Glance at the Past

The only institution of its kind in the world, the Michigan Fish Commission's hatchery was located within three miles of Grand Rapids.

The Irish seemed to have followed the direction of the westward movement on the Erie Canal and later the railroads.

The first trade established in the village of Grand Rapids was that of blacksmith, and the carpenters were not far behind.
 

Two fine elm trees stood on Bostwick St. At least three feet in diameter, and sixty feet high, their wide tops shaded both sides of the street. The city was ready to cut them down.

More than one town has claimed itself the GOP's birthplace. One of those towns was Grand Rapids, back in 1854.

Several enterprising youngsters, bent on the possession of an automobile, but not having the price of one, contrived a ride in a horseless carriage.

For 19th century women, making a living was fraught with hurdles. Nora Husted found way to support herself and her five children by making face cream in her kitchen from an old family recipe. It grew into a Grand Rapids business that lasted over 50 years.

A small group of nine women were responsible for the construction, in 1893, of the St. Cecilia building, dedicated to the purpose of music.

Jess Elster was a symbol of semi-pro baseball. He came to Grand Rapids in 1904 and played his first season as a catcher the next year. When he died in December of 1950, he had been "Mr. Baseball" of the city for almost 50  years.

The privately owned Grand Rapids Hydraulic Company provided drinking water from creeks and springs to residents from 1848 until the end of the 19th century.

Viva Flaherty attended Central High School, Vassar College, and the University of Michigan before taking a position at the Bissell Settlement House in Grand Rapids in 1903. Several years later she left for New York City to work with newly arriving immigrants. She was always an outspoken champion of the underdog.

Wurzburg's Department store ran large ads in the Grand Rapids Herald and Press announcing the visit of Norwegian Hero of the Arctic and his Siberian sled dogs to Wurzburg's Toyland.

Grand Rapids Romance, produced by Gilligham & Smith Enterprises, owners of the Orpheum Theater, featured local citizens in a suspenseful, romantic story. The newspaper reviews were mixed.

The Hoffman apartments on Ransom NE had many modern conveniences to attract upscale tenants. The seven room suites made for comfortable living close to downtown.

Grand Rapids seems to have had difficulty relinquishing its attachment to the great lakes steamboats, but at the same time it happily accepted the advantages of the railroads. 

A simple attempt to adjust his mother's oil lamp led to a small shoestring business which grew into a company with international agents.

A Grand Rapids businessman, Melvin Church, while visiting Chicago, suggested an innovative solution to an engineer during the construction of the World's Fair that allowed the fair to open on schedule.

The children's map, Land of Make Believe, created by Jaro Hess in the 1930s, captured the imagination of children and their parents as soon as it appeared. While it was just one of his many creations, it is his most well-known work and is still available today.

Alexander Flyn, an accomplished Grand Rapids portrait artist, came to this city in 1918 and stayed until his death in 1963. During that time he was active in the local art community.

William J. Hardy became active in the politics of Gaines Township after African American men were granted the right to vote in 1870.

The "Knockout Polio" drive began in September of 1963. Approximately 320,000 people in Kent County participated, 86% of the population, and took the two drops of vaccine placed on a sugar cube.

Jim Rose began offering swimming instruction at Reed's Lake in 1901. By the time Rose's Beach was closed during WWII, Jim and his family had watched thousands of people swimming there for forty-three years.

The original seal of the city was adopted on June 25, 1850, but seven years later the Common Council decided that since it had passed a new charter, the seal also needed a few adjustments.

Aquinas College has had several names and been in several locations, but it has occupied its beautiful wooded campus since 1945.

Martin Antoine Ryerson's roots go back to the beginning of the city, and the Ryerson Library, now the Grand Rapids Public Library, was his gift to the people of his native city.

The Ramona Theater had stood so long it couldn't be dismantled. Wreckers wanted to salvage the steel roof beams, but the huge wooden pillars supporting them were rotten. How could they finish the project?

When you visit the Grand Rapids Public Library you can read microfilm copies of city newspapers from the 1840s to current times. Have you ever wondered how long microfilm has been available?

In October of 2007 the Grand Rapids Art Museum opened its new building, ninety-seven years after its founding in 1910. It occupies the same corner where 157 years earlier William Preusser began his jewelry and clock business.

The Lear organization was founded in Chicago in 1930 to produce the first practical automobile radio and other radio equipment Bill Lear had invented.

When Native Americans occupied the shores of the Grand River they welcomed the river's spring floods as they cleansed the lowlands and islands of debris for the coming season. 

In September of 1928 ads in the local papers clamored, "You'll want to tell your grandchildren that you heard the first all-talking picture. The screen speaks!"

The election of 1837 was an event not only in Michigan, but in the village that would become Grand Rapids. 

Citizens of Grand Rapids were so anxious for the advantages of the new railroad line that they had offered a bonus of $10,000 if the line was completed on time.

