| Official name | City of Grand Rapids |
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| Settlement type | City |
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| Nickname | "Furniture City" |
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| Image seal | Grand Rapids MI Seal.png |
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| Map caption | Location of Grand Rapids within Kent County, Michigan|. |
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| Pushpin map | USA |
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| Pushpin map caption | Location in the United States |
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| Subdivision type | Country |
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| Subdivision type1 | State |
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| Subdivision type2 | County |
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| Subdivision name | United States |
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| Subdivision name1 | Michigan |
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| Subdivision name2 | Kent |
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| Government type | City Commission-Manager |
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| Leader title | Mayor |
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| Leader name | George Heartwell |
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| Leader title1 | City Manager |
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| Leader name1 | Greg Sundstrom |
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| Established title | Founded |
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| Established date | 1826 |
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| Established title2 | Incorporation |
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| Established date2 | 1850 |
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| Area magnitude | 1 E8 |
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| Area total sq mi | 45.3 |
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| Area land sq mi | 44.6 |
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| Area water sq mi | 0.7 |
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| Area water percent | 1.5 |
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| Population as of | 2010 |
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| Population note | (Urban: 2000 / City & Metro: 2010) |
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| Population total | 188,040 |
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| Population urban | 539,080 |
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| Population metro | 774,361 |
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| Population blank1 title | CSA |
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| Population blank1 | 1,321,557 |
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| Population density sq mi | 4343 |
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| Population density km2 | 1677 |
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| Population blank2 title | Demonym |
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| Population blank2 | Grand Rapidian |
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| Timezone | EST |
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| Utc offset | -5 |
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| Timezone dst | EDT |
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| Utc offset dst | -4 |
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| Elevation ft | 640 |
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| Website | www.grcity.us |
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| Area code | 616 |
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| Blank name | FIPS code |
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| Blank info | 26-34000 |
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| Blank1 name | GNIS feature ID |
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| Blank1 info | 0627105 }} |
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Grand Rapids is a
city in the
U.S. state of
Michigan. The city is located on the
Grand River about 40 miles east of
Lake Michigan. As of the
2010 census, the city population was 188,040. In 2010, the
Grand Rapids metropolitan area had a population of 774,160 and a
combined statistical area, Grand Rapids-Muskegon-Holland, population of 1,321,557. It is the
county seat of
Kent County, Michigan,
second largest city in Michigan (after
Detroit), and the largest city in
West Michigan. Grand Rapids is home to five of the world's leading office furniture companies and is nicknamed the "Furniture City". The city and surrounding communities are economically diverse, and contribute heavily to the
health care,
automotive, aviation, and consumer goods manufacturing industries, among others.
History
Over 2,000 years ago, people associated with the
Hopewell culture occupied the Grand River Valley. Around A.D. 1700, the
Ottawa Indians moved into the area and founded several villages along the
Grand River.
The Grand Rapids area was first settled by Europeans near the start of the 19th century by missionaries and fur traders. They generally lived in reasonable peace alongside the Ottawa tribespeople, with whom they traded their European metal and textile goods for fur pelts. Joseph and Madeline La Framboise established the first Indian/European trading post in West Michigan, and in present Grand Rapids, on the banks of the Grand River near what is now Ada. After the death of her husband in 1806, Madeline La Framboise carried on, expanding fur trading posts to the west and north. La Framboise, whose ancestry was a mix of French and Indian, later merged her successful operations with the American Fur Company. She retired, at age 41, to Mackinac Island. The first permanent white settler in the Grand Rapids area was a Baptist minister named Isaac McCoy who arrived in 1825.
In 1826 Detroit-born Louis Campau, the official founder of Grand Rapids, built his cabin, trading post, and blacksmith shop on the east bank of the Grand River near the rapids. Campau returned to Detroit, then came back a year later with his wife and $5,000 of trade goods to trade with the native tribes. In 1831 the federal survey of the Northwest Territory reached the Grand River and set the boundaries for Kent County, named after prominent New York jurist James Kent. Campau became perhaps the most important settler when, in 1831, he bought 72 acres (291,000 m²) of what is now the entire downtown business district of Grand Rapids. He purchased it from the federal government for $90 and named his tract Grand Rapids. and officially created on May 1, 1850, when the village of Grand Rapids voted to accept the proposed city charter. The population at the time was 2,686. By 1857, the city of Grand Rapids' boundary totaled 10.5 square miles (27 km²).
