Grand Rapids Sculptures: Downtown East

Art is everywhere you look in downtown Grand Rapids, from murals and museums to historic buildings and sculptures.

There are so many downtown sculptures that we’ve created two separate walking tours for you to view them. This article covers sculptures east of downtown’s Grand River and a second article focuses on sculptures west of the river.

The walking tour outlined below covers about three miles of ground. There are lots of restaurants and snack shops along the route, so you can stop to refuel at any point.

The Four Elements

200 Monroe Ave NW

Start your tour at the northeast corner of Monroe Ave and Lyon St. The plaza in front of Real Seafood Company contains a 16-foot-tall steel sculpture by Spanish artist Jaume Plensa. The Four Elements consists of letters and element symbols representing air, water, fire and earth coalescing into a human form, signifying the different characteristics that bring people together to form the human race. This sculpture was installed in 2021. You can see two other Plensa pieces, including his mammoth indoor work, Utopia, at Frederik Meijer Gardens & Sculpture Park.

Walk north on Monroe about one-tenth of a mile to the tunnel entrance of the City-County Administration Buildings, across the street from DeVos Place Convention Center.

Lyman Parks Sculpture

300 Monroe Ave NW

Lyman Parks was the first African American to serve as mayor of Grand Rapids, an office he held from 1971-1976. Prior to that, he was the first African American elected to the Grand Rapids City Commission in 1968. Parks was a pastor who moved to Grand Rapids in 1966.

This statue was sculpted by Maryland-based Antonio Tobias Mendez and installed in 2013.

The statue is one of a series of sculptures paying tribute to notable figures from the city’s history: the Community Legends Sculpture Project is an ongoing initiative to erect 25 bronze statues honoring people who helped shape Grand Rapids.

Continue north on Monroe to Michigan Street (about 100 yards). Cross the street and go right (east) on Michigan. The building on the corner is the Michigan State University Grand Rapids Research Center.

The Door is Always Open

Adulation: The Future of Science

400 Monroe Ave NW

Right outside the entrance to the Research Center, at the corner of Monroe and Michigan, is a 15-foot-tall sculpture depicting a human figure inside a massive cage. The Door is Always Open is intended to inspire awareness and conversation around feeling trapped within one’s own struggle, as the figure is unaware of the open door behind it. This piece was originally created by artist Dan Carlson for ArtPrize, the international art competition and cultural festival that has been held in downtown Grand Rapids since 2009. Carlson entered The Door is Always Open in ArtPrize 2017.

A sculpture on the south porch of the Research Center honors three Grand Rapids women who helped develop the whooping cough vaccine. Adulation: the Future of Science depicts researchers Pearl Kendrick and Grace Eldering and research assistant Loney Clinton Gordon, who developed the pertussis vaccine in a public health lab in Grand Rapids in the 1940s. Close by are the figures of two children – representing the future generation of scientists – admiring the women.

Adulation was sculpted by Jay Hall Carpenter, whose portfolio includes 500 sculptures created for the Washington National Cathedral in D.C. It was installed in 2019.

Head east up the Michigan St hill to Ottawa Ave, the next intersection, and cross the street to the south (right). In about 500 feet, you’ll see a huge red sculpture set on a concrete plaza.

La Grande Vitesse

Motu Viget

Dissected Pyramid

320 Ottawa Ave NW

The red sculpture is La Grande Vitesse, a monumental stabile by renowned American artist Alexander Calder. The name translates to the “great swiftness” or the “grand rapids.” Installed here in 1969, this was the first public art project funded in part by the National Endowment for the Arts. Standing 43 feet tall, 54 feet long and 30 feet wide, and weighing 42 tons, La Grande Vitesse became the symbol of the city’s creative spirit, and it is incorporated into the city logo. Locals tend to refer to the sculpture simply as “The Calder.”

The public plaza surrounding the sculpture has come to be known as Calder Plaza, and it is one of downtown’s largest outdoor gathering spots, hosting a cavalcade of events throughout the year.

Just a few steps north from La Grande Vitesse, next to the Gerald R. Ford Federal Building and US Courthouse, you’ll find Motu Viget. This 30-foot-tall kinetic art creation of famed sculptor Mark di Suvero is, in essence, a giant tire swing – suitable for kids to play on!

Also to the north of La Grande Vitesse is the Dissected Pyramid, a steel sculpture commissioned in memory of a prominent local attorney. The pyramidal form, associated with funerary monuments as well as justice and wisdom, is intended to convey the desire for perfection while acknowledging the imperfection and unpredictability of humanity. It was sculpted by Joseph Kinnebrew, an iconic figure in the history of art in West Michigan. Kinnebrew has several other sculptures sited downtown and at Frederik Meijer Gardens & Sculpture Park, a 10-minute drive away.