The famous Tiger baseball player, Ty Cobb, visited Grand Rapids in October of 1912. The city's baseball fans had long regarded Cobb, nicknamed the "Georgia Peach," as the greatest player the sport had ever known.

The membership of Fire Company No. 3 began to build their engine house on Scribner just north of Bridge St. in 1859 and completed it in 1860. Most of the labor was done by the firemen after six o'clock during the summer months.

Michigan's tornado season runs from mid-March into September. Three tornadoes in April 1956 sent more than 200 to hospitals and left an estimated 2000 homeless.

The 1899 Michigan Photographers convention, held in Grand Rapids, inspired the organizing of a local camera club. It's an organization still active in the city today.

Club Indigo was organized for the social, athletic and civic advancement of the African-American community. The members and their guests could enjoy meals, drinks, and dancing in a refined atmosphere.

Roseswift Airplane Company began passenger service for West Michigan in 1919 using a Canadian model, Curtis JN-4 bi-plane, commonly known as a Jenny.

A worker for the Grand Rapids Water Department stepped up to an open hopper in January of 1945 and began pouring sodium fluoride into the city's drinking water. It was not an act of sabotage, but the result of several years of research and planning.

Manhole covers are the ports of entry to the underground world of pipes and mains and cables that transport light, power, heat, and water, in addition to carrying messages and removing waste.

Many local citizens are familiar with the Press Newsboys Band, and some may be aware of the Newsboys School, probably the only one of its kind in the world. But other, lesser known activities and events became available to those hardy lads.

William T. Powers built the West Side Power canal in 1866-67 to provide power to his factory, the Powers & Ball sash and door operation. The power canal was used until 1955.

The weekly Grand Rapids Saturday Evening Post, in addition to local happenings, provided schedules of the several railroads that serviced the city in its "Traveler's Guide" column.

The first school in Grand Rapids Township, District No. 4 was a small log cabin with ten pupils that opened in September 1844. The teacher, Miss Amelia Davis received $12 for the three-month term.

Many holiday foods have early origins from England, Ireland, Scandinavia, and Germany to name just a few. Hot rum punch and eggnog, as well as apple pie are American additions.

In January of 1943 the Army Air Force Weather School was established in Grand Rapids. Four hundred cadets and thirty instructors began a nine month course in meteorology at the Civic Auditorium.

Television was viewed as the destroyer of movies during the 1950s. Was that really the case or were there other contributing causes?

For many years the Kent County jail, which stood on the east bank of the Grand River, was considered one of the prettiest blocks in the city.

Charles Garfield discovered a fascinating story, about the existence of a lone black walnut tree, from an aged Ottawa Indian.

Daring young men, eager to emulate the birds, experimented with gliders and heavier-than-air planes as they attempted to escape earth's gravity.

Ambassador Thomas J. O"Brien servered in Denmark, Japan, and Rome where the position of the United States required he find a proper residence.

James Bentham's restaurant was an important place in town in the 1800s. Charles Belknap claimed it was as important as Daniel Ball's bank.

An automatic weather station, provided by the United States Weather Bureau, was installed in Monument Park in 1913.

The grade bench established a starting point, or base, from which surveys and levels were calculated in city engineering.

Music was a centerpiece in the life of Maria Royce as composer, a force in the St. Cecilia Music Society, and her involvement with deaf children and Camp Fire Girls.

Doctors Pearl Kendrick and Grace Eldering developed the first effective vaccine against whooping cough. By 1940 Michigan was distributing the vaccine, which would put an end to the deaths.

Over the years many war memorials have been proposed and erected in Grand Rapids. The first was the Civil War Monument, which was erected in 1885 and stands in Monument Park at the corner of Monroe Center and Division Ave.

The clock in the tower of the old City Hall was one of the few things saved when the building was demolished. Today the beautifully restored clock keeps time and chimes the hour at its home in the Grand Rapids Public Museum.

When the village of Grand Rapids was founded, the Grand River was the only highway. Soon small steamboats traveled the river, the first was the Governor Mason launched in 1837. Steamboats moved passengers and freight up and down the river until the advent of the railroad, which spelled doom for river travel.

Hundreds of small factories across the country attempted to build "horseless carriages" during the early 20th century, but few lasted more than a year or two. Grand Rapids had its share of "backyard tinkerers" but only one was successful, the Austin Automobile Co. owned by James Austin and his son Walter. The company was in business from 1903 to 1921.

Octagonal houses were popular in the 19th century, and Grand Rapids had three over the years. The final two were demolished during Urban Renewal in the 1960s.

The village of Grand Rapids had rousing Fourth of July celebrations from its very beginning in 1833.

Orville Bulman, who enjoyed drawing cartoons at an early age, evolved into an excellent and successful artist. His paintings often tell stories, and many depict tropical and exotic settings.

From 1856 to 1860 Grand Rapids constructed four small wooden schools, one in each ward on the east side of the Grand River, for primary school children. Thus the name, Ward Schools.

