Meyer May House — Attraction in Grand Rapids

What a treasure to have a Frank Lloyd Wright Home, right in town!

TIP— tours are on TUESDAYS, THURSDAYS, and SUNDAYS. Closed to the public other days of the week. Steelcase owns this building, and they graciously allow the tours to continue.

I have toured the Meyer May house 3-4 times over the last 16 years, and each time I’ve learned something new. The pictures you will see here are no substitute for visiting this exquisite piece of architecture. One does not have to be an architectural expert to appreciate the uniqueness of this space.

Your tour starts of with a short film next door, in the building just north of the Meyer May home. In the film you will see the amazing innovations and potential roadblocks to making this iconic home a reality.

I loved the tours! Each docent was so very knowledgeable and helpful. They tell a lot of the backstory of the personalities of the people involved, and they also explain the functions of the items in the home. Yet each docent is open to questions you pose and is ready with an intelligent response.

TIP— There is a small gift shop inside the adjacent building with thoughtful gift items.

TIP— ask questions! There were times a docent would stay later just because he was happy to impart some nugget of wisdom or interest to...

The Meyer May house was designed by famed architect Frank Lloyd Wright for a Grand Rapids clothing store owner named Meyer May in 1908. In the 1980s, furniture maker Steelcase purchased the then rundown and altered house, painstakingly restored it, and opened it to the public to enjoy!!

A visit to the house today sharea the story of the restoration process via a 30ish minute video and then a docent-led guided tour of the house. The highly knowledgeable and passionate volunteer docents give insight into the family the house was built for and share information about architecture and design elements found throughout the entire property.

The house is spectacular and absolutely worth visiting. I've been several times!

Visitors should plan to spend 1.5-2 hours here. You have to watch the 30ish minute video before entering the house, and if you arrive while the video is already playing, you'll have to wait for it to finish until they let you watch it. Some docents are more chatty than others and may spend more time...

Beautiful. You will fall in love with the house's exquisite details. Our docent Sue was very nice and knowledgeable.

There was plenty of free street parking nearby.

You should book online if you're planning a special trip to the house, but walk-ins may be accommodated. The site seems to only allow 8 bookings per session, but there were about 15 people at our session and they divided us into two groups for the house tour.

By the way, you don't have to watch the restoration video as part of the tour. You can watch it on the official website in advance and then arrive around 40 min after the official start time for the house tour. Probably best to call as a courtesy and let them know you want to do this. I do recommend watching the video somehow though.

As for covid precautions, masks are still required as of July 2022, but are available at the visitor center if you...