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Historical Profile: Alpine Avenue CRC

Grand Rapids, Michigan

1881-1992

Alpine Avenue (also known as Third) CRC was organized in 1881 by members of First CRC. Alpine Avenue was the third CRC congregation in Grand Rapids after First (1857, downtown) and East Street (1879, Eastern Ave.).

The 1880 U.S. Census had counted 32,016 residents in Grand Rapids, nearly twice the population of a decade earlier. The Dutch-born population had grown at a faster rate. This census counted 7,110 Dutch-born, 2.4 times as many as in 1870. Not counting their American-born offspring, this represented 22% of the Grand Rapids population, the highest level in any census.

Alpine Avenue merged with Highland Hills in 1992 to form Westend CRC.

Location

960 Alpine NW, Grand Rapids, MI 49504 (built 1904)

Interactive Google map showing church location.

Pastors

William H. Frieling, 1882-86
Peter Ekster, 1886-1905
S. Volbeda, 1905-11
J. Van Lonkhuyzen, 1911-18
P. A. Hoekstra, 1919-27
W. Masselink, 1928-42
P. Y. De Jong, 1942-48
J. T. Holwerda, 1948-54
A. W. Hoogstrate, 1954-61
G. P. Holwerda, 1961-66
John H. Bergsma, 1966-90

Crosby Street (now West Leonard), 1888
Broadway Ave. (now Westview), 1893
Twelfth Street, 1917, cosponsored with West Leonard
Front Street Mission, 1948-62

Membership

Green (lower) line shows membership in families; blue (middle), professing members; red (top), total members; and magenta (thin), non-professing members.

Source: Yearbooks of the Christian Reformed Church. Dates are year prior to publication date since data is gathered at the end of one year and published in the next.

For more membership data, click here. View map showing Alpine Avenue's location.

Go to Grand Rapids geographic index or chronological index.

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