CenterCity Visiting Guide

For over a century, the world has recognized the artistic bent of the people of Grand Rapids. In 1876, an international exhibition in Philadelphia garnered Grand Rapids the renown it deserved as a worldwide leader in the production of fine furniture, and inspired the trademark nickname, Furniture City.

While Grand Rapids continues to be a world leader in the production of office furniture, the city has added a second nickname to its history: Sculpture City. When Alexander Calder’s massive red steel “La Grande Vitesse”—which means the great swiftness, an allusion to the grand rapids which once rumbled down the Grand River—came to Vandenberg Plaza in 1969, it was the first publicly funded public artwork in the nation.

Since then, outdoor sculpture has reshaped the CenterCity—bounded by Michigan Street, Division, Fulton, and the Grand River—with works such as Ecliptic by Maya Lin, creator of the Vietnam Veteran’s Memorial in Washington, D.C. Situated in Rosa Parks Circle, the Ecliptic is an ampitheatre that hosts concerts in the summer. In the winter it converts to an ice skating rink. A reflecting pool and vapor pool complete the trio of sculptures that represent water in its various forms: ice, liquid, and vapor.

A walk around town brings visitors face-to-face with a variety of sculpture: a bronze statue of Arthur Vandenberg in the city’s center; Motu, a giant rubber tire swing at Calder Plaza; the Indian Burial Mounds honoring the area’s native Americans at Ah-Nab-Awen Park; and Lorrie’s Button, a huge red steel button, just north of the Gerald R. Ford museum.

“There’s a long history of public art downtown,” said Jay Fowler, executive director of the Downtown Development Authority. “There are a couple of new pieces coming in—one is the Spirit of Solidarity monument, a tribute to the 1910 labor strike by furniture company workers. Another piece will commemorate the fluoridation of the public water supply in Grand Rapids in 1945. We were the first city in the world to fluoridate the water.”

Installation of the Spirit of Solidarity will be this fall at the corner of Pearl and Front streets, and the fluoridation commemorative monument will be installed next year at the west end of Louis Street.

Walk This Way
Pleasurable pathways connect the city’s sculptures, the riverside, and the shopping, museum, and theater districts: The Riverwalk stretches over two miles along both banks of the Grand River, the Gillette and the Blue Bridge pedestrian bridges span the river, and paved-and-brick walkways wend their way between buildings and around statues and flower beds.

“Walkability is the great thing about downtown,” Fowler added. “We have worked hard on that in terms of making the kind of streetscape improvements that make it pleasant to walk around downtown. Adding the walkway along the river made it easy to get close the to river, which twenty years ago you couldn’t do because it was walled off with seawalls.”

Creating a flow between outdoor art and indoor art will be an easier task when the new Grand Rapids Art Museum (GRAM) opens in spring 2007. Currently under construction next door to Ecliptic, the new facility will provide space to host cultural events and display the GRAM’s extensive art collection and traveling exhibitions.

“We will have the first LEED certified art museum in the world, right here in River City,” said Sam Cummings, a member of the architectural selection committee and the building committee. “The redevelopment will make it feel like Rosa Parks Circle and the GRAM are organically attached. The skating rink is sort of our Rockefeller Center. Having that in the front yard of the GRAM will encourage people to loiter in the space of great art and architecture.”

During construction, the existing GRAM is open for visitors and the Friday Nights at GRAM series features live music, light fare, and a cash bar.

Part of CenterCity’s charm is that its streets follow the bends of the Grand River. That appeal can be lost on visitors who find themselves also lost—frustrated by one-way streets, or because they’re now heading toward the east when they started out heading south.

A new wayfinding system includes 23 map kiosks strategically placed around the city. Streetside signs define four color-coded districts, guiding visitors to forty public buildings, parks, and businesses. Signage in parking areas tells visitors what district they’re in and points them toward their destinations.

The Hot Spots
Intimate boutiques, urban galleries, world-class restaurants, and coffee shops, delis, and salons line the narrow streets. Shoppers linger over a latté or lunch at sidewalk cafés situated at the base of buildings designed with classic period architecture.

