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Real Estate & Homes in Grand Rapids - Grand Rapids Information Grand Rapids
Background As the state’s second-largest city, Grand Rapids enjoys some prominence in Michigan, yet it is so significantly smaller than Detroit that it also enjoys some of the benefits of small-city living. With a very strong churchgoing background and a large Dutch population, Grand Rapids likes to keep in touch with its small-town roots while it welcomes high-tech industry to its growing community. History Western Michigan shares an ancient Hopewell culture with other parts of Michigan, Indiana and Ohio; these Native American mound builders occupied the area over 2,000 years ago. Eventually the Ottawa tribes, with whom Europeans came to trade metals, settled the area and textiles for fur. The first settlers of Grand Rapids were missionaries and fur traders, who traded and lived alongside the Ottawa tribes who had their settlements on the Grand River. One of these early residents was town founder Louis Campau, who arrived in 1826 and purchased what is now the entire downtown business district from the government for $90. During the 1830s, the area grew in population as settlers from New York and New England arrived. At the time of the official city charter in 1850, Grand Rapids was a town of 2,686 people. In the second half of the 19th century, lumbering and furniture manufacturing became mainstays of the city’s economy; the furniture craftsmanship was likely brought to the area with the New Englanders who settled there. After a Philadelphia exhibition in 1876, the city’s furniture making acquired worldwide renown; Grand Rapids is still famous for making office furniture. It was at this time that the city began to swell with a large infusion of Dutch immigrants. In 1881, Grand Rapids became the site of the country’s first hydroelectric plant, and saw another first in 1926 with the first regularly scheduled passenger airline. It was also the first US city to fluorinate its drinking water. Grand Rapids is also notable for its system of government. In 1916, the citizenry voted to abolish the aldermanic system and institute a commission-manager form of government, one of the country’s first. In this form of city government, now used by many municipalities, an elected city commission, who hire a City Manager, shares the city leadership. Grand Rapids, unlike some cities who use this system, does elect a Mayor every four years; the Mayor becomes chair of the city commission. Fast Facts City population: 197,800 Community Grand Rapids is a city experiencing growth and diversification, and therefore greater health as a community. Its economy is becoming more and more dependent on biotech and research, and its population is increasing rapidly. Within the next few years, the city will see several new medical training facilities, which are expected to place Grand Rapids among desirable locations for the health care and medical research industries. Although the downtown area has a few impoverished neighborhoods, by and large Grand Rapids is a pleasant, easygoing community. The suburban areas are known to be religious; the city is home to the headquarters of the Christian Reformed Church and is also a major center for the Reformed Church in America. The city’s large Dutch population is not the only ethnic group to be found; there is also a significant Polish community and a relatively small but increasing African-American community. Recently, a few of the city’s inner-city neighborhoods, namely Burton Heights and Roosevelt Park, have been having problems with Latino gangs. Pleasant bedroom communities, most of which retain individual small-town character and their own schools and public services, surround the city. The downtown is, by all accounts, uncommonly pleasant and clean, featuring many open spaces and interesting artwork. Attractions Grand Rapids has been expending considerable funds and effort to improve their cultural landscape, and their toils seem to be paying off. Residents and visitors have high praise for the wealth of attractions here, especially for the city’s size and modest profile. The Van Andel Museum Center is a multi-discipline museum dedicated to western Michigan, where one can view and participate in an eclectic array of exhibits including furniture making, ancient history, science, nature and sports. The museum’s facilities are advanced enough that it was one of a very short list of museums, which earned the chance to display the Dead Sea Scrolls. The newly expanded Gerald R. Ford Museum focuses on post-WWII US history with particular emphasis on the Ford years; it features such exhibits as the original Watergate burglar tools and a replica of the Oval Office. The Frederik Meijer Gardens & Sculpture Park has a large tropical conservatory, an historic farm, desert gardens and butterflies, along with over 100 pieces of sculpture by renowned sculptors including Rodin, Oldenburg, and the ubiquitous Dale Chihuly. The area has two small but unique zoos; the Binder Park Zoo in Battle Creek, featuring many giraffes, and the John Ball Zoological Garden, a beautiful cageless facility that feels more like a park than a zoo. There are a number of architectural attractions as well. Heritage Hill, one of Grand Rapids’ first neighborhoods and one of the largest urban historic districts in the country, has 1300 homes dating from 1848 and representing over 60 styles of architecture; there are two home-based museums as well. The Voigt House Victorian Museum, housed in a perfectly preserved 1895 mansion, offers a glimpse of life in the Victorian era. There is also a very complete, fully restored Frank Lloyd Wright home here, and a sculptural amphitheater designed by Maya Lin. Arts & Culture The Grand Rapids Art Museum, focusing mainly on European