Vintage Venhuizen

In 1915, Henry Venhuizen opened Holland’s first Studebaker dealership at the corner of Central Avenue and West 7th Street. What began as a father-and-son venture — Henry and William Venhuizen making trips through Indiana farmland to bring Studebakers home from South Bend — would grow into a local automotive legacy. Over the years, the dealership expanded to include DeSoto, Plymouth, and even Packard brands, eventually merging with TerHaar Oldsmobile and evolving into what we know today as Crown Motors.

More than a century later, traces of that legacy still clung to the old brick building downtown — a fading mural advertising Venhuizen Motors. In 2015, exactly 100 years after Henry first opened his doors, the Vintage Car Club of Holland recognized the mural’s significance and took steps to preserve it. The club partnered with artist Dave Scholten to carefully refurbish the weathered artwork, honoring the community’s earliest automotive pioneers.

The project was unveiled with members of the Venhuizen family in attendance, a fitting tribute to the people who helped drive Holland’s automotive story forward. Today, if you stroll past the corner of Central and 7th, that restored mural proudly reminds us how Holland’s love of cars — and craftsmanship — began over a century ago.

Contributors: Rick George, Bill Venhuizen Jr, Stacie Stevens Venhuizen, Rob Venhuizen