by 11 c 11 indu str ies or hy adjc1cent industries seeking expansion room. The future use of some underutilized sites will necessarily be determined by the established pattern of surrounding u~es. The area bounded by the Chesapeake and Ohio Railroad, Lincoln Street, the Penn Cenlt·al l~ailroad, and Farragut Street is such an area. About half of the land in this area is vacant, but the distribution of existing industrial facilities makes utilization of the vacant land for anything other than industrial purposes impractical. The underutilized area on the west side of the city between Thomas and Fisher is in the heart of a residential area. l~e si dential development would appear to be most appropriate for this area. The same is true of the underutilized area south of Ionia and east of Euclid Avenue, and the underutilized arras along the vacated railroad right-of-way between Hart and Ohio Stn:c ts. lllere are three rrima1·y c1reas in v1hich existing buildings are underutilized. Most of the upper stories of Central Business District structures and of Midland Street Business District s tructures are underutilized. It is estimated that there are approximately 1,000,000 square feet of vacant space on the second floor or higher of Central Business District and Midland Business District commercial and office structures. One major underutilized site contains industrial buildings which have been vacant since the Defoe Shipbuilding Company ceased operations. This site is located on the Saginaw River near the Central Business District. Its buildings could be reoccupied by other industrial uses, or they could be c leared to make room for new industrial or nonindustrial uses. 10 �········------AREAS IN TRANSITION [3ay City contain s a nu111her of at·eas in which existing rleveloprnent is undergoing tran sit ion. lhe charc1cter of strip-corn111crcial areas in the city is changing from primarily neighbod1oodor ·ientecl retail and service uses to businesses which serve a broader market area. One pilt'ticular problem has been lhe changing clientele at some bars. /\tone time, most of [3ay City's bars functioned as neighborhood "pubs" to which most patrons walked'. Many bars now serve a specialized clientele such as youthful "disco" groups or motorcycle clubs which are di ~rnrtive to adjacent tir?ighborhoods. Certain older housing arras have shown gradual improvement after a period of decline. The Banks area located north of the Saginaw River between State Street and the Truman Parkway is one such area which appears to be improving. Other older housing areas, particularly t.liose located along tf1e east side of the Saginaw River have evidenced decline during recent years. Center /\venue is lined by historic old homes, many of which were built by the leading fa111ilies of Bay City during the late 19th and early 20th centuries. Some of these homes have been converted to 111ultiple-farnily use or nonresidential use. A few lots on Center Avenue are 11m-, occ11p i ed hy !Ja c; c; tat ions. Cl1a11ges µlimned for tfw Central [3usiness District will result in more intensive con1111ercial c111d office utilization c1nd a reinvigorated residential function. Changes planned for the rlirllirnd SIYeet Bu c; ine s'~ At·e.:i i·Jill create a specialized t·estaurant and entertainment di s trict. CoNrROVERSIAL AREAS Many areas in Bay City have become the focus of healthy controversies over appropriate future development and use. Such controversies are a normal part of the ongoing process of managing land-use change. Many controversies can be resolved by the Bay City Plan. Others \·Jill demand attention for many years to come. 11 �I I I I I I I I I I 1111111 ~ - - - - ~ , • , - - - - - - - - - Vv11oer - - - - - - - ~ - - - - - - - - - - - - - - ____ 1 z ~ ---- I z: l I __ _j ~--~ I :: ::: -.::: - ~ u:::, w ~ I C., ~ r· - CD r:, I C• - I -.:: Kosc1uszkot' . ::: I....... ~ -::: '- ~ :..,J - :: ;: ...:: ::: ~ .:: ::: )... ..,:::; ·- -- -. ---~ ..-.----- "'0 I - -: I I > ::: ::. ~-_: "'l: ;: I Latayette·J'L.-.Jlii'------'!'"'--•1--...ibi,,, -0 •II ' ..,, r - __,,; ci5 ------- - '.:"'-. ::. ::: --::: - --::: ::: ::: ::: ::: l \ I ' .I~\ i / \ ...:::: :: \ '1 !~'\ ,~ :.... -- -- - \\ m -~ ) -\ --- \ :-:- :: : . - ::: - .::::: . :::. -- \I~ '~- -··· ~ :- '\ 0 C l ..., . ~--------✓- :: :::. -- - -- - ::..: - -:: - -~ -- �• ,.,. ....... - --~•- He James Clement s /\irport i s one such area. Some resid ents believe an airport should he 111a intained, but not at th e pre sent site. Others believe the airport does not benefit the city in proportion to the cost of maintaining it and, therefore, should be phased out. f~esidents of the city and surrounding areas who use the uirport are anxious to have the se rvice 111aintained. Traffic circulation proble1ns have generated high levels of controversy during recent year s . rore111o s t among these ha s bee n the controversy over where to replace the collapsed Third Street Bridge. Originally, Midland Street businessmen wanted the bridge rebuilt at its old location in order to maintain traffic volumes in front of their stores. Most business111en now believe that permitting through traffic to by-pass the Midland Street Business District could strengthen i ts comme rcial potential. Many residents are concerned about the effect of bridge traffic on the adjacent neighborhood . They would like to see a two-lane bridge constructed. City traffic engineers calculate that four lanes are needed to carry proje c ted traffic volume s . Federal assistance for bridg e construction may be available ro 1· a fout' -li1ne bridg e , l;11t not for a two-lane bridge. fher e i s widespread conc ern that regional truck traffic on Center Avenue will disrupt uttempts to preserve it s hi s toric residential character. Presently, Center Avenue i s part o f th e main truck route from the 1-75 Freeway to the Michigan thumb. So far, all truck t1·a ffi c rero uting alterna t iv es considered have prov en to be very co stly. Tr affi c congestion on lrumbull Avenue is another controversy. Heavy traffic cros s ing the fo ur-lune Independence Bridge converges on the two-lane Trumbull Avenue, creating congestion. l<es ident s in the acljacf'n t ne ighborhood are concerned that widening could result in more traffi c . Strip-commerc ial development has generated controversy between property owner s , resident s , and planner s . Several years ago, commercial developmeht was permitted along previously 1·0s icl ential portion s of r, ,, rfield, Broadway and Kosciu s zko /\venues. Bay City planners would 13 �• ,a,a,a,a"'IIII . . ---------- no1-.i like to prevent furtlter co111111ercial development in order to preserve the quality of adjc1cc11L residential arec1s. Proposed and recently constructed new commercial development c1long Wilder r{oad c1ncl f11r · I id /\venue has been vigorou s ly opposed by residents of adjacent ric i qhhm·ltoods. lh e luture utiliz,1tion of the county fairground site has become an issue. Although the <i il e acco111111odates srecial eve nts, in addition to regular athletic usage, many observers ilr.lievr. L11 ;1t a more inte11sive usr. would be appropriate for its in-town location. Uses 1vhich hav(' Ileen propo sed fo1· the site include a nevi hosrital, and multiple-family housing. Such usr. s rnuld occui- in conjunction with redevelopment of the marginal industrial facilil i r•c; '.~ nu l 11 n r thr fc1 i I rp ·o1111d s ite. Ulilizatiu11 of Veter ans MP111orial Park as a place for young adults to congregate is cons idered a p1 ·oli le111 hy man y residents. This is a problem which has occurred in many cities i11 Micltigc1n. Some 01J ,,0rve rs believe that it is inevitable for young adults to establi s h points t.o congregt1te. Crn11111unities ..1hich do not provide appropriate locations may find ter11agc1·s relea si ng L11cir 1; nergies in even less desirable activities. However, residents of the neighborhoods \/hich are disrupted by the co111ings and goings of student revellers are justifiably co11cernrcl v1ith the rroble111. The north tip of the Middlegrounds Island ha s been proposed for a good l oc ,1 t_ i 011 rm· students to gather because the river can provide c1 buffer lw t1-1 r.e 11 other lc1ncl us 0c; _ I h(' a111oun t and lo ca tion 11 f neighborhood recreil ti on spilce has become an i ss ue of contrnversy i11 ccrta in of 13ay City' s 11eighborhoods. Residents of some neighborhoods are anxious to hov e the city develop and 111aintoin large neighborhood parks. Desirable as this objective is, it c; o111eti111es conflicts with the equally desirable objective of developing and maintaining recreation s pace' c,t raleqically located along the Saginav1 River to serve co111mu11ity101i de needs. 14 - - �----- -- .. - - - - - - - - - POLICIES OF THE PLAN (\ CONTINUOUS RIVERFROIH OPEN SPACE SYSTEM It is reco111111ended that Bay City rigorously follow a rol icy of development of a continuous open-space system along the Saginaw River. The city should also continue to maintain and improve its system of large and ,vell-distributed neighborhood park areas. Major continuous open-space areas are prnrosed on both sides of the Saginaw River from north of the central business district to the southern city limits. Development of these open-space areas can be achieved through both public and private funding. Public parks and pedestrian ways can be connected with similar open-space areas contained in private residential developments and marinas along the riverfront. Continuity of open space along the riverfront will permit walking, jogging and bicycling along the river. The visual image of a continuous green open-space system alonq the river will be very strong and will help to attract new residential development. I\ I VERFRONT Hous I NG DEVELOPMENT The r.ay City Plan proposes extensive new housing development along the Saginaw River. The city should follow a pol icy of gradually phasing out nonresidential uses along the river and encouraging new residential development consisting of single-family homes, mediu111density townhouses, and higher-density apartment buildings. If all of the indicated residential development areas shown in the Bay City Plan are developed, as many as 5,500 new residential units could be built on both sides of the Saginaw River. This new housing could be integrally designed with riverfront marinas and recreation areas to provide a very desirable residential environinent. Such residential developments would also be in close proximity to Downtown Bay City and 111ajor centers of employment--an important consideration in an era of drclining energy resources. Bay City is losing its younger, middle-class population to suburba11 areas. By following this policy of extensive new riverfront housing development, the city will attract a sizable new population to the city. If Bay City can capitalize on the beautiful t·esidential setting of the Saginaw River, the next generation will witness a re.iuvenation of the city urnnatched by anything which has occurred in Bay City during the past one-hundred years. 15 �.. ,.,.,.. .... - - - - - - - -----TRANSf.ORMATIO~ OF LAND ADJACENT TO THE JAMES CLEMENTS MUNICIPAL AIRPORT INTO lloUSING lJEVELOPMENT The vaca11t land northwest of the James Clements Municipal Airport should be redeveloped as a new planned residential neighborhood. The site contains approximately 200 acres, 111ost of which lies substantially below the Saginaw River flood plain. Use of dredging, filling, canals, and elevated structures could render developable land for a planned residential community consisting of multi-family and single-family structures . The new residential development could take full advantage of its riverfront location. Canals could provide needed drainage as well as permit recreation access to the river. Portions or tlH! s ite could be lert in a natural open-space preserve. ANNEXATION OF LAND FROM FRANKENLUST AND PORTSMOUTH TOWNSHIPS In order to achieve a 111ore efficient growth pattern and to extend municipal services, it is recomn1ended that Bay City annex portions of Frankenlust and Portsmouth township s. ll1 e Bay City Plan recomnends annexation of approximately 2,626 acres from Frankenlust and Po 1·ts111outh townships east and south of the city. Single-family development is propo sed for n1ost of this area. The annexed area west of the Saginaw River could accommodate a planned residential dev elopment si1nilar to the concept proposed for the airport site. Hesidential development on the west side of the river could include canals, marinas, natu1·e preserves, and other features to take full advantage of the riverfront amenity. 13ecause the portion of Portsmouth Township recommended for annexation is serviced by railroad, there is also a possibility of development of new industrial sites within the annexed area. The use of "tax sharing" is recommended in promoting annexation proposals. The townships would continue to receive taxes from the annexed parcels and not have to furni s h the full range of qovernmental services these development areas will require. 16 �.-.- ····----- - - - - CoNSERV/\TION or- Ex,srirJG NEIGHBORHOODS Bay City should pursue a policy encouraging co111pletio11 o~ a neighborhood conservation plan for each older neigl1borhood in the city. Neighbot·hood planning for conservation should he done with intrnsivP, orrJanized participation of residents of er1ch neighborhond. Most of the existing housing in Bay City is old . /\pproxi111ately three-ciuarters of Lilf' ho111cc; in flay Ci Ly v1cre built bof ore 1929, and 1110s t of those were built before 1910. Despite the age of the city's neighborhoods, housing has stayed in remarkably good condition because of the strong ethnic groups which reside in the city's neighborhoods rind take great pride in them. The strong identity of Poles, Irish, French, Gen11an and other ethnic groups with their neighborhoods is the real secret to maintaining these neighborhoods in a sound and viable condition over a long period of time . The city should pursue it s pt·esently highly active neighborhood planning program. Bay City is currently condu c ting neighborhood planning and improvement programs in the Patter son-Belinda area, tllf' Jefferson-Lincoln area, the Midland Street area, the Columbus /\venue area, and the South End area. Bay City's Housing Preservation Plan makes specific rPro111111endr1tions for hou s ing consrrvation which are coordinated with the Bay City Plan. CoMMERC I /\L DEVELOrMEIJ 1 Bay City l1as r·ecently prepared a separate Downtown Redevelopment Plan which provides for e x ten s ive public r1nd private i111provements. This plan provides for a double-loop road sy s te111 to i111prove traffic circulation, pedestrian-parking malls on Washington Avenue rtnd Ce nter /\venue, a plaza at the intersection of Center Avenue and Jefferson Street, and a 1· iv e drn11t promenade and bikev,ay. Two major parking structures are also planned. :he city s hould aggressively pursue the recommendations of tile new downtown plan. The new 1--1atr.rfront residential development proposed in this plan will need to be supported by a viable r1nd attractive do1,mto1-1n. Bay City is one of the few central-place cities in Michigiln whose downto1-m has not been 1-1eakened by the development of outlying shopping mall s . The city should expeditiously carry out the needed improvements to the downtown area to ensure that it will remain the dominant shopping area within the metropolitan ilt ' f' ,l . l/pvifalizc1!.io11 nf 1hr 111r1ny neighborhood busi11p c;c; distt·icts should be continued. I7 i �·······-----------IIIGH AccESSIBILITY DEVELOPMENT /\REAS Tt1e city should encourage new construction within high-accessibility development areas located along certain segments of the city's major thoroughfare network. High-accessibility development areas are intended to provide opportunities for medium-density residential development, commercial development, office development, and institutional development. Such development should not occur in strip fashion but should be built on sites of a block or more in depth. Adequate off-street parking and generous landscaping buffers should be provided to ensure that the development is not harmful to adjacent single-family residential areas. ELIMINATION OF INCOMPATIBLE LAND USES The city should seek to elin1inate as many incompatible land uses as possible from its residential neighborhoods. Historically, many commercial and industrial uses have become intermi xed with the residential fabric of the city. Over the short run, it will not be possible or desirable to eliminate all incompatible land uses from Bay City. The pattern of commercial uses in residential areas is too firmly established to be quickly erased. The Bay City tradition of neighborhood stores and taverns can be maintained, but efforts should be made, through detailed neigborhood planning, to lessen the undesirable impact of commercial uses in residential areas. Incompatible industrial uses should also be eliminated from residential area s . It is not recommended that wholesale downzoning of incompatible industrial uses be done. Downzoning should be used to prevent more intensive industrial operations from being established in existing industrial sites in residential areas. Downzoning which makes existing industrial facilities nonconforming should be used only to a very limited extent. Greenbelts, buffer strips, improved off-street parking, and other approaches, should be encouraged through zoning and detailed neighborhood-level planning in order to make incompatible industrial uses less disturbing to the residential environment. 18 �--------- :• ·- -----INDUSTRIAL RELOCATION llistorically, industry ir1 Bay City developed along the riverfront because it provided a source of power and transportation. This riverfront pattern was later reinforced by tt1e location of railroad rights-of-way along the river's edge. Because of the importance of industry to the city's tax base and employment, the city should work with industries at their existing sites on expansion or rehabilitation projects. The city should only attempt to relocate the industry, or redevelop the site into another use, when the industry cannot operate profitably at the site. Several of the designated industrial areas in the Bay City Plan have room for industrial expansion. The Bay City Plan contains five industrial areas which contain approximately 1,035 acres. There are also ~bout 100 acres in Portsmouth Township which could be ·used for industrial development. RAILROAD CONSOLIDATION The city should continue to push for additional railroad consolidation and right-of-way vacation. Right-of-way which provides essential service to existing industrial developn1ent rannot be eliminated. However, the city should be sensitive to opportunities for i·ight-of-way vacation created by phasing out of industrial uses or changes to uses not requiring railroad service. Where right-of-way elimination cannot be accomplished, detailed neighborhood-level planning should provide for landscape buffering of railroad right-of-way from adjacent residential uses. SYMBOLIC ELEMENTS AND LANDMARKS Bay City has many symbolic elen1ents which create strong visual images and give character to the city by virtue of their location, physical appearance, and functional importance. The city should carefully preserve and improve these symbolic elements in future years, 19 �~~~~~~~----------The Bay City City Hall is a most striking element in the city skyline. The recent extensive renovation program carried out in this building will ensure its continued use for many generations. Many of the city's beautifully designed churches such as St. Stanislaus, St. Boniface, Immanuel Lutheran, and Holy Trinity, are all notable for their symbolic importance to the neighborhoods of Bay City and should be carefully preserved during coming years. THOROUGHFARE SYSTEM Thoroughfare improve,nents should be made to increase continuity in east-west and northsouth circulation on both sides of the Saginaw River. The continuity of Bay City's circulation system is deficient largely due to the historic development of the city as five separate communities. The collapse of the Third Street Bridge is a recent event which has reduced the continuity of Bay City's circulation system. A continuous west river thoroughfare should be developed to connect the southwest and northeast sections of the city on the west side of the Saginaw River. Thoroughfares should be improved to upgrade north-south circulation on the east side of the Saginaw River. A new bridge is needed north of the downtown area to provide better east-west circulation across the Saginaw River. Existing east-west thoroughfares on both sides of the Saginaw River should be maintained in good condition. Provision should be made for the elimination of regional through traffic by development of a circumferential by-pass. Presently, many of Bay City's thoroughfares are periodically congested with regional through traffic traveling between I-75 and the thumb area, or using state highways which pass through the city as an alternative to I-75. Bay City should press for the early implementation of one of the several by-pass plans now under consideration. 20 �. ,•• aaa - - Ill . . • • • • • • • . . CONSERVATION OF EXISTING NEIGHBORHOODS NEIGHBORHOOD CONSERVATION ISSUES Bay City has one of the highest proportions of older housing of any central-place city in Michigan. Approximately three-quarters of the homes in Bay City were built before 1929, and most of those were built before 1910. Despite this high proportion of older housing, most of the city's neighborhoods have remained remarkably stable. According to 1970 Census data, 66.8 percent of Bay City's households had lived in the same housing unit for four years or more. According to 1960 Census data, 66.9 percent had been living in tile same household for four years or more. There are very few areas in Bay City which have any abandoned homes. llornes which are vacated because of safety violations are rapidly demolished. During the past decade, approximately 1,000 substandard residential units have been razed. Nev-1 suburban housing has attracted many former Bay City residents, and many current residents aspire to live outside the city limits. However, there has been no massive suburban flight from Bay City of the type experienced by other major urban centers in Michigan. Many residents seeking new housing have bought vacant lots in existing neighborhoods. The current high cost of new housing and the high interest rates required to finance housing are encouraging many residents to improve their existing li o111e rather than move to a new one. Thr strong ethnic character of Bay City neighborhoods has contributed to an intense sen se of community pride. Residents believe ethnic pride is responsible for the immaculate co ndition of many older housing units in the city. Residents of Polish ancestry are most numerous today, as they have been for many decades. Historically, Bay City has also been characterized by distinct German, Irish, and French communities. The churches of Bay City play a very important role as the focal points of ethnic and neighborhood identity. In addition to their religious and social function, many of Bay City's churches play an important symbolic role hy virtue of their remarkable architectural design. 