Grand Rapids

Grand Rapids, Michigan 

In the U.S. state of Michigan, Grand Rapids serves as both the county seat and the city of Kent County. With 198,917 inhabitants as of the 2020 Census, the city is the second most populous in the state, right behind Detroit. Grand Rapids, which has a population of 1,087,592 and a combined statistical area of 1,383,918, is the hub of the Grand Rapids metropolitan region. 

It is one of the Midwest's fastest-growing cities and the economic and cultural center of West Michigan, located along the Grand River about 25 miles (40 km) east of Lake Michigan. Grand Rapids, known as "Furniture City," is a historic center for the manufacture of furniture and is home to five of the top manufacturers of office furniture worldwide. "River City" and, more lately, "Beer City" are some more moniker choices (the latter given by USA Today and adopted by the city as a brand). The economy of the city and its neighboring communities is broad, with a focus on a range of sectors including those producing consumer products, healthcare, information technology, automobiles, and aviation. 

Gerald Ford, who is interred alongside his wife Betty on the grounds of the Gerald R. Ford Presidential Museum in Grand Rapids, was born and raised there. Both the Gerald R. Ford Highway and the Gerald R. Ford International Airport in the city bear his name. 

Climate 

Grand Rapids experiences a humid continental climate (Köppen Dfa), with long and moderate winters, cold and snowy springs, and extremely warm and humid summers. 

Due to its proximity to Lake Michigan, the city, despite being in the middle of the continent, is subject to some maritime effects. These effects include a high number of cloudy days in the late fall and winter, delayed heating in the spring, delayed cooling in the fall, somewhat moderated temperatures in the winter, and lake effect snow. The area receives 75.6 inches (192 cm) of snow on average each year, ranking it among the snowiest main cities in the country. The region frequently experiences abrupt lake effect snowstorms that dump a lot of snow. 

The weather can change during the transitional months of March, April, October, and November. A record high of 87 °F (31 °C) and record low of 13 °F (25 °C) were both experienced in March. The region has a growing season of 162 days with an average final frost date in spring of May 1 and an average first frost date in autumn of October 11. While the surrounding areas are in plant hardiness zone 5b, the city is in zone 6a. Zone 6b includes a few far-western suburbs that are closer to Lake Michigan's insulating impact. Summers are typically warm or hot, with frequent heat waves and severe weather outbreaks. 

The area's typical temperature is 49 °F (9 °C). The region's maximum temperature was 108 °F (42 °C) on July 13, 1936, while its lowest was 24 °F (31 °C) on February 13–14, 1899. In a typical year, 46% of the daylight hours are spent in the presence of sunshine. The temperature falls below 32 °F (0 °C) on 138 nights. 9.2 days on average a year average temperature of 90 °F (32 °C) or higher, and 5.6 days a year average low temperature of 0 °F (18 °C). 

The most recent subzero daily maximum was 2 °F (19 °C) in 1994, whereas the coldest maximum temperature on record was 6 °F (21 °C) in 1899. The average temperature of the coolest daily maximum from 1991 to 2020 was 11 °F (12 °C). Lake-influenced summer nights can occasionally be warm and humid. Lows above 72 °F (22 °C) have been recorded in every month between April and October. The warmest night on record was 82 °F (28 °C) in 1902. For the normals from 1991 to 2020, the warmest low of the year was on average 74 °F (23 °C). 

A powerful tornado that inflicted localized F5 damage in April 1956 struck the western and northern parts of the city and its suburbs, killing 18 people. 

Grand Rapids has a history of flooding since the Grand River runs through its middle. From March 25 to March 29, 1904, about 25,000 dwellings, impacting 14,000 people, were totally encircled by water, covering more than 50% of the city's whole populated part on the west bank of the river. The river measured 19.6 feet (6.0 m) on March 28—more than two feet (0.61 m) higher than its highest prior peak. 

