On October 25, the Ladies Literary Club (LLC) voted to give its property at 61 Sheldon Boulevard to Calvin College. The vote came just one day short of the building’s 35th anniversary of being listed on the National Register of Historic Places.
A year ago, the LLC decided to disband due to dwindling membership, and began seeking a new owner for the building.
“We’re excited about it,” said Calvin spokesman Phil de Haan. “One of the things we’re excited about is having Calvin present downtown.”
Calvin expects to use the building to continue the LLC’s rich tradition of stage performances, concerts, and lectures. The auditorium and meeting rooms have played host to distinguished dignitaries, including Theodore Roosevelt, William Howard Taft, and Woodrow Wilson.
“One of the things we’d like to think about is, are there any of our lectures we’d like to do down at the LLC?” de Haan said. “There are one-act plays by the Calvin Theatre Company and the LLC would be a perfect place to present those. We’ve talked about maybe doing something with the January Series down there. We’re not sure what it would be, it may be a video, or it may be a live speaker from the January Series.”
“We’re looking at probably $1 million in terms of improvements and renovations like handicap accessibility,” de Haan added. “The heating and air handling system needs improvement, and we need to do some things with lighting and sound for the stage productions. We’ve already gotten financial commitments for the project from The Frey Foundation, Meijer Foundation, Steelcase, and the Sebastian Foundation.”
The Ladies Literary Association, a group of six women who began meeting in 1869 to study, built the Richardsonian Romanesque-style building in 1887 for $6,000. William G. Robinson designed the building, and it is one of Michigan’s earliest buildings constructed as a women’s club. Among the notable appointments of the structure are the French-made plate-glass windows, a slate roof, and an interior Tiffany window.
Source: Phil de Haan, Calvin College
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