Monroe Center’s neat and tidy historic brick street is an inviting place to spend an afternoon enjoying the overflowing flower boxes, as well as the shopping. Sidewalk benches provide a place to take a load off and do some people watching amid the sights and sounds of a busy urban district.

DeGraaf Fine Art promises a personal adventure in a visually exciting and intellectually stimulating environment. Paul Collins Fine Art exhibits the many talents of local artist Paul Collins and his paintings of the people of America, Japan, Israel, and Kenya.

Elliott’s News and Tobacco has been in business since the 1930s. River Bank Books & Music fills their nearly 10,000-sq.-ft. of floor space with thousands of books, live entertainment, the City Café, and a gift shop.

A short stroll brings shoppers to a variety of retail shops including L.J. Bullian Clothier, F. David Barney Clothier, An’gina’s Boutique, Modern Day Floral & Gift Boutique, Herkner Jewelers, Preusser Jewelers, and Little Bohemia.

Coffeehouses and delis are favorite attractions for locals and visitors alike. Grand Central Market, Four Friends Coffeehouse, and Café Latté are on Monroe Center, with Starbucks and Hava Java Deli nearby.

Three major hotels, the Amway Grand Plaza, Courtyard by Marriott, and the Downtown Days Inn are all within walking distance, or just a short bus or taxi ride away.

Visitors have plenty of museums to muse over, including the Grand Rapids Children’s Museum, the Gerald R. Ford Museum, featuring a full-scale replica of the Oval Office, and the Public Museum where Furniture City’s heritage is proudly displayed.

Savory Irish fare is served up at Flanagan’s Irish Pub, along with Guinness Stout and Irish music. Tre Cugini is the quintessential Italian restaurant. Marado Sushi has dine-in or take-out. And The B.O.B., The Chop House, The 1913 Room, and Leo’s serve the best in American food.

The streets come alive after dark when some of West Michigan’s best bars, live theater, opera, and ballet draw customers downtown. Brickhouse Night Club, Diversions Nightclub, Drink Ultra Lounge, Mojo’s Dueling Piano Bar & Restaurant, and the Monkey Bar are examples of the variety of nightspots downtown offers.

The Grand Rapids Civic Theatre, which is undergoing a $9 million renovation, is Michigan’s largest community theater and offers 110 performances of its six main stage productions, as well as two children’s theater productions. Actors’ Theater features productions not found in the mainstream due to the complexity of the stories, controversial subjects, or limited mass appeal.

Opera Grand Rapids is in its 39^th season, enticing audiences with the promise that they will “experience life magnified.” The Grand Rapids Ballet Company soon celebrates its 35^th year with performances that bring innovative choreography and a commitment to excellence to the stage. The annual performance of The Nutcracker is a favorite and plays to packed houses.

The combination of urban energy and the arts in CenterCity brings an air of freshness to a historic city undergoing a renewal of its buildings, its culture, and its sense of pride.

For more information about CenterCity visit the:
– Moving Guide
– Investing Guide

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Directions to Center City

From the North:
Take US-131 South toward Grand Rapids and merge onto I-196 East via Exit 86A on the left toward Lansing. Take the Ottawa Ave exit, Exit 77C, toward Downtown. Turn slight right onto Ottawa Ave Nw. Arrive in Center City.

From the East:
Take I-96 West toward Grand Rapids and keep left to take I-196 West toward Downtown Grand Rapids/Holland. Take the Ottawa Ave exit, Exit 77C, toward Downtown. The ramp becomes Ottawa Ave Nw. Arrive in Center City.

From the South:
Take US-131 North toward Grand Rapids and take the I-131-BR exit, Exit 84B, toward Downtown. Turn right onto Oakes St. Sw and turn left onto Division Ave S/US-131 BR. Arrive in Center City.

From the West:
Take I-196 East toward Grand Rapids and take the Ottawa Ave exit, Exit 77C, toward Downtown. Turn slight right onto Ottawa Ave Nw. Arrive in Center City.

Take I-96 East toward Grand Rapids and merge onto US-131 South via Exit 31A toward Grand Rapids/Kalamazoo. Merge onto I-196 East via Exit 86A on the left toward Lansing. Take the Ottawa Ave exit, Exit 77C, toward Downtown. Turn slight right onto Ottawa Ave Nw. Arrive in Center City.

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