21 I-- �~~~~~~~~----------Bay City's neighborhoods are not without problems. The city has not been successful in retaining younger residents. Most of the city's highly-valued neighborhood stability is attributable to older families. Young unmarried persons, and young families with children, often look outside the city for new housing opportunities. Suburban locations are attractive because of their large lots, lower taxes, and desirable schools. Because of declining enrollments, there has been a substantial decrease in the number of elementary schools in Bay City. During the past several years, 16 elementary schools have been closed. This has diminished the strength of the neighborhood unit in Bay City. Some residents are concerned that Bay City schools do not have adequate financial support. Recent school millage requests have been turned down by Bay City voters. Although the Bay City school system does not receive as high a millage as some other urban school systems, the overall burden of city, county and school taxes is considered high. 22 �··-----~---------Residential deterioration can be found in Bay City, n1ostly in scattered pockets of bliqht, but also in a few areas which extend over several blocks . The reasons for such blight are numerous and complex. Some housing deterioration may be inevitable. Bay City's high proportion of older housing units makes a certain amount of residential deterioration almost inevitable, as does the city's high proportion of older residents with fixed incomes. During the preparation of the Bay City Plan, community leaders representing citizens' groups, neighborhood organizations, realtors, the financial community, and city government sat down to discuss reasons for housing deterioration in different parts of the city. They noted that much of the housing deterioration is associated with absentee landlords. Some said that the ethnic pride which sets a high maintenance standard for a person's own home does not set the same high standard for rental property. Other leaders noted that maintenance of rental property is difficult because banks sometimes deny loans to improve rental properties. People with low incomes find it difficult to keep their homes in good repair, but some community leaders are disconcerted by neighbors who prefer making payments on a recreation vehicle to 111ak i ng payments on a home improvement 1oan. Some community 1eaders believe that banks and savings and loan institutions have red-lining policies which deny ho111e improvement and mortgage loans in certain areas, but leaders of the city's financial community are unanimous in asserting that this is not so. Most all agreed that tax payn1ents and heating costs have become particularly burdensome for owners of the large old homes located in some Bc1y City neighborhoods. Many community leaders believe there is a need for better municipal control of housing quality. Some felt that special permits should be required for conversion of one-family residential structures to two-family residential structures in the RM-1 Zoning District just as in the R-1-C District. Many community leaders felt that housing units should be inspected and brought up-to-code each time they are sold. Scattered type public housing was seen to be generally desirable, but the recognizable design uniformity of public housing units was believed to be stigmatizing to the neighborhoods in which they were located. Almost all community leaders who sat down with the planners expressed the need for the city to adopt comprehensive priorities for dealing with housing problems. They felt that piecemeal approaches designed to distribute neighborhood improvement efforts equally among the different areas would not be effective. 23 �··-----~~---------SPECIAL NEIGHBORHOOD PLANNING PROGRAMS Simultaneous with preparation of the Bay City Plan, a comprehensive city-wide analysis of housing conditions was commenced. The study was initiated to obtain information needed to set housing and neighborhood revitalization priorities. It is the first such comprehensive analysis of city-wide housing conditions since the Bay City Community Renewal Program was completed in early 1972. Since 1972, the Community Renewal Program has been the basis for detailed planning of very specific neighborhood improvements in carefully delineated areas. Neighborhood plans which have been completed to date have been incorporated in the Buy City Plan and summarized below: 1. Patterson-Belinda Redevelopment Plan: This plan covered the area north of Woodside Avenue between Crotty Street and Trumbull Avenue, and the area north of the Saginaw River and east of Sophia. Clearance of substandard housing lo make way for industrial expansion was coordinated 1tlith construction of the new approachways to the Independence Bridge. 2. Jefferson-Lincoln Redevelopment Plan: This plan focuses on the area bounded by Jefferson Street, First Street, Lincoln Street, and Fourth Street. The plan provides for redevelopment and major rehabilitation activities in th e area between Madison and Lincoln. The plan provided for clearance of a three-block site for a 158-unit elderly high rise. A 10-acre park is partly developed. Three blocks of new, private townhouse development are incorporated in the plan. Extensive funds are avc1iluble fnr housing rehabilitation. 3. North Henry Street rlan: This plan focuses on the area bounded by North Henry Street, Union Street, Wenona Avenue and Hart Street. The plan propo se s vacation of a portion of Catherine Street and an existing railroad right-of-way. Provision is made for new residential development, park area, a greenbelt, and a bicycle path network, and retention of neighborhood commercial development along North Henry Street. Imp 1ementat ion of this p1an has been combined with efforts to irnplP.111ent the Midland Street Plan. 24 �-- < --- ----- <._,. --- -zz --... L'"": "- if, ,_' -'--------------wi1oer - - - -... ' ,l , ,..,., 2 r .., -= -~ 2 ..:., ....... .... = :.., = /' LJ__.,...-,.___ - --.-.....,.,,. Lafavet1e - ;._ I .:. = "J. -== -= :: :., J. I I I N l'°: L--~---, r- __ __J r------' I I \ I .... "-JI ~ ~ ;._ _, �-- - - - 11111 . . - - - - - II. Midland Street Area Plan: This plan focuses on the historic Midland Street Business District and surrounding residential development. It addresses the need for a new thoroughfare alignment in co11junction with the replacement of the Third Street Bridge. !he chief residential recommendations include extensive redev r lopment for multiple-family housing and the pre ser vation of other residential areas through rehabilitation. 5. South End Arca Plah: A revitalization planning program has been started in this area. The area is bounded by 27th Street, Jennison Avenue, Cass Avenue and the Saginaw River. The plan points to ce 1·ta in critic al actions that should be taken such as: /,; 6. Strengthen the single-family residential environment 1•1i th relv11Ji l i tat ion and code enforcement programs * Acquire and develop land for direct riverfront access i1nd reci·ci1tinnal use * Work toviards a concentration of commercial land uses along 13roi1dway Avenue * llezo ne lt1 11d for ne1-1 residential development Columbus Avenue Area Plan: A revitalization planning program is being carried out in the area bounded by 10th Street, Ridge Road, 18th Street and the Saginaw River. The Land Use and Circulation Concept Plan has been planned to a significant extent to maintain the essence of Columbus Avenue so that when it is totally revitalized it will still be readily recognized as a familiar experience and image by tl1r. people who regularly use it. 26 - - - .. �W1W1W1 W1W1 • 1 -J WI - I - I - I. , - I - •1- r~EW HOUS I r~G DEVELOPMENT The Bay City Plan proposes extensive new housing developn~nt within the existing corporate li111its of the city and within portions of Portsmouth and Frankenlust Townships proposed for annexation to the city. New single-fa111ily and multi-family development is proposed within the city's present corporate limits. Single-family development is proposed for the portions of Portsmouth Township suggested for annexation. Single-family and multifamily development is propoc:;ed for the portion of Frankenlust Township proposed for annexation. New residential developn1ent will be needed to accommodate the growing number of households which will wish to live close to n1ajor employment and shopping opportunities. Residential locations within Bay City can offer convenience to jobs and services and an established infrastructure of public utilities will minimize the "bite" of increasing transportation and housing costs. If Bay City can capitalize on these assets, the next generation will witness a rejuvenation of the city unmatched by anything which has occurred in Bay City during the past one-hundr-ed years. The potential for new housing development in Bay City can be strengthened by e111ploy111ent growth. However, extensive new residential development is not dependent on the creation of large numbers of new jobs. The increased desirability of in-town residential locations should be enough to sustain major new development over the next twenty-five yer1rs. RIVERFRONT RESIDENTIAL DEVELOPMENT IN THE JAMES CLEMENTS AIRPORT AREA New residential development on the site north of the Ja111es Clements Airport is a good illustration of a dramatic new land-use proposal of the Bay City Plan. The area contains approxi111ately 200 acres, most of which 1 ies substantially below the Saginaw River flood plain. Use of dredging, filling, canals, and elevated structures could render up to 145 acres developable for a planned residential community consisting of multi-family and single-family structures. At an average density of ten units per acre, 1,450 families could be housed in the a1·er1. The proposed new development should take full advantage of 27 ~ �1W1_ 1_ 1_ 1 - I- I- I-I-I. ,. ,. , -1•1-I its riverfront location. Canals could provide needed drainage as well os permit recreation access to the river. A portion of the area could be left in a natural open-space preserve. Multistory residential structures could be oriented to view s along the river. A mixture of housing-unit types could provide residences for families, young adults, and senior citizens. With proper design and marketing, tl1< area could become the most desirable residential community in the Bay City metro politan area. Marketing of quality residential development on this site would be enhanced hy deve 1op111en t of a 1oca 1 access road which could connect with the Veterans Memori a 1 llighway at the extreme north and south ends of the airport site. Such a local access road would enable residents and visitors to by-pass existing industrial develop~er,t located on the east side of the Veterans Memorial Parkway. If the city annexes this industrial area, steps should be taken to require future industrial development t.,> prnvide a substantial landscape buffer along the highway. Such a buffer :; hould include il high berm and dense rvergreen planting. Thi s site is one of the most promising locations for major new residential development in Bay City. This location on the Saginaw River provides a potential for exploiting natural amenities which can help guarantee successful development. It is large enough to take advantage of economies of scale. The value of existing investments on the site is low in comparison with the value of investments on other riverfront location s in the city. The site is presently owned in part by the city, but municipal ownership is not required for successful residential development. Indeed, it is intended that the area be primarily developed and marketed through the private market. The desired quality of development could be achieved through appropriate zoning regulation. To help prepare this site for residential development, the City should encourag e its des ignation as a fill site for river dredgings. It is recognized that environ111entalists will oppose the filling of this site. The city will have to argue that thi s site is one of the few remaining sites in the city that can be developed for needed ho11 s ing Mld that the city is p1·e" e1·ving other "natural" sites along the river. 28 �• ___ ___ _ -••1111••-, RIVERFRONT RESIDEHflAL DEVELOPMENT IN T•IE CENTRAL BUSINESS DISTRICT fhr Bay City Plnn incorporates riverfront residential development proposals set forth in the Bay City Downtown Rrdevelopment Plan, a separate, recently completed plan. Adaptive reuse of exi st ing structures for residential purposes is proposed for the Mea north of Wenonah Park. This area is presently occ upied by industrial, warehousing, and retail facilities. Much of the existing floor space in this area is vacant. Adaptive residential reuse could be accomplished in steps over a period of sr.veral years. Howe ver, successful marketing may require substantial improvements over the entire area to ueate an attractive, unified residential environment. The a1·ei1 enjoys an attra c tive view of the Saginaw River and the Veterans Memorial Park. lhe proposed Saginaw River B1·idge can be an asset to this view if properly designed. lhe scrapyard located 011 the wr s t side of the river north of Midland Street should he removed. RIVERFRONT RESIDENTIAL DEVELOPMENT BETWEEN THE CENTRAL BUSINESS DISTRICT AND THE AIRPORT AREA The Bay City Plan proposes riverfront residential development on the east side of the Sagi naw River between Ninth Street and Forty-First Street, on the Middlegrounds, and the west side of the river beb·1een Crump Avenue and Ivy Avenue. High-density multifamily residential development is proposed for the east and west side of the Saginaw River where clearance of ex isting industrial and residential developments would be required. Medium-density 111ultifamily residential development is proposed for vacant portions of the Middleground s. In all, these areas contain approximately 180 acres for high-density 111ultif c1 111ily residential development, ilnd 36 acres for medium-density 111ultifa111ily residential development. Approximately 70 acres currently utilized for industrial, warehousing, and commercial functions 1vould be cleared; appoximately 70 acres currently utilized for residential development would be cleared. The balance of the area is undeveloped or in public rights-of-way. At average densities of ten units per acre for medium-density development and 15 units per acre for high-density development, 3,000 ne1v residential units could be constructed. ;,ig �I I f I I I I I I :.. ::: .,. _ I _ _J :., = < --z. ----- :.. L : -1 I ] ] ... r .l IJ .., :II =) , :.. = -:: ! ..,::: 'V 'f ::: 'f. ::: ' "f :., , ' = f :., :., :.. rJ', '.' :.. ,...__ J, ODIi ..... .••• .: I . I I- L. -J •. i : LL-H·· \ i , l : :: ~ - ;..,_...::: - _,,. ....:: :: ..:: -::: -- \' I I • l '•• I •• • 1 ..•• .•.• .. . .. :: - .- ~ ·..::.. - - --..::._ - :: :: :: :: ::.: ...:: ;.... :: :: ·- -- ....:: --- --:: :: .._ :: :: :: :: :: - I I ............ ····--···· :-- :: ·:: '---- I I I l :::::: .__ ~ -·.-.::....: ..::._ ::::: - ...::, :.... -- CJ :: :-=::::--........ ~ ...:....-:::: :: �W '• W ~ WI 1111 • • • • • • ,. • ,. l<cdevrlopment for high-de11sity i·esidential use along the Sc.1gina1v River should be a lonqrange policy of the city, not a short-range objective. It 1vill not be economically fe,1sible or desirable to force the relocation of viablr industrial concerns which wish to remain on the Saginav, River. However, it should be possible for the city to pursue long-range redevelopment strategies which can take advantage of periodic private market decisions to relocate from existing facilities. Such a strategy is outlined in the ~cc tio11 of the Bay City l'lan entitled "Riverfront Redevelopment Strategy." r1IDLAND NEIGHBHORHOOD HJGH-DENSITY MULTIFAMJLY RESIDENTJAL DEVELOPMENT New high-density multifa111ily residential development is proposed in the Midland Street neighborhood. /\ subc;tantial portion of this high-density residential development lies adjacent to Veterans Memorial Park. One high-rise r11ultifamily residential structure has alr·eady been constructed in the area. High-density multifamily residential development i s particularly arprorriate for the area. Residents will be close to the Midland Street Busine c;s District and tl1e Central Business District. A substantial portion of the area er1joys attractive views c.1cross Veterans Memorial Park and other proposed riverfront opens pace areas. Apartments constructed along Vermont Street and the proposed West River ,1rtf!t·ial s treet could b0 designed to minimize the effects of anticipated heavy traffic volumes. Parking areas can be located between residential structures and arterial streets. Sides of buildings could face arterial streets. Screeninq walls and landscape huffers can ,1lso hr. constructed r1ln11ri arterial streets. /\rmEXA TI ON OF RE s I DE rn I AL DEVELOPMENT AREAS lhe Bay City Plan provides for annexation of upproxi111at e ly 2,626 acres from Portsmouth and 1-t·a nkenlust Township s east and south of the city. Sin<Jle-family residential development is proposrd for most of this area. The annexed area west of the Saginaw River could accoITT110rL:it.0 ,1 planned residenti ,11 development. High-density multifamily residential develorment, 31 - �• ------ - - - - - - 111ediu111-density multifa111il y residential development, and single-family residential development could all occur in a mixture which provides residential units for families, senior c itizen s , and young adults. Residential development on the west side of the river could i11clude canals, nature preserves, and other features to take full advantage of the riverfront a111enity. Convenient s hopping to serve residents of th e area could also be included. r1oBILE lloME PARI< RE S IDENTIAL DEVELOPMENT There ar e two mobile home park communities located within the present corporate limits of Bay City. One is located in the industrial area between Broadway and the Chesapeake and Ohio Railroad right-of-way . There is limited potential for expansion of this mobile home ar ea be cause it i s cornpletely surrounded by exi s ting development. The second mobile home park community is lo cat ed ea st of Euclid Avenue between Niagara and Hotchkiss Streets. , Thi s co111111unity could be expanded across the Grand Trunk Western Railroad right-of-way. Such ex pan s ion was plann ed by the original developer of the mobile home park. Expan sion co uld help meet any additional need for mobile home sites within the city, and it would pro vid e an opportunity for re s idential access to the Saginaw River. Proposed anne xation of the are a ea st of the Jan1es Clements Airport would bring an additional existing mobile home community within tli P. corpor a te limit s of Bay City and provide land for expan s ion. 32 �····------ .... RIVERFRONT REDEVELOPMENT STRATEGY THE MAGNIFICENCE OF THE SAGINAW RIVER The Saginaw River, becausr' of its dramatic width and its improving water quality, is certainly Bay City's most important natural asset. This asset should be capitalized upon to bring new upwardly mobile people into Bay City. Over the next tv-1enty-five years, extensive new residential development could occur adjacent to the Saginaw River. Such residential development could be designed in an integrated way with riverfront marinas and pat·ks to create a residential lifestyle which is attractive to people from throughout the metropolitan area. IIISlORICAL RIVERFRONT DEVELOPMENT PATTERNS The bold new riverfront redevelopment strategy proposed by the Bay City Plan requires changing a land-use pattern which is older than Bay City itself. Industrial use of the riverfront has ct1aracterized the Bay City area since the communities of Portsmouth and Lower Saginaw were platted on the east bank of the Saginaw River in 1836 and 1837. lhe Saginaw River was an essential avenue for industry and commerce from these very early days. By the peak of the lumbering boom, the Saginaw River carried a level of traffic analogous to the 111ost heavily used modern thoroughfare. In July of 1868, recorded river traffic passing the Third Street Bridge included 326 steamers, 1,694 tugs, 442 sailing vessels, and 217 barges. All of the area's major lumbering and related industries were located along the river, or very close to it. The river was, however, a less than perfect avenue for transportation. In the winter, traffic came to a standstill. After the Civil War, the railroad become the preferred means of moving natural resources from the hinterland to major urban centers. The first railroad service to Bay City came in 1867 with the completion of a Bay CitySaginaw line. Subsequent railroad development brought Bay City in touch with more 33 �-----------ex tensive 111a1·kets for its lumber, fish, and salt products. The city was eventually served by the Grand T,·unk Western, Pere Marquette, Chesapeake and Ohio, Penn Central, and Detroit and Ma ckina c Sys tem s. Numerous railroad spurs were cut through residenliJl area c; on both side s of the river. Industrial facilities were no longer dependent upon riverfront lo ca ti ons ; th ey sprang up along railroad line s throughout the a r ea now vJithin the Bay Cit y corporate limit s . Hov1ever, industrial utilization o f the riverfront continued because rail road 1 i nes were stretched out to serve ex i s ting concern s along the river and the lines generat ed new indu s trial development 011 vacant riverfront land and as replacements for older facilities which closed down. Thu c;, th e 01·iginal ri ve di-ont industrial development pattern became self-perpetuating. 34 �··•--11111• - - - - - - RIVERFRONT REDEVELOPi1ENT STRATEGY Change in industrial occupancy is a natural pheno111ena in the long-range economic cycle. S0111e industrial fin11s close their doo1·s , others find ne1-1 locations for expanded or more 111odern facilities. During recent years, Bay City has see n the closing of the Defoe Shipbuilding Company, an important local industrial concern since near the turn of the century. There has been s peculation that other riverfront industrial establishments 111ight close or relocate. Over the years, many riverfront industrial properties have c l1anr;rd fro111 one ind11 str ial uc;e to another. It is within the purview of Bay City to manage the proce ss of industrial change to achieve a new land-use pattern, a land-use pattern which opens more of the riverfront to people-oriented residential and recreational uses. Achieving such a land-us e pattern will take a long ti111e. Thirty years may be required to shift the usage of ex ten sive portions of the riverfront frorn industrial to residential or recreational uses. The city will hav e to adopt a patient and sensitive management approach in order to achieve the de s ir ed land-use change. Key ele111ents of the approach are as fo 11 Ov/<;: l. The city will l1ave to maintain close communication with established industrial fin11s along the riverfront. The city should keep abreast of the needs and plans of riverfront industrial firms to the maximum c x tent po c; s i h 1r~. 2. The city should not expect to pressure riverfront industrial concerns to relocate. However, whenever locational decisions are to be made, the ci ty should be prepared to present viable relocation options which are attractive to riverfront industries and the city itself. The city should be prepared with locational alternatives whe.never a fin11 co nsiders a major investment in its present site. 1rl �., ------ - - - - - Making available viahle relocation options requires available industrial siles of a variety of sizes within the city limits. During recent ycilr'S, several Michigan cities have been able to achieve cJra111cJtic land-use changes by developing industrial parks to provide a relocation resource for older industries. At the same li111e, 111any major Michigan cities have lost existing industries because appropriate new sites were not available when crucial n~lociltion decisions were made. 3. £3ay City must hf, prepared to acquire existing industrial properties and l1old them over an extended period. This will be necessary to assemble areas large enough for attractive riverfront residential development. Properties may be acciuired and lr,ased until the appropriate time for redevelop111e11t. In thi s v1ay, holding costs can be reduced. If previous occupants r e lo ca t e 1\lithin the city, there need be no tax base l OS t . 