Hope College has received a 1997 Holland Area Beautiful Award for its Admissions Office and Haworth Conference and Learning Center, and their grounds.
Holland Area Beautiful recognized 18 sites for 1997during an awards presentation
held on Wednesday, July 16, at theHolland Township Fire Station #1. In addition to
a plaquepresented during the awards event, Hope will receive a Holland AreaBeautiful
lawn sign that will stand through Tuesday, Aug. 19.
Holland Area Beautiful is a non-profit organization whose projects include
the annual flower-give-away, Adopt-A-Bed program, Adopt-A-Highway along M-21 and U.S.
31, and highway mowing and landscaping. Holland Area Beautiful also calls attention
to the efforts of individuals who have made significant improvements to their residences
and commercial facilities.
The mission of Holland Area Beautiful is to provide funding for and administer
programs which promote the cleanliness and beautification of the focus area through
enhancing the overall attitude of the citizenry toward their environment.
The two college buildings stand near one another between Ninth and 10th
streets near College Avenue. They share a landscaped area intended to serve as a
bridge to downtown Holland, which stands immediately to the north.
At the Admissions Office, the on-going efforts of the college's groundskeeping
department have been bolstered through the work of the six students working in Admissions
this summer. With the department's help, guidance and material support, the students
added enhancements around the buildings such as plantings and wood chips. New decorative
stone flower pots sporting bright red flowers add color to the entrance.
The Admissions grounds also include dogwood trees planted some years ago
in honor of Phil Toppen, a member of the Admissions staff who died in 1985.
The Haworth Conference and Learning Center is fronted by the Gene and Mary
Van Tamelen Plaza, which includes portions of the Admissions Office grounds. The
Plaza features a curving walkway that travels from 10th Street to a stone bench at
Ninth and College, as well as decorative lampposts and ornamental trees and bushes.
The Van Tamelens, who live in Los Altos, Calif., provided funds for the
landscaping in the section that bears their names. They are both alumni of the college,
and grew up in the Holland area.
The Haworth Conference and Learning Center opened in January and was dedicated
in May. The conference center has 50 hotel rooms and offers meeting and banquet space
for up to 400 people. The Admissions Office was completed in 1988.