In 1880, the country's first hydro-electric generator was put to use on the city's west side.
Grand Rapids was an early participant in the automobile industry, serving as home to the Austin Automobile Company from 1901 until 1921.
In 1945, Grand Rapids became the first city in the United States to add fluoride to its drinking water.
Downtown Grand Rapids used to host four department stores: Herpolsheimer's (Lazarus in 1987), Jacobson's, Steketee's (founded in 1862), and Wurzburg's. Like most downtown regional department stores, they suffered the same fate of falling sales, caused largely by the flight to the suburbs, and consolidation in the 1980s and 1990s.
Gypsum mining
An outcropping of gypsum, where
Plaster Creek enters the Grand River, was known to the native American inhabitants of the area, and was commented on by the pioneer geologist
Douglass Houghton in 1838. This outcrop was first mined in 1841, at first in open cast mines, but later underground mines as well. Gypsum was ground locally for use as a soil amendment known as "land plaster".
The
Alabastine Mine in nearby
Wyoming, Michigan was originally dug in 1907 to provide gypsum for the manufacture of stucco and wall coverings, notably the alabastine, favored by
Arts and Crafts Movement architects. This mine has been converted to use as a storage facility.
Furniture city
During the second half of the 19th century, the city became a major lumbering center and the premier furniture manufacturing city of the
United States. For this reason it was nicknamed "Furniture City". After an international exhibition in Philadelphia in 1876, Grand Rapids became recognized worldwide as a leader in the production of fine furniture. National home furnishing markets were held in Grand Rapids for about 75 years, concluding in the 1960s. Today, Grand Rapids is considered a world leader in the production of office furniture.
Transportation history
Roadways
The first improved road into the city was completed in 1855. This road was a private, toll plank road from
Kalamazoo through
Wayland, and was a primary route for freight and passengers until about 1868. This road connected to the outside world via the
Michigan Central Railroad at Kalamazoo.
Railroad
The first railroad into the city was the Detroit and Milwaukee Railroad, which commenced service in 1858. In 1869 the
Lake Shore and Michigan Southern Railway connected to the city. The
Grand Rapids and Indiana Railroad began passenger and freight service to
Cedar Springs,
Michigan on December 25, 1867 and to Fort Wayne, Indiana in 1870. This railroad expanded service to Muskegon in 1886. The
Grand Rapids, Newaygo and Lake Shore Railroad completed a line to
White Cloud in 1875. In 1888 the
Detroit, Lansing and Northern Railroad connected with Grand Rapids.
Air transportation
Grand Rapids was a home to one of the first regularly scheduled passenger airlines in the United States when
Stout Air Services began flights from Grand Rapids to
Detroit (actually
Ford Airport in
Dearborn,
Michigan) on July 31, 1926.
Geography
Topography
Grand Rapids sits on the banks of the
Grand River, where there was once a set of rapids, at an altitude of above sea level. It is approximately 40 miles (50 km) east of
Lake Michigan. The state capital of
Lansing lies about 60 miles (100 km) to the east-by-southeast, and
Kalamazoo is about 50 miles (80 km) to the south.
Grand Rapids is divided into four quadrants which form a part of mailing addresses in Kent County. The quadrants are NE (northeast), NW (northwest), SE (southeast), and SW (southwest). Fulton Street serves as the north-south dividing line, while Division Avenue serve as the east-west dividing line separating these quadrants.
According to the United States Census Bureau, the city has a total area of 45.3 square miles (117.4 km²). 44.6 square miles (115.6 km²) of it is land and 0.7 square miles (1.8 km², 1.50%) of it is water (primarily the Grand River).
Climate
Grand Rapids has a
humid continental climate (
Köppen Dfb), with very warm and humid summers, cold and snowy winters, and autumn and spring are quick but mild. Owing to
lake effect snow from Lake Michigan, the city averages of snow per annum. The area often receives quick and sudden
lake effect snowstorms , producing significant amounts of snowfall. Summers are moderately warm and the occurrence of
heat waves and
severe weather outbreaks is not uncommon.