More than a century later, from April 12 to 25, 2013, Grand Rapids experienced a flood. The river crested at 21.85 feet (6.66 m) on the 21st, forcing hundreds of residents to leave their homes and incurring over $10 million in damage. 

Cityscape 

The Amway Grand Plaza Hotel, formerly the Pantlind, may be seen in the downtown skyline. It underwent substantial renovations by Marvin DeWinter & Partners and reopened in 1981. A 29-story glass tower with panoramic views of the city, river, and surroundings was also added as part of this project. The work of Scottish neoclassical architect Robert Adam served as inspiration for the original architects of the Pantlind Hotel, Warren & Wetmore. The hotel was once considered to be among the top 10 hotels in the Country. The hotel has a number of popular eateries in Grand Rapids. Amway Hotel Collection, a division of Amway's holding company Alticor, is the owner of the hotel. 

The JW Marriott Grand Rapids, the first JW Marriott Hotel in the Midwest, is among other notable huge structures. Themed cityscapes from Grand Rapids' sister cities Omihachiman, Japan, Bielsko-Biaa, Poland, Perugia, Italy, Ga District, Ghana, and Zapopan, Mexico, may be seen in the building. Amway Hotel Corporation engaged photographer Dan Watts to visit each of the sister cities and take photos of them for the hotel when it first opened. There is imagery from one of the cities on each floor of the hotel that is specific to that floor. Up the 23 levels, cityscapes from these five cities are swapped in order. 

The River House Condominiums, a 34-story (123.8 m) condominium tower finished in 2008 and the tallest entirely residential structure in the state of Michigan, is the tallest structure in the city. 

Also, there are two sizable urban nature centers in Grand Rapids. Calvin University manages the 104-acre Calvin Environmental Preserve and Native Gardens on the southeast edge of the city (42 ha). It has a 60-acre (24 ha) wildlife preserve with restricted access, over 44 acres (18 ha) of public nature paths, and the Bunker Interpretive Center, which offers educational activities for the local public as well as university classes. The Blandford Nature Center, which is situated on the northwest side of the city, was established in 1968 and features a number of well-maintained 19th-century structures, including a log cabin, a schoolhouse, and a barn, as well as extensive nature trails and an animal hospital. Blandford School, a highly selective environmental education program for sixth graders from the metro area administered by Grand Rapids Public Schools and acting as a feeder school for City High-Middle School, is also housed inside the nature center. Blandford is one of the country's biggest urban nature centers, measuring 264 acres (107 ha). 

Economy 

Grand Rapids-based Spectrum Health, which employed 25,600 people and 1,700 physicians in 2017, is the largest employer in West Michigan. On the Grand Rapids Medical Mile, which contains top-notch facilities devoted to the health sciences, are Spectrum Health's Meijer Heart Center, Lemmen-Holton Cancer Pavilion, and Butterworth Hospital, a level I trauma hospital. They consist of the Secchia Center at the Michigan State University College of Human Medicine, the Cook-DeVos Center for Health Sciences at Grand Valley State University, the Van Andel Research Institute, and the College of Pharmacy at Ferris State University. The Spectrum Health Cancer Pavilion, the Spectrum Health Helen DeVos Children's Hospital, and the Van Andel Institute expansion each received close to a billion dollars in funding. Many health science enterprises have relocated to the area as a result of these facilities. 

From its beginnings in the production of furniture, Grand Rapids has long been a hub for industry. The Grand Rapids region is home to office furniture producers such American Seating, Steelcase (and its divisions Coalesse and Turnstone), Haworth, and Herman Miller. The nation's first lobbying organization for furniture manufacture was founded in Grand Rapids in 1881 as the Furniture Manufacturers Association (FMA). Since 1912 and 1922, respectively, the Kindel Furniture Company and the Hekman Furniture Company have been designing and producing furniture in Grand Rapids. 

The Grand Rapids region is renowned for its manufacturing of automobiles and aircraft, and GE Aviation Systems has a site there. 

