The roots of the Ladies Literary Club are found in the Ladies History Class of Grand Rapids, started by Marion Louise Withey in 1869. This class was modeled after her Aunt Lucinda Hinsdale Stone’s history classes for women in Kalamazoo. The first meeting took place at Park Congregational Church, which was then still under construction. The books collected or needed for the class prompted the formation of the Ladies’ Library Association on March 21, 1870. Later that year, and after additional fundraising for the collection, the name was changed to the City Library Association. Located on Monroe Street, Miss Francis Holcomb was the first librarian.

In October 1871, the Club joined their book collection with those of the YMCA and the Board of Education, to provide the support and the volumes for the first Public Library of Grand Rapids. The largest of these original library collections, some 1200 items, came from the Ladies Literary Club, which formed more permanently under that name on April 10, 1873. Francis Holcomb, the Club librarian, became the first Librarian of this new Public Library. A model for the new Club’s constitution was found by once again following a Kalamazoo model, that of the Kalamazoo Ladies Library Constitution (formed 1852, with building constructed in 1878). However, the Club did not officially incorporate until approximately 1882, with a mission to “promote literary, educational and scientific pursuits and to establish and maintain a library”.

In July 1887 the cornerstone was laid for a permanent club building at 61 Sheldon Boulevard, with the building finished in December of that same year. The lot had cost the club $3,500. The building was constructed by John Frey from the plans of local architect William G. Robinson. It’s original cost is said to be around $6,000(?). Robinson’s style has been described as partly Richardsonian Romanesque, with curved arches over the windows and doorway. It is built of Grand Rapids pressed brick and Ohio blue stone, trimmed in terra cotta. The core of the building was the auditorium, seating some 440+ people, a proscenium style stage and a library reception room. In 1894 the buildings heating unit exploded, and the membership Club met at the All Souls Church, until new heating facilities could be installed. By 1900?, the building required it’s first major repairs of some $6000 (?).

 

In 1899, a carved chest was given by D.W. Kendall in memory of his wife. Members of the club stored Shakespearian materials in the chest, and when this subgroup broke away from the club, the chest went with them. Later, the Shakespeare Club gave the chest to the Grand Rapids Public Library. Today, it sits in the Grand Rapids History & Special Collections department, under the portraits of Grand Rapids founders, Louis and Sophie Campau.

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In 1902, Kendall gave a carved table and chairs. Frederick Stuart Church's painting “Spring Fantasy” was donated in 1903 in memory of Mrs. Hollister. In October 1915, Lorain Pratt Immen donated a Tiffany stained glass window, called the “Shakesperian” window due to this literary theme, which Immen loved. It is 8.5 feet high and 4 feet wide, now on an inside wall of the Library, to the South, which was probably an outside wall until the 1930s renovation which added to the South side of the building. Mountain Landscape by Edward Henry Potthost, donor and date unknown. Chapel of Roslyn Castle painting (where). Still Life with Rose, thought to be Mathias Alten.

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In 1931 the building was remodeled by architects Rindge and Rindge of Grand Rapids, at which time the size of the building was increased by one third, with the south entrance added and in 2002, a new roof was added at a cost of $57,000.

The building was sold to Calvin College in the Fall of 2006, which had already been using the LLC auditorium for downtown activities. Calvin, which desired the building to expand its downtown presence, began a $1 million dollar update shortly after the sale. The college used the building as a music, theater and entertainment venue. However, in 2014, they decided to sell the building.

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In 2018, Rye Venue Management purchased the building and invested further into renovations, removing all theater seats, adding a passthrough permanent cocktail bar complete with a custom bar top that displays the hundreds of 3-inch gold plaques with the names of donors and contributors, that were affixed to the chairs in the original theater. The newly remodeled building would now be called, "The Lit event space".

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In March, 2020, the US CDC declared a national emergency in response to the Covid 19 pandemic and ordered a shut down of all nonessential businesses, forcing The Lit to cancel all events until it was allowed to reopen near the end of the year. Consequently, the venue never truly rebounded and Rye Venue Management was forced to close it's doors in 2024. It remained empty and unused until July 2025 when a locally based event company, "The Penny Loafer LLC" negotiated a usage agreement to take over operations of the building and restore it to a place for community to gather, utilizing the front parlor as, "The Parlor Cafe," returning the upstairs to a usable library and Bridal Suite, updating a Groom's Den in the lower level, and opening the theater to a variety of uses such as weddings and large events, concerts, vintage movie nights, dinner theater, comedy nights, open mic for upcoming local artists, dance classes, yoga, recitals, and space for local art groups to use for regular rehearsal and/or educational space, according to the owner of "The Penny Loafer LLC," Penny Hock.

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Several subgroups of the organization have existed over the years, including the Scribbler, the Shakespeare Club, the Tuesday Study Class, Americanization and Education Extension Committee, the Art and Travel Class, the Committee on Child Labor and Women in Industry, the Current Literature Class, the Evening Club, the House Committee (important in the renovation of the historical building). There were also funds, such as the Henry Field Koon Memorial Shoe Fund, which providing shoes to the poor children particular during the 1930's.

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Over the years, the club has hosted speeches by Theodore Roosevelt, William Howard Taft, and Woodrow Wilson.

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