The highest temperature in the area was recorded on July 13, 1936 at , and the lowest was recorded on February 14, 1899 at . During an average year, sunshine occurs in 46% of the daylight hours. On close to 40% of nights the temperature dips to below 32°F. On average, 11 days a year have temperatures that meet or exceed the 90 degree mark, and 9 days a year have temperatures that are 0 degrees or colder.
In April 1956, the western and northern portions of the city and its suburbs were hit by a violent tornado which locally produced F5 damage and killed 18.
Cityscape
The city skyline shows the
Amway Grand Plaza Hotel which reopened in 1981 after extensive renovations done by Marvin DeWinter & Associates including the addition of a 29 story glass tower. The Pantlind was fashioned after English Adams architecture by designers Warren & Westmore and in its prime was rated as one of the top ten hotels in the US. The hotel is home to several well-known restaurants in Grand Rapids, such as Cygnus and the 1913 Room, Michigan's only
AAA Five Diamond Award restaurant.
The hotel is owned by Amway Hotel Collection, a subsidiary of Amway's holding company Alticor.
Other prominent large buildings include the JW Marriott Grand Rapids, the first JW Marriott Hotel in the Midwest. It is themed from the array of Grand Rapids Sister cities: Omihachiman, Japan; Bielsko-Biala, Poland; Perugia, Italy; Ga District, Ghana; and Zapopan, Mexico. When the hotel was first opened, Amway Hotel corporation hired photographer Dan Watts to travel to each of the sister cities and photograph them for the property. Each floor of the hotel features photography from one of the cities and is unique to that floor. The cities repeat themselves up the 23 floors.
The city's tallest building, which postdates the above photo, is the River House Condominiums. Completed in 2008, It is a 34 story (123.8 m) condominium tower and stands as the tallest all-residential building in the state of Michigan.
Culture
In 1969,
Alexander Calder's abstract sculpture,
La Grande Vitesse, which translates from French as "the great swiftness" or more loosely as "grand rapids," was installed downtown on the Vandenberg Plaza, the remodeled site of Grand Rapids City Hall. It became the very first federally funded work of public art in the United States funded by the
National Endowment for the Arts. Since then, the site has hosted an annual
Festival of the Arts on the plaza, now known informally as "Calder Plaza." During the first weekend in June, several blocks of downtown surrounding the
Calder stabile in
Vandenberg Plaza are closed to traffic. Festival features several stages with free live performances, food booths selling a variety of ethnic cuisine, art demonstrations and sales, and other arts-related activities. Organizers bill it as the largest all-volunteer arts festival in the United States because it is organized and managed entirely by volunteers.
Vandenberg Plaza also hosts various ethnic festivals that take place throughout the summer season.
Summer concludes with Celebration on the Grand the weekend after Labor Day featuring free concerts,fireworks display and food booths. Celebration on the Grand is an event that celebrates life in the Grand River valley. Each October, the city celebrates the Polish heritage centered on the West side of town with Pulaski Days.
In Grand Rapids in 1973, the city hosted Sculpture off the Pedestal, an outdoor exhibition of public sculpture, which assembled 13 world-renowned artists, including Mark di Suvero, John Henry, Kenneth Snelson, Robert Morris, John Mason and Stephen Antonakos, in a single, citywide celebration. Sculpture off the Pedestal was a public/private partnership, which included financial support by the National Endowment for the Arts, educational support from the Michigan Council for the Arts and in-kind contributions from individuals, business and industry. Fund-raising events, volunteers and locals housing artists contributed to the public character of the event.
On November 10, 2004, the grand premier of the film The Polar Express was held in Grand Rapids, the movie's setting and home of the book's author Chris Van Allsburg, and its main character. The Meijer Gardens created a Polar Express display which was part of their larger Christmas Around the World exhibit.
In mid-2004, the Grand Rapids Art Museum (GRAM) began construction on a new, larger building for its art museum collection, which opened in October, 2007 at 101 Monroe Center NW. The new building site faces downtown's Ecliptic by Maya Lin at Rosa Parks Circle. The Museum was completed in 2007 and became the first newly built art museum to achieve gold-level, LEED certification by the U.S. Green Building Council.