4. The sensitive u·; e of downzoning may be necessary in order to avoid major ne1-1 1·i vedront industrial reinvestment that could best be captured elsewhere in the city. Major new riverfront industrial invest111ent will increase the cost or at least delay the ti111etable few the transition to residential use. 5. Bay City 111ay wish to utilize its Economic Development Corporation to oversee and manage the long-range relocation of existing indust,·y to new industrial locations within the city. The process can be coordinated with efforts to attract new industry from outside Bay City . Property management could be assigned to an existing or new municipal department, or private property 111anaqr;111ent firms could be used. 36 �•111• - .. - - - - - - - - - - -6. I lie urban re11e1·1i11 appi-oach used by Bay Cit y to c1chi eve 1and-u se changes in t'10 l'r1tterson-Belinda area will have very limited applicability 011 thr riverfront. The approach is costly and the federal gra11t 111oney needed to underwrite it is unavailable in sufficient quc1ntities. Under the urban ren ewal approach, the city must acquii·e pi-operty, by condemnation if necessary, relocate busines c;cs r1nd residents, de111olish structures, and sell the property foi · rww development. The market va 1ue for riverfront property zo11ed for residential developlllent 1-iill be a fraction of the total urban rene1vi1l cost. Federally 111andated relocation pay111ents to i·0s idents and businesses which are forced to move are among the 111o s t expensive ingredients of the urban renewal approach. Ba y City will avoid these relocation costs by allowing relocation to take place at the initiative of individual indu s trial cnncrrnc; over a more gradual, longer time period. r1tlf~l<ET VALUE ANALY S I S The 111arket value of vacant lc1nd suitable for high-density riverfront residential develop111ent could exceed the market value of that land for present industrial and re s id ential uses. Lc1nd along the east side of the Saginaw River which has been proposed for riverfront residential development includes both industrial and residential uses with a total as sr.ssed value of approximately $2,500,000. Its market value should be between $5,000,flOO and $5,500,000. This represents a market value of approximately $25,000 per acre. If the land were rezoned for high - density mult ifami 1y resident i a 1 development, it could hiJV e a market value of between $6,000 and $10,000 per permitted i·es idential unit. With residential densities of 15 units per acre, the land would 37 �', ! - ........ .· I z --. ----, -' I I I I I II C. ;....,_' , .- ~.,,,., r- z L_ ,1c1 mt>.it [ .! C 0 • -0 0 :I r .. . .r ) ----.,... ..... ----.-.... r •' ::, 'J --'.'.'.'. ,. ' 5. C: 0 0 0 (.) C I i .... ~--··ca,~· ··········· ······ \,, ·., _____ _ \\ \ -=-···········- ------- -------· :: I • �,_ ...... - - - - - - - ... l1avc a market value of $G5,000 or 111ore rer acre. Of cou1 ·se, redevelop111ent costs 1vill be higher than the cunenl 111cJrket value of the land even if relocation costs are avoided. Co s ts for de111ol it ion of existing structures and site prepJration will be c; ull s tcJntial. Many existing streets will have to be vacaled and their pilvements rirped up. New public i111prove111ents will be needed in the area. Management of properties during the interim between acquisition and resale could be a deficit-producing operation, at least in some cc1 c; es . l{/\IUW/\D (ONSOLID/\TIOIJ t·1cJny of the r·iverfront al ·"as proposed for residential redevelopment are served by e x i s ling l'ailroad line c; . S11cccs s ful residential redevelop111ent of these areas cannol occur 1vith freight Cilt·s l'Unning through them. Carefully planned railroad consolidation will be nece s saty in order to preserve essential services to industries viliich will re111ain along tlte riverfront over the long run c1nd to eliminate railroad I im"'· in future residenti .- 11 redevelopment areas. JAMES CLEMENTS AIRPORT lite Jt1111es Cle111ents Airport should be 111aintained as a Basic Utility II type of airport. lllis class of airport should have no detrimental effect on the proposed ,tdj,1crnt riverfront houc;inq. lfJ �-------- - - - - COMMERCIAL DEVELOPMENl REGIONAL lRADE AREA [3uy City is the 111ost not ·Lhr.rly 111ajor metropolitan area in Michigan. For this reason, tlte tradr arer1 for Ba_y City's comparison retail establish111ents extends well into the counties wlticli lie to lit e north along the Saginaw Bay and inland. Bay City retailers can expect to Ci.lpture i.ln i111portant part of the retail expenditures of residents of Arenac, Gladwin, Iosco, r1ge111aw, Roscommon and Clare counties. The cities of Midland t111d Sariina1--1 compete v1itl1 fl.:iy City for a share of regional comparison retail trade 10 �- ------ - - - - - - - -ex penditures, but Bay Cit y's location puts it at an advantage in capturing the expenditu1·es of residents living to the north. Midland and Saginaw retailers enjoy a locational aclv,1ntt1ge over Ray City in capturing comparison retail expenditures of persons living to L11 e so uth . Bay City' s Central Business District is a major regional commercial center. !he Midland Street Bu s in ess Di s trict and the Columbus /\v enue Business District also have ex t ensive a111ounts of co111p,1rison retail space which help s attract shoppers from throughout tl1e region. Major retail attractions located just outside of Bay City include the K-Mart a11d other st ores located on [uclid Avenue, and the Hampton Square Mall located east of the city. M,1jor c1ttrr1 ct. i1111 <; r1t lla111pton Square Mall include a K-Mart store and a Wiechmann' s •; f. nn~. RAY CITY RETAIL STRUC!URE /\ I though s hoppinq facilil .ies an' sca ttered throughout Bay City, most retail development li es withi11 nine general a1·eas . Three of Bay City's nine retail areas contain primarily crn11pari so n retail 11ses. r11e se three are the Central Business District, the Midland Street l3us ine ss District, a11d tl1e Co lu111bu s Avenue Business District. The Central Business Di s trict co 11tc1in c; the large s t concentration of commercial activity in the city. The 406,000 square fee t of retr1il sp ac e in U1 c Ce ntral Business District i s over half of th e 714,000 square fr.et in th e city as a 1-1hole. The Central Bu s iness District is pri111arily a comparison 1·e tail ce nt e r; 277,000 squa1 ·e f ee t of C.B.D. retail square footage is devoted to compari so n U'~es and only 29,000 squan feet is devoted to convenience uses. The Midland Street 13u c; ines s Di s trict, locr1t cu across the river from the Central Business District, functions as iJ seco nd "downtown" for Bay City. It contains 64,000 square feet of retail floor area, 117,000 c; quare feet of co111parison area, and 17,000 square feet of convenience area. There i s 111ore t·etail floor· area alonq Columbus /\venue than ~n the Midland Street Busines s Di s trict. llov1eve r, the retail floo1 · area alonq Columbus Avenue is intermixed with other uses so that it i s not as concentrated as in the Midland Street Business District. In all, there is 93,0 00 square feet of retail floor area along Colun1bus /\venue; 73,000 square feet is compariso n retail and 20,000 sq uat ·e feet is convenience retail. 1 /JI �,.,.,..-..11111 ... ... --- ------ f\ay City's six 1·e111ain111q retail ar·eas contain a 111i x tul'f:' or COi11pal'iso11 il11d convenience retail establish111rnts. lliey also contain a nu111ber of personal service use s such as barbe1· and beauty shops, laundry and dry-cleaning establishments, repair· shops, und other si111ilar uses 1vhicll c11·e co111plementary to convenience retail establishments . l~etail concent1·ations c,1n !Jr~ found on Marquette Street in the Banks area, on Johnson St1·eet between 1-ioodside and Fifth Streets, on Kosciuszko Avenue, on Lafayette Avenue, on Salzburg Avenue, and on Broadway south of 28th Street. Substantial commercial develop111ent probably would have also occurred on Euclid Avenue if it had not been for the resistance of adjacent residential property owne1·s; most of Euclid Avenue connnercial development occurs in Bangor Tm<1nship and in Monitor fownship. Wilder Road has recently been zoned commercial, c:J11d nevJ stores are starting to be located adjacent to this 1·ccr ntly v1idened highwav. CErHR/\L Bus I rff ss DI s 11 ~ 1r:T fluy (ity hris a strnng Centi-al Business District v1hicli hri s historically captured r1 very hi(Jh proportion of 1·ela il expenditures. In 1972, the 111ost recent year for which Census of Business data is avail.1ble, Boy City's Central Bu s ine ss District captured amost onrhalf of all Bay City 1·etail expenditures and almost one-quarter of all Bay County 1·ctail expenditures . Belvn'e11 1967 and 1972, the propo1tio11 of cily c:rnd county 1·ctoil expcndit11res captu1·ed by the Central Business District declined only sliqhtly. Du1· inq Lile sa111e ti111e pe1· iod, tl1e central business districts of 111a11y other 111ajo1· cities in Michigan lost mu c h 11101 ·e g1 ·ound to outlying comretitors. l01· exa111ple, in 1972, Saginaw's Central Business Dist1·ict capttwed 9.9 percent of Saginilvl Standard Metropolitan Statislicr1l Area retail expendit11res, down frorn 13.7 percent i11 1967. In 1972, the Central Business Di s trict of Ann /\rl>or captured 8.3 percent of /\nn Arbor Standard Metropolitan Statistical Area retail ex11enditures, dovm frorn 15.0 percent in 1967. In 1972, the Kalamazoo Central Busine ss District captured only 4.6 percent of f~alarnazoo Standard Metrnrolitr1n Str1tisticc1l /\n,a retail expenditures, dnl'ln f1·0111 17.2 percent in 1967. 112 Ill �I I _J - .. ~ if. < ,. ' '- --< . ,y l :.. '- -< --- I Ce"t•r T--------,.-- rL_ ':., :., _-, ..,:..,-=':., :., '- :.. f .' -- '- ,y :.. '- :., -' -' J - I a~ -~ ~ '.._; ) .. . ... .. .. . . I I C C 0 0 0 " C .r. -~ ..J 2 . .i--•• ------··.. • •······· . :: . ----···.. • ' Coll••~•••• ea•• : - ....-- ....... . .. ---· b---········;··· . -- ...... : : .. . ..., ;.... .. - ::~ ...... :: ~ ,; ~ :: ~ - ·:,. ..__ - ;._ :: - -- ' . . ..... -........ -- :- :: -- - --.::... ' ..,/ ..... ..,/ '...) L_l ''- :.. :.. -... �• ,..,.~1WI,.. __ _ .. --- ------ The decl i11e in the proportion of retail expenditures captured by central business districts is attributable to the growth of outlying shopping centers. The Bay City area has experienced sucl1 growth, but it has not made the dramatic inroads on Central Business District market share experienced in other cities. Hampton Square Mall and the com111ercial establish111ents on Euclid Avenue outside of Bay City will continue to compete effecti vel y with th e Bay City Central Business District for local and regional s hopping dollars. However, it is believed unlikely that there is sufficient market i11 the Bay City area to support a new comparison shopping center of substantial size. lhus, the Bay City Central Business District and other comparison shopping areas have qood potential for steady grnwth, and there is little possibility that they will be undermined all at once by a major new competitor. The opening of the proposed \,Jp110n ,1 h rad: rlaza crnnplc>x 1·1ill further strengthen the Central Business District. RAY CITY DOWNTOWN REDEVELOPMENT PLAN ril e Downtown Redevelop111ent Plan, a separate plan which was adopted in 1979, provides foi · a double loop road svste111 to improve traffic circulation in the Central Business llistrict and to link thr Ce ntral Business District with the Midland Street Busine ss 11i s ti ·i c t. 1he Downto1v11 f~e development Plan incorporates major shopper amenities i11 c ludi11g skywalks, pede str ian-parking malls on Washington Avenue and Center Avenue, i1 plaza at the inters ect. ion of Center Avenue and Jefferson Street, and a riverfront prn111enade and bikeway. Major parking structures are planned. A mixed-use complex-the ~Jenonah Park Plaza--is proposed for the old Wenonah Hotel site. Landscaped 111eclians are proposed for W,1s hi11gton Avenue outside of the commercial core. These i111proveme nts would enhance the econo111ic vitality of Bay City's Central Business !J i '.;trict. The Downtown RP.develorrn1ent Plan designates sites for major new private inv estment including t·eta il and office facilities. A conference center and hotel ,11 ·0 prnpo sed so uth of \·/P n<rnah rark. 44 �1,a ,.,.,. _____ _ ---------- STRIP-COMMERCIAL AREAS Outside of tile Central P.usiness District and the Midland Street 13usiness District, 13c1y City has no areas \~hore co111111ercial development is dense enough to allov1 shoppers to easily patronize seve1·,1l stores with one stop. There are no areas in which a full 1·ange of convenience retail and service facilities (supermarket, drugstore, hilnk, c leaners, and barbershop) can be found within easy reach of each other. The city's strip-co111111ercic1l areas contain a mixture of corrnnercial, residential, industrial ond other uses. So111e off-street parking can be found, but usually in locations where it ser ves 011ly one or two adjacent stores. The Johnson Street and Colu111bus Avenue str ip-co1111nercial areas contain the highest concentration of commercial development outside of the Central 13usiness District and the Midland Street Business District. lhe stores in these area s are, in general, better maintained and apparently more cn111petitive than many of the stores in some of the city's other strip-commercial areas. COMMERCIAL DEVELOPMEflr flLMl H e Bay City Plan provides fo1· an intensification of commercial development in the Central 13usiness District and in the Midland Street Business District. Intensification of commercial develop111ent in selected portions of major thoroughfares is also included in the plan. However, t.he total area of thoroughfare commercial development is between Seco nd St1 ·eet and Fifth /\ venue, on Kosciuszko between Jackson and Farragut, and on Lafayette Avenue betwee n Garfield Avenue and Water Street. The plan establishes the policy of encouraging tile neighborhood shopping function of these commercial areas. fhoroughfare commercial develop111ent is also provided for along Columbus Avenue between Sc1ginc1w Stre et and Mclellan Avenue. The Bay City Plan incorporates planning objective s for this area set forth in the Columbus Avenue Plan, a se parate recently-completed ne ighborho od plan. Thoroughfare commercial develop111ent is provided for along Saginaw <:;trcf't nnd \.-Jashinqton /\v0nur so uth of the Central 13usine ss District. 45 �~ ~,.,..,.,..~-- .. ... - - - ·- - - - - Develop111ent of a 11iajo1· co111111ercial area on Euclid /\venue between Fi s her and Ionia Streets i s proposed. Thi s area contains 30 acres v1hich could acconunodate a comme rc ial park similar in concrpt to an industrial park. Such a development will require r1 lo cal access road off L11clid Avenue. Individual parcel s could accommodate co111111erc ial establishment s which r0quire independent structures, and which would normally be located in s trip- con1111p1-c i,1 I r11·0a s . A convenience shopping area could be part of th e con ce pt. l11r• [3 ;1y f'. ity Pl an ol r; o dr;', i(J11 ,1 t. es high-acce ss il>ilit 'Y.' dev elop111ent c1rea s along key c;0 cJ111ent c. of 111ajor t:hol'Ou ghl c1 1<'S . lhe se high - acces s ibility development areas can acco111111O<L1l<' co111111c1-cic1l as 1~cll ,1'., otl1c1· use s . lligh-acces s iliilily corridor s arc c1ll or pi!rt. s o f : Wilder Road, Eu c l irJ /\ve nue, Saginaw Street, Ko sciu s zko /\venu e , Broadv1ay Avenue, Sc1 l zbu1·g /\v r nu P, Lo filyP tf. P /\ve nu e , ll enry Street, Marqu e tt e /\venu e and Wenona Av enu e . r rn vision is mad e for fring e-co111111e rcial develop111ent in th e area beh1een Woodside Av enu e c1nd ,ii- s t Street i111rnedi a Le ly east of the Central 8usine ss District. Fringe-connnercial use s includ e those v1hi ch ,w e 11ot appropriate in a centr ul business district or neighborl1o od shopping area, 01· do not provide direct service to the motoring public. Typic a l f r ing e-co111mercial use s in c lude auto111obile and other motor vehicle sale s and ser vice e stabli s hments, 111ecliu111 - !.o large- s ize printing establi s h111cnt s , lumberyard s , r1nd foocl s t or age 1ocke r s . fh e B,1y Cit y Plan de li11 e,1tes a s pecial Center /\venue pr ese rvation corridor extending a l ong Center /\v enu e fron1 Madi son Avenue to Lincoln Avenue. The Center Avenue prese rvation corridor i s int end ed to pr e serve the histori c chara c ter of Cente r Avenue. Th e pre servati on corridor con c~ pt can be implemented by zoning regulations which permit office and a limited range of commercial uses to occupy th e historic homes on Cente r /\v enue. Very strict design standards and site plan revi ew procedures should be utilized t o preserve tf1 ri f1i s toric architecture and urban a111bience of th e area . 46 �1,..,.. .... .,. .. ... - .. .. . .. ------ l!IGH-/\CCESSIBILITY DFVELOPMENT AREAS The Br1y C:ity rlan r eco111111e11ds high-accessibility develop111ent areas along certain seg111ents of the city's 111ajor thoroughfare network. High-ac cessibility development areas are intended to provide opportunities for 111edium-density residential development, co111111ercial development, office develop111ent, and institutional development. It is not intended that such develop111ent should occur in a strip fashion with rows of multifamil y housing, shops, and offices sc attered next to major thoroughfares. Development should occur on sites of a bl ock or more in depth. Adequate parking and landscaping should be provided to ensure the dev e lop111ent is not harmful to adjacent single-family residential areas. High-accessibility development areas are delineated along Wilder Road and Euclid Avenue. Residential, co111111r:>rcial, and office development along these thoroughfares could occur on vacant land 1-1hicli has never previously been developed. High-accessibility clevelopment areas are c1lso proposed along segments of the proposed We s t River Drive (Henry Street and Marriuette Street), Saginaw Street, Broadviay Avenue, Salzburg Avenue, Lafayette Avenue, and Kosciuszko /\venue. New multi-family residential, commercial, and office development in these areas could occur through the clearance of existing obsolete and substandard structures. Piecemeal conversion of existing residential structures to 111ultiple-family or nonre s idential use should not be permitted. New development in these areas should be provided with adequate parking and landscape buffering to protect existing s ingle-family develop111r,11L v1ithin adjacent neighborhood s . 47 �I .✓ -- I -=--=-~::.....,-\.\I ;k----· .-%~~\,' _//% "v c r.:. ,,, -:: - -~· --·--'.'.'._ ..,/. -z -~ H•- . _.. r/ ,.r = -.... --- -- : : .... ·7•cr __ j....... __ ;>J\ •• ·• ••••• : : I ~' .- L _.../ \ 1.. !I ~ ~ 7 •• Ii / r,. .__-;- '• Cf; ,. if,, I . f. ;..., ' r- . ;.r. , • , . I .. . ~ - - - - - - . - - - : \ · Ir I I '-- -- -...,. ,:• / .. , -·· :: -- I ': ' ' ' ;,._ .: - ·-.s?·? ...;_ :: .. ; \ .' ., .I ___.,,. ) l \' -. .: \ I .: .: S:: ) ' ::: .::. ._ .:. .: :: ·- .: I '--==-----. ~' \ . .• ;.. - .... . . . . .... -- -.:~;- -- --:-,- -- ;.. .... -··· :: ::- -:. : :•.-_ . . . .... --·- . . . . . . . . ... -- ~ ---- ... ···-· ·-·· ..::._ ✓ > :: :: -- --.- ---::,--. :: :: �. ., ._ ~,-. .. ... ... -- ... - ,_ .... ~ ~ .... .... r.... - INDUSTRIAL DEVELOPMENf l'UTURE } NDUSTR I /\L r,rrn\•/ rH It is anticipated that future industrial growth in Bay City will come primarily through the expan s ion of exi s ting industries. Transportation equipment manufacturing and food and other nondurabl e goods 111anufacturing are expected to be prime growth areas. Transportation equipment 111an11facturing industries require very large sites with good highway and rail access. Water ilccess is sometimes necessary for the large volume of bulk s hipping. Bay City do1? s not have enough vacant industrial acreage within any one area 49 - - �I I I I I ! I -~------------- w •o• ' --- , ----- ....- r--- - - ! I -- I p ' 1.... i ' ~ L I ' tI I 11' .,_ .,,,., I -:----------~~ L rI I I I I I I .,, ' .... I ' ~- ~ l \ ~ '' ... I .! \\ '\ \ - - - - - - - - - - - - - - · "~>U&11'C-- > ' _; r •- :: ...:. ::.. :-- ..:. - -- - ..: ••••••••--••••••••••••• l,O!'• ••-•••••••••••• .. :: ·- :.. :: ::. ------ I U I • • • • • • • • • • • - • • • ................ - • -- ::. ---- --- :.. / , ·····•· ··-·········~·- ~ ······-··-············ .................. . �~ : ..._ ........ ..,._ ...... ._I ... , _ _, -I : , ~ ~ ~ I .... , -- - - to offer good potential for thr~ r!stc1hlish111e11t of i1 111ajnr 11e\'1 ti·ansportation equip111ent 111a11ufact11ring facility. t·lost. grn1-1th is likPly to collie U1rouqh the expansion of the existinq Chevrolet pl;i11t ,rnd it <; r.urpliers. Clearance 1·11lich resulted fro111 the rc1tterso11Be l i nd a UI ba n Rc II r, vi r1 1 I' rn .kc t. p I o v i dc s a d d it i on a 1 a er· f' il ~If' vi it h i n c 1o s e p rn x i ni it y to the CIH'Holct plc1nt. Mon' i11dust1 ic1l are,1 close to tl1r Cllevrnlet rlant could be provided by the redevelopment of 1-r,111aini11g industrial areas located north of Woodside Avenue. niJ11dura1Jles 111anufacturi11g ofhet tl1r1n food includes pri111a1-ily the manufacturing of consumer goods in s111all plant.s. /\ny nf 13c1y City's several indu:-;trial areas with good highway ,1 ccr.ss ,11·c q1itr1hlP fr,r · 111r1d nr1nr1111·r1hlr rinorls 111,1n11L1rt111inq rstr1blish111rnts. IIISfORIC/\L lrmusrnJ/\1 flEVEIOPMHIT r/\TTERN /\ND tXISTING lNDUSTRIJ\L AREAS r,s noted ea1 -l irr, tile c i Lv ' s e :: isl i11q i11dustrial develop111ent pattern predates the incorporation of 8ay Cit y J r, c1 unilir.d 111ut1icipality. Hivpt·front sites becallle the pri111e industric1l locations i11 tlH' citv during the era of lu111her 111ills, vJOoden products 111c1nufacturing. and c;t1lt 111i11i11q. llie gi·eat majority of the city's existing industriill ilCt 'Ci1CJe is in sitPs 1-11lirl1 f1ont on the Sr1ginaw niver. Mr1n_y such sites are long <1nd n<1no1-1; they v1rre irlec1l fn1 · s,31•n11ills and lu111ber storage, but they are not particularly suitable for modern in,lii c; t1 -ii1l 1ila11ts. Hiql111ay accr.ssibility is through two-lane residentir1l streets. This dcvr lop111e11t pattern does not fulfill the needs of modern industrial estc1hlish111ents 1-1hicl1 prefer rxposure to the motoring public for advertising rur·poses. !he strip of i11dust.rial developrnent lying betv1een Lafayette /\venue and Fortyfir·s L Sti·eel contains tire 11c1nov1r.st and most roorly-r1ccessed industrial sites in the city. vii tl1 t.he exceptio11 of i1 fr'"' recently-developrd sitPs ne ,1 r rorty-first Street, most of the st.rip contai11s very lov1 inl.rnsity ind11strial uses. The l3ily City Plan rroposes long-range pliasinq out. or tt1i c. i11d11 r, f:1 iul area. In the sltort-ranqe, the city should v1ork with these industries t.o keep thr111 r 11 1hr t1x roll ;:111d to prntect. jobs. When changes in the economy, tr.cllnology, 01· vc1lues ocrut · that \viltTant lite industry to find a new location, the city should ilssi s t in rrlnc ,11 i11q th0 i11d11st.1-y in the cif:y ancl in redevelopinq the old site into housinq. 