Dynamic Variation:

Facts & Trivia

Arts


La Grande Vitesse is the first public art work funded in part by the NEA.
• Frederik Meijer Gardens & Sculpture Park is one of the world's 100 most-visited art museums.
• ArtPrize is the world's richest, most radically open art competition.
• The Grand Rapids Art Museum was named one of the six best buildings of 2007 (Newsweek Magazine).

Eats


Stella's Lounge serves America's Best Burger (GQ Magazine, 2012).
• Then again, USA Today says the Cottage Burger at Cottage Bar is Michigan's best.
MadCap Coffee brews up America's Best Tea (GQ Magazine, 2012).
• The Cornmeal Financier Cake at Grove is one of America's "101 most crazy-awesome new desserts" (New York Magazine, 2012).
Founders Brewing Company is the World's 2nd Best Brewery (ratebeer.com, 2012).
HopCat is the 3rd Best Beer Bar on the Planet (Beer Advocate, 2012)

Play


• 28 public golf courses within 15 minutes of downtown make G.R. one of the top cities for per-capita public golf courses.
• The Fifth Third Riverbank Run is America's largest 25K road race, with more than 21,000 participants from around the globe.
• G.R. is a "Bicycle-Friendly Community" (League of American Bicyclists, 2009) and the "Best Town for Mountain Biking" (Outside Magazine, 2010) - biking opportunities abound!
• You're never more than a few miles from a body of water in G.R. - one reason we're America's 6th Best Fishing City (Field & Stream Magazine, 2006)

History


• Ottawa Indians were Grand Rapids' first inhabitants and in 1826 the city was settled by French fur traders.
• The city's name comes from the Grand River, Michigan's largest inland river.
• Grand Rapids was once known as America's Furniture Capital for its fine residential furniture It is known today as the center of office furniture manufacturing.
• Gerald R. Ford, a native son, became the 38th President of the United States on August 9, 1974.
• Grand Rapids is home to two Frank Lloyd Wright designs - the privately owned Amberg House and the Meyer May House, which is open to the public three days per week.

Miscellaneous


• G.R. is Michigan's 2nd largest city, with a metro-area population of 1.4 million.
• The Gerald R. Ford International Airport is the second largest airport in Michigan and the 86th largest airport nationally, serving more than 2 million passengers annually.
• G.R. is headquarters to many national and multi-national headquarters including Steelcase, Herman Miller, Haworth, Alticor (formerly Amway), Wolverine World Wide, Meijer and Zondervan.
• Grand Rapids was the first city in the U.S. to add fluoride to its drinking water - way back in 1945.
• Michigan is 2nd only to California in agricultural diversity - and West Michigan produces 85% of all crops harvested in Michigan ... for an economic impact of over $2 billion.
• Michigan is America's 3rd largest apple producer - and Kent County produces more than any other Michigan county.