McKay Tower, High-rise building in downtown Grand Rapids, Michigan.
McKay Tower is a high-rise building in downtown Grand Rapids with 18 floors rising approximately 259 feet. The structure combines retail spaces, offices, apartments, and event venues into a mixed-use building.
The first non-Native American marriage in Grand Rapids took place on this site in 1834, in a cabin owned by pioneer Joel Guild, where his daughter Harriet married Barney Burton; the first town meeting, with nine voters, was also held there. The Wonderly Building was built on the spot in 1890. The first two floors of the present tower were built in 1915 as the Grand Rapids National Bank, and 11 more floors were added between 1921 and 1927. Frank D. McKay bought the tower in 1942, and two mechanical floors were added in the early 1940s.
The tower's name honours Frank D. McKay, the businessman and politician who bought it from the Grand Rapids National Bank in 1942. Its mixed use continues a downtown tradition: the site hosted Grand Rapids' first non-Native American wedding in 1834, in pioneer Joel Guild's cabin, and the first town meeting, attended by nine voters.
McKay Tower stands on Monroe Center in downtown Grand Rapids, the fifth tallest building in the city. Its lower floors hold retail space, and the upper floors are offices and apartments, so visitors pass through a working building rather than a dedicated attraction. The tower is a short walk from other downtown Grand Rapids destinations along Monroe Center.
The 2020 buyers were the Match-e-be-nash-she-wish Band of Pottawatomi Indians of Michigan and the Huron Band of the Potawatomi, who paid $17.5 million to Steadfast Property Holdings. The tower stands on the spot of Joel Guild's cabin, where Grand Rapids' first non-Native American marriage, between Harriet Guild and Barney Burton, was held in 1834.
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