1 1 r; I �·····-l·-l-···••11 r·urURE lNDUSTRI/\L DEVELOPMENT /\REAS !lie Bay City Plan incorpo1· ,1tc>s five industrial areas v1ithin the existing city li111it ,;, a11d one indu s trial arra in a portion of Portsmouth Tow11sllip proposed for annexation to the city. In al 1, inclt1st1·ial areas within the city contain approxi111ately 1,035 r1ues. lhc Pm·ts111outl1 l o1·111 s hip industrial area contai11s 98 acres. The largest industrial area in the city lies between Woodside Avenue and the Saginc1v1 River. Thi s area contains the Bay City Chevrolet plant and several other major industries. fhere is e :'. tensive vacant land, a portion of v1hich was created by the Piltterson-Belinda Ut ·ban l!e newal Project. However, much of the vacant land in the district is ovmed by inclu '.; tt ·ir::s already located there, and, therefore, it is probabl y not avililable for new ind11strial concerns. Vacant ind11strial structures are locat ed ,i t the for111er site of U1c Defoe Shipbuilding Company. Existing industrial uses in the di s trict 111ake very l i111ited use of the river frontage. lhe Chevrolet plant uses thr river for cooling p1111 1 oc;ps and the municipal se\vagc treatment plant utilizes it ,7'-, il rr' cc iviniJ st t' Pillli. l he seco nd largest i nclu s txi al ai ·ea i ncoq,ora ted in the Br1 y City Pl an is 1oca ted in the extre111e 1101'tl1ea sl. co rnet · of the city above Marquett e Avenue and east of the Tr11111c1n l' arh1ay. Thr un:,1 pt·Psently contains petroleu111 and aggregate s torage fa ci liti s ;is v-1rll ,1s 111anufact:uri11g plants. It is the one major industrial area in the city wlii t, does not have so111e sitrs f1-onting on the Saginav1 River. With the exception of the st r·ee ts 1•tltich border the di s trict, it contains very little public right-of-way. Tl1is lock of public 1-iqht -o f - v1,1v could be an advantage \-Jhen ilssembling sites for lan1e-s ca le clr'V(' 1011111r. n t. During recent years, U1e 111ost intensive industrial use of the riverfront has been 111ilde by industries located hr.:t1·1een Marquette Avenue and the Sa ginaw River. The Bay City Plan 1,1·ovi des fot· retnininq ind11 s txinl use of the Marquett e industrial area. It contains 52 �!· l· l·I-]- - - _:_1_. 1. 1W1 approxi111ately 133 aues, 111ost of which are fully developed. The largest industrial concern in this ai·ea specializes in aggregate shipping and storage. The area also contains a 111arina and tugboat facility. Because the area combines rail and riverfront access, it is suitable for river-oriented storage uses. Topography should 111ake it relatively easy to screen the Marquette industrial area from adjacent residential areas. A gi-,1in elevator should be built along this stretch of riverrt ·on t. rhe industrial area locatrd between Salzburg Avenue and Niagara Street on the west s ide of the Saginaw River contains approximately 107 acres, almost one-third of v1hich remains undeveloped. The undeveloped portion lies to the west of the railroad right-of-way 1>1hich cuts through the area parallel to the river. The largest industric1l facility in the area is the Prestolite plant, but there are several otl1er i111portc1nt manuracturing es tablishments located there also. Highway access to the Salzburg industrial ai·ea is better than for any other industrial area within the city limits. The futurP. industrial potential of the area could be strengthened ir one or t~vo large parcel s could be asse111bled from existing vacant acreage. fhe industrial district located on the east side of the Saginaw River between Ninth Street ilnd Eighteenth Street contains approximately 74 acres. American Hoist and lkl'l'ick Co111pany, one of thP city's largest employers, is located near the northern end of this district. ror this reason, and because of the other important industrial uses here, the district is not proposed for phasing out in favor of riverfront residential redevelopment. The area is a viable industrial district because sites here arr sub s tantially deeper than in the riverfront industrial district on the east side or the river between L,1fi1vrtte Avenue and Forty-first Street. S3 �---••---··· OPEN SPACE lhe open-space pattern i11dicc.1ted in the Bay City Plan includes extensive riverfront acreage as well as larr1e and well-distributed neighborhood park areas. Major riverfro11t open-space areas include the Veterans Memorial Park and the river frontage to the north of the park. Riverfront acreage to the north of the park includes industrial land which must be c.1 cquired for the Hoodside-Vennont Bridge approachway. This land is presently utiliz ed for salvage yard operations. North of the salvage yards on the riverfront lies a vacant area protected from development because of its c1rchneological signifir.anr:r. It contains extensive Indian relics. A 1 inea1' riverfront op en-s pace area is proposed from the south end of Veterans Memorial Park to Niagara Street. Much of this area is natural wetland which functions as an important wildlife habitat area. Public acquisition of a portion of this area could be accomplished with fu11ds from state and federal open-space acquisition programs. The linear open-space ar·ea between Salzburg Avenue and Niagara Street need not involve public acquisition. llov1r ver, a greenbelt screen should be developed to screen indust rinl uses from propo se d Middlegrounds open-space and residential areas. Two important riverfronl open-space areas are indicated in the Central Bu s iness District. Wenonah Park provides a major civic riverfront area v1hich will be abutted by new commercial, office, entertaininent, and convention facilities. To the north of Wenonah Park 1 ies a propo sed residential area which will include a pedestrian promenade along the riv erfront. A landscaped open-space area is also provided for at the approachway to the Veterans Me111orial Bridge. Major riverfront open-space areas are proposed for the Middlegrounds. The Midd .legrounds contains a commercial marina which is complementary to the extensive publi c 1Tueation area proposed. 54 �• • • • •.I • • • •,1 ' I 'i ~- - ·-: ',)~:.: --< ,_, .~ _..I ,.-~:c ., - ,.,0001,oe- r.' ::: ;~~-4;\ ' .~., . -- \\\: .._______ ~ante,•---------•J .....i...,___ ~=. J."'"'"' ,. ' • r- ' - 1,... mOIJI J . •_ ) L .. : r d .r::. E :, l :: C C: C C> J J--Yr1 ~ 0 '- :: <.) C: ;.. • r-l!"'~, ~ ~ .,, ~- r. C: :::. :::. - ....::.- - ... ·:: :: ....::: '-.: =:.J. ..::._ - - I ~ :;•••••• •••• . I ~.::t_·\ ·~ - \\. ,.., __,,-{ r-""'l .;r,;J !~ { .. 1.·:.r-1 \ I . -{"-/}I I rr::..~ · .. . •-:-rr· ,",:<-,•"•J C '•\•I 1 -~, .;.c f >.J-,;.;,.,.~- \ \ \ . •, \_ \ 1 •• ' . 1 ~~ . ;.. -'- ' - ----- ' " - ..... - ' • • • • • ~-1· . . . ~ _ .... ., • • L.........1...........--• ·\_ \, I _,,·._,:,-'~·-:1 ·, , ,, . ;.. ' \ f:-!~--\ i ·, •••••• \\. ·-. l.;:(~1 •.)<\ t'."- ...... I ~rJ-- -c ~ '•• • - -- -- .._ -- :: .' ·····-·····~-· ·~ : ' , :~ / • •••• Cosr ··:· . ,· ,.-,•, <.' _._,.,. ·-- -- . · ..... .. . . - ', •• ' :.. ••••••••••••••• ••••••••••••· :-1' . ... , ,,. ., j I :: ~ __ -::: - ::::: ..:: :: :: :::_, ........ :: ":" -...::. �····--···· A linear open-space area is proposed for the east bank of the Saginaw River south from Lafayette Avenue to Fo,·ty-first Street. This linear open-space area could be incorporated as an integral part of riverfront residential development. The open-space c1 creag e could be count Pd in determining permitted residential densities. However, a public ec1sP.111ent should li e acquired to permit pedestrian and bicycle circulation. An extensive open-space ar P.a is indicated between the river and the residential developproposed for the area north of the James Clements Airport site. Because of the l o~v elevation of this ai·ea. approximately half of the area must be reserved as open s pace. A large portion o f this open space should be included as part of the planned re"idential develorment. Public open sp ace for active and passive recreation use should hr rr"ei·ved a t the nortli r rn po,·t ion of the present airport site near Forty-first Street. 111c11t 5G �............... TIIOROU(;Hr-/\RE SYSTEM \IEsr SIDE CrRCUL/\Tiuri West side Bay City is 111;1dr. 11p of the previously separat e communities of Bunks, Wenonu, and Salzbut·g, and there ,ire poor 111ajor road connections between them. No through route exists along the western edge of the Saginaw River to allow traffic to move directly between southwest and norlheast portions of the city. In order to provide better west c; icle circu1ation, the 13ily City Plan recommends realign111ent of existing streets and cons 1xuction of conn0cto1 ·s be~1-1een them to create a continuous west river route. The route proposed in the plar1 uses Marquette, Henry, and Wenona Streets as the main ele111ents in the proro sed west 1·iver route . The final alignment of the route may be refined throuqh mor e detr1ilrd planning. Major east-west circulation on the west side of the Saginaw River will he acco111111odated on the thoroughfares which connect the proposed Saginaw l~iver 13ridge, the Veterans Memorial Bridge, and the Lafayette Bridge. It is proposed that Midland and Ven11ont Streets form a major thoroughfare leading to the \-Joodside-V e r111ont 13ridge. The Jenny-Thomas one-way courle will function as a major thoroughfare leading to the Veterans Memorial Bridge. Salzburg 1-iill function as a major thoroughfare leading to the Lafayette Bridge. Wilder Road and Euclid Avenue will provide east-west and 11ni·t11-south circulation at the northern and western boundaries of t:hr city, 1·ec;pectivrly. 1-_ /\ S r SI DE C 1 ~CUL/\ r I ori rive 111ajor east-v-1est thornughfares are proposed for the east side of the Saginaw River. The '; e ar e : \,Jood s ide Ave nue, Center Avenue, Columbus /\venue, Lafayette-Ko sc iuszko, a nd Cass /\venue. rou1· 111a .ior north-south circulation routes are proposed. The most important of these is tlw route formed by the Veterans Memorial Highway, Broadway, Garfield, and Wa s hington /\venues. This route will link the proposed riverfront residential area and the Central 13usiness District. It will also carry traffic approaching thr city frrn11 the south illonq the Veterans Memorial Higf1v1ay. Trumbull /\venue is the 57 �II "• • • • • • • • -~--------------~ oo - \ -- - ! · --~ if: ,_ I "'.'.'._ --- I r- ... f L ~ r • ._, ~ > 1 ; 00 01 10 • - • --.... -~---.-. 7I . ..\: ..,.,_,...,~' l l'lomo• I : a~ta,..,_ _ _ _ _ _ _ _....,__ l ::o" I C () ..... . i I f C,· :, I I I f 0- "C '61 I I C: 0 't:: .!: !. "C C ~ 0 --- ·-, _ ,...__ -~ C .)' .' '' ' '' ' . C } "C ... ~ :: .. .... C" 0 C: L - c C L C I - I r I ! i ....~ 'I I :, ········ .......... ~---· I (.,01• --~••••••••••••., - --- - --:: "--- --: ~ ,i i•l ( ,•rr ,> \ __ 1~ .......-'!- " 1\-. ------•a>••·········-············~- · -. - . 'I I ' ' t! /; \ ~ ~ --, \•• ~ , - - __·-~ ·····•· --·-·········""·-~······-··-·············· __ . . . 1 ... _:.. ~ J. .::::. _, �• . ~ · w second most i111portant north-south thoroughfare on the east side of the river. It connects with Independe11ce Bridge on the north and with M-15 near Columbus Avenue. !\ new nortl1-south thorou9hfilt'e connection is proposed hetween the Veterans Memorial llighway at McGraw /\venue and Lafayette Avenue. This thoroughfare will provide Jccess to proposed new rr,sidential development along the riverfront. McGraw Avenue could eventually prnvide a 111ajor thoroughfare linkage through proposed irnnexation il\'f'rlS <;ntlth of the p1·rs r 11t city limits. 1 I, mouG11 I RAFF I c: S, 10R r-R/\NGE SoLUT r oNs Bay City is traversed by four state highways: M-13, M-15, M-25 and M-84. It also lies adjacent to I-75 and 11S-10. M-25 is a major truck route between 1-75 and the thur11b area. M-15 and M-1 3 have been popular with motorists as alternatives to the heavily-used 1-75. Thei1 popularity increased with the opening of the Independence llrid\Je. lhrough traffic prnble111s are particularly sevet'e on summer weekends. Most of the proble11rs associatccJ with through traffic involve the channeling of heavy volu111es into tl'm-lane strerts, and long backups at intersections or behind cars 111aking left turns. Sho1 ·L-range solutions include widening of affected streets and adding turn lanes at certain intersections. Proposals for widening the Lafayette nriclgr or constructing " 11ev1 bridge at Cass Avenue have also been considered. f11ROLJGH TR/\FFIC: Lor1G-R/\MGE SOLUTIONS Develop111ent of a continuous circumferential by-pass will be the most effective approach tor eliminating through L1-affic from Bay City. Such a by-pass could utilize 1-75 on the west side and Wilder Road on the north. Pine Road (which extends through Ports111outh and Ha111pton Townships and Essexville) could be the eastern segment of such a circu111ferential route. Wi Ider Road could be extended and a new bridge could be con,;tx uctrrf to connect \~i lrJc,1· to Pine Road. !\ less expensive alternative would be to 59 �•• ••••• utilize the Independence l3ridge which could be connected to Pine Road via Woodside Avenue. Sevet·a 1 proposals have b1'en considered for the south seg111ent of the proposed by-pass. One proposal is to construct a Cass Avenue bridge to link Cass and Hotchkiss. A second alternative is to link 1-75 t.o McGraw Avenue via a new thorouqhfare located between Hotchkiss and Sto11e Island Road. McGraw Avenue, Bullock Road, and German Road, could form the south segment of the circu111fr1·(•11tial route. Pine Road would have to be extended south of Cass to German Rnad. -1111 rrn STR EE T BRIDGE l~E r LACEMENT The collop se of the Thit ·d S!Tert Bridge in 1976 has caused major traffic problems for Bay City. Tile Third Street Hridge v✓ as one of only two bridges serving the Central Business District area and one of only four bridges serving the entire metropolitan community. It carried over 20 percent of the daily river crossings in the city. Veterans Memorial Bridge, 1vhich is part of the M- 25 route, has had to accommodate a very high proportion of the displaced traffic. Henry, Wl' nona, Thomas and Jenny Streets have experienced serious traffic congestion as a result of refunneling of traffic to the Veterans Memorial Bridge. East side sti-eets 111o s t seriously affected are Center /\venue, Madison Avenue Water Street, Saginaw Street, Hashington /\venue, McKinley Avenue and Seventh Street. Circulation difficulties associated 1-1ith the collapse of the bridge have created particular problems for Bay City's t1-10 main bu:-;i11ess districts. The extra traffic using the Veterans Memorial Bridge has increased traffic congestion downtown. Midland Street businessmen were originally concerned that the loss of traffic would result in reduced business. However some observers believe the area is recuverinq from the initial shock of redistributed traffic patterns and that it will eventually benefit from the elimination of through traffic. Traffic congestion is most serious during peak Central Business District traffic times and when bridges are opened to accommodate shipr:iing and pleasure-boating traffic. Numerous traffic improvements designed to better the flow of traffic through the congested areas at the ends of the Veterans Me111orial 8ridge have br:e11 i111ple1nented or considered. The most important of these i111prove111ents i c; thP co11stxuction ol ,1 110v1 lwidqe to link Woodside Avenue viith Vermont. 60 �···-···· I NDE r'ENDE t'lCE Bl< I OGE /\I' r'RO/\CHW/\ Y S 1111: new Independence 8rid!Je v1as opened in July 1976 shortly after the collapse of the lhird Street Bridge. lhe Independence Bridge project wa c; a joint city and county rffort. Lhat included a111! itiouc; 1·edevelopment of the orea aro1md the bridge. IndepenclPn ce [fridge is able t.o cr1rry 111uch 111ore traffic than the old Belinda Bridge. However, llir' increr1sed traffic ha s cauc;cd serious problems at both approaches to the bridge. fo n'ciUCP. tr,1ffic congr,,:;t.ion, \-Jildrr Road was widened t.o five lanes from the bridge's north end to M- 13. It is 11roposed to upgrade Trumbull /\venue between the bridge and M-15. Tr ,1 ffic proble111 s 011 lt'u111bull are particularly severe on weekends when the s ti ·eet is clogged by thi ·ough traffic seeking an alternate route to 1-75. In the short1·a11gc, intersection i111111 ·<1v 0111c11tc; need to be made; in the long-range, the street needs tn !iP 1-1iclr:t1ed. 1 Cr:tJTl</\1_ DU S INESS D1 s 1P1cr (JRCUL/\TION 8il y 1: it y 's Cent1·,1l Bu s in es s District has experienced many traffic problems. Circulation i s hampered hy on-sln~et parking, inadequate off-street parking facilities, inadequ ,1 te s treet arrang c111Pnts, traffic signalization problems, and a mixture of thrnugli and local traffic. fhe Bay City Downtown Redevelopment Plan contains a douhl e lnop concept de s ig1tf'd to improve circulation in the Central Business District unc..l link it with the Midl<111d St.reet Business District. On the north, the C.B.D. loop will consist of Tltircl and rourth Streets. On the south and east, the C.B.D. 10011 will cnnsist of Saqinr1w Street, the McKinley-Seventh Street one-way couple, ond Madison /\venue. Qt.h e r improvements needed in the downtown area include the upgrading of traffic signal r, , the construction of parking ramps, a new downtown bridge, ,ind t.iir' 1·rrntit.ing of M-? r; to by - pass the d01·mtown area. Gl �........... ,. srR/\lEGY roR ELIMIN/\1 l(lM OF UICOMPAl IBLE LAMD !!SES L'uring lhc past clcc:ad1•, 1:,1y Lily has 111ade substantial prng1ess in e·li111inc1ling incrnnpatible land uses. llii s hiJ •; been acco111plished in conjunction with detailed neighborhoodlevel planning under the llr·bun Renewal Program and the Con1111unity Development Program. 1\-10 areas where r1·ogre<; r: l1a·~ be0n most dramatic are the Patterson-Belinda area, and the ,leffrrson-Lincoln arra. In the Patterson-Belinda area, extensive substandard residential develop111ent was clra1ed lo 111ake room for industrial expansion. The entire project was coo1·di11ated with constrnction of the Independence Bridge and related thoroughfare i111prove111ents. 111 the J1:I fr!rson-Lincoln area, deteriorated housing and conunercial uses were clea1·ed for a pa1k, iJ senior citizens high rise apartment, multi-family townhouses and a law enforcement center. The City's first housinq rehabilitation program was •; t,,1 ded i 11 tl1i s 11r> i rJlihn1 l11J od. Ove1· the s hort run, it v1i ll not be possible nor desfrable to eli111inate all incompatible land uses fron1 flay City. Ille pattern of commercial uses in residential areas is too fir111ly estali li s l1 ed to li e 1 p1ickly erased. The Bay City tradition of neighborhood ston"; 011d ta ve rn s can be 111,1 i11t.Ji11c,1, but efforts should be 111ade to lessen the undesirable i111pact of co111111e1cial uses i11 residential areas. Oecisions about \<Jhich co111111ercial usf' s Lo retain a11d hov1 to 111akr• them better neighbors lo resid ential develop111ent should be 111ade at the neiqhborhood plc1nn ing level. Effort s sho11ld be made to eli111inate incompat ililr indu s trial uses f10111 1esidential areas, but such efforts should not be heavy-handed. Ille 8,1y City Plan doe s nut 1·eco1rnnend wholesale downzoning of incompatible industrial uses. Do1<Jnzoning should be use d to prevent more intensive industrial operations fro111 being established in existing industrial sites in residential areas. Downzoning which n1akes existing indu s t1 · ial fc1cilities nonconforming should be used only to a very li111ited extent. (~reenbelts, buff(!l' strips, additional off-street parking, and other approaches, should be encouraged thrnugh zoning and detailed neighborhood-level planning in order to 111ake inco111patible inrlt1 s t1 · i.:il uses less disturbing to the residential environment in 1-1hich tliry c11 -0 lo cc1te d. 62 �\ ------------Wilder-Ra-------------\ i r-~ i 11,! Ill .: • 11; ' - i J --~ 'J :r _, __,_ _ Wood11oe - ~' ~ z ---' - I I II .... .....- J. :r -< -- -"" ; .:::. :; ,T' .I :r :r 7 <' - 'J ·, ~ DIV -- --- ::. - -::- - :: .,,. ..__ --- ------ --:-- ~-:; - .:: --:. --- --: ::: ...::: - ----- ·-·.. .: ·-:::.~. : : ·- ~ 1- -; .......~ .i- '; ~ ...::: ....._ ._ ... i I ~ \ ""':: - .._..::.... .,,. - - -- --- --- -- �........ --- During recent years, 13ay City has made substantial progress in consolidating railroad lin es and eliminating unn eces sary rights-of-way. The city should continue to push for additional consolidation and right-of-way vacation, where possible. Right-of-way 1-1hich provides essential senice to existing industrial development cannot be eliminated. ll • 1·1ev er , tile city should he sensitive to opportunities for right-of-way vacation created by phasing out of certain indu s trial uses or changes from uses requiring railroad service to uses not requiring railroad service. vlhere right-of-v1ay elimination cannot be accomplished, detailed neigl1bor·hood-level planning should provide for landscape buffering of rililroad rightc;-of-way frn111 adjacent residential uses. The homes fronting on Carroll f<oad are among th e nice st and be st maintained in the city despite the fact that a railroad riqht-of-way arch es along their back property lines. Deep lots and dense landc; ci1p inq llavP help ed to 111i11i111ize the impact of train trilffic. 64 �• .I.I.I• • ., 11, W , .• ) rIIE OU/\L I ry OF LI rE Hr:s10Ern1/\L VITALIT Y llli s flay City Pliln is forn1ulated in the belief that the city must be a good place to live, as t•1ell as a good pl ace to 111ake a living. The strength of the city i s pri111arily dependent upon its reside11tial vitality. It must be attractive to families with growing c hildren as well as to young unmarried people and older people. Planning for schools, parks, s hopping, neighborhood institutions, police and fire protection, cultural activities, and enviro11111ental c l Pcrnliness, should all be geared to strengthening residential vi t.;:i 1 i ty. P.ay r.ity 1·es idents place i1 p1·emiu111 on neighborhood social ties. ror this reason, Bay City may be one of the fe\-1 ce ntral-place cities in the Midwest in which existing urban neiq hborf1oods are prefPtT ed ove1· newer suburbs by a large proportion of the population. Bc1y City has many fine neighborhoods with attractive and desirable homes. Certain older r11·eas in Bay City have been rejuvenated primarily throuqh property-owner efforts. Other 11r'iql1hnl"11oorls have hennfitrrl fro111 carefully coordinated rubl ic revitalization. llo1-1ever, l3ay City ha s a very g1·eat need to create new ne ighborhoods which can attract 1·cs id r nt s seeki ng new hou s ing. There are presently no unutilized area s within the city v1hich cc1 n acco111111odate 111ajor new residential development. Provision of new neighborhoodsca l e residential dev c lor111ent can be accomplished only through annexation of adjacent tJ11dPve lnp ed areas .a nd tl1rnuqh redevelopment of areas presently devoted to other use s. 65 �·····••11 ErtVIHONMENTf\L 0Uf\ll I Y lllc s trength of 13ay Cil.y clr' pends in part on the perception s of the people v-1ho live, work, rl.nd vi s it the c it y. !he City's environmental quality and vigor must be readil y sr. en. Entran ces to th ~ c ity should be distinctive. The Central Business District, the City Il a fl area, Veterr1n s Memorial Park, the Middlegrounds, and the entire riv e r front should convey th e i1 importance through a strong and attractive visual impact. /\pprna c hways to the c it y it self and to its major activity centers should be distinctivP. Special efforts should be 111ade to upgrade landmarks and symbolic elements of the civic 0nviron111 1: nt. /\e s thcti cc1\ l y- unattractive uses should be cleaned up or restricted. /\r' PH 0/\ CI IW/\ YS /\prirn ach1-1ays a1·e i111p ort c1 11t. hecau se they provide the fir s t image of Bay City to r e sident s and e111pl oyees rel.urning lrn111 out s ide the city and to vi s itors. Important approachway point s ar e lo cated alonu 111,1 jor arterial streets which lead into the city. Approachways a l so occ ur at the entr crn cr. to major activity centers within the city. Bridges over th e <::; aq in c1 v1 l~i vr 1· ,Jl' r. i111p u1·L,11it apprnacl1v1a ys to either sid r. of the c ity . \li e po le n l. i a f 101· c1ea ti11 ~1 c1 pos itive psychological i111pact at i111pol'tant apprnachwa y poin ts s hould be lllax i111iz ed t hro ugl1 spe c ial efforts to impro ve surrounding development s , en s ur e a ttr ac tiv e vi ew of di s lo11t develop111ent, and create a d1·amatic impact through new devel op111 ent. One approt1 cl1v1a y v1hi ch has undergone significant improvement during recent year s i s th e Veteran s Me111orial Bridg e ar ea. Improvements in the area which have helped create a po s itiv e psy chological i111r ac t are the Sears and Holida y Inn structures, Veteran s Memorial Pa rk, a nd the Pine To1•1e1 ·s high rise apartment building. Public right-of-way landscaping on tl 1e ea s t s ide o f tl1 e b1·idg e has also enhanced thi s approachway. The renovation of Cit y Hall add s t o t he overci ll environmental quality. The environmental quality of th e app1·oa c hwa y can lie furtl ir ,1· s trengthened by the elimin a tion of unattractiv e and inappro priate l and J ses suc h as th e ce111ent indu s try located be hind City Hall and the auto r epair estu bli s h111011t l oca t ed al l.inn and ,Jenny. Ba y City s hou ld encour age e s t abli s hment of more ,it t1 ·,1 c t i vr' l c1 11d 11sr'<; .i i l l1i •; k0y i1 pp1·o c1 c h1•1ay . 