The first ArtPrize, the world's largest art competition completely voted on by the public, took place in Grand Rapids from September 23 through October 10, 2009. This event was founded by Rick DeVos, grandson of Amway Corp. co-founder Richard DeVos, who offered $449,000 in cash prizes. 1,262 artists exhibited their work for two weeks, with a total of 334,219 votes cast. First prize, including a $250,000 cash prize, went to Brooklyn painter Ran Ortner. The second event, ArtPrize 2010, was held September 22 through October 10, 2010 with work by 1,713 artists on display. The first prize was awarded to Grand Rapids artist Chris LaPorte.
Tourism
in Grand Rapids, Michigan]]
, located on the west bank of the Grand River]]
Neighborhood]]
]]
Grand Rapids is the home of
John Ball Park,
Belknap Hill, and the
Gerald R. Ford Museum, the final resting place of the 38th President of the United States. Significant buildings in the downtown include the
DeVos Place Convention Center,
Van Andel Arena, the
Amway Grand Plaza Hotel, and now the JW Marriott Hotel. The Urban Institute for Contemporary Arts is located downtown, and houses art exhibits, a movie theater, and the urban clay studio.
Along the Grand River are symbolic burial mounds which were used by the Hopewell tribe, a fish ladder, and a riverwalk.
in Grand Rapids, Michigan]]
Grand Rapids is also home to the Van Andel Museum Center. Founded in 1854, it is among the oldest history museums in the United States. The museum's sites currently include the main site constructed in 1994 on the west bank of the Grand River (home to the Roger B. Chaffee Planetarium, the Voigt House Victorian Museum, and the City Archives and Records Center, which was the site of the museum and planetarium prior to 1994). The museum has, in the past few years, played host to a handful of notable exhibitions, including the Dead Sea Scrolls, and The Quest for Immortality: the Treasures of Ancient Egypt. The museum is set up as a non-profit institution owned and managed by the Public Museum of Grand Rapids Foundation.
Heritage Hill, a neighborhood directly east of downtown is one of the largest urban historic districts in the country. It was the first "neighborhood" of Grand Rapids and its 1,300 homes date from 1848 and represent over 60 architectural styles. Of particular significance is the Meyer May House, a prairie-style home designed by Frank Lloyd Wright in 1908. It was commissioned by local merchant Meyer May who operated a men's clothing store (May's of Michigan). The house is now owned and operated by Steelcase Corporation. Steelcase manufactured furniture for the Johnson Wax Building in Racine, WI, which was designed by Wright. Because of those ties, Steelcase purchased and restored the property in the 1980s. The restoration has been heralded as one of the most accurate and complete of any Wright restoration. The home is used by Steelcase for special events and open to the public for tours.
Grand Rapids is home to myriad theatres and stages, including the newly-reconstructed Civic Theatre (also known as the Meijer Majestic), the city's largest theatre DeVos hall, and the convertible Van Andel Arena. Further east of downtown is the historic Wealthy Theatre. The first megaplex in the United States is also located in Grand Rapids, Studio 28, which reopened in 1988 with a seating capacity of 6,000. The theater ceased operations on November 23, 2008. The Grand Rapids company also owns many theaters around West Michigan.
In Grand Rapids Township, the Frederik Meijer Gardens and Sculpture Park combine of world-class botanical gardens and artwork from such sculptors as Mark di Suvero, Alexander Calder, Edgar Degas, and Auguste Rodin. The Gardens' amphitheatre plays host to numerous concerts each summer, featuring such acts as Jonny Lang, The Pointer Sisters, Lyle Lovett, Cowboy Junkies, and B.B. King. The Gardens were mentioned in Patricia Schultz's book 1,000 Places to See Before You Die.
Entertainment and performing arts
Grand Rapids has a number of popular concert venues in which a large assortment of bands have performed, including the Orbit Room, the Mixtape Cafe, the DAAC, the Intersection, DeVos Hall, the Van Andel Arena, the Royce Auditorium, the Forest Hills Fine Arts Center, and the Deltaplex.
The Grand Rapids Symphony, founded in 1930, presents more than 400 performances a year.
The Great Lakes Chorus of Barbershop Singers is one of the oldest chapters in the Barbershop Harmony Society formally known as the Society for the Preservation and Encouragement of Barbershop Quartet Singing in America (SPEBSQSA). The Grand Rapids chapter organized in November 1939.