Split Ring

300 Ottawa Ave NW

Across the street from Calder Plaza, in front of the 300 Ottawa building, is Split Ring. First installed in downtown GR in 1973 and later moved to Woodland Mall for 40 years before returning to the city center, this sculpture is the work of Clement Meadmore, an Australian-born sculptor known for his minimalist steel works. The matte black piece was originally installed downtown as part of a public art exhibition called “Sculpture Off the Pedestal.”

Continue south on Ottawa to the next intersection, Lyon St. Turn left (east) on Lyon and walk past the Ionia Ave and Division Ave intersections. Cross Lyon at Division and head up the north side of Lyon. Cross Bostwick Ave and proceed to the entrance of the Gerald R. Ford Fieldhouse, an exercise and wellness facility on the campus of Grand Rapids Community College (GRCC). 

Legend of Grand Rapids

111 Lyon St NE

Just to the right of the stairs leading to the Ford Fieldhouse entrance is a 60-foot marble frieze on the exterior wall facing Lyon St. The relief gives a historical overview of the development of Grand Rapids from its earliest beginnings – represented by Native Americans paddling a canoe through a primeval forest – to 1976, when the art piece was installed. Legend of Grand Rapids was sculpted by Lumen Winter, who attended Grand Rapids Junior College, the predecessor of GRCC, before going on to create 50+ public works of art across the nation.

Walk back to Bostwick Ave and turn right (north). Walk a few hundred feet to Calkins Science Center, another GRCC building.

Girdled Figure

226 Bostwick Ave

Just before the south entrance to Calkins Science Center is a small garden featuring a sculpture by Grand Rapids native Tom Czarnopys. Inspired by his boyhood days hunting with his father and brother in a forested area of Grand Rapids, Czarnopys has developed a signature sculptural style of bodies entwined and made with bark or casts of bark. Girdled Figure is a bronze cast of a work originally made in resin and oil.

Walk back on Bostwick, crossing Lyon St to the pedestrian walkway bisecting the GRCC campus. Known as Dr. Juan R. Olivarez Student Plaza, the walkway ends at Fountain St.

Aspiration of Inspiration

Lion Fountain

Helen Jackson Claytor Sculpture

Conversations

Fountain St/Library Place Intersection

Four statues are placed at the south end of the Dr. Juan Olivarez Student Plaza. Aspiration of Inspiration is a 28-foot-tall piece by Joseph Kinnebrew. Its bright red color symbolizes passion, love and life. The work was commissioned by Fountain Street Church (located right across the street from the plaza) and donated to GRCC in 1999.

The college’s iconic lion fountain, dedicated to former Grand Rapids Junior College President Arthur Andrews, was erected in 1954.

The bronze statue of Helen Jackson Claytor is the sixth sculpture created for the Grand Rapids Community Legends Project. Claytor was an educator and civil rights activist who became the first African American president of the national YWCA in 1967. She was inducted into the Michigan Women's Hall of Fame in 1984.

Just outside the west end of the plaza is an abstract steel creation depicting two figures who appear to be in conversation with each other. Titled (appropriately enough) Conversations, the blue sculpture is the work of artist Carl Green and was gifted to Fountain Street Church in 2000.

Cross Fountain Street to Library Place, heading south past Fountain Street Church on the west corner and the Grand Rapids Public Library on the east. Library Place dead ends into Library Street.

War Veteran Memorials

Henry Wadsworth Longfellow Bust

Thomas D. Gilbert Bust

101 Fulton St E

Cross Library Street into Veterans Memorial Park, which contains two 35-foot-tall granite pillars honoring war veterans. They were constructed in 1926 and bear brass plaques listing the names of local men and women who died in World War I. Smaller memorials to veterans of WWII, the Korean War, Vietnam War and Operation Iraqi Freedom were added later.

The bronze bust of Thomas D. Gilbert was created in 1895 to honor a businessman who came to Grand Rapids in 1855 and held many civic positions here. He personally tended this park, shooing away swine and cattle, building walks and planting trees, some of which still grow there today. The bronze bust of Henry Wadsworth Longfellow was presented to the City of Grand Rapids in 1912.

Walk to the opposite end of the park, which is at Fulton St. Just west of the park, across Sheldon Ave, is the Grand Rapids Children’s Museum.

Roger B. Chaffee Sculpture

11 Sheldon Ave NE

Outside the Museum is a bronze statue of Roger B. Chaffee, the Grand Rapids-born astronaut who perished in the 1967 test run of Apollo 1. Nationally acclaimed sculptor and painter J. Brett Grill created this piece, which was unveiled in 2018 as part of the Community Legends Project.