66 �•••••••1.,••• SYMGOLI C ELH1EIH S Alm LANDMARKS Sy111 bol ic ele111ents Cl'eate s trong visual images and give character to the city by vfrtue of t l1e it· location, phy s icc1l appec1rance, and institutional importance. Bay City i s a c<' tilt ·c1 l-pL1cc cu111111uniLy 1-11,iclt i s a focus of econo111ic activity for tile sut-rounding t·e qion. 8ay r.ity'r; Crntr·;il Businrss District has symbolic importance over and above its functional t'Ole. lire llH'vrolet plant sy1t1bolizes the enet·gy and i111portance of 111otor veliiclr, 111a11ufacturing in 13,iy City. Center /\venue is lined with historic homes built. by the l eading citizens of an e arlier time. It sy111bolizes the emergence and growth of Buy f' i ty ;is an i111portctnt urban center. Veterans Memorial Park and the Middlegrounds f'ark opC'n up the city to the Saginaw River and emphasize the river's symbolic irnportunce. I111portan t ne1-1 st rue tu res such as the Sea rs department store and the Ho 1 i day Inn sy111bolize growth and 1evitalization in the city as does the recently-renovated City Hall ul1 i r lt prnv i cfr-: s u 1 ink be l.1-Jc e n the Bay City of today and the Bay City of the past. Mutty sy111ho l i c ele111ents i111portant to individual neighborhoods are scattered throughout Bay City. Chi ef among these are the city's beautifully designed churches. St. Stanislau s, l1lll11anu e l Lutli e t·a n. and Holy Trinity, are all notables for their symbolic importance. tl e ighbot ·hood parks s uc h as Carroll Park, Roosevelt Park, and Birney Park, play a symbolic i-nle hy e nhc1n c: inq lhc t-r•,irlr.ntial ambiance of their neighborhoods. /\ E S1 11 E r I C/\ L L Y- l} I S I' I_E /\ S I NG /\ RE AS lhe 111ost pro111inent aesthetically-displeasing areas in Bay City line the Saginaw Rive1· 1-1h ere indu s trial develop111e11t often presents an unsightly view to observers on city bridges or on the opposite river bank. On the east side of the river, unsightly develop111ent cc1n be found from 1-lcKinley Avenue to the James Clements Airport. On the west side of the 1· iver, unsightly industrial facilities can be found from the Truman Parkway to Bradley Street, and fro111 Salzburg Avenue to Niagara Street. Aesthetically-displeasing ureas are al so locatr.d ulong major thoroughfares vihere older housing is beginning to cider i nrr1 t e. 67 �"• • •II ._,... ~ -< z i f) ----< '~' ,.._ I rJ_ _ _J ;...-. ' II II •II Ill Ill ' ~ I.- : ante, rL_ r o lurnb1H ~ u rI C 0 ..,:, ! _.r _) :, ~ l C ..... CI: --- ·---::-. ::: I ~ I -- - I I I :.... ~ ·- - ·...::... ::.· ; i -~--~ \ \ -.J \ \ - - - ;.... - �········••11• ArPENDIX A- LIST or- SUB-AREA AND SPECIAL PURPOSE PLANS I. SUB-AREA PLANS A. Riverfront Ng_Et_li ]?_enew_~l Area General Neighborhood Renewal Plan, Parkins/Rogers, .l:rnuarv, 1.971. (Overall frame work plan for Patterson-Belinda, Jefferson-Lincoln, Downtown and Midland Street areas. Served as detailed plan for Patterson-Belinda Redevelopmr 11t Projcc.l.) I\. ~v City Riverfront North Environmental Design Study, Parkins/Rogers & Associates i11 ,1s s nciation 1-:ith Christopher Wzacny & Associates, March, 1972. (Urban design s tudiE's for Patterson-Belinda, Jefferson-Lincoln, Downtown, Midland Street, Banks, Woodside and Johnson Strert l)istricts. Also contained urban dos ig11 s l11diC's for industrial areas.) C. Jeff e rson-Linct)Jn M.-ister Plan, Christopher \.Jzncny & Associates, 1975 . (L:111d u s r - 111·li;111 d c s1gn plan presented in map fonn only.) ll. n<!..Y_J: it_y_ Do1-mt: (11m Red e velopment Plan, Chdstopher Wzacny (llotnllc<l l rl1td 11 sc & Associates, 1978. trnnsportation plan for Bay City's Central Business District) 69 �, ••• ····•1111,a E. Midland Street ll_e_vtl2I1_ment Area, Phase I, Christ op her Wzacny & Associates, September, l CJ7Q. (Ln11tl F. 11 s e> ,rnd c ir c u]ation concept plan for MidJand Street District.) Columbus Avenllc Corridor Study, Phase 1, Christopher Wzacny & Associates, luly, .1979. ( l,:rnd us< ' n11d G. 1 · irc11l,1tion concept plan for Columbus Avenue District.) South-End l'J:in 1 l'._!1_0_~e_l_, Christopher Wzacny & Associates, May, 1980. ( l.;111d use ;ind c i rcllL1t .I.on plan for South-end lllstrict.) I 1. Sl'EC: 1 i\ l , l' llll l' tlSI '. l' l,1\ I!:; A. l~c-~o_v_cr_,·_ !'_c_li()11 P_r_n_g_ram, Christopher Wzacny f, As sociates, October, 1980. ( C it. ,·- 1.JidC' 11 :1rl TL :rnd r cc n .• ation plan and program.) Communiy_J :~ n t ~ r ~l'_o__S~ lzburg /\venue Ex tens io_n, J\nde rson /Lesniak & /\ssoci n t e s , Sc plt' mh c r- , 1_qg11. (ll(' lni l t1 d cl1• ::i r- 11 pl;in for extensjon of Vetcrnns Memorial Park south to Salzburg.) C. Downtown Riverfront Promenade Design, Christopher Wzacny & Associates, Se pt e mber, JqRn. (llv l ,1ilt•J 1Il1;!11 cl e'.~ lgn for riv e rfront development in downtown.) 70 �............ l!I. SPE CI/\l. S !III J!E S /\. [3_ay ~i__ ty__l_!_Q_us i11u Iss ~!?_~, Gerald Luedtke & Assoc iates , 1980. (flesc1·ipti () 11 of l1 ous ing problem s and altern at e so lutions.) B. r o_r t_fo_li _o of l~ivro 1J_!_'_ont Housing Ideas, Gerald Luedtke & Associates, 19 Rl. ( Stati s tical d,1ta, information and urban design on potential housing site s til e Sc1g i 11 <11·1 I~i ve r.) 0 11 71 � Dublin Core The Dublin Core metadata element set is common to all Omeka records, including items, files, and collections. For more information see, http://dublincore.org/documents/dces/. Title A name given to the resource Wyckoff Planning and Zoning Collection Creator An entity primarily responsible for making the resource Planning & Zoning Center (Lansing, Mich.) (Organization) Wyckoff, Mark A. Description An account of the resource Municipal master plans and zoning ordinances from across the state of Michigan, spanning from the 1960s to the early 2020s. The bulk of the collection was compiled by urban planner Mark Wyckoff over the course of his career as the founder and principal planner of the Planning and Zoning Center in Lansing, Michigan. Some additions have been made to the collection by municipalities since it was transferred to Grand Valley State University. Coverage The spatial or temporal topic of the resource, the spatial applicability of the resource, or the jurisdiction under which the resource is relevant Michigan Date A point or period of time associated with an event in the lifecycle of the resource 1960/2023 Source A related resource from which the described resource is derived <a href="https://gvsu.lyrasistechnology.org/repositories/2/resources/870">Planning and Zoning Center Collection (RHC-240)</a> Rights Information about rights held in and over the resource <a href="http://rightsstatements.org/vocab/NoC-US/1.0/">No Copyright - United States</a> Subject The topic of the resource Michigan Comprehensive plan publications Master plan reports Zoning--Michigan Zoning--Maps Maps Land use--planning Publisher An entity responsible for making the resource available Grand Valley State University. University Libraries. Special Collections & University Archives Identifier An unambiguous reference to the resource within a given context RHC-240 Format The file format, physical medium, or dimensions of the resource application/pdf Type The nature or genre of the resource Text Language A language of the resource eng Text A resource consisting primarily of words for reading. Examples include books, letters, dissertations, poems, newspapers, articles, archives of mailing lists. Note that facsimiles or images of texts are still of the genre Text. Dublin Core The Dublin Core metadata element set is common to all Omeka records, including items, files, and collections. For more information see, http://dublincore.org/documents/dces/. Identifier An unambiguous reference to the resource within a given context Bay-City_Master-Plan_1982 Creator An entity primarily responsible for making the resource City of Bay City Planning Department, City of Bay City, Bay County, Michigan Date A point or period of time associated with an event in the lifecycle of the resource 1982-04 Title A name given to the resource The Bay City Master Plan Description An account of the resource The Bay City Master Plan developed by the City of Bay City Planning Department and introduced to the public in April 1982. Subject The topic of the resource Master plan reports Bay County (Mich.) Bay City (Mich.) Source A related resource from which the described resource is derived <a href="https://gvsu.lyrasistechnology.org/repositories/2/resources/870">Planning and Zoning Center Collection (RHC-240)</a> Rights Information about rights held in and over the resource <a href="http://rightsstatements.org/vocab/NoC-US/1.0/">No Copyright - United States</a> Type The nature or genre of the resource Text Format The file format, physical medium, or dimensions of the resource application/pdf Language A language of the resource eng Publisher An entity responsible for making the resource available Grand Valley State University. University Libraries. Lemmen Library and Archives https://digitalcollections.library.gvsu.edu/files/original/fadc51f732b4ce1d6c7426d339837186.jpg c7f157ca0898d123e33c82c09b6e2a31 Dublin Core The Dublin Core metadata element set is common to all Omeka records, including items, files, and collections. For more information see, http://dublincore.org/documents/dces/. Title A name given to the resource Summers in Saugatuck-Douglas Collection Creator An entity primarily responsible for making the resource Grand Valley State University. Kutsche Office of Local History Description An account of the resource Collection contains images and documents digitized and collected through the project "Stories of Summer," supported by a National Endowment for the Humanities Common Heritage Grant. The collection aims to document the twin lakeshore communities of Saugatuck and Douglas, Michigan, as they transformed through the state's bustling tourism industry and acceptance of minorities. Coverage The spatial or temporal topic of the resource, the spatial applicability of the resource, or the jurisdiction under which the resource is relevant 1910s-2010s Source A related resource from which the described resource is derived Various Rights Information about rights held in and over the resource <a href="http://rightsstatements.org/vocab/UND/1.0/">Copyright Undetermined</a> Subject The topic of the resource Michigan Saugatuck (Mich.) Douglas (Mich.) Michigan, Lake Allegan County (Mich.) Beaches Sand dunes Outdoor recreation Publisher An entity responsible for making the resource available Grand Valley State University Libraries. Allendale, Michigan Contributor An entity responsible for making contributions to the resource Saugatuck-Douglas History Center Identifier An unambiguous reference to the resource within a given context Stories of Summer (Common Heritage project) Format The file format, physical medium, or dimensions of the resource image/jpeg application/pdf Type The nature or genre of the resource Image Text Language A language of the resource English Date A point or period of time associated with an event in the lifecycle of the resource 2018 Still Image A static visual representation. Examples include paintings, drawings, graphic designs, plans and maps. Recommended best practice is to assign the type Text to images of textual materials. Dublin Core The Dublin Core metadata element set is common to all Omeka records, including items, files, and collections. For more information see, http://dublincore.org/documents/dces/. Identifier An unambiguous reference to the resource within a given context DC-07_SD-Brigham-D_0026 Creator An entity primarily responsible for making the resource Brigham, D. Title A name given to the resource The Beech-Hurst farmhouse Description An account of the resource The Beech and Maple trees by the driveway of Beech-Hurst on Ferry Street with the farmhouse in the background Subject The topic of the resource Michigan Saugatuck (Mich.) Allegan County (Mich.) Source A related resource from which the described resource is derived Digital file contributed by D. Brigham as part of the Stories of Summer project. Relation A related resource Stories of Summer (project) Rights Information about rights held in and over the resource <a href="http://rightsstatements.org/vocab/UND/1.0/">Copyright Undetermined</a> Type The nature or genre of the resource Image Format The file format, physical medium, or dimensions of the resource image/jpeg Publisher An entity responsible for making the resource available Grand Valley State University. University Libraries. Lemmen Library and Archives https://digitalcollections.library.gvsu.edu/files/original/0dc6f47b291ee53d235038498a57584b.jpg 3991aea26da2d8839607069f369ef5fb Dublin Core The Dublin Core metadata element set is common to all Omeka records, including items, files, and collections. For more information see, http://dublincore.org/documents/dces/. Title A name given to the resource Decorated Publishers' Bindings Subject The topic of the resource Book covers Covers (Illustration) Graphic arts Publishers and publishing Pictorial bindings Description An account of the resource From the early 1870s to roughly 1930, many publishers issued their commercial book covers with a remarkable variety of graphic designs and illustrations. This sixty-year period saw many artists and designers contributing to this art form. While some can be identified from their style or initials, others remain unknown. Source A related resource from which the described resource is derived Seidman Rare Books Collection Michigan Novels Collection Regional Historical Collection Lincoln and the Civil War Collection Publisher An entity responsible for making the resource available Grand Valley State University. University Libraries. Special Collections & University Archives Date A point or period of time associated with an event in the lifecycle of the resource 2017-08-30 Rights Information about rights held in and over the resource <a href="http://rightsstatements.org/page/InC/1.0/?language=en">In Copyright</a>, <a href="http://rightsstatements.org/page/NoC-US/1.0/?language=en">No Copyright - United States</a> Format The file format, physical medium, or dimensions of the resource image/jpg Language A language of the resource eng Type The nature or genre of the resource Image Identifier An unambiguous reference to the resource within a given context DC-01 Still Image A static visual representation. Examples include paintings, drawings, graphic designs, plans and maps. Recommended best practice is to assign the type Text to images of textual materials. Source Michigan Novels Collection. PS3531.E255 B4 1901 Dublin Core The Dublin Core metadata element set is common to all Omeka records, including items, files, and collections. For more information see, http://dublincore.org/documents/dces/. Identifier An unambiguous reference to the resource within a given context DC-01_Bindings0018a Title A name given to the resource The Beleaguered Forest Creator An entity primarily responsible for making the resource Matthews, Harry B. (Designer) Description An account of the resource Binding of The Beleaguered Forest, by Elia Wilkinson Peattie, published by D. Appleton and Company, 1901. Subject The topic of the resource Book covers Covers (Illustration) Graphic arts Publishers and publishing Pictorial bindings Language A language of the resource eng Rights Information about rights held in and over the resource <a href="http://rightsstatements.org/page/NoC-US/1.0/?language=en">No Copyright - United States</a> Type The nature or genre of the resource Image Format The file format, physical medium, or dimensions of the resource image/jpeg Date A point or period of time associated with an event in the lifecycle of the resource 1901 Publisher An entity responsible for making the resource available Grand Valley State University. University Libraries. Lemmen Library and Archives https://digitalcollections.library.gvsu.edu/files/original/823d9109ecddf45695543047470b470a.jpg 568e664917264531990461d574f0c086 Dublin Core The Dublin Core metadata element set is common to all Omeka records, including items, files, and collections. For more information see, http://dublincore.org/documents/dces/. Title A name given to the resource Decorated Publishers' Bindings Subject The topic of the resource Book covers Covers (Illustration) Graphic arts Publishers and publishing Pictorial bindings Description An account of the resource From the early 1870s to roughly 1930, many publishers issued their commercial book covers with a remarkable variety of graphic designs and illustrations. This sixty-year period saw many artists and designers contributing to this art form. While some can be identified from their style or initials, others remain unknown. Source A related resource from which the described resource is derived Seidman Rare Books Collection Michigan Novels Collection Regional Historical Collection Lincoln and the Civil War Collection Publisher An entity responsible for making the resource available Grand Valley State University. University Libraries. Special Collections & University Archives Date A point or period of time associated with an event in the lifecycle of the resource 2017-08-30 Rights Information about rights held in and over the resource <a href="http://rightsstatements.org/page/InC/1.0/?language=en">In Copyright</a>, <a href="http://rightsstatements.org/page/NoC-US/1.0/?language=en">No Copyright - United States</a> Format The file format, physical medium, or dimensions of the resource image/jpg Language A language of the resource eng Type The nature or genre of the resource Image Identifier An unambiguous reference to the resource within a given context DC-01 Still Image A static visual representation. Examples include paintings, drawings, graphic designs, plans and maps. Recommended best practice is to assign the type Text to images of textual materials. Source Michigan Novels Collection. PS3531.E255 B4 1901 c.2 Dublin Core The Dublin Core metadata element set is common to all Omeka records, including items, files, and collections. For more information see, http://dublincore.org/documents/dces/. Identifier An unambiguous reference to the resource within a given context DC-01_Bindings0018b Title A name given to the resource The Beleaguered Forest Creator An entity primarily responsible for making the resource Matthews, Harry B. (Designer) Description An account of the resource Binding of The Beleaguered Forest, by Elia Wilkinson Peattie, published by D. Appleton and Company, 1901. Subject The topic of the resource Book covers Covers (Illustration) Graphic arts Publishers and publishing Pictorial bindings Language A language of the resource eng Rights Information about rights held in and over the resource <a href="http://rightsstatements.org/page/NoC-US/1.0/?language=en">No Copyright - United States</a> Type The nature or genre of the resource Image Format The file format, physical medium, or dimensions of the resource image/jpeg Date A point or period of time associated with an event in the lifecycle of the resource 1901 Publisher An entity responsible for making the resource available Grand Valley State University. University Libraries. Lemmen Library and Archives https://digitalcollections.library.gvsu.edu/files/original/8cd998f3bce40bcbeab513a754ac138e.jpg 26b7bb820e13ddab2fa2e548a5ad0f8f Dublin Core The Dublin Core metadata element set is common to all Omeka records, including items, files, and collections. For more information see, http://dublincore.org/documents/dces/. Title A name given to the resource Decorated Publishers' Bindings Subject The topic of the resource Book covers Covers (Illustration) Graphic arts Publishers and publishing Pictorial bindings Description An account of the resource From the early 1870s to roughly 1930, many publishers issued their commercial book covers with a remarkable variety of graphic designs and illustrations. This sixty-year period saw many artists and designers contributing to this art form. While some can be identified from their style or initials, others remain unknown. Source A related resource from which the described resource is derived Seidman Rare Books Collection Michigan Novels Collection Regional Historical Collection Lincoln and the Civil War Collection Publisher An entity responsible for making the resource available Grand Valley State University. University Libraries. Special Collections & University Archives Date A point or period of time associated with an event in the lifecycle of the resource 2017-08-30 Rights Information about rights held in and over the resource <a href="http://rightsstatements.org/page/InC/1.0/?language=en">In Copyright</a>, <a href="http://rightsstatements.org/page/NoC-US/1.0/?language=en">No Copyright - United States</a> Format The file format, physical medium, or dimensions of the resource image/jpg Language A language of the resource eng Type The nature or genre of the resource Image Identifier An unambiguous reference to the resource within a given context DC-01 Still Image A static visual representation. Examples include paintings, drawings, graphic designs, plans and maps. Recommended best practice is to assign the type Text to images of textual materials. Source Seidman Rare Books. PS1072 .B45 1904 Dublin Core The Dublin Core metadata element set is common to all Omeka records, including items, files, and collections. For more information see, http://dublincore.org/documents/dces/. Identifier An unambiguous reference to the resource within a given context DC-01_Bindings0435 Title A name given to the resource The Belle of Bowling Green Creator An entity primarily responsible for making the resource Falls, C.B. (Designer) Description An account of the resource Binding of The Belle of Bowling Green, by Amelia E. Barr, published by Dodd, Mead, and Company, 1904. Subject The topic of the resource Book covers Covers (Illustration) Graphic arts Publishers and publishing Pictorial bindings Language A language of the resource eng Rights Information about rights held in and over the resource <a href="http://rightsstatements.org/page/NoC-US/1.0/?language=en">No Copyright - United States</a> Type The nature or genre of the resource Image Format The file format, physical medium, or dimensions of the resource image/jpeg Date A point or period of time associated with an event in the lifecycle of the resource 1904 Publisher An entity responsible for making the resource available Grand Valley State University. University Libraries. Lemmen Library and Archives https://digitalcollections.library.gvsu.edu/files/original/ce61277768367d1c7639f9a0d6c969fb.pdf 736a4b4d62f6ed844200f4f43d1c9960 PDF Text Text TH E BERRY COVE CO UNTRY CL U8 P.O.BOX 384 SAUGATUCK MICHIGAN 49453 616 857-998 3 SPECIAL EVENTS MEMBERS ONl. V June 13 14 M,ss W est Michigan private club June 20-21 Mr West M i chigan July 18 19 Leather Fest . • Private Rooms • Refreshments • Lounges • Lockers • Sauna i • Massage • Color TV • SUNDECK $7 .00 Aug . 