Grand Rapids Ballet Company was founded in 1971 and remains as Michigan's only professional ballet company. They are currently located on Ellsworth Avenue in the Heartside neighborhood, where it moved in 2000. In 2007, they expanded their facility by adding the LEED-certified Peter Wege Theater. In February 2010, they moved into a new facility in the Fulton Heights neighborhood.
A Newsweek article listing Grand Rapids as a dying city prompted a vigorous community response in the form of a big lip dub in May 2011, which film critic Roger Ebert dubbed “the greatest music video ever made”.
Religion
Christian Reformed
The
Christian Reformed Church has a large following in Grand Rapids, and its central offices are located in the city.
Catholicism
Grand Rapids is home to the
Roman Catholic Diocese of Grand Rapids, which was created on May 19, 1882 by
Pope Leo XIII. The Diocese comprises 176,098 Catholics in
West Michigan, 102 parishes, and four high schools
Catholic Central High School, Grand Rapids;
Muskegon Catholic Central High School, Muskegon;
St. Patrick High School, Portland;
West Catholic High School, Grand Rapids.
Walter A. Hurley is the current
Bishop of Grand Rapids.
Sports
Several professional sports teams call the Grand Rapids area home:
{|border=0 cellpadding=2 cellspacing=2 width=98%
|- bgcolor="#ADADAD"
|Club
|Sport
|Year Founded
|League
|Venue
|Championships
|-
|West Michigan Whitecaps
|Baseball
|1994
|Midwest League
|Fifth Third Ballpark
|Championship Series winners: 1996, 1998, 2004, 2006, 2007; Best regular season record: 1997, 1998, 2000, 2006, 2007
|-
|Grand Rapids Flight
|Basketball
|2004
|American Basketball Association
|Davenport University Student Center
|0
|-
|Grand Rapids Griffins
|Ice hockey
|1996
|American Hockey League
|Van Andel Arena
|IHL Joseph Turner Memorial Cup Runner-up: 2000; IHL Fred A. Huber Trophy (regular season champion): 2001
|-
|West Michigan ThunderHawks
|Indoor football
|2006
|Indoor Football League
|DeltaPlex Arena
|0
|}
Each year the Fifth Third River Bank Run is held in downtown Grand Rapids. It draws participants from around the world; in 2010 there were over 22,000 participants.
Amateur sporting organizations in the area include the Grand Rapids Rowing Association, Grand Rapids Rugby Club, and the West Michigan Wheelchair Sports Association. The West Michigan Sports Commission is the host organizing committee for the inaugural State Games of Michigan, which will be held in Grand Rapids from June 25 to June 27, 2010.
Media
The
Grand Rapids Press is a daily
newspaper, while
Advance Newspapers publishes a group of weekly papers providing more community-based news.
Gemini Publications is a niche, regional publishing company that produces the weekly newspaper
Grand Rapids Business Journal, the magazines
Grand Rapids Magazine,
Grand Rapids Family and
Michigan Blue, and several other quarterly and annual business-to-business publications. There are two free monthly entertainment guides: REVUE, which covers music and the arts, and RECOIL, which covers music and offers
Onion-style satire.
The Rapidian is an online-based citizen journalism project funded by grants from the
Knight Foundation and local community foundations that is reprinted or cited by other local media outlets.
Grand Rapids, combined with nearby Kalamazoo and Battle Creek, was ranked in 2010 as the 41st largest television market in the U.S. by Nielsen Media Research. The market is served by stations affiliated with major American networks including: WOOD-TV (channel 8, NBC), WOTV (channel 41, ABC), WZZM-TV (channel 13, ABC), WXMI (channel 17, Fox), WXSP-CA (channel 15, MyNetworkTV) and Kalamazoo-based WWMT (channel 3, CBS). WGVU-TV is the area's PBS member station.
The Grand Rapids area is served by 16 AM radio stations and 28 FM stations.
Economy
Grand Rapids has long been a center for
furniture,
automobile, and aviation
manufacturing;
American Seating,
Steelcase,
Haworth and
Herman Miller, major manufacturers of office furniture, are based in the Grand Rapids area. The area serves as an important location for
GE Aviation Systems.
In 1880, Sligh Furniture Company started manufacturing furniture. In 1881, the Furniture Manufacturers Association (FMA) was organized in Grand Rapids, it was apparently the first furniture manufacturing advocacy group in the country.