Alticor/Amway, a multi-level marketing firm, Bissell, a privately held vacuum cleaner and floor care product manufacturer, SpartanNash, a food distributor and grocery store chain, Foremost Insurance Company, a specialty lines insurance company, Meijer, a regional supercenter chain, GE Aviation (formerly Smiths Industries, an aerospace products company), and Wolverine World Wide, a designer and manufacturer of apparel, are just a few of the well-known businesses based in 

The city is renowned as a center for Christian publishing and is home to Our Daily Bread Ministries, Kregel Publishers, Zondervan, and Eerdmans Publishing. 

An effective food processing and agribusiness sector, which has had a 10-year job growth rate of 45% from 2009-2019, is present in the city and the surrounding area. The Greater Grand Rapids area is well-known for its fruit production, with Michigan being the second-most agriculturally varied state in the US. The area's environment is thought to be particularly ideal for growing apples, peaches, and blueberries because of its proximity to Lake Michigan. One-third of all agricultural sales in Michigan are produced in Greater Grand Rapids. 

Grand Rapids was recognized as the "most sustainable midsize city in the United States" in 2010 by the Civic Leadership Center of the U.S. Chamber of Commerce and Siemens Corporation. Over finalist cities Davenport, Iowa, and Hoover, Alabama, Grand Rapids was selected. Since then, the city has also appeared in a number of other noteworthy lists, including: 

Grand Rapids/Kentwood are the No. 1 Cities with the Most Manufacturing Employment (Smartest Dollar, 2020) 

Grand Rapids is the No. 1 Mid-Sized Metro for Economic Growth Potential (Business Facilities, 2019) 

Grand Rapids is the top metro area for sustainable development (Site Selection Magazine, 2019) 

Top 20 Cities for Employment Growth during the Next 7 Years: Grand Rapids (Reuters, 2019) 

Education 

The Grand Rapids Public Schools (GRPS) and a variety of charter schools offer K–12 public education. One of the finest high schools in the country, City High-Middle School is a magnet school for academically gifted kids in the metropolitan area run by GRPS. Catholic Central High School, the nation's first coeducational Catholic high school, is located in Grand Rapids. The corporate office of National Heritage Academies, which runs charter schools in numerous states, is located in Grand Rapids. 

There are various schools and universities in Grand Rapids. Each of the private, religious colleges located in the city has a campus, including Aquinas College, Calvin University, Cornerstone University, Grace Christian University, and Kuyper College. Grand Rapids is home to the Calvin Theological Seminary, Grand Rapids Theological Seminary, and Puritan Reformed Theological Seminary. Private Thomas M. Cooley Law School has a campus in Grand Rapids as well. Private institution Northwood University maintains a downtown satellite campus close to the "medical mile" in addition to its main campus in Midland, Michigan. The main campus of private, nonprofit Davenport University, which has 14 sites around the state, is located not far from Grand Rapids. 

Grand Rapids Community College (GRCC), one of the public tertiary schools, maintains a campus in the city's downtown as well as facilities in other locations throughout the area. 

The nearby Allendale-based Grand Valley State University, which also has a campus downtown, is growing its Pew Campus, which was first established on the Grand River's western bank in the 1980s. Twelve buildings and three leased spaces are located on this downtown complex, which spans 67 acres (27 hectares) over two sites. Grand Valley State University built a number of structures, including the Cook-DeVos Center for Health Sciences in 2003, as part of the expansion of its medical school programs onto Medical Mile in the 2000s. In the 2010s, the institution moved from the Medical Mile into the Belknap Lookout area across I-196, building the Raleigh Finkelstein Hall to support studies in medicine and nursing. 