1 - 2 Ph oto Phu n Aug. 11 -17 Student Week $4.00 / Join the area's fastest-growing private club baths for the young male . I : ~ ? ~\ l ~ I '\./ Bring A Friend! $1.00 OUR SEASON WILL ST ART MAY 13 THROUGH SEPTEMBER 15. MEMBERSHIP REQUIRED NOT AFF ILIATED WITH SAUGATUCK LODGEs _ _ _ _ _ _ __, ©o we Reasonable RESERVATION 1975 Name: __ _ __:__ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ __ _ __ Address : cJTY _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ STATE _ _ _ _ ZIP CODE _ __ Motel Summ• Rites Sun., Mon., Tues., Wed., Thurs., Phone : _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ __ _ Deposit : _ _ _ _ _ __ l0.00 Sinai•, 12.00 Double Friday & Saturday Type of Room Rate : - - - - - - - - : - : - : Will A.M . Arrive : _ _ _ _ _ _ _ P.M. Date · Arrive : _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ Departure: _ _ _ _ _ _ __ ni&hu 15.00 Sinale, 17.50 Double Holfday -itends (3 nlaht min.) 20.00 ~lnale, 23.00 Double Extra persona 3.00 each Low rate of 79.00 per week. $10.00 Deposit required. � Dublin Core The Dublin Core metadata element set is common to all Omeka records, including items, files, and collections. For more information see, http://dublincore.org/documents/dces/. Title A name given to the resource Summers in Saugatuck-Douglas Collection Creator An entity primarily responsible for making the resource Grand Valley State University. Kutsche Office of Local History Description An account of the resource Collection contains images and documents digitized and collected through the project "Stories of Summer," supported by a National Endowment for the Humanities Common Heritage Grant. The collection aims to document the twin lakeshore communities of Saugatuck and Douglas, Michigan, as they transformed through the state's bustling tourism industry and acceptance of minorities. Coverage The spatial or temporal topic of the resource, the spatial applicability of the resource, or the jurisdiction under which the resource is relevant 1910s-2010s Source A related resource from which the described resource is derived Various Rights Information about rights held in and over the resource <a href="http://rightsstatements.org/vocab/UND/1.0/">Copyright Undetermined</a> Subject The topic of the resource Michigan Saugatuck (Mich.) Douglas (Mich.) Michigan, Lake Allegan County (Mich.) Beaches Sand dunes Outdoor recreation Publisher An entity responsible for making the resource available Grand Valley State University Libraries. Allendale, Michigan Contributor An entity responsible for making contributions to the resource Saugatuck-Douglas History Center Identifier An unambiguous reference to the resource within a given context Stories of Summer (Common Heritage project) Format The file format, physical medium, or dimensions of the resource image/jpeg application/pdf Type The nature or genre of the resource Image Text Language A language of the resource English Date A point or period of time associated with an event in the lifecycle of the resource 2018 Still Image A static visual representation. Examples include paintings, drawings, graphic designs, plans and maps. Recommended best practice is to assign the type Text to images of textual materials. Dublin Core The Dublin Core metadata element set is common to all Omeka records, including items, files, and collections. For more information see, http://dublincore.org/documents/dces/. Identifier An unambiguous reference to the resource within a given context DC-07_SD-BlueTempo_0016 Date A point or period of time associated with an event in the lifecycle of the resource 1975 Title A name given to the resource The Berry Cove Country Club Description An account of the resource An advertisement for the Berry Cove Country Club in Saugatuck, Michigan. It features an illustration of the upper half of a naked man with a towel or bandana around his neck. Membership is advertised as being a dollar and in the bottom right hand corner there are summer rates listed for the year 1975. Subject The topic of the resource Michigan Saugatuck (Mich) Allegan County (Mich) Advertising fliers Gay culture Gay men Source A related resource from which the described resource is derived Digital file contributed by the Saugatuck Douglas History Center as part of the Stories of Summer project. Relation A related resource Stories of Summer (project) Rights Information about rights held in and over the resource <a href="http://rightsstatements.org/vocab/UND/1.0/">Copyright Undetermined</a> Type The nature or genre of the resource Text Format The file format, physical medium, or dimensions of the resource application/pdf Language A language of the resource eng Publisher An entity responsible for making the resource available Grand Valley State University. University Libraries. Lemmen Library and Archives https://digitalcollections.library.gvsu.edu/files/original/b8f93deeb6c4a2e9f61e3a498a5f9a0b.mp3 b254c42ba391c7e2ece0d476d67fb48e https://digitalcollections.library.gvsu.edu/files/original/3180fc8932f33414f0e739203d9fa66a.pdf 323527025feab968f374db11c16919fa PDF Text Text The Best Is Yet To Be Epiphany Sunday Scripture: Isaiah 60:1-7; Revelation 21:1-4, 22-27; Matthew 2:1-12 Richard A. Rhem Christ Community Church Spring Lake, Michigan January 6, 2002 Transcription of the spoken sermon On this Epiphany Sunday, I want to make a bold declaration that the best is yet to be, the best is yet to be in terms of the cosmic journey and the human story. Obviously, that is an affirmation of faith which is beyond verification, and yet, it is an expression of the trust that we have as a people of faith, as the people of God. It is possible in any given present moment to be paralyzed by the darkness. It is possible in this present situation in which we find ourselves as a nation to be paralyzed by the shock of September 11. In your insert I had printed a piece from The New York Times of October by David Kennedy, which, when I read it, I thought was good to give me perspective, and I thought it might give all of us perspective. It is a piece that I will not read, but simply refer to, for he makes the point that the nation was very jittery, very uncertain, full of fear and trepidation in the wake of that shock. And then he goes on to remind us that we have been there before, that the darkness has been there before, that the fear and the uncertainty have been there before. He points, first of all, to Pearl Harbor to remind us of those days, and yet, as I thought about that, I realized that one really has to be on Social Security in order to remember that. So, there are a couple of generations who would not be able to refer back to the anxiety, the angst of those days. But to be reminded that in those days there were German U-2 boats off our Atlantic coast sinking our shipping, that provocateurs were landed in Florida and New York, that on the West Coast they were so fearful of a Japanese invasion that they cut off radio signals, they moved the Rose Bowl from Pasadena to the Carolinas, and, with one of the dark blotches on our history, Japanese-Americans were incarcerated out of fear and suspicion. And then he goes on to remind us of those Civil War days and Revolutionary days, and the fact that there has been darkness before. There has been fear and uncertainty before, and he concludes with a positive statement about the resilience and the creativity of the people of this nation, and I thought on the first Sunday of a New Year, on Epiphany Sunday, it might be good to be reminded that the darkness has always been with us, but that the Epiphany © Grand Valley State University �The Best Is Yet To Be Richard A. Rhem Page 2 theme, the light has dawned upon you, the light has visited you, is a word that we might well meditate on and contemplate as we try to put our present experience in perspective; for there has been darkness and the announcement of the light is not a denial of the darkness, not a denial of the harshness, brutality, the violence and so much horror that has marked the human story. No, the announcement of the light is a statement in face of all of that, in spite of all of that. It is a statement of faith. It is an expression of hope, it is grounded in a deep trust. In John's Gospel, as he tells the Christmas story, we have those famous words of the word becoming flesh, and in that context he says the light shines in the darkness and the darkness has never overcome it And so, this morning, I want to weave a little biblical thread, a little biblical tapestry for you which is witness to that constant confidence of the people of God in the light that has shined and will never be extinguished. In the Advent series I did not use the words of Isaiah 9:2, but we did read them in the late service on Christmas Eve and you will recognize them immediately: "The people who walked in darkness have seen a great light." That was the eighth century Isaiah. He is also the one in the eleventh chapter who spoke about the shoot from the branch of David who would come to judge with justice and equity and who would bring about that state of things where the lion and the lamb would lie down together. And there was second Isaiah who picked up those themes. He is now in the exile situation in Babylon where the people of Judah had lost their faith and had tended to move toward the gods of the Babylonians, after all they were the victors. And that prophet began with the words made famous by Handel, "Comfort ye, comfort ye, my people,” says your God. “Say to the cities of Judah, 'Behold your God."' And he is the one who spoke about the return in all of the glory and brilliance and brightness of those passages. The people did return, but it wasn't all so bright and glorious, and so, third Isaiah, in the context of those first waves of refugees returned, had to encourage them again. He said, "Arise, shine, for your light has come. The glory of the Lord has shone upon you." He makes reference then to the nations coming to Jerusalem, the wealth of the nations being brought into the city, and the kings of the nations bringing their gifts, from which, of course, Matthew borrowed the picture in order to tell the story of Jesus, for after third Isaiah and his encouraging words, there was a period of drought and darkness, frankly. And then, Jesus is born and the impact of Jesus causes Gospels to be written and Matthew, in telling his story, goes back to Isaiah and uses that name from Isaiah, Emmanuel, God with us, and he borrows the picture of the kings bringing the wealth of the nations and he tells about the Magi who followed the star who came to adore and to offer their gifts. © Grand Valley State University �The Best Is Yet To Be Richard A. Rhem Page 3 That was written, you have to understand, after Good Friday. So, he was aware of the fact that the darkness had come on with its unnerving power in that darkest of all afternoons when the son of God was crucified. But it was post-Easter, you see, when those gospels were written, and the post-Easter church was convinced that the one who was crucified was not dead at all, for they experienced his presence and his power and his life throbbing within their life, and so, when they told his story, they told the story of the kings coming with their gifts and the star bright with light because they believed in that vision which they borrowed from third Isaiah and second Isaiah and first Isaiah - that hope of Israel that had come to expression in many ways and forms through many prophetic voices. Then, of course, the persecution set in and in that little Jewish Jesus movement, there was one John, who was exiled for his faith to the Isle of Patmos, and on the Lord's Day, in the Spirit, he received a vision, a vision of the new Jerusalem, and once again, speaking about Emmanuel, God with us, God with God's people, and borrowing from Isaiah 60, he speaks about the Holy City glorified, and the gates of the city always open, and the temple there, and no night there, for the Lord God was the light of the city, and the kings of the earth brought their wealth. So, you have a whole tapestry, a biblical tapestry from the Hebrew scriptures through the Gospels through that picture of the consummation of all things and, running through it all, is that wonderful assurance that the light has dawned and the darkness would never overcome the light. What do you think? Is it just wishful thinking? Every time a historical epic was entered into with hope and light was announced, it seemed to come to nothing. Oh, those prophetic voices gave hope to God's people, and that’s no little thing. People of God were encouraged and they were lifted in their spirit and they did go on. As a matter of fact, the dream never died, and that is not without its significance. But, I wonder - is it just wishful thinking? Is it what it ought to be, what the best of the human imagination wishes and imagines it could be, but finally the old world just keeps grinding on its way by power and might, greedily acquiring wealth and seeking preeminence? It is interesting, isn't it, that the dream was always dreamed by an insignificant ragtag remnant of people. Can you imagine the chutzpah, the audacity of that dream as it came to expression from Isaiah? Who were these people, anyway? They saw themselves as living in the navel of the earth. Goodness sakes, all of the nations were going to come, they were going to flow into Jerusalem. There's a prophetic theme we speak of as the exultation of Mt. Zion. Mt. Zion would be lifted up and all the nations would flow to her, and she would teach Torah. She would teach God's law and God's truth. And in that prophetic vision, as beautiful as it is, there is talk of righteousness and of justice and of peace. There is a portrait of human well-being, human community. But, it's always dreamed by those who have not a prayer of effecting it or implementing it, and old Isaiah in the 8th century was wrong. Second Isaiah was simply wrong. Third Isaiah was wrong, and Matthew was wrong, and the Revelation of John was wrong in terms of history having entered into some ultimate © Grand Valley State University �The Best Is Yet To Be Richard A. Rhem Page 4 point where the light would flood and scatter the darkness. We're two millennia beyond that. So, the dream has been alive for nearly three millennia, and it's always been dreamed by a rag-tag remnant of folk who may well be right, but have not the power to make it right. How could they keep dreaming it? Well, they believed in God. They believed in a God beyond the stars who at some point would intervene and would effect what had been promised. They believed in a sovereign Lord of history that would bring all things to its consummation. And, if I were to preach to you this morning the way I preached for many, many years, and the way I suppose these passages are preached in 99 and 44/100% of the Christian pulpits of the world, then what I would say to you is, "Wait. Hold on. Keep on hoping. Keep on praying for, though the times move on and the reality never comes to realization, nonetheless, trust God. It will be so. Let us pray." I can't do that anymore. I don't want to be just one more voice saying one more time all of those same old things and send you forth saying it was good to be there. Nice sermon. Because, you see, I don't believe that some God beyond the stars is going to come in and fix it for us. Is it just wishful thinking? Is there really nothing to it, then? No, I want to say to you this morning that I believe in the message of Epiphany more than ever I have in my life. I believe that Jesus is the light of the world more strongly than ever I have in my life. I've preached all these things in traditional fashion and believed them, but I never believed them strongly enough, because I never felt existentially gripped by the fact that, my God, Jesus is the light of the world. The difference now is that I come to see that, the light having dawned upon us, it is incumbent upon us to make the light come to its realization in human well-being. I realize now how true it is that the light has dawned upon us. We have seen the heart of God in the face of Jesus Christ. Jesus Christ has mirrored God. Jesus Christ has mirrored a God crucified. Jesus Christ has mirrored a God who wins by losing. Jesus Christ has shown us the way. But, we have not followed him. We do not need more light. We really know, and one of the blessings of the tradition of which we are a part – rooted in the Hebrew prophets and the Greek philosophers and Roman law, Western civilization – one of the great blessings of this grand tradition is that we have come to see that which allows the human spirit to flower and to flourish, and we know that which constitutes human well-being. But the problem is that those who have dreamed the dream have never been able to implement it, because they've been the rag-tag remnant of humanity, the minority report always, a voice crying in the wilderness. How could the dream possibly keep alive? Well, as I said, they believed in God. But, more than that, the dream is true! It touches the deepest reaches of the human soul. It's true! We know it's true. The New Creation where there's not a child that will die in infancy and an old person die without the fulfillment of years, where people will plant gardens and eat the produce thereof © Grand Valley State University �The Best Is Yet To Be Richard A. Rhem Page 5 and build houses and be able to dwell in them, a land where they will not hurt or destroy in all my holy mountain. We know that is true. If only a super power, if only a super power believed the dream. A super power, for example, that had amassed power and was willing to yield it up, had amassed immense military might and was willing to lay down its arms, had amassed vast economic resources and would use those to turn the earth into a garden. Then that dream would not be so fantastic. Then that dream would not be so unrealistic. Then it might be possible to effect the dream and to implement the vision. You see, the dream is true. The dream didn't tumble out of heaven somewhere. The dream was placed by the Creator Spirit in the depths of the human heart. The dream has lived on through all the darkness because, finally, that dream will never be defeated. Finally, that dream will continue to obtrude itself upon human consciousness, until finally somewhere, sometime, some people make it happen. And, in the meantime, to live in the light of that dream, in the meantime to have our own behavior affected by that dream, in the meantime to be the earners of that light and that life. Ah, one could grow cynical. One could despair. Suddenly the war on terror takes second place to the war on the economy, for the son learns from his father that it is the economy, stupid. And so, all of the engines of power will be turned on in order to regenerate this monster that we have created which is not our servant, but of which we are slaves. One could wonder if it can ever be. And yet, the dream won't die, and there have always been a minority of people who have believed that the best is yet to be. A people who have kept the dream alive, who refuse to quit, have refused to be silent. Maybe in the long run, if we really want to take the long-range view, maybe a million years from now, they will look back on us and say, "You know what? That was the childhood of our species." Maybe it takes millennia but, whatever it takes, we dare not deny the dream, for the light has dawned upon us and we are people of the light and to live in the light is to live even in the darkness humanely and to know the mantle of God's grace. Is it just wishful thinking? Or, is it time for us to do something about it? © Grand Valley State University � Dublin Core The Dublin Core metadata element set is common to all Omeka records, including items, files, and collections. For more information see, http://dublincore.org/documents/dces/. Title A name given to the resource Richard A. Rhem Collection Description An account of the resource Text and sound recordings of the sermons, prayers, services, and articles of Richard Rhem, pastor emeritus of Christ Community Church in Spring Lake, Michigan, where he served for 37 years. Starting in the mid 1980's, Rhem began to question some of the traditional Christian dogma that he had been espousing from the pulpit. That questioning was a first step in a long and interesting spiritual journey, one that he openly shared with his congregation. His journey is important, in part because it is reflective of the questioning, the yearnings, and the gradual revision of beliefs that many persons in this part of the century have experienced and continue to experience. It is important also because of the affirming and inclusive way his questioning was done and his thinking evolved. His sermons and other written and spoken materials together document the steps in his journey as it took a turn in 1985, yet continued to revolve around the framework and liturgies of the Christian calendar. Subject The topic of the resource Clergy--Michigan Reformed Church in America Christ Community Church (Spring Lake, Mich.) Religion Interfaith worship Sermons Sound Recordings Creator An entity primarily responsible for making the resource Rhem, Richard A. Source A related resource from which the described resource is derived <a href="https://gvsu.lyrasistechnology.org/repositories/2/resources/514">Richard A. Rhem papers (KII-01)</a> Publisher An entity responsible for making the resource available Grand Valley State University. University Libraries. Special Collections & University Archives. Contributor An entity responsible for making contributions to the resource Kaufman Interfaith Institute Rights Information about rights held in and over the resource <a href="http://rightsstatements.org/page/InC/1.0/?language=en">In Copyright</a> Language A language of the resource English Type The nature or genre of the resource Sound Text Identifier An unambiguous reference to the resource within a given context KII-01 Coverage The spatial or temporal topic of the resource, the spatial applicability of the resource, or the jurisdiction under which the resource is relevant 1981-2014 Format The file format, physical medium, or dimensions of the resource audio/mp3 text/pdf Sound A resource primarily intended to be heard. Examples include a music playback file format, an audio compact disc, and recorded speech or sounds. Event Epiphany Sunday Scripture Text Matthew 2:9, Revelation 21:24 Location The location of the interview Christ Community Church, Spring Lake, MI Dublin Core The Dublin Core metadata element set is common to all Omeka records, including items, files, and collections. For more information see, http://dublincore.org/documents/dces/. Identifier An unambiguous reference to the resource within a given context KII-01_RA-0-20020106 Date A point or period of time associated with an event in the lifecycle of the resource 2002-01-06 Title A name given to the resource The Best Is Yet To Be Creator An entity primarily responsible for making the resource Richard A. Rhem Rights Information about rights held in and over the resource <a href="http://rightsstatements.org/page/InC/1.0/?language=en">In Copyright</a> Subject The topic of the resource Clergy--Michigan Reformed Church in America Christ Community Church (Spring Lake, Mich.) Sermons Relation A related resource Richard A. Rhem - An Archive of Sermons, Prayers, Talks and Stories: http://richardrhem.org/ Language A language of the resource eng Type The nature or genre of the resource Sound Text Format The file format, physical medium, or dimensions of the resource audio/mp3 application/pdf Description An account