Also since 1912, Kindel Furniture Company, and since 1922, the Hekman/Woodmark Furniture Company, have been designing and manufacturing traditional American furniture in Grand Rapids. All of these companies are still producing furniture today.
More recently the city has had some success in developing and attracting businesses focusing on the health sciences, with facilities such as the Van Andel Research Institute (primarily focused on cancer research), Grand Valley State University's Cook-DeVos Center for Health Sciences (undergraduate and graduate health-related programs, doctorate program in Physical Therapy, Doctorate of Nursing Practice (DNP)), and Michigan State University's new Grand Rapids based Medical School. Nearly a billion dollars has been spent on new and expanded facilities (including the Spectrum Health Cancer Pavilion, the Spectrum Health Helen DeVos Children's Hospital and an addition to the Van Andel Institute, which will more than double its space. Most of these buildings are located in the Michigan Street medical corridor, and is commonly known as "Medical Mile." Employment opportunities thrive and the growth has developed specialized health science employment groups to facilitate the influx, such as the Medical Mile Group.
The Grand Rapids area is home to a number of well known companies that include; Alticor/Amway (a consumer goods manufacturer and distributor), Highlight Industries (an industry leader in stretch wrap equipment), Spartan Stores (a food distributor and grocery store chain), Foremost Insurance Company (a specialty lines insurance company), Meijer (a regional supercenter chain), GE Aviation (formerly Smiths Industries, an aerospace products company), Wolverine World Wide (a designer and manufacturer of shoes, boots and clothing), MC Sports, Inc. (a regional sports retail chain), Universal Forest Products (a building materials company), and Schuler Books & Music, one of the largest independent bookstores in the country.
The city is also known as a center of Christian publishing, home to Zondervan, Baker Books, Kregel Publications, and Eerdmans Publishing, as well as Family Christian Stores, a Christian bookstore chain.
The surrounding area is noted for its fruit production. Due to its close proximity to Lake Michigan the climate is considered prime for apple, peach, and blueberry farming.
In recent years, the convention business has seen an increase following the construction of the DeVos Place Convention Center.
In 2010 Grand Rapids was named the "most sustainable midsize city in the U.S." by the U.S. Chamber of Commerce Civic Leadership Center and Siemens Corp. Grand Rapids was chosen over finalist cities Davenport, Iowa and Hoover, Alabama.
Demographics
At the 2005-2007 American Community Survey 3-Year Estimates, 68.7% of the population were white, 21.8% black or African American, 16.4% Hispanic or Latino, 1.9% Asian, 1.5% American Indian and Alaska Native and 8.7% belonged to another race. 26.9% of the population had a Bachelor's degree or higher; 12.5% of the population were foreign born.
As of the
census of 2000, there were 197,800 people, 73,217 households, and 44,369 families residing in the city. The
population density was 4,431.2 per square mile (1,710.8/km²). There were 77,960 housing units at an average density of 1,746.5 per square mile (674.3/km²). The racial makeup of the city was 67.30%
White American (62.5% non-Hispanic White), 20.41%
African American, 0.74%
Native American, 1.62%
Asian American, 0.12%
Pacific Islander American, 6.63% from other races, and 3.19% from two or more races. 13.05% of the population were
Hispanic or
Latino of any race. The city had a foreign-born population of 10.5%.
There were 73,217 households out of which 32.0% had children under the age of 18 living with them, 40.3% were married couples living together, 15.8% had a female householder with no husband present, and 39.4% were non-families. 30.8% of all households were made up of individuals and 10.0% had someone living alone who was 65 years of age or older. The average household size was 2.57 and the average family size was 3.24.
In the city the population was spread out with 27.0% under the age of 18, 13.1% from 18 to 24, 31.5% from 25 to 44, 16.7% from 45 to 64, and 11.6% who were 65 years of age or older. The median age was 30 years. For every 100 females there were 95.8 males. For every 100 females age 18 and over, there were 92.5 males.
The median income for a household in the city was $37,224, and the median income for a family was $44,224. Males had a median income of $33,050 versus $26,382 for females. The per capita income for the city was $17,661. 15.7% of the population and 11.9% of families were below the poverty line. Out of the total people living in poverty, 19.4% are under the age of 18 and 10.4% are 65 or older.
