Comstock Park Depot

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MQT1223
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Comstock Park Depot

Unread post by MQT1223 »

Something I’ve Always been curious about. I’ve never seen a photo of the depot in Comstock Park. Did they have one depot or two? Part of me wants to say they had two since the Diamond was in such a weird spot to make a “Union Station”. Very little documentation seems to be around on the history and fate of the Comstock Park depot. Can anyone shed some light?
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PM1946
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Re: Comstock Park Depot

Unread post by PM1946 »

I read something about the depot about a year ago, and if memory serves (which can be a little fuzzy) I'll share with you what I recall and suspect. I believe there was just a singular depot. Whether it served the GR&I and/or the PM, I'm not sure. Sometime in the early 1950's it was moved north into a Comstock Park neighborhood, and a second story was added. And I suspect that I've found it. Check the northeast corner of Oakridge and Brady. There you'll find a "house" that looks very much like a small town depot with a second story added on. I hope this helps, and if anyone can add more details, please jump in.

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Michael
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Re: Comstock Park Depot

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Is this the house at the corner of Brady & Oakridge you referring to ?
https://goo.gl/maps/2h1H47ectFn
I looked up the house and it is reported to have been built in 1912 and remodeled in 2000.
It is an interesting neighborhood. I randomly sampled homes on Brady and found they range from 1912 to very recent.

PM1946 wrote:I read something about the depot about a year ago, and if memory serves (which can be a little fuzzy) I'll share with you what I recall and suspect. I believe there was just a singular depot. Whether it served the GR&I and/or the PM, I'm not sure. Sometime in the early 1950's it was moved north into a Comstock Park neighborhood, and a second story was added. And I suspect that I've found it. Check the northeast corner of Oakridge and Brady. There you'll find a "house" that looks very much like a small town depot with a second story added on. I hope this helps, and if anyone can add more details, please jump in.

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MQT1223
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Re: Comstock Park Depot

Unread post by MQT1223 »

Any photos or anything of the structure before it was moved? Where was it before being moved?
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Michael
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Re: Comstock Park Depot

Unread post by Michael »

I haven't looked thoroughly but I suspect that if there were some photos they would be here
http://www.michiganrailroads.com/statio ... ck-park-mi

http://www.historygrandrapids.org/artic ... kent-count

Both sites mention the depot location was at the junction of the Pere Marquette and the GR & I and built by the PM in 1909
This would have been very close to the neighborhood PM1946 mentioned.

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Re: Comstock Park Depot

Unread post by MQT1223 »

I drove by the house in question yesterday. It’s the only house with that particular styling in that neighborhood and one of the few with an upper story, and it definitely looks like the upper story was an afterthought.
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