of the resource A sermon given by Richard A. Rhem (Dick) on January 6, 2002 entitled "The Best Is Yet To Be", on the occasion of Epiphany Sunday, at Christ Community Church, Spring Lake, MI. Scripture references: Matthew 2:9, Revelation 21:24. Publisher An entity responsible for making the resource available Grand Valley State University. University Libraries. Lemmen Library and Archives Epiphany Jesus Light of the World https://digitalcollections.library.gvsu.edu/files/original/84c555339f9c96b8758b2ae2a35552ab.pdf 3ec32a474833692fbff0b44e83c674f6 PDF Text Text The Best is Yet To Be A Prayer in Celebration Of the Life of Louise Zevalkink Richard A. Rhem Fifth Reformed Church, Grand Rapids, Michigan July 3, 2012 Prepared text of prayer Let us be in the spirit of prayer in the presence of the Creative Source of all being, in whom we live and move and have our being – the Sacred Mystery hidden in a cloud of unknowing. Eternal God, Source, Guide and Goal of all that is, from You we receive life as a gift and to You our life returns. In the Psalmist’s poetic expression, You send forth your breath, your Spirit, and they are created. You take away their breath, they die. We find our comfort in life and in death that we are not our own but belong to You, a faithful God whose steadfast love embraces us on this fascinating and fragile human pilgrimage. And thus we find it most natural at such a time as this, in such a place as this, to lift up our hearts in worship, to bow in Your presence before the mystery of life and the reality of death. We worship for we are aware of the wonder of creation, its beauty and its terror, its loveliness and its pain. We turn to You, O God; we rest in You; we trust where we do not know. In You we hope, and to You we commend © Grand Valley State University �The Best is Yet To Be Richard A. Rhem Page 2 those we’ve loved and lost awhile. Good and Gracious God, we have gathered in worship to remember and to give thanks – to remember our mother, grandmother, great grandmother and friend. We remember the way she was – indeed an extraordinary person for whom there are not superlatives enough to describe her and to give expression to all she meant to us and the ways she made our lives come to life. Her physical beauty was the outward embodiment of the beauty of her soul, the instrument of a human spirit that transformed every situation into which she entered, creating joy, good humor, well being. She had an unaffected presence about her that made us confident that all would be well – not through what she did, but simply because her presence was a sweet aroma of grace and goodness that changed everything for the better. Our model, our inspiration – dear God, how we miss her and will miss her as weeks and months and years pass. But filling the cavern of our grief will be memories – so many memories of times and places, and through tears we will laugh as we remember her. Over these last years physical ailments took their toll and finally, slowly, her life ebbed away. The body gave way but not her mind, not her spirit, not her trust in You, good and gracious God. Her faith burned brightly. Scripture – favorite passages, old favorite hymns – these saturated her soul as life ebbed away. Enwrapped in a mantle of love from family and care givers, she breathed her last, awaiting “just one more surprise,” which for her was not a surprise at all for she has experienced that which in trust she anticipated. Face to face she has beheld him – © Grand Valley State University �The Best is Yet To Be Richard A. Rhem the blessed assurance with which she lived is now fully realized, even beyond her fondest dreams. O God, there is no denying our loss. Where love looms large, loss is large a well. Where bonds of love are tight, when broken, grief and loss are painful. All of that we own, we acknowledge, without denial. Yet we are overwhelmed by the beauty, the wonder of this life that has touched us so deeply – the amazing grace with which she lived and the deep trust with which she breathed her last. And in such a time as this, in such a place as this, Gracious God, we are grateful above all that the end is not broken health and dreams unfulfilled, swallowed up in death, but rather the confidence that to live is to live unto the Lord, and to die is to die unto the Lord, so then whether we live or die, we are the Lord’s. Receive our thanksgiving, O God. Grant the comfort of Your Spirit, renew our hope and lead us on in the confidence that nothing can ever separate us from Your love in Christ Jesus our Lord, who taught us to pray, saying, “Our Father, who art in heaven, hallowed be Thy name. Thy kingdom come, Thy will be done on earth as it is in heaven. Give us this day our daily bread, And forgive us our debts, as we forgive our debtors. And lead us not into temptation, but deliver us from evil. For Thine is the kingdom, and the power, and the glory, for ever. Amen. © Grand Valley State University Page 3 � Dublin Core The Dublin Core metadata element set is common to all Omeka records, including items, files, and collections. For more information see, http://dublincore.org/documents/dces/. Title A name given to the resource Richard A. Rhem Collection Description An account of the resource Text and sound recordings of the sermons, prayers, services, and articles of Richard Rhem, pastor emeritus of Christ Community Church in Spring Lake, Michigan, where he served for 37 years. Starting in the mid 1980's, Rhem began to question some of the traditional Christian dogma that he had been espousing from the pulpit. That questioning was a first step in a long and interesting spiritual journey, one that he openly shared with his congregation. His journey is important, in part because it is reflective of the questioning, the yearnings, and the gradual revision of beliefs that many persons in this part of the century have experienced and continue to experience. It is important also because of the affirming and inclusive way his questioning was done and his thinking evolved. His sermons and other written and spoken materials together document the steps in his journey as it took a turn in 1985, yet continued to revolve around the framework and liturgies of the Christian calendar. Subject The topic of the resource Clergy--Michigan Reformed Church in America Christ Community Church (Spring Lake, Mich.) Religion Interfaith worship Sermons Sound Recordings Creator An entity primarily responsible for making the resource Rhem, Richard A. Source A related resource from which the described resource is derived <a href="https://gvsu.lyrasistechnology.org/repositories/2/resources/514">Richard A. Rhem papers (KII-01)</a> Publisher An entity responsible for making the resource available Grand Valley State University. University Libraries. Special Collections & University Archives. Contributor An entity responsible for making contributions to the resource Kaufman Interfaith Institute Rights Information about rights held in and over the resource <a href="http://rightsstatements.org/page/InC/1.0/?language=en">In Copyright</a> Language A language of the resource English Type The nature or genre of the resource Sound Text Identifier An unambiguous reference to the resource within a given context KII-01 Coverage The spatial or temporal topic of the resource, the spatial applicability of the resource, or the jurisdiction under which the resource is relevant 1981-2014 Format The file format, physical medium, or dimensions of the resource audio/mp3 text/pdf Text A resource consisting primarily of words for reading. Examples include books, letters, dissertations, poems, newspapers, articles, archives of mailing lists. Note that facsimiles or images of texts are still of the genre Text. Event Prayer for the Funeral of Louise Zevalkink Location The location of the interview Fifth Reformed Church, Grand Rapids Dublin Core The Dublin Core metadata element set is common to all Omeka records, including items, files, and collections. For more information see, http://dublincore.org/documents/dces/. Identifier An unambiguous reference to the resource within a given context RA-1-20120703 Type The nature or genre of the resource Text Title A name given to the resource The Best Is Yet To Be Creator An entity primarily responsible for making the resource Richard A. Rhem Rights Information about rights held in and over the resource <a href="http://rightsstatements.org/page/InC/1.0/?language=en">In Copyright</a> Language A language of the resource eng Description An account of the resource Prayer created, delivered, or published by Richard A. Rhem (Dick) on July 3, 2012 entitled "The Best Is Yet To Be", on the occasion of Prayer for the Funeral of Louise Zevalkink, at Fifth Reformed Church, Grand Rapids. Tags: Faithful God, Grace, Family. Format The file format, physical medium, or dimensions of the resource application/pdf Date A point or period of time associated with an event in the lifecycle of the resource 2012-07-03 Faithful God Family Grace https://digitalcollections.library.gvsu.edu/files/original/0692a60070aa6fcb543c524281a64f77.pdf eedfc455f3bdcf2b7309e31793142571 PDF Text Text The Best is Yet To Be Meditation and Prayer In Celebration of the Life of Frederic R. Birdsall Richard A. Rhem Freedom Village, Holland, Michigan June 16, 2012 Let us be in the spirit of prayer in the presence of the Creative Source of all being, in whom we live and move and have our being – the Sacred Mystery hidden in a cloud of unknowing. Eternal God, Source, Guide and Goal of all that is, from You we receive life as a gift and to You our life returns. In the Psalmist’s poetic expression, You send forth your breath, your Spirit, and they are created. You take away their breath, they die. We find our comfort in life and in death that we are not our own but belong to You, a faithful God whose steadfast love embraces us on this fascinating and fragile human pilgrimage. And thus we find it most natural at such a time as this, in such a place as this, to lift up our hearts in worship, to bow in Your presence before the mystery of life and the reality of death. We worship for we are aware of the wonder of creation, its beauty and its terror, its loveliness and its pain. We turn to You, O God; we rest in You; we trust where we do not know. © Grand Valley State University   �The Best Is Yet To Be Richard A. Rhem Page 2   In You we hope, and to You we commend those we’ve loved and lost awhile. Good and Gracious God, You breathe into us and we have the gift of life; we commend our breath to you and, thus, our earthly pilgrimage is ended. You, O God, are the source and giver of life, and to You all life returns. In the beginning, in the end, You are God. And in the meantime, this in-between time, You uphold us with everlasting arms. You overshadow us with a gracious Presence. You bear us up on eagle’s wings; beneath your sheltering wings we find refuge and peace. Sacred Mystery of all being, of our being, consciously aware of our lives in your light, we worship. We know that all will be well, all will be well, all manner of things will be well. That was the confident trust of the one whose life we celebrate today. This one we’ve loved and lost awhile, our Fred, beloved husband, father, friend. Quiet, unassuming, competent in his profession – images tumble through our minds as we remember him. We will always smile as we think of him because he was our good humor man – story upon story he sent into cyber space, bringing to a wide circle of friends delight and laughter. Fred stories abound and the twinkle in his eye was contagious. Yet there was more – there was in Fred a passion for peace, for justice. An astute observer of our times, he was an advocate for human decency, civility and fairness. He was a truly good man who stood for a kinder and gentler nation and righteousness and justice in society. Fred cared and he made his voice heard for the values he embraced. With open mind he continued to wonder and to grow in knowledge and understanding, and with good heart he embodied compassion. © Grand Valley State University �The Best Is Yet To Be Richard A. Rhem And thus, O God, we celebrate Your grace in his life and remember him with affection and respect. Knowing he was resting on everlasting arms in the embrace of Grace, he saw his end, and in confidence he chose to enter Your presence, O God, resting in his final labored breathing in the abyss of Your love. And in such a time as this, in such a place as this, Gracious God, we are grateful above all that the end is not broken health and dreams unfulfilled, swallowed up in death, but rather the confidence that to live is to live unto the Lord, and to die is to die unto the Lord, so then whether we live or die, we are the Lord’s. Receive our thanksgiving, O God. Grant the comfort of Your Spirit, renew our hope and lead us on in the confidence that nothing can ever separate us from Your love in Christ Jesus our Lord, who taught us to pray, saying, “Our Father, who art in heaven, hallowed be Thy name. Thy kingdom come, Thy will be done on earth as it is in heaven. Give us this day our daily bread, And forgive us our debts, as we forgive our debtors. And lead us not into temptation, but deliver us from evil. For Thine is the kingdom, and the power, and the glory, for ever. Amen.   © Grand Valley State University Page 3   �The Best Is Yet To Be Richard A. Rhem Page two © Grand Valley State University Page 4   � Dublin Core The Dublin Core metadata element set is common to all Omeka records, including items, files, and collections. For more information see, http://dublincore.org/documents/dces/. Title A name given to the resource Richard A. Rhem Collection Description An account of the resource Text and sound recordings of the sermons, prayers, services, and articles of Richard Rhem, pastor emeritus of Christ Community Church in Spring Lake, Michigan, where he served for 37 years. Starting in the mid 1980's, Rhem began to question some of the traditional Christian dogma that he had been espousing from the pulpit. That questioning was a first step in a long and interesting spiritual journey, one that he openly shared with his congregation. His journey is important, in part because it is reflective of the questioning, the yearnings, and the gradual revision of beliefs that many persons in this part of the century have experienced and continue to experience. It is important also because of the affirming and inclusive way his questioning was done and his thinking evolved. His sermons and other written and spoken materials together document the steps in his journey as it took a turn in 1985, yet continued to revolve around the framework and liturgies of the Christian calendar. Subject The topic of the resource Clergy--Michigan Reformed Church in America Christ Community Church (Spring Lake, Mich.) Religion Interfaith worship Sermons Sound Recordings Creator An entity primarily responsible for making the resource Rhem, Richard A. Source A related resource from which the described resource is derived <a href="https://gvsu.lyrasistechnology.org/repositories/2/resources/514">Richard A. Rhem papers (KII-01)</a> Publisher An entity responsible for making the resource available Grand Valley State University. University Libraries. Special Collections & University Archives. Contributor An entity responsible for making contributions to the resource Kaufman Interfaith Institute Rights Information about rights held in and over the resource <a href="http://rightsstatements.org/page/InC/1.0/?language=en">In Copyright</a> Language A language of the resource English Type The nature or genre of the resource Sound Text Identifier An unambiguous reference to the resource within a given context KII-01 Coverage The spatial or temporal topic of the resource, the spatial applicability of the resource, or the jurisdiction under which the resource is relevant 1981-2014 Format The file format, physical medium, or dimensions of the resource audio/mp3 text/pdf Text A resource consisting primarily of words for reading. Examples include books, letters, dissertations, poems, newspapers, articles, archives of mailing lists. Note that facsimiles or images of texts are still of the genre Text. Event Prayer and Meditation in Memory of Frederic Birdsall Location The location of the interview Freedom Village, Holland, Michigan Dublin Core The Dublin Core metadata element set is common to all Omeka records, including items, files, and collections. For more information see, http://dublincore.org/documents/dces/. Identifier An unambiguous reference to the resource within a given context RA-1-20120616 Type The nature or genre of the resource Text Title A name given to the resource The Best is Yet to Be, Birdsall Memorial Creator An entity primarily responsible for making the resource Richard A. Rhem Rights Information about rights held in and over the resource <a href="http://rightsstatements.org/page/InC/1.0/?language=en">In Copyright</a> Language A language of the resource eng Description An account of the resource Prayer created, delivered, or published by Richard A. Rhem (Dick) on June 16, 2012 entitled "The Best is Yet to Be, Birdsall Memorial", on the occasion of Prayer and Meditation in Memory of Frederic Birdsall, at Freedom Village, Holland, Michigan. Tags: Faithful God, Grace. Format The file format, physical medium, or dimensions of the resource application/pdf Date A point or period of time associated with an event in the lifecycle of the resource 2012-06-16 Faithful God Grace https://digitalcollections.library.gvsu.edu/files/original/504d2dddbc1f2890f4cb23d5d2338bf1.mp3 ac16bba844d13101193e12656754ff28 Dublin Core The Dublin Core metadata element set is common to all Omeka records, including items, files, and collections. For more information see, http://dublincore.org/documents/dces/. Title A name given to the resource Richard A. Rhem Collection Description An account of the resource Text and sound recordings of the sermons, prayers, services, and articles of Richard Rhem, pastor emeritus of Christ Community Church in Spring Lake, Michigan, where he served for 37 years. Starting in the mid 1980's, Rhem began to question some of the traditional Christian dogma that he had been espousing from the pulpit. That questioning was a first step in a long and interesting spiritual journey, one that he openly shared with his congregation. His journey is important, in part because it is reflective of the questioning, the yearnings, and the gradual revision of beliefs that many persons in this part of the century have experienced and continue to experience. It is important also because of the affirming and inclusive way his questioning was done and his thinking evolved. His sermons and other written and spoken materials together document the steps in his journey as it took a turn in 1985, yet continued to revolve around the framework and liturgies of the Christian calendar. Subject The topic of the resource Clergy--Michigan Reformed Church in America Christ Community Church (Spring Lake, Mich.) Religion Interfaith worship Sermons Sound Recordings Creator An entity primarily responsible for making the resource Rhem, Richard A. Source A related resource from which the described resource is derived <a href="https://gvsu.lyrasistechnology.org/repositories/2/resources/514">Richard A. Rhem papers (KII-01)</a> Publisher An entity responsible for making the resource available Grand Valley State University. University Libraries. Special Collections & University Archives. Contributor An entity responsible for making contributions to the resource Kaufman Interfaith Institute Rights Information about rights held in and over the resource <a href="http://rightsstatements.org/page/InC/1.0/?language=en">In Copyright</a> Language A language of the resource English Type The nature or genre of the resource Sound Text Identifier An unambiguous reference to the resource within a given context KII-01 Coverage The spatial or temporal topic of the resource, the spatial applicability of the resource, or the jurisdiction under which the resource is relevant 1981-2014 Format The file format, physical medium, or dimensions of the resource audio/mp3 text/pdf Sound A resource primarily intended to be heard. Examples include a music playback file format, an audio compact disc, and recorded speech or sounds. Event Pentecost XXIII Series The Church On the Way to the Future Scripture Text John 1:14, John 20:31 Location The location of the interview Christ Community Church, Spring Lake, MI Dublin Core The Dublin Core metadata element set is common to all Omeka records, including items, files, and collections. For more information see, http://dublincore.org/documents/dces/. Identifier An unambiguous reference to the resource within a given context KII-01_RA-0-19901111 Date A point or period of time associated with an event in the lifecycle of the resource 1990-11-11 Title A name given to the resource The Bible: God's Word or Human Word? Creator An entity primarily responsible for making the resource Richard A. Rhem Rights Information about rights held in and over the resource <a href="http://rightsstatements.org/page/InC/1.0/?language=en">In Copyright</a> Subject The topic of the resource Clergy--Michigan Reformed Church in America Christ Community Church (Spring Lake, Mich.) Sermons Relation A related resource Richard A. Rhem - An Archive of Sermons, Prayers, Talks and Stories: http://richardrhem.org/ Language A language of the resource eng Type The nature or genre of the resource Sound Format The file format, physical medium, or dimensions of the resource audio/mp3 Description An account of the resource A sermon given by Richard A. Rhem (Dick) on November 11, 1990 entitled "The Bible: God's Word or Human Word?", as part of the series "The Church On the Way to the Future", on the occasion of Pentecost XXIII, at Christ Community Church, Spring Lake, MI. Scripture references: John 1:14, John 20:31. Publisher An entity responsible for making the resource available Grand Valley State University. University Libraries. Lemmen Library and Archives https://digitalcollections.library.gvsu.edu/files/original/897f90ed11c89c2fe493a404a447ed0a.pdf 51c06b682ea06d73482c26f91163c7bb PDF Text Text The Biblical Vision and Karl Marx: A 150th Retrospective Scripture: Leviticus 25:1-17; Acts 2:43-47; Matthew 25:31-40 Richard A. Rhem Christ Community Church Spring Lake, Michigan Labor Day Weekend, September 6, 1998 Transcription of the spoken sermon Labor Day does not appear on the liturgical calendar, and there are some purists, some high liturgical churches where civil holidays are not noted, and I suppose if I had to choose if there was a conflict between a liturgical festival day and a civil holidays, obviously, I would take the text for the day in the church, but civil holidays also point to some significant human concerns which are not without deep biblical concern, as well. And so, on occasion it is, I think, appropriate to have a sermon on the theme of Memorial Day or the Declaration of Independence or, in this case, the Labor Day weekend. As I said, there are purists who wouldn’t do that, not even that highest, holiest of all festival days, Mother’s Day, but then, not to observe that is to take one’s life in one’s hands. But, today I want to address the theme of Labor Day, a day set aside to honor labor, a day in which it might be appropriate for us to think about the whole economic aspect of life and its impact upon our spiritual existence. The year 1998 is the 150th anniversary of the publication of the Communist Manifesto by Karl Marx, assisted by Friedrich Engels, and I promise you more than I can deliver in the title of the sermon when I say, " 150th Anniversary Retrospective." I don’t really know very much about Karl Marx. I don’t