Government and politics
Like the surrounding counties, the Grand Rapids area has traditionally been a stronghold for the
Republican Party, but the city itself leans
Democratic.
The city is the center of the 3rd Congressional District, represented by Republican Justin Amash. Former President Gerald Ford represented the district from 1949 to 1973. Ford died on December 26, 2006 at his home in Rancho Mirage, California, and was buried on the grounds of his Presidential Museum in Grand Rapids on January 3, 2007.
The Grand Rapids area (including the suburbs of Ada, East Grand Rapids, Wyoming, Grandville, Walker, and Kentwood) also serves as the home business base of one of the largest political donors to the national Republican Party, Richard and Helen DeVos, and also to the former Ambassador to Italy, Peter Secchia.
Though the Grand Rapids area has a reputation for conservatism, the city proper tends to elect Democrats. Both of its representatives in the Michigan State House of Representatives are Democrats, and in the five most recent presidential elections Democratic candidates Bill Clinton, Al Gore, John Kerry, and Barack Obama won a majority or plurality of votes in the city of Grand Rapids. The last Republican candidate for President to carry the city was George H.W. Bush in 1988.
Commission-Manager plan
Under Michigan law, Grand Rapids is a
home rule city and adopted a city charter in 1916 providing for the
Commission-Manager form of
municipal government. Under this system, the political responsibilities are divided between an elected City Commission and a hired full-time City Manager. Two part-time Commissioners are elected to four-year terms from each of three wards, with half of these seats up for election every two years. The part-time Mayor is elected every four years by the city at large, and serves as chair of the Commission, with a vote equal to that of a Commissioner. The races—held in odd-numbered years—are formally non-partisan, although the party and other political affiliations of candidates do sometimes come up during the campaign period. The Commission sets policy for the city, and is responsible for hiring the City Manager and other appointed officials.
Mayor
George Heartwell was elected mayor of Grand Rapids after long-serving mayor
John H. Logie declined to run for re-election in 2003. Logie felt the position should be made full-time, but to avoid the question becoming a referendum on whether
he should hold the job full-time, he announced that he would not run for re-election. The voters decided to keep the position part-time, and Heartwell was elected and assumed office on January 1, 2004.
Education
K-12 public education is provided by the
Grand Rapids Public Schools as well as a number of
charter schools. Grand Rapids is home of the oldest co-educational Catholic high school in the United States,
Catholic Central High School.
: the Ryerson Building, its oldest wing, opened in 1904. ]]
Pew Grand Rapids campus. located in Grand Rapids as well. Davenport University, a private, non-profit, multi-location university with 14 campuses state-wide, has its main campus just outside of Grand Rapids.
As for public tertiary institutions, Grand Rapids Community College (GRCC) maintains a campus downtown and facilities in other parts of the city and surrounding region. Grand Valley State University, with its main campus located in nearby Allendale, continues to develop its presence downtown by expanding its Pew campus, begun in the 1980s on the west bank of the Grand River. This downtown campus currently consists of 33 acres in two locations and is home to 11 buildings and three leased spaces. Ferris State University has a growing campus downtown, including the Applied Technology Center (operated with GRCC) and the Kendall College of Art and Design, a formerly private institution that now is part of Ferris. Western Michigan University has a long-standing graduate program in the city, with facilities downtown and in the southeast.
Clinical Pastoral Education is also offered at Pine Rest Christian Mental Health Services in nearby Cutlerville, Michigan.
MSU College of Human Medicine
In 2006, there was an active movement among community leaders to have
Michigan State University open a new medical school in Grand Rapids. Michigan State University College of Human Medicine expanded into downtown Grand Rapids. The College of Human Medicine is one of three fully accredited four-year medical schools at MSU, along with the College of Osteopathic Medicine and College of Veterinary Medicine. On April 21, 2008, the Secchia Center medical education building, a $90 million, seven-story, facility, began construction at Michigan Street hill and Division Avenue. The facility opened in the summer of 2010.
