photograph
Catalog Number
2017.25.1Date of Origin
4-26-1984Dimensions
20.5 X 1 in.Description
Framed photograph of Parke-Davis employees outside the Point West Inn.Left to right...
seated: Carl De Young; Gary White; F. Heerspink; John Amaya; Ed Slenk; and, Phil Kamps.
first row: Estelle Bolte; H. Overbeeke; Chris Ter Haar; Jean Farkas; Sylvia Tanis; Helen Delsi; J. Slagter; P. Goodwin; H. Schregardus; Edna Nash; Emily Van Dyke; J. Watjer; G. Timmer; L. Van Slooten; and, B. Dykema.
second row: F. Brieve; Stella Tors; A. Overkamp; Marie Johnson; Dora Perez; H. Steigenga; G. Hatley; Brenda Kardux; Jean McCormick; Alice Zufall; P. Lemon; B. Michielson; and, B. Eleder.
third row and fourth row names can be seen on the back of the photo. See media attachments.
History
Parke-Davis started out in Detroit, MI ca. 1860. Early in 1952 they opened a plant in Holland Charter Township at 182 Howard Avenue, in the former Armour Leather Company building. They began manufacturing antibiotics in Holland, with the drug chloromycetin being the most popular at the time.In 1975 the Holland facility was expanded to include chemical manufacturing and research buildings. “The entire complex in 1977 became part of Warner-Lambert…. The 350 employees, of which one-third were chemists, discovered and produced many leading products, including the anticonvulsant drugs Dilantin and Neurontin, the cholesterol-lowering Lopid, the anti-histamine Benadryl, and the Alzheimer drug Cognex.
In 2000 the facility changed hands again when Pfizer…bought Warner-Lambert and committed $250 million for a research laboratory in Holland, which opened in 2002. The next year Pfizer began downsizing, first closing the laboratory in 2004 and laying off nearly one hundred chemists, and then in 2007 ending production in the adjacent manufacturing plant. Pfizer generously donated the $50 million laboratory to Michigan State University for biotechnology research, but razed the manufacturing plant after failing to find a buyer.”
- Robert Swierenga, "Holland, MI: From Dutch Colony To Dynamic City" pages 1015-1016.
The Point West Inn was located on Lake Macatawa at the end of South Shore Drive in Macatawa Park, just south of Holland, MI. It was operated by Richard Den Uyl (1929-2011) from 1963 to 1986. The elegant restaurant faced Lake Macatawa. Den Uyl believed a happy work environment produced happy customers. This philosophy was a key to his success.
New owners bought the property in 1986 for $4.4 million. In 1993 they filed for bankruptcy which led to the sale of the property in 1994. This third owner had the Point West Inn torn down in 1995.