VISIT GRAND RAPIDS? YES!

May + August 2022

We’ve closed on a condo in an over-55 community in South Lyon, Michigan, and are actively pursuing our goals of being closer to family and working sporting events for the University of Michigan Athletic Department. We took ownership in June, but some renovations and painting as well as furniture purchasing (full-time RVers are without), and delivery pushed out our making this our home to July. In the meantime, Graham and family settled into their new home in East Grand Rapids, Michigan. On August 1, 2022 Porter James became our 13th grandchild. If you’re keeping count we have 7 granddaughters, 6 grandsons and 1 great grandson (rather than great granny, Barbara prefers to be called Granny the Great!). More than likely, they’ll be more great grandchildren – we doubt we’ll be blessed with any more grandchildren.

Graham and Leigh can work from home and chose to re-locate to be closer to family. East Grand Rapids is an upper middle-class community with excellent schools, toney down-town, lots of community activities for young families, easy access to the Lake Michigan shore and beach activities, and the beautiful forests just a short distance north.

But, what about Grand Rapids itself?

For thousands of years succeeding cultures of indigenous peoples, including the Hopewell culture, Ottawa River and Prairie Indians occupied the area now known as Grand Rapids. By the 16th century the Ottawa had formed thriving villages along the Grand River. At the beginning of the 19th century French fur trader trading posts along the river were flourishing, which then brought a flow of northern European immigration to the area. These settlers and eventually founders of Grand Rapids were mostly Scandinavian, Dutch and German – hard working and conservatively religious. By 1834 the county’s boundaries had been formally established, the City was incorporated in 1838, missionaries became pastors as churches were built, and the population was flourishing.

Today Grand Rapids is the second largest city in Michigan with a population, according to the 2020 census, of 198,900. It is known as the furniture city – home to major US companies manufacturing office furniture. Amway and Meijer, as well as Bissel and Hush Puppies have their corporate headquarters in Grand Rapids.

We found the city to be one of the most welcoming places we’ve encountered. There is a civic pride evident. The downtown is clean, feels safe, has wonderful restaurants, an active cultural scene, and wide variety of events for the public. There’s always plenty going!! While staying in Turkeyville, Monroe, Michigan 4-5 years ago we visited Meijer Gardens and enjoyed artists playing at JazzFest.

With help from our pal, Atlas Obscura, let’s see what we found this time around…

Standing in the middle of a field the former Steelcase Pyramid looks like something built by a robotic pharaoh from the future. Steelcase, a top manufacturer of high-design office furniture, built the unique building in 1989 to act as a research and development center. Above ground, the pyramid is seven stories tall of mostly office space, as well as a rumored fancy penthouse on the sixth floor. Beneath the above-ground pyramid are massive sub-levels built to accommodate workshops and testing labs, where new furniture and materials could be manufactured and stress-tested. The building was, supposedly, equipped with huge freezers to see how cold would affect their product, and sound-testing rooms with an adjustable ceiling that could alter the acoustics.

We’ll never know any realities for this odd structure since Steelcase had to move out in 2010. Switch.com has recently purchased the site, and as of today construction is underway to build the largest data center east of the Mississippi.

With the construction of the 6th Street dam on the Grand River the migratory population of salmon, steelhead, and even carp were suddenly unable to undertake their yearly upstream journey. The concrete fish ladder at Fish Ladder Park was created to give the swimmers a leg up and provides visitors with a chance to see the leaping fish in action.

OK-let’s give everyone an intro to something a bit far-out and if interested there’s lots more to explore on google…

According to Atlas Obscura Kcymaerxthaere is a world-wide art project created by Eames Demetrios. It is a series of plaques and other markers honoring events that have taken place in a parallel universe that, according to Demetrios, “co-exists to some degree with ours.” Most of these installations are bronze or stone plaques inscribed with stories but some are larger, even entire buildings. As of 2021, there are more than 140 sites spread across six continents and 30 countries…a few of these installations are in Grand Rapids…

Like the plaque for Erailen Gwome…

…and waiting for the Grwost…

Walk along the banks of the Grand River and there are any number of wonderful statues.

Or while wandering around downtown take in some wonderful murals, statues and street art…

Downtown Grand Rapids Inc., Lions & Rabbits Art Gallery and MobileGR, commissioned 27 local female artists to paint electrical boxes throughout a section of downtown. Taken from the children’s book “Rad American Women A-Z,” by Kate Schatz, the “Rad Women’s Public Art Initiative” honors and commemorates the significant contribution of America women who “didn’t keep their heads or voices down.”

We didn’t come close to knowing all of the women or their contribution to our society. How many do you know? More importantly think back across the dimension of your time on this earth and consider how different our lives would be without these women who wouldn’t “put their heads down or silence their voices.” Honor deserved…

Grand Rapids is worth a visit. We’d send anybody to Meijer Gardens, or on a walk in downtown or to any of the few restaurants we’ve enjoyed or to jazz fest or… As time passes we’ll have more and more opportunities to explore. But first on the list is to spoil our grandchildren.

Barbara and Brian

It’s not what you look at that matters, it’s what you see.“ – Henry David Thoreau