The Applied Technology Center, run in conjunction with GRCC, and the Kendall College of Art and Design, a formerly private institution that is now a part of Ferris State University, are part of the university's expanding downtown campus. The College of Pharmacy at Ferris State also has a downtown location on the medical mile. With locations in the southeast and downtown, Western Michigan University has a storied graduate program in the area. On the medical mile is also home to the Van Andel Institute, a 1996-founded cancer research center that in 2005 launched a graduate program to educate Ph.D. candidates in cellular, genetic, and molecular biology. 

Sports 

Several professional and semi-professional sports teams call Grand Rapids home. In addition to winning the Championship Series six times (1996, 1998, 2004, 2006, 2007, 2015) and having the best regular season record six times, the West Michigan Whitecaps of the Midwest League compete at LMCU Ballpark (1997, 1998, 2000, 2006, 2007, 2017). The Detroit Tigers' Class High A affiliate are the Whitecaps. The Grand Rapids Griffins are an American Hockey League ice hockey team that competes in the Van Andel Arena. They won the IHL Fred A. Huber Trophy in 2001 and the Calder Cup in 2012 and 2017, respectively. The Detroit Red Wings' AHL affiliate team is called the Griffins. An associate of the Denver Nuggets, Grand Rapids Gold is a basketball team in the NBA G League that competes at Van Andel Arena. The United Women's Soccer team Midwest United FC, which competes at Aquinas College, won the national championship in 2017. 

Grand Rapids Danger, Grand Rapids Dragonfish, Grand Rapids Cyclones, Grand Rapids Rampage, Grand Rapids Hoops (Grand Rapids Mackers), Grand Rapids Flight, Grand Rapids Owls (1977–80), Grand Rapids Rockets, Grand Rapids Chicks, Grand Rapids Blazers, and the Grand Rapids Shamrocks are just a few of the former professional sports franchises that once called Grand Rapids home. In 1961, the Grand Rapids Blazers won the United Football League title. 

The Amway River Bank Run is a yearly event in Grand Rapids' downtown. Almost 22,000 people participated in it in 2010; it attracts participants from all over the world. Usually on the same weekend as the Detroit Marathon, the Grand Rapids Marathon takes place in the heart of Grand Rapids in mid-October. specialized sports The Unified Sports and Inclusion Center, which will be the largest Special Olympics facility in the world, is a $20 million facility that Michigan initiated a campaign to develop in 2021. 

The Grand Raggidy Roller Derby WFTDA league, the Grand Rapids Rowing Association, the Grand Rapids Rugby Club, and the West Michigan Wheelchair Sports Association are among the local amateur sports organizations. The first State Games of Michigan were held in Grand Rapids from June 25 to June 27, 2010, with the West Michigan Sports Commission serving as the event's host organizing body. 

Population 

Grand Rapids is a city in Michigan's Kent County. It serves as Kent County's County seat as well. It will have 202,181 residents in 2023, making it the 131st largest city in the United States and the second largest city in Michigan. Grand Rapids' population has grown by 1.64% from the most recent census, which showed a population of 198,917 in 2020. The city is now expanding at a pace of 0.54% annually. Grand Rapids, which spans over 46 miles, has 4,517 residents per square mile. 

Grand Rapids has a poverty rate of 23.48% and a $65,615 average household income. The median monthly cost of rent in recent years has been, and the median value of a home is. In Grand Rapids, the median age is 31.2 years, 31 years for men and 31.5 years for women. 

German (24%), Dutch (21%), English (16%), Irish (11%), Polish (6.5%), and French (5%) are the most prevalent ancestry groups in the city. 

There is a sizable Dutch Reformed population in Grand Rapids. In the state, there are more than 230 churches of the Christian Reformed Church in North America (CRCNA), many of which are in Grand Rapids. The majority of CRCNA adherents live in western Michigan, where many Dutch immigrants migrated. In Grand Rapids, there is also a sizable congregation of the Reformed Church in America (RCA). The United Reformed Churches in North America, the Protestant Reformed Churches in America, and the United Methodist Church are some of the other significant churches in the city.