Transportation
Major highways
runs along the northern and northeastern sides of the city, linking with
Muskegon to the west and
Lansing and
Detroit, Michigan to the east
, also named the Gerald R. Ford Freeway, runs east–west through the city, connecting to I-96 just east of Grand Rapids and I-94 in Benton Township
, an unsigned route running concurrently with US 131 between I-96 and I-196
, a
business spur of I-196 that follows a section of Chicago Drive
runs north-south through the city, linking with
Kalamazoo to the south and
Cadillac to the north
, a
business loop traversing downtown Grand Rapids
is the
Paul B. Henry Freeway running along the south side connecting I-96 and I-196
runs along Ironwood/Remembrance Road, Wilson Avenue, and 28th Street
is Fulton Street to the east
follows Alpine Avenue to the north, I-96, East Beltline Avenue and Broadmoor Avenue to the south
is East Beltline north of I-96
runs along Plainfield Avenue
follows Lake Michigan Drive west toward
Allendale and
Lake Michigan
follows Chicago Drive southeast of Grand Rapids to
Holland
is Old US 131 south of 28th Street
Mass transit
Bus
Public bus transportation is provided by the
Interurban Transit Partnership, which brands itself as
The Rapid. Transportation is also provided by the DASH buses: the "Downtown Area Shuttle". These provide transportation to and from the parking lots in the city of Grand Rapids to various designated loading and unloading spots around the city. There are plans in the works to add more express routes, secondary stations, a streetcar and dedicated (exclusive) highway lanes.
Air
Commercial air service to Grand Rapids is provided by
Gerald R. Ford International Airport (GRR). 8 airlines operate over 150 daily flights to 25 nonstop destinations across the United States and Canada. The airport was previously named the Kent County International Airport.
Rail
Amtrak provides direct train service to
Chicago from the
passenger station via the
Pere Marquette line. Freight service is provided by
CSX, the
Grand Elk Railroad,
Marquette Rail, the
Coopersville and Marne Railway, and the
Grand Rapids and Eastern Railroad.
Sister cities
Grand Rapids has
city partnerships with the following cities:
Omihachiman, Japan
Bielsko-Biala, Poland
Perugia, Italy
Ga District, Ghana
Parral, Chile
Zapopan, Mexico
Grand Rapids is twinned with the following cities:
Tirana, Albania
See also
Demographics of Michigan
Geography of Michigan
List of Michigan-related topics
List of people associated with Grand Rapids, Michigan
Michigan census statistical areas
References
External links
Official Website of the City of Grand Rapids
Grand Rapids/Kent County Convention & Visitors Bureau
Grand Rapids Area Chamber of Commerce
Grand Rapids Historical Commission Online Archive
Category:Populated places established in 1826
Category:Cities in Michigan
Category:County seats in Michigan
Category:Michigan Neighborhood Enterprise Zone
Category:Populated places in Kent County, Michigan
Category:Grand Rapids – Wyoming metropolitan area
Category:University towns in the United States
![Heritage Hill is a neighborhood in Grand Rapids, Michigan and is one of the largest urban historic districts[citation needed] in the United States. It is bound by Crescent Street (north), Union Avenue (east), Pleasant Street (south), and Lafayette Avenue (west). Its 1,300 homes date from 1848 and represent over 60 architectural styles](http://web.archive.org./web/20110810002420im_/http://cdn.wn.com/pd/36/da/b9419ea30f7c97f4b4ceac947d89_grande.jpg "Heritage Hill is a neighborhood in Grand Rapids, Michigan and is one of the largest urban historic districts[citation needed] in the United States. It is bound by Crescent Street (north), Union Avenue (east), Pleasant Street (south), and Lafayette Avenue (west). Its 1,300 homes date from 1848 and represent over 60 architectural styles")
![Heritage Hill is a neighborhood in Grand Rapids, Michigan and is one of the largest urban historic districts[citation needed] in the United States. It is bound by Crescent Street (north), Union Avenue (east), Pleasant Street (south), and Lafayette Avenue (west). Its 1,300 homes date from 1848 and represent over 60 architectural styles](http://web.archive.org./web/20110810002420im_/http://cdn.wn.com/pd/36/da/b9419ea30f7c97f4b4ceac947d89_thumb.jpg "Heritage Hill is a neighborhood in Grand Rapids, Michigan and is one of the largest urban historic districts[citation needed] in the United States. It is bound by Crescent Street (north), Union Avenue (east), Pleasant Street (south), and Lafayette Avenue (west). Its 1,300 homes date from 1848 and represent over 60 architectural styles")
