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View Full Version : GRAND RAPIDS | Michigan's second city

Thundertubs
Jul 12, 2010, 9:13 PM
Grand Rapids is the second largest city in Michigan after Detroit, with a population just under 200,000. It is the largest city in Western Michigan.

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whatsthepoint13
Jul 12, 2010, 9:23 PM
I love the brick-lined streets.
fishrose
Jul 12, 2010, 10:09 PM
Grand Rapids is a great city, and it's doing very well. You've done it again, Tubs... excellent set! :tup:
ColDayMan
Jul 12, 2010, 11:39 PM
I dig Gd Rapids.
LosAngelesBeauty
Jul 12, 2010, 11:55 PM
Interesting use of spiral staircases as the fire escape ladder! The buildings are all so beautiful and reminds me a bit of Pasadena here in LA.

Good photos!
Austinlee
Jul 13, 2010, 12:42 AM
Downtown looks really nice. I'd love to take a stroll sometime.
dktshb
Jul 13, 2010, 1:43 AM
Wow, it has a solid downtown for a city of only 200,000 people. Great set!
TonyAnderson
Jul 13, 2010, 4:33 AM
Very impressive for the size (Metro is about 778,000 for those wondering).
Nightsky
Jul 13, 2010, 12:58 PM
The architecture is great, but the streets look empty like in many other American cities.
ragerunner1
Jul 13, 2010, 4:40 PM
Michigan's first city.
flar
Jul 13, 2010, 4:48 PM
I love streets darkened by hulking brick buildings http://i275.photobucket.com/albums/jj282/fraz11nj/Grand%20Rapids%20MI/P1110099.jpg
stepper77
Jul 13, 2010, 9:05 PM
I've always liked the look of Grand Rapids. Thanks!!
subterranean
Jul 13, 2010, 10:14 PM
Ha! This is a play off of the band Godspeed You! Black Emperor.

http://i275.photobucket.com/albums/jj282/fraz11nj/Grand%20Rapids%20MI/P1110166.jpg

Great photos!
Coldrsx
Jul 13, 2010, 10:20 PM
Wonderful stock of old, great looking downtown.
photoLith
Jul 13, 2010, 11:08 PM
Wow, I had no idea any big Michigan city was this nice and well preserved. I cant believe how many historic buildings are left, it looks like an amazing city and it also looks like it hasnt suffered like the rest of Michigans major cities.
hudkina
Jul 14, 2010, 12:00 AM
Wow, I had no idea any big Michigan city was this nice and well preserved. I cant believe how many historic buildings are left, it looks like an amazing city and it also looks like it hasnt suffered like the rest of Michigans major cities.

While Grand Rapids has a really nice downtown it's not all that different from a lot of other Michigan cities. The fact that it is the 2nd largest city in Michigan means it does indeed have more historic buildings, but I wouldn't say it's necessarily more preserved than cities like Kalamazoo, Lansing, Ann Arbor, Jackson, Port Huron, Holland, Battle Creek, etc. Even Flint and Detroit aren't that bad in comparison as far as Downtowns are concerned. There are a few cities in Michigan that have seen their downtowns decimated. One example is Muskegon, which is by far the biggest travesty in Michigan as far as downtown preservation is concerned. Another example would be Benton Harbor, though to be fair St. Joseph, which is across the river from Benton Harbor is the true "downtown" and is very nice. Downtown Saginaw is another example, though the "original" Downtown (which is now called West Saginaw) has a lot of great historic architecture.
SkyscrapersOfNewYork
Jul 14, 2010, 12:14 AM
the only reason i even know of Grand Rapids existence is because Taylor Lautner's from here :haha:
ShadowMaster
Jul 14, 2010, 9:56 PM
I am liking it, thank you.
xzmattzx
Jul 14, 2010, 10:36 PM
Great pictures! Grand Rapids seems like a Providence, in that it's a successful mid-sized city. I would say that Wilmington is slightly smaller than Grand Rapids and Providence, and so these are cities that Wilmington should try to grow into.

It looks like there's a great mix of old and new in Grand Rapids.
SouthmoreAve
Jul 15, 2010, 1:50 AM
Nice. It seems like it should/deserves to have more people there, as opposed to other citie's DT that just plain don't have any people, so was it bad timing, or is it really a quiet downtown after all? Because, from the looks of it, it appears to be able to support a semi-vibrant scene.
Michi
Jul 15, 2010, 7:10 PM
Grand Rapids never really had much of a downtown residential population. I would let others more informed comment, but from my point of view, I would say it is an area of the city in major transition and positioning to gain a significant and stable downtown residential influx. The main reason is that the city has invested a lot of money developing and expanding its medical center...over a billion dollars in recent years. Simultaneously, residential development has been on the upswing especially recognizing that Michigan's tallest all-residential tower was built just to the west of the Medical Center on the river. Light Rail is being planned currently and the city is proactively looking at Portland as a model for its own growth. It seems to me the leadership of Grand Rapids recognizes their unique position to capitalize on their high quality of life and to stay at the forefront of a healthy, sustainable community!
subterranean
Jul 15, 2010, 8:36 PM
Grand Rapids never really had much of a downtown residential population. I would let others more informed comment, but from my point of view, I would say it is an area of the city in major transition and positioning to gain a significant and stable downtown residential influx. The main reason is that the city has invested a lot of money developing and expanding its medical center...over a billion dollars in recent years. Simultaneously, residential development has been on the upswing especially recognizing that Michigan's tallest all-residential tower was built just to the west of the Medical Center on the river. Light Rail is being planned currently and the city is proactively looking at Portland as a model for its own growth. It seems to me the leadership of Grand Rapids recognizes their unique position to capitalize on their high quality of life and to stay at the forefront of a healthy, sustainable community!

