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Photographs
Furniture Industry Archives
Heartside Neighborhood ➔ Photograph, Paalman Furniture Company Building, 250 Ionia Avenue SW
Identifier:
1982.61.6Description:
A Northeast view of the Paalman Furniture Company building located at the corner of Ionia Ave. SW and Bartlett St SW in Grand Rapids, MI.Date:
1966 – 1973Materials:
PaperDimensions:
6.15" h 9.5" wCurrent Location Status:
In StorageCollection Tier:
Tier 2Source:
Gift of Dr. R. J. PaalmanRelated Entities:
Woods Photography (creator) Paalman, Dr. R. J. (donor) Paalman Furniture Company (depicts)They were manufacturer of tea wagons, occasional tables, console sets, ferneries, and magazine stands in various European and Colonial Revival and Modern styles based in Grand Rapids.
Organized in May, 1916, the Paalman Furniture Company specialized in “Tea Wagons”, but was not limited to the manufacturing of that alone. Their line of furniture included a wide variety of household furniture from waste baskets to dining room tables and china cabinets. They provided a service of custom decorating their Tea Wagons and end tables while keeping their furniture at a low cost to the customers without jeopardizing quality. Incorporating on May 20, 1946, seems to have been an effort to create a larger cash flow by issuing stocks. Correspondence to Mr. Chet Kiekintveld of September 10, 1940, may be of interest in that it clearly indicated that the company had begun to flounder financially. Also, at this time, they had begun to manufacture other types of specialty wood fixtures such as cabinets in trailers.
Early in 1966, President Henry B. Paalman began to ask stockholders permission to “liquate the assets and dissolve the corporation” and “Carry out the option with Mr. Forslund”, as was done at the April 5, 1966 meeting. The sale was filed and finalized on April 30, 1966.
Other Sources
The Grand Rapids Public Museum has an archival collection of business records of this company.
