Grand Rapids, Michigan
| Grand Rapids | |
|---|---|
| Nickname : Furniture City, River City, Beer City USA | |
 Downtown Grand Rapids |
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| Located in Kent County and Michigan | |
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| Basic data | |
| Foundation : | 1826 |
| State : | United States |
| State : | Michigan |
| County : | Kent County |
| Coordinates : | 42 ° 58 ′ N , 85 ° 39 ′ W |
| Time zone : | Eastern ( UTC − 5 / −4 ) |
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Inhabitants : - Metropolitan Area : |
196,445 (as of 2016) 1,047,099 (as of 2016) |
| Population density : | 1,708.2 inhabitants per km 2 |
| Area : | 117.4 km 2 (approx. 45 mi 2 ) of which 115 km 2 (approx. 44 mi 2 ) are land |
| Height : | 242 m |
| Postcodes : | 49501-49599 |
| Area code : | +1 616 |
| FIPS : | 26-34000 |
| GNIS ID : | 0627105 |
| Website : | www.grcity.us |
| Mayor : | Rosalynn Bliss (since January 1, 2016) |
Grand Rapids , also known as Furniture City , is the second largest city in the US state of Michigan . According to an estimate by the USCensus Bureau, it has a population of almost 200,000 (as of 2016). The city is the seat of the county seat of Kent County in the southwestern part of the state.
history
The area of what would later become Grand Rapids was first settled after 1820 by Christian missionaries and fur traders, who generally lived peacefully with the Odawa tribe, who lived near the Grand River .
The official founder of Grand Rapids was Louis Campau, who traded there with the Indians from November 1826. Immigrants from New York and New England came after 1830.
Grand Rapids officially became a city on May 1, 1850, when the then 2,686 inhabitants voted for the adoption of the city constitution.
In the second half of the 19th century, the city became a major center of the wood industry and a leader in the United States for furniture manufacturing. The city also became a hub of Dutch immigration in the 19th century.
On January 25, 1945, Grand Rapids became the first American city to have fluoride added to its drinking water to prevent tooth decay .
After Newsweek magazine called Grand Rapids a “dying city” because of the declining population, the longest lipdub in the world at the time, at nine minutes, was filmed in Grand Rapids in May 2011 with the participation of over 5000 residents and published on the video platform YouTube . It's a version of Don McLean's folk-rock classic American Pie .
Population development
| year | Residents¹ |
|---|---|
| 1980 | 181.843 |
| 1990 | 189,126 |
| 2000 | 198.057 |
| 2010 | 188.051 |
| 2016 | 196,445 |
¹ 1980–2010: census results; 2016: US Census Bureau estimate
The following table shows the population development of the Metropolitan Statistical Area Grand Rapids-