Well put. Do you have any links on the light rail?

Grand Rapids is certainly well-positioned to take the lead in downtown living options. Dwelling Place is one example; these are subsidized loft apartments and commercial space for artists. There are also some very strong CDCs doing housing and mixed-use related activities in and around the downtown, especially Lighthouse Communities and ICCF. But if the housing market ever returns, I can certainly see quite a few more midrises popping up in the urban core.

I'm very surprised how livable the city feels every time I go to GR. Most of my friends have long left the East side of the state for GR, and I always have fun when I'm there. The neighborhoods are charming, with beautiful housing stock and plenty of tree-lined streets. I hear they have a canopy goal. It's bar scene is diverse, arts and culture galore, and just a quick drive to Lake Michigan. Founder's brews some of the best beer in the world if you ask me! Hard to beat for Michigan.
lawfin
Jul 15, 2010, 9:03 PM
And to think at one point in this country's history we could actually build places worthy of the name of place
MolsonExport
Jul 16, 2010, 5:07 PM
The big rapids is better than I expected. land of furniture.
Raining Inside
Jul 17, 2010, 10:06 AM
Grand Rapids is my hometown, but it's been a few years since I last visited. Furniture and auto parts were a big part of the economy for a long time. General Motors used to be a major employer. The city leaders have done a good job trying to diversify the economy unlike a lot of other Michigan cities.
Sekkle
Jul 19, 2010, 6:23 PM
looks very nice. I love that spiral fire escape. Great set!
mSeattle
Jul 19, 2010, 10:59 PM
Well kept city. Grand Rapids moves higher on the radar.
fishrose
Jul 20, 2010, 1:55 PM
Michigan's first city.

Are you from Grand Rapids? What was the point of this statement other than to be a Detroit-bashing douche?
Ex-Ithacan
Jul 21, 2010, 1:10 AM
Very tight set Tt. Grand Rapids is a city on my must visit list. Looks great. Thanks for sharing your pics.
kcexpress69
Jul 21, 2010, 4:38 AM
Looks pretty cool. Never been to Grand Rapids, but their downtown looks pretty decent!! Thanks!! :cool:
Mid-Michigan
Jul 22, 2010, 4:55 PM
Grand Rapids is the only nice city in Michigan with a population over 100,000.
Raining Inside
Jul 25, 2010, 5:48 AM
Grand Rapids is the only nice city in Michigan with a population over 100,000.

I completely agree with that statement. G.R. has been hard hit by deindustrialization just as the rest of Lower Michigan has been. But Grand Rapidians tend to find reuses for abandoned buildings, or at the very least they don't burn them down. There are no large abandoned areas like Flint or Detroit.
RockHillJames
Jul 26, 2010, 4:19 AM
America used to be proud of the cities she built, and built them with care and attention to detail.

Now we get Wal Marts, strip malls, and vinyl siding.

*sigh*
subterranean
Jul 26, 2010, 11:36 AM
Grand Rapids is the only nice city in Michigan with a population over 100,000.

So you're saying Ann Arbor isn't nice? What about Lansing? Both of these cities have populations over 100,000. And both of them seem to be getting better all the time. Lansing obviously has some catching up to do, but there are progressive and impressive things happening in both cities.
AccraGhana
Jul 26, 2010, 7:37 PM
This is probably my favorite pic of Downtown GR taken by a Grand Rapids press photographer.

http://blog.mlive.com/knapescorner/2009/07/large_RIVERHOUSE-SKYLINE.jpg

I lived in Grand Rapids proper (SE) and Detroit proper (East). If I had to take my choice between the two cities if economic opportunity was about the same....it would be Detroit.

Grand Rapids has its blighted side as well.....I know because I lived there. However, Detroit is a city of extremes. You are not going to find any run down hood in GR (Gun Ru as it is called in the inner city) that is as bad as the worst run down hoods in Detroit. However, that is balanced, in my opinion, by the fact that you cannot find the Indian Villages and Palmer Woods type nice areas in Grand Rapids either. When I moved to Detroit from GR...as an African American I had never seen black folks live in upper class predominately black communities. I was very inspired by that. Grand Rapids does not offer that.

All that having been said.....I think that Grand Rapids and the area will break out in the next decade....as Michigan will also.
montréaliste
May 29, 2011, 3:07 AM
You can check out the video for Pure Michigan campaign Grand Rapids folks volunteered for. I think the whole population participated. It's a nice looking town. But I agree with Hudkina about the preservation and overall quality of Michigan's major towns apart from Flint maybe and bits of Detroit CBD. The space given over to parking lots is a common mistake of North American cities anyways, maybe more prevalent in Detroit but not wholesale.

http://youtu.be/ZPjjZCO67WI
SpongeG
May 29, 2011, 3:44 AM
they played that video over and over and over the other day on CBC news
Expat
May 29, 2011, 2:07 PM
That video was great. And showcased downtown GR beautifully.

Apparently, this video was made in response to Newsweek putting Grand Rapids on a list of dying cities. Don't get me started on the subject of lists spewed out by lazy journalists.

I attended a conference in GR a couple of years ago and stayed in one of those hotels on the river. I believe there was a condo tower connected to it. We were able to walk to several nice restaurants, etc. Overall, a pleasant experience.

Oh, and before I forget - great set, Thundertubs. Love seeing cities that are often overlooked.
DLLB
May 29, 2011, 7:29 PM
Wonderful thread. Some of the older buildings remind me a bit of the architecture in the exchange district in Winnipeg.
Columbusite
Jun 4, 2011, 2:12 AM
Reminds me of Lowell: smaller city with a nice and very intact downtown.
The North One
Jun 4, 2011, 4:09 PM
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This is like a mini version of that chicago plaza.