Civil War Monument and Fountain

3 Fulton St E

Head right (west) on Fulton from the Museum and you’ll almost immediately encounter Monument Park, which contains a 34-foot-tall Civil War Monument and a fountain sculpted in white bronze. The monument includes portraits and quotes of U.S. Presidents Lincoln, Grant and Garfield. Dedicated in 1855, it is the first monument to recognize women’s contributions to the Civil War.

Continue west on Fulton past Division Ave, Louis St and Ionia Ave. Cross Fulton at Ottawa Ave to reach Van Andel Arena, West Michigan’s largest entertainment venue.

Jay Van Andel Sculpture

Paying tribute to the Grand Rapids resident whose philanthropy helped build Van Andel Arena and many other significant local developments, this sculpture of Amway co-founder Jay Van Andel is another in our series of Community Legends sculptures. It was created in 2011 by J. Brett Grill

Head west on Fulton to Monroe Ave. On the northwest corner is Plaza Towers, a mixed-use high-rise building that contains apartments, condos and The Nightwatch Lounge, an upscale cocktail bar.

Hand Study 1

Givingtaker

River's Edge Environmental Sculpture

201 Fulton St W

Hand Study 1 stands in front of the Monroe Ave entrance to the Towers. The bronze sculpture by South African artist Vincent da Silva was installed here in 2013.

On the north side of Plaza Towers, off Campau Ave and Campau Circle, is Givingtaker, a 2009 ArtPrize entry by Cuban native Fernando Ortiz. The 21-foot-tall steel abstract sculpture was installed across the street at The B.O.B. (Big Old Building) for ArtPrize and then moved to its current location.

Behind Plaza Towers, along the Grand River, is a 600-foot-long sculpture that functions as a flood wall while softening the river’s edge with native vegetation and creating small niches that shelter birds and other wildlife living along the river. Composed of granite, concrete and pockets of soil and vegetation, the River’s Edge Environmental Sculpture was created by American artist Michael Singer. You can view it from the Grand River Edges Trail that follows the Grand River as it flows through downtown.

Follow the Grand River Edges Trail north (take a right from the River’s Edge Environmental Sculpture) until you reach a set of stairs. Go up the stairs to the JW Marriott Hotel.

Steel Water

235 Louis St N.

Grand Rapids became the first city in the world to fluoridate its public water supply in 1945 – and more than 60 years later, The Grand Rapids Fluoridation Commemorative Committee and the West Michigan Dental Foundation commissioned Dutch artist Cyril Lixenberg to create a work honoring that momentous health event. The bright blue 33-foot-tall Steel Water sculpture is made of three-quarters-inch steel meant to resemble a moving current of water. It is situated next to a drinking fountain outside the JW Marriott. It was installed in 2007.

Follow Louis St away from the river to Campau Ave and cross the street to Louis Campau Promenade. Follow the promenade to Monroe Ave.

LOVE Sculpture

Campau Promenade

One of 50-some authorized versions of the iconic pop-art creation by Robert Indiana, the bright blue LOVE sculpture is a favorite local spot for selfies and wedding proposals. The original sculpture was created in 1965 and this 8x8-foot facsimile was placed here in 2008.

Cross Monroe Ave at Louis St, just a few steps south (right) of the LOVE sculpture.

Rosa Parks Sculpture

173-171 Monroe Ave NW

Civil rights pioneer Rosa Parks is depicted standing up in front of a bus seat in this bronze sculpture, symbolizing her refusal to give up her seat on a Montgomery, Alabama, bus in 1955. Parks never lived in, or even visited, Grand Rapids, but this sculpture and the city’s Rosa Parks Circle (see the next entry) are a testament to her international impact. This sculpture was created by Denver-based artist (and first African American astronaut) Ed Dwight and installed here in 2010.

Ecliptic

135 Monroe Center St NW

The Rosa Parks statue stands at the entrance to Rosa Parks Circle, which is both a sculpture named Ecliptic and a community amphitheater. It was designed by Vietnam Veterans Memorial artist Maya Lin to represent the three phases of water – liquid, vapor and ice. The park converts to an ice skating rink in winter.

Grand Rapids Art Museum

101 Monroe Center St NW

The Grand Rapids Art Museum stands adjacent to Rosa Parks Circle and the building itself is a work of art. Designed by Thailand native Kulapat Yantrasast, the GRAM was cited as one of the world’s best new buildings of 2007 by architecture critic Cathleen McGuigan of Newsweek Magazine. “This calm and cool modernist building … is the first newly ‘green’ museum in the United States,” wrote McGuigan. “The elegant exterior is glass, aluminum and concrete; on the inside 70 percent of the illumination comes from natural light.”

