Original Construction
1895
Completion Date
1989
Size
7,812 sqft

The Voigt House, home of one of the founding families of Grand Rapids, is one of the city’s most significant cultural resources and an important national resource for understanding late-nineteenth-century domestic life. In 1974, the last Voigt descendant bequeathed the house, along with its nearly intact collection of family furnishings and papers, to the City of Grand Rapids. The property was subsequently entrusted to the Public Museum of Grand Rapids. Since the completion of the Preservation Master Plan in 1989, the house has undergone four major phases of restoration addressing critical elements of the historic property, including reconstruction of a failed masonry wall, replacement and preservation of the slate roof and ornamental copper, repairs to ornamental pressed-metal dormers, and preservation and replacement of deteriorated sandstone ornament.

As the precursor to HopkinsBurns, SmithGroup prepared the Voigt House Preservation Master Plan in 1989, providing the Museum with a comprehensive roadmap for the long-term stewardship of this community treasure. The plan documented the history and significance of the property, evaluated the general condition of the house, and established a detailed preservation inventory encompassing the site, exterior, interior, and building systems. It also developed implementation policies and building operations recommendations to guide future preservation efforts. The resulting framework has supported the phased restoration of the house while maintaining its architectural character and preserving the exceptionally intact collection and historic fabric that make the Voigt House significant.