and American art, has a 5,500 piece collection including Michigan and Great Lakes artists. They feature a weekly Friday night cocktail hour with live music. Also of note is the Urban Institute for Contemporary Arts, which promotes cutting-edge exhibitions and performances in visual arts, film, music, dance, and literature. Grand Rapids maintains a symphony, an opera company, and several large venues for music, dance and theater productions. Education Grand Rapids has a significant array of post-secondary institutions, many of which are faith-based. The largest of these is Calvin College, a liberal arts college of 4300 students associated with the Christian Reformed Church and with a strong Dutch tradition, as is evident in some of the nearly unpronounceable names of its dormitories. The Catholic liberal arts college, Aquinas College, has an enrollment of 2300 students, and of roughly equal size is Cornerstone College, a Christian institution that also includes a seminary. Of the secular institutions in Grand Rapids, the largest is Grand Rapids Community College, which offers associate’s degrees and vocational training to 24,000 students. Both of the other two universities in town, Grand Valley State University (22,000 students) and Ferris State University (11,000) are primarily four-year teaching universities, both of which have strong programs in health-related fields such as pharmacy, optometry, and health policy. Ferris State also includes the Kendall College of Art & Design. Finally, regional institution Davenport University maintains one of its largest campuses in Grand Rapids. Sports & Recreation Grand Rapids is famous as a haven for minor-league sports, and its teams enjoy fervent followings that rival some major-league franchises. The West Michigan Whitecaps, the minor-league team associated with the Detroit Tigers, play in suburban Comstock Park. The Griffins, an American Hockey League team affiliated with the Detroit Red Wings, play in downtown Van Andel Arena. The fact that both of Grand Rapids’ minor-league teams are affiliated with major-league franchises in the state of Michigan may be a factor in their local following; this is rarely the case in the minor leagues, whose big-league brethren are often far removed from them. Grand Rapids also has an Arena Football League team, the Rampage. Festivals Grand Rapid’s emergence as a cultural center has led to a number of festivals along those lines, notably the annual (and simply-titled) Festival, held the first weekend in June at the downtown Calder Plaza. The Festival features live music, food booths, art demonstrations, and a number of other arts activities. The annual Celebration on the Grand, hosted in Ah-Nab-Awen Park, is the much-beloved community festival featuring live entertainment and a large fireworks display. The city’s ethnic communities are not overlooked; there is a large Polish festival, a Germanfest, a Danish festival, and a Mexican Independence Day Festival. The Coopersville Farmer’s Market, aside from serving as a farmer’s market, also hosts events such as family-friendly Summerfest, which features a dizzying array of events such as car shows, monster truck rides, food, music, petting zoos, and helicopter rides. Dining Many local residents and visitors have high praise for the dining experience in Grand Rapids; the local cuisine boasts a great deal of variety ranging from ethnic fare to neighborhood bars to fine dining. For fun, casual dining, residents recommend Yesterdog, specializing in yes, hot dogs; Paunchy Pete’s, where the weekends bring dancing while the weeknights feature karaoke and a summertime outdoor deck; the Grand Rapids Brewery for microbrews and casual dining; and the Beltline Bar for their famous wet burritos. One of the most beloved Grand Rapids hangouts is The B.O.B. (which stands for Big Old Building), which is an entire dining-and-entertainment complex including a comedy club, jazz club, live music, a billiard hall, microbrewery, wine cellar, and several restaurants, all housed in a four-story building built in 1903. There is no dearth of ethnic cuisine, either. Locals recommend Little Mexico for Mexican food, the Great Wall Chinese restaurant, Vitale’s for pizza and Bistro Bella-Vita for Italian, and the Schnitzelbank for German food. Grand Rapids is also home to San-Chez, an acclaimed Spanish restaurant that was named one of the country’s 50 best Hispanic restaurants by Hispanic Magazine. San-Chez is known mostly as a tapas bistro and their menu features almost 50 varieties of the small Spanish treats. For more upscale dining, Rose’s is popular with the young professional set – the mouthwash they provide in their bathrooms reflects the amount of garlic in their food. Charlie’s Crab Shack is a favorite eatery, which features delicious entrees and fine service, despite its unpretentious name. But the top of the line in Grand Rapids dining is the 1913 Room at the Amway Grand Plaza Hotel, Michigan’s only 5-star restaurant (and one of only 46 in the entire United States). White-glove service and delicate food, decanted wines from their extensive cellar and an impeccable atmosphere of fine dining make this restaurant worth the price you’ll pay to eat there. Economy As Grand Rapids’ economy continues to evolve away from manufacturing and towards biotechnology and the health industry, more and more upscale residents and businesses continue to move there. The population has been steadily growing and will continue to do so as new major industries and city initiatives are undertaken. Grand Rapids’ affluence can easily be seen in their median incomes, which outstrip those of Detroit by almost ten thousand dollars for households and families. The median income in Grand Rapids is $37,224 for a household and $44,224 for a family.
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