The Sweet House, located at 254 Fulton St E, Grand Rapids, MI is a nook full of of Grand Rapids history. Perspective 3D had the opportunity to capture the home, now an event venue, in 3D. The Sweet House is a charming historic wedding venue conveniently located in downtown Grand Rapids, Michigan. This venue is a testament to the beauty and style of an Italianate Villa in the mid-1860s. This house is now in the care of the Sweet House Foundation who has lovingly maintained the timeless beauty and historical significance of the home. Couples may enjoy hosting the wedding event of their dreams in this truly incredible mansion as they create a celebration to remember.The Sweet House is the perfect location for a wedding and can accommodate the ceremony, dinner, and reception all under the same roof!The Sweet House offers several event rooms, each adorned with stylish decor and individual themes. The Hazel Vandenburg Auditorium/Ballroom offers a stylish, light-filled ceremony space with a dance floor, cream walls, and tasteful decor, comfortably accommodating up to 150 seated guests. Desdemona’s Dining Room offers space for up to 125 guests for wedding receptions, and ceremonies, featuring a vintage, sophisticated ambiance. The Sweet House also offers several smaller rooms that can be used for engagement parties, rehearsal dinners, cocktail parties, and more.Bridal suites are also available, offering comfort and style for your wedding preparations. They have their own liquor license and offer various bar packages and drink options. Free parking is available and the venue offers valet service upon request.
Explore the The Sweet House Foundation Venue in 3D
Using Matterport hardware and software, we captured the home and created a an immersive 3D virtual tour for the Foundation. This gives the staff a valuable tool for enhancing the visitor experience, preserving cultural heritage, and expanding outreach. Here are some of the reasons why Matterport virtual tours are good for venues, museums, exhibits and other cultural or historical attractions.
- Virtual Tours: Matterport allows museums to create immersive and interactive virtual tours of their exhibits. This enables visitors to explore the museum’s collections and displays from anywhere in the world, breaking down geographical barriers and increasing accessibility.
- Enhanced Online Presence: Virtual tours created with Matterport can be embedded on websites and shared on social media platforms, enhancing the venues online presence. This can attract a wider audience and engage potential visitors. Read about optimizing your Google Business Profile.
- Preservation: Matterport’s 3D scanning technology helps document artifacts and exhibits in high detail. This can be valuable for preservation efforts, as it creates a digital record of objects that can be referenced in the future.
- Education: Historical sites can use Matterport to create educational resources. Virtual tours can include informative labels, videos, and additional content that provide context and insights about the exhibits. This can be particularly useful for remote learning and online educational programs.
- Access for All: Matterport virtual tours can be accessible to individuals with mobility challenges or those who are unable to visit in person. This inclusivity allows a broader audience to engage with the venue’s collections.
- Visitor Engagement: Virtual tours created with Matterport often result in increased visitor engagement. Users can spend more time exploring exhibits and can return to the virtual tour multiple times, deepening their understanding and appreciation of the content.
- Promotion and Fundraising: Museums and other cultural attractions can use Matterport tours as a promotional tool for fundraising campaigns. By showcasing their space in an engaging way, venues can attract donors and sponsors interested in supporting their mission.
- Temporary Exhibits: Matterport can be used to document temporary exhibits, allowing museums to preserve the memory of these exhibits after they have ended. This can be useful for historical reference and documentation.
- Visitor Planning: Prospective visitors can use Matterport virtual tours to plan their visit in advance. This can enhance the visitor experience by helping them prioritize which exhibits to explore during their physical visit.
- Analytics and Feedback: Organizations can gather data and analytics on how users engage with virtual tours. This information can help foundations and to understand visitor preferences and tailor future exhibits and programs accordingly.
- Cost-Effective: Creating virtual tours with Matterport can be a cost-effective way to extend reach and impact without significant additional expenses.
Overall, Matterport’s technology empowers venues, museums, galleries and curators to leverage the digital realm to engage, educate, and inspire a broader and more diverse audience while also contributing to preservation efforts and educational outreach.
If you have a venue, museum or other cultural space you would like to have a 3D virtual tour of, please give Perspective 3D a call! 616-312-3947.
More about Martin Sweet
Martin Sweet built this Italianate house in the mid 1860s as the family home for his wife Desdemona and their three children, Mattie, Cassius and Frank.
Martin was a man of limitless energy with a profound business sense and a vision to make Grand Rapids the best place to live. He began by purchasing a flour mill and was the leading merchant in the area for years. He was active in city government, serving on numerous boards, commissions, and councils. In 1860 he was elected mayor of Grand Rapids and served only one term by his own request. In 1861, spurred by the railroad coming to the city and increased business because of the Civil War, he purchased a failing bank which became Old National Bank with Martin as its president for 30 years. The bank became Old Kent Bank and eventually Fifth Third Bank as it is known today. He built the four-story Sweet’s Hotel in 1868 which became the Pantlind Hotel and now is the Amway Grand Plaza. He owned several farms and was an expert on cattle breeding. He imported the first Holstein Friesian cattle from the Netherlands to arrive in Michigan at his largest farm located on the north end of College Avenue and Sweet Street which was named in his honor. The farm was purchased by Kent Country Club at the end of the century. He also owned two furniture companies from 1880-1890, the M.L. Sweet Furniture Company and the M. L. Sweet Bedstead Company. Desdemona died in 1890 at age 72 and Martin Sweet died in the house on February 19,1905 on his 86th birthday.
In 1891 Martin married Emma Mc Breen. After Martin’s death, Emma leased the house to Frank and Clara Davis. Clara was a piano teacher and one of the founders of the St. Cecelia Music Society. She arranged to have world renowned concert pianist Ottokar Malek establish a music conservatory in the house from 1914 to 1919.During the 1920s the house became a second-rate boarding house.In 1927 the Women’s City Club of Grand Rapids purchased the Sweet House for their clubhouse. They made extensive renovations including the additions of the auditorium and dining rooms. The house contains many fine paintings, unique wallpaper, antiques, and Grand Rapids-made furniture. It is a Heritage Hill registered historic residence.
Due to the increasing expense of maintaining the house, in 2005 the Women’s City Club voted to form the Sweet House Foundation, a 501(c)(3) charitable organization, to raise funds for the maintenance of this historic landmark. The purpose of the Foundation is to preserve and memorialize the history and architecture of Grand Rapids as exhibited in the Sweet House.
In 2018 the Women’s City Club moved from the Sweet House and the Sweet House Foundation assumed full responsibility for the care of this venerable mansion. It is now a downtown event venue, and is the perfect setting for birthday parties, showers, weddings, wakes, corporate meetings and celebrations of all kinds. It is open for tours, by appointment.