really know very much about economic history, but I do think that it is appropriate to take a moment this morning in our worship to reflect on our spiritual lives in relationship to that which is so dominant in our society and in our lives, as well the power of the economic dimension. When I was reading the recent issue of Tikkun, the magazine edited by Rabbi Michael Lerner, I found the piece on spirituality which is in your literature, and what I want to try to communicate to you this morning is the place of our economic endeavor in the totality of our lives. As Lerner writes, "We live at the end of a century in which the competitive economic market has demonstrated its powerful ability to shape a dominate consciousness of the planet." Economic concerns being a dominate determinative of our minds and our hearts, shaping our lives and our motivations, it’s rather interesting that this message should have been planned for this Lord’s Day which is at the end of one of those great © Grand Valley State University   �Biblical Vision and Karl Marx Richard A. Rhem Page 2   volatile weeks on Wall Street. The ups and the downs, and the downs had it, and I suppose that there are those of you sitting here, along with me, who at least in the paper count are considerably less wealthy today than we were last Sunday. But it has our attention, doesn’t it? There was an article on the front page of one of the newspapers this morning in which a commentator was saying that we hear voices assuring us that all is well, the economy is essentially solid, the stock market is still a safe place to be, hang in there, ride it out. And then rather disconcertingly, he quoted similar statements from October of 1929 prior to the Great Fall. Well, if it all happens, will you jump out of a skyscraper window? My question to you this morning really is, "Where will you be if you get where you’re going?" How will you be if you achieve your dreams? What if you accomplish that which you are killing yourself to accomplish - how will it be with you? Will there be contentment, peace, serenity? Will you be a fulfilled and whole human being if you should be granted your fondest dreams, the things that you are giving your life to? I think that’s a legitimate question for a Labor Day weekend, and I believe that Karl Marx, 150 years ago, had a prophetic insight and amazing insight into the power of capital to determine the shape of global existence. In an anniversary edition of the Communist Manifesto that has an introduction by an English scholar, Eric Hobsbawm, the dust cover has an interesting paragraph. It says that Hobsbawm writes that the world described by Marx and Engels in 1848, in passages of dark, laconic eloquence, is recognizably the world in which we live 150 years later. The author identifies the insights which underpin the Manifesto’s startling contemporary relevance, the recognition of capitalism as a world system capable of marshaling production on a global scale, its devastating impact on all aspects of human existence - work, the family, and the distribution of wealth, and the understanding that, far from being a stable, immutable system, it is, on the contrary, susceptible to enormous convulsions and crises and contains the seeds of its own destruction. Historical development did not prove Marx correct. That is, what he thought would happen with the rise of capitalism did not happen according to his script. But, he saw with an amazing vision and insight the tremendous impact of the economic dimension of our human existence individually and in terms of human community. And what he saw, the dangers he saw, and the problems that he saw have been experienced and we are not out of the woods in terms of the consequences yet. Someone who was here on the 4th of July weekend and heard my sermon, "A Declaration of Interdependence," in which I suggested that the Holy Spirit was creating this global community, knocking down barriers and boundaries, all of which are artificial, creating therefore a world community, wrote me a very perceptive letter in which he said, "Dreamers dream and all of that is fine, but in the meantime, how about the people who get hurt? In building a global community, what about the disruption to local communities? And having that © Grand Valley State University �Biblical Vision and Karl Marx Richard A. Rhem Page 3   universal dream, what about the particularity of human communities, their identity, their character, their nature, their uniqueness?" He wrote a very, very good letter, and then he shared with me just what I needed, another book. It was written by Kirkpatrick Sale, whose book Rebels Against the Future tells the story of the Luddites. Do you know who they were? In the onset of the Industrial Revolution in England, the Luddites were small craftsmen, cottage industry people, textile people. And, of course, with the discovery of steam and power and the building of factories, these individual craftsmen were being put out of work. They were able to work traditionally at their own pace and in their own environment according to the rhythms of their own life and nature, and now, there stood a factory! And that factory was taking their jobs and also hiring them - they became the laborers who no longer could set their agenda according to their own rhythm, the rhythm of their life and that which led to human wellbeing, but the cadences of the piston and steel determined the nature of their work and their labor. So, what did they do? They took their guns and pistols and pickaxes and they attacked the factories. In 1811, 1812 there were a number of textile plants that were destroyed, and it was a violent revolt against what was the inevitable movement, it seems, of historical development. Well, Karl Marx saw what they were doing, but he recognized that there was this personal self-interest involved in their attacking the factory, because they were losing their jobs. But Marx saw a bigger picture: he saw the power of capital, as Lerner says, to determine the production globally. He saw the power of capital to continue to pile up wealth and the tremendous determinant that it would be of human destiny and human society. Marx didn’t fight the rise of capitalism. He figured it would have the seeds of its own death within it and eventually, having produced a large laboring class, the laboring class would revolt, overthrow the owners, and there would be this classless society. Now, it didn’t work that way; it hasn’t worked that way. His vision was Utopian, in that sense, the classless society where the development of each was the condition of the development of all, where everyone worked according to his or her ability and received according to his or her need. A kind of Utopian vision. Utopia is an interesting word from the Greek language. Utopia means "no place." There is no place like this. No place. Maybe we would say no possibility. But, where did Karl Marx get his vision? Where did he get such a fantastic idea? Well, he was from a Jewish family that converted for convenience reasons to Christianity, but he was nurtured in the Old Testament prophets. His uncle was a rabbi. It’s a Messianic vision. It’s a vision shaped by the Hebrew prophets, and the Hebrew prophets were those who spoke in the name of the God Who was concerned for human well-being, for human community, Who was concerned for the spiritual well-being of people, knowing the temptation of people to get caught up in de-humanizing activity and the de-humanizing chase in which they would lose their own soul. © Grand Valley State University �Biblical Vision and Karl Marx Richard A. Rhem Page 4   Scholars don’t think that probably Israel ever fully lived out that Levitical year of Jubilee, Sabbath Year and then the year of Jubilee, but it was a part of the Hebrew tradition and there are enough references in the Hebrew scriptures to know that it was operative, to what extent, we’re not sure. But, isn’t that an interesting idea? Here in the Bible we have this suggestion that every seventh year the land should lie fallow. Now, it’s an agricultural society and you have to make the translation, but how about a sabbatical every seven years? Do you want not only to not harvest the field, but also shut the doors of the factory, let the machines cool off and the laborers take a year off? You intelligent, academic people still keep that custom alive and I’ve practiced it a time or two, also. It’s kind of nice, under the guise of doing heavy work, heavy thinking. Now, listen to me. Listen to me. What was operative in the Sabbath principle? No matter how the practical execution of it, what was operative? Sabbath principle was the principle by which, according to the understanding of the Hebrew, God was saying, "For your sake, for my sake, cease and desist. Unplug. Every seventh day, stop." The Sabbath day could be kept with legalistic rigidity. I grew up in a setting, a home, an environment of Calvinistic grace that was all law. I, as a child, experienced ugly Sundays. Couldn’t do anything, and it wasn’t very much fun for a kid growing up. I think there are others like me, so that the Sabbath principle gets bad press because it was legalistically applied and sort of seemed to be a way to drain all the pleasure out of a day. Donald Gray Barnhouse, a great preacher of an earlier generation out of a Scottish Presbyterian home which was the only thing worse than a Dutch Calvinist home, said that when he was a kid in church and they sang "Day of All the Week the Best, emblem of eternal rest," he thought, "Good grief, if heaven is like Sunday, I don’t want to go there." But, the principle is absolutely beautiful, totally humane, and divine. It cuts the nerve of that compulsiveness that gets hold of us to produce and to consume and to acquire and to aggrandize. It says, "Stop! Just stop." I don’t want to emphasize it too much because Nancy may get the idea and say, "Physician, heal thyself." Because you don’t have to be a laborer in a factory to be a workaholic. That was the principle, and the year of Jubilee, of course, where it all goes back the way it was sets limits on the degree to which there can be this present widening gap between wealth and poverty. And the recognition that all of us, the shrewdest business man, the most skilled worker, the most industrious person, is finally a steward of God Who alone owns the resources. So, when you laugh at Karl Marx, you might as well also take your scissors and cut Leviticus 25 out of your Bible. And you’re going to have a problem, too, with the immediate aftermath of Pentecost when people were living their lives under the impact of the Spirit of God when they lived in a commune kind of situation, from which, of course, we get the word communist. Now, thank God for Acts 5, the story of Ananias and Sapphira. They were going to do like Barnabas, sell their © Grand Valley State University �Biblical Vision and Karl Marx Richard A. Rhem Page 5   farm and bring all the proceeds to the deacons, but they were also practical and they kept a little back. They told the deacons, who asked, "Did you sell that farm for $10,000?" "Yes, we did." Well, they had sold it for $12,500. And Bingo, there were two dead Christians, right on the spot. Well, we know communal living for the good of all didn’t work, so we can be done with it. We don’t have to worry about it anymore. It may be in the Bible, but the Bible gives us clear indication that it doesn’t work. But, of course, I suppose that community of early Jesus people got some of their impression from Jesus who said, in the one description of the judgment scene in the whole Bible, that the difference between the sheep and the goats has nothing to do with grace or justification by faith or any of that stuff, it has to do with practical things like feeding the hungry, clothing the naked, visiting the ones in prison, the unconscious goodness and care of compassion. So, on this Labor Day Sunday there’s enough in the scripture to warn us about the possibility of getting all caught up in chasing dreams and building kingdoms, of getting our priorities all mixed up, thinking that it is of primary importance to secure ourselves into perpetuity, to recognize the possibility that we can be so caught up in the schemes in which we are engaged, that we lose our soul and we have no peace. My Labor Day message to you is that Karl Marx got a lot of things wrong, but he did see the threat to our soul of the economic dimension of our lives, and he got a lot of it from the Bible. So, for God’s sake, for your sake, take a moment and ask yourself where you’ll be when you get where you’re going and, if you do really get where you’re going, is it really where you want to be? © Grand Valley State University � https://digitalcollections.library.gvsu.edu/files/original/b6f5a6e4a5992ecb2501dd28d9f1f877.mp3 5ca0fefc2a3ccf83d458211831394d6d Dublin Core The Dublin Core metadata element set is common to all Omeka records, including items, files, and collections. For more information see, http://dublincore.org/documents/dces/. Title A name given to the resource Richard A. Rhem Collection Description An account of the resource Text and sound recordings of the sermons, prayers, services, and articles of Richard Rhem, pastor emeritus of Christ Community Church in Spring Lake, Michigan, where he served for 37 years. Starting in the mid 1980's, Rhem began to question some of the traditional Christian dogma that he had been espousing from the pulpit. That questioning was a first step in a long and interesting spiritual journey, one that he openly shared with his congregation. His journey is important, in part because it is reflective of the questioning, the yearnings, and the gradual revision of beliefs that many persons in this part of the century have experienced and continue to experience. It is important also because of the affirming and inclusive way his questioning was done and his thinking evolved. His sermons and other written and spoken materials together document the steps in his journey as it took a turn in 1985, yet continued to revolve around the framework and liturgies of the Christian calendar. Subject The topic of the resource Clergy--Michigan Reformed Church in America Christ Community Church (Spring Lake, Mich.) Religion Interfaith worship Sermons Sound Recordings Creator An entity primarily responsible for making the resource Rhem, Richard A. Source A related resource from which the described resource is derived <a href="https://gvsu.lyrasistechnology.org/repositories/2/resources/514">Richard A. Rhem papers (KII-01)</a> Publisher An entity responsible for making the resource available Grand Valley State University. University Libraries. Special Collections & University Archives. Contributor An entity responsible for making contributions to the resource Kaufman Interfaith Institute Rights Information about rights held in and over the resource <a href="http://rightsstatements.org/page/InC/1.0/?language=en">In Copyright</a> Language A language of the resource English Type The nature or genre of the resource Sound Text Identifier An unambiguous reference to the resource within a given context KII-01 Coverage The spatial or temporal topic of the resource, the spatial applicability of the resource, or the jurisdiction under which the resource is relevant 1981-2014 Format The file format, physical medium, or dimensions of the resource audio/mp3 text/pdf Sound A resource primarily intended to be heard. Examples include a music playback file format, an audio compact disc, and recorded speech or sounds. Event Labor Day Sunday, Pentecost XIV Scripture Text Liviticus 25:1-17, Acts 2:43-47,Matthew 25:31-40 Location The location of the interview Christ Community Church, Spring Lake, MI Dublin Core The Dublin Core metadata element set is common to all Omeka records, including items, files, and collections. For more information see, http://dublincore.org/documents/dces/. Identifier An unambiguous reference to the resource within a given context KII-01_RA-0-19980906 Date A point or period of time associated with an event in the lifecycle of the resource 1998-09-06 Title A name given to the resource The Biblical Vision and Karl Marx: A 150th Retrospective Creator An entity primarily responsible for making the resource Richard A. Rhem Publisher An entity responsible for making the resource available Grand Valley State University Rights Information about rights held in and over the resource <a href="http://rightsstatements.org/page/InC/1.0/?language=en">In Copyright</a> Subject The topic of the resource Clergy--Michigan Reformed Church in America Christ Community Church (Spring Lake, Mich.) Sermons Relation A related resource Richard A. Rhem - An Archive of Sermons, Prayers, Talks and Stories: http://richardrhem.org/ Language A language of the resource eng Type The nature or genre of the resource Text Sound Format The file format, physical medium, or dimensions of the resource audio/mp3 application/pdf Description An account of the resource A sermon given by Richard A. Rhem (Dick) on September 6, 1998 entitled "The Biblical Vision and Karl Marx: A 150th Retrospective", on the occasion of Labor Day Sunday, Pentecost XIV, at Christ Community Church, Spring Lake, MI. Scripture references: Liviticus 25:1-17, Acts 2:43-47,Matthew 25:31-40. Consciousness Justice Prophetic Voice https://digitalcollections.library.gvsu.edu/files/original/1eed06bd53c84e1c1d7bf3569c49bf71.jpg 62001f829dd5f595e29223b3da965783 Dublin Core The Dublin Core metadata element set is common to all Omeka records, including items, files, and collections. For more information see, http://dublincore.org/documents/dces/. Title A name given to the resource Decorated Publishers' Bindings Subject The topic of the resource Book covers Covers (Illustration) Graphic arts Publishers and publishing Pictorial bindings Description An account of the resource From the early 1870s to roughly 1930, many publishers issued their commercial book covers with a remarkable variety of graphic designs and illustrations. This sixty-year period saw many artists and designers contributing to this art form. While some can be identified from their style or initials, others remain unknown. Source A related resource from which the described resource is derived Seidman Rare Books Collection Michigan Novels Collection Regional Historical Collection Lincoln and the Civil War Collection Publisher An entity responsible for making the resource available Grand Valley State University. University Libraries. Special Collections & University Archives Date A point or period of time associated with an event in the lifecycle of the resource 2017-08-30 Rights Information about rights held in and over the resource <a href="http://rightsstatements.org/page/InC/1.0/?language=en">In Copyright</a>, <a href="http://rightsstatements.org/page/NoC-US/1.0/?language=en">No Copyright - United States</a> Format The file format, physical medium, or dimensions of the resource image/jpg Language A language of the resource eng Type The nature or genre of the resource Image Identifier An unambiguous reference to the resource within a given context DC-01 Still Image A static visual representation. Examples include paintings, drawings, graphic designs, plans and maps. Recommended best practice is to assign the type Text to images of textual materials. Source Seidman Rare Books. PS1064.B3 B4 1896 c.2 Dublin Core The Dublin Core metadata element set is common to all Omeka records, including items, files, and collections. For more information see, http://dublincore.org/documents/dces/. Identifier An unambiguous reference to the resource within a given context DC-01_Bindings0406 Title A name given to the resource The Bicyclers and Three Other Farces Description An account of the resource Binding of The Bicyclers and Three Other Farces, by John Kendrick Bangs, published by Harper & Brothers Publishers, 1896. Subject The topic of the resource Book covers Covers (Illustration) Graphic arts Publishers and publishing Pictorial bindings Language A language of the resource eng Rights Information about rights held in and over the resource <a href="http://rightsstatements.org/page/NoC-US/1.0/?language=en">No Copyright - United States</a> Type The nature or genre of the resource Image Format The file format, physical medium, or dimensions of the resource image/jpeg Date A point or period of time associated with an event in the lifecycle of the resource 1896 Publisher An entity responsible for making the resource available Grand Valley State University. University Libraries. Lemmen Library and Archives https://digitalcollections.library.gvsu.edu/files/original/2dc657c2c48bf96232388ac149da05ee.jpg 3a149444abb61271963ed5e81d20553f Dublin Core The Dublin Core metadata element set is common to all Omeka records, including items, files, and collections. For more information see, http://dublincore.org/documents/dces/. Title A name given to the resource Decorated Publishers' Bindings Subject The topic of the resource Book covers Covers (Illustration) Graphic arts Publishers and publishing Pictorial bindings Description An account of the resource From the early 1870s to roughly 1930, many publishers issued their commercial book covers with a remarkable variety of graphic designs and illustrations. This sixty-year period saw many artists and designers contributing to this art form. While some can be identified from their style or initials, others remain unknown. Source A related resource from which the described resource is derived Seidman Rare Books Collection Michigan Novels Collection Regional Historical Collection Lincoln and the Civil War Collection Publisher An entity responsible for making the resource available Grand Valley State University. University Libraries. Special Collections & University Archives Date A point or period of time associated with an event in the lifecycle of the resource 2017-08-30 Rights Information about rights held in and over the resource <a href="http://rightsstatements.org/page/InC/1.0/?language=en">In Copyright</a>, <a href="http://rightsstatements.org/page/NoC-US/1.0/?language=en">No Copyright - United States</a> Format The file format, physical medium, or dimensions of the resource image/jpg Language A language of the resource eng Type The nature or genre of the resource Image Identifier An unambiguous reference to the resource within a given context DC-01 Still Image A static visual representation. Examples include paintings, drawings, graphic designs, plans and maps. Recommended best practice is to assign the type Text to images of textual materials. Source Seidman Rare Books. PS3515.AZ49 B53 1905 Dublin Core The Dublin Core metadata element set is common to all Omeka records, including items, files, and collections. For more information see, http://dublincore.org/documents/dces/. Identifier An unambiguous reference to the resource within a given context DC-01_Bindings0361 Title A name given to the resource The Black Barque Description An account of the resource Binding of The Black Barque, by T. Jenkins Hains, published by L.C. Page and Company, 1905. Subject The topic of the resource Book covers Covers (Illustration) Graphic arts Publishers and publishing Pictorial bindings Language A language of the resource eng Rights Information about rights held in and over the resource <a href="http://rightsstatements.org/page/NoC-US/1.0/?language=en">No Copyright - United States</a> Type The nature or genre of the resource Image Format The file format, physical medium, or dimensions of the resource image/jpeg Date A point or period of time associated with an event in the lifecycle of the resource 1905 Publisher An entity responsible for making the resource available Grand Valley State University. University Libraries. Lemmen Library and Archives