An "Outdoor museum for houses" is what one magazine called the Homestyle Center planned for the 80 acres adjacent to where Meijer Gardens & Sculpture Park stands today. Nationally known architects designed the planned homes, which would feature the latest in decoration and Grand Rapids furniture.

Senator William Alden Smith of Grand Rapids gained national recognition when he chaired the Senate subcommittee investigating the causes of the sinking of the Titanic.

Early hotels called their guests to meals with loud bells, and saloons served free lunches, heavy on the seasonings, to keep their customers thirsty.

Fulton St. Park, now known as Veteran's Park, was lovingly cared for by an enterprising citizen, Thomas Gilbert, who planted trees and cared for them because he had a vision of the future.

The city's early fire brigades were volunteer organizations, the church bell at St. Andrews Cathedral was one of two fire alarms, and horses had to be harnessed before the engine could leave the fire house.

Michigan and Grand Rapids played an unfortunate role in the worst example of mass extermination by humans in the history of wildlife, the Passenger Pigeon.

The shipyard forge, located where the Amway Grand Plaza stands today, was the site of the boatyard where boats were built that ran on the Grand River.

Unlike today, professional baseball, including the Detroit Tigers, was severely affected during Word War II by travel restrictions and the loss of players who had either enlisted or been drafted.

As the Opera House aged and burlesque became the standard fare the theater became known as "wicked old Smith's Opera House. Some considered its reputation redeemed when Mel Trotter turned it into a rescue mission.

The Ladies Literary Club, founded in 1873, was at the leading edge of the women's club movement established for the intellectual and cultural advancement of women.

The first home of the Grand Rapids Art Museum and the failed venture of Port Sheldon have an interesting historical connection.

The first milliner, a career practiced solely by women, opened her hat shop at the corner of Monroe and Ottawa in 1838. By 1900 over one hundred women listed milliner as their occupation in the city directory.

The original tenant of the one story Georgian style building at the west edge of Fulton St. Park, now Veteran's Park, was the Michigan Tourist and Resort Association, which had maintained it headquarters in Grand Rapids since its founding in 1917.

It was a memorable day in 1927 when Col. Charles A. Lindbergh and the Spirit of St. Louis were welcomed to Grand Rapids by the largest reception in the city's history.

The Eagle Hotel, built in 1834, served the residents and visitors of the city for ninety-nine years. It had many landlords during its tenure, but one was remembered for killing a guest.

John Almy and his wife came to the village of Grand Rapids in 1835. Mrs. Almy kept an account of their difficult journey in her diary.

It took many years for Grand Rapids to acquire a suitable City Hall.

G. B. Russo, who came to Grand Rapids from Sicily, was one of the early residents of the area around South Division and Franklin known as Little Italy when he opened his Italian grocery store on South Division.

Grand Rapids Civic Theatre has a long history in Grand Rapids, and its actors trod the boards in old Germania Hall during their early days.

Plank roads evoke the mystique of days gone by, but those old wooden planks held little charm for travelers.

Fred Meijer (December 7, 1919 - November 25, 2011) was an innovative businessman willing to take risks that changed the way people shop in Grand Rapids.

For months in 1935, during the Depression, the news that General Motors would open a new plant in Grand Rapids was kept secret under penalty that the project would be cancelled if news was leaked. Finally, announced in December, it was GM's Christmas present to the city.

Horses and other quadrupeds sometimes had difficulty coping with the uncertainties and complexities of urban life.

In August of 1924, four new Fageol Safety Coaches premium passenger buses were added to the Grand Rapids Greyhound fleet, offering daily service.

A new den for the John Ball Park bear, completed in November of 1895, was celebrated by citizens who had been invited to the park by the bear and the city aldermen to view the bear in his cozy new home.

Bitter winter cold bedeviled Grand Rapids water workers, at great expense to customers.

By 1900, high school football was firmly entrenched as a Grand Rapids Thanksgiving tradition.

The enormous 76 foot skeleton of a fin whale awed visitors to the former Public Museum on Jefferson Ave. When the current riverfront building opened, the fully restored "Monster of the Deep" again became a centerpiece of the Museum.

Boys will be boys!

In 1931, Grand Rapids opened a tourist camp at North Park with Grand River frontage.

Grand Rapids was one of the first cities of its size to embrace the idea of parking -in the air! - with the addition of an 11-floor parking garage in 1926, complete with uniformed attendants, chauffeur service, oil change and more.

In 1866, young Conrad Swensberg opened the Grand Rapids Business College & Telegraphic Institute, the ancestor of today's Davenport University.

Grand Rapids' first post office was established in 1832 along the banks of the Grand River at Bridge Street. Post master Darius Windsor oversaw its growth under less-than-favorable conditions.

The 40 acre development south of Hall St. and between Jefferson and Madison Avenues became a commercial hub at the turn of the 20th Century.