Cross Monroe Center St, just north of Rosa Parks Circle.

Arthur Vandenberg Sculpture

146 Monroe Center St NW

A triangular plaza at the Pearl St/Monroe Ave intersection in front of McKay Tower – the city’s tallest building from 1927 to 1983 - hosts a 9-foot-tall bronze statue of Arthur Vandenberg. The Grand Rapids native served as editor and publisher of the Grand Rapids Herald newspaper before representing Michigan in the U.S. Senate from 1928 to 1951, where he was instrumental in creating the United Nations. This statue was sculpted by Antonio Tobias Mendez for our Community Legends Project and was installed in 2005.  

Cross Pearl St from McKay Tower and then cross Monroe Ave going left (west). Follow Monroe a few hundred feet to the entrance to the Amway Grand Plaza, Curio Collection by Hilton Hotel.

Untitled Clay Sculptures

The Sunburst

The Amway Grand Plaza marries the historic elegance of the 1913 Pantlind Hotel, once ranked among the “10 Finest Hotels in America,” with a soaring glass tower featuring all manner of modern amenities. The hotel lobby contains many touches of days gone by and is well worth a look. Notice the clay sculptures gracing the exterior walls just outside the Pearl St. entrance. They were crafted by Don Reitz, who served as a Professor of Art at the

University of Wisconsin from 1962 to 1988.

Head to your right once you enter the hotel to reach the lobby. A gilded sunburst dominates a rear wall of the lobby, beyond the circular fountain. The sunburst sculpture hung for more than 150 years in the ballroom of the Palazzo Moroscini, the palace of a historic merchant in Venice, Italy. It was painstakingly reassembled here, piece by piece.

Go back outside the hotel via the Pearl St doors and head west (right) a few dozen feet to the Grand River. Take the Grand River Edges Trail north (right) behind the Amway.

Lucius Lyon

Just beyond a section of outdoor seating for Amway’s The Kitchen by Wolfgang Puck restaurant is a statue of Lucius Lyon.  Considered one of the founding fathers of Grand Rapids, Lyon was a land surveyor who represented Michigan in the U.S. House of Representatives (1883-1835, 1843-1845) and the U.S. Senate (1835-1839). Lyon was one of the largest landowners in the city's early history. He petitioned for Michigan's admission into the Union and drafted the first state constitution.

This statue was created by British-born artist Stuart Williamson and New York-based StudioEIS in 2008 for our Community Legends Project.

Lucius Lyon also lent his name to Lyon Square, a public gathering space adjacent to his statue. At the northeast corner of the square is the edifice of the historic Civic Auditorium. Walk around to the front of the Civic. 

Civic Auditorium Reliefs

The neoclassical Civic Auditorium (aka the Welsh Auditorium) opened in January of 1933 and for 50 years was home to myriad community events. The auditorium was eventually demolished but its edifice is now incorporated into DeVos Place Convention Center, and it retains two square limestone relief sculptures created in the Art Deco style by artist Corrado Parducci. Multiple symbols and signs, including the city and state seals, are depicted, along with a shell and wave motif at the roofline. Figurative reliefs at each end represent music and fine arts.

Go back to the River Edges Trail and continue north past the Gillett Bridge, a pedestrian walkway across the Grand River. You are now strolling behind the massive DeVos Performance Hall/DeVos Place Convention Center complex.

Anna Sutherland Bissell Sculpture

Just before the riverfront entrance to DeVos Place stands a statue of Anna Sutherland Bissell. One of the nation’s first female CEOs, she was appointed to head local carpet sweeper company Bissell Inc. after her husband died in 1889. Within 10 years, she had built Bissell Inc. into the largest corporation of its kind in the world. Boston-based sculptor Ann Hirsch created this piece, which was installed in 2016 as part of the Community Legends Project.

William Alden Smith Sculpture

Just beyond the Bissell statue, up a short flight of steps, is a Community Legends sculpture commemorating William Alden Smith, who represented the Grand Rapids area in the U.S. House from 1895-1907 and served in the U.S. Senate from 1907-1913. Robert Eccleston, a nationally recognized sculptor specializing in veterans and civic memorials, created this statue, which was installed in 2017.

Now retrace your steps along the River Edges Trail to Lyon Square and head east (left). About 400 feet away is the starting point of your tour, the Jaume Plensa piece The Four Elements.

Keep your eye out for even more sculptures – and murals and painted ticket booths and  electrical box portraits – on your journey. We’ve hit the high points, but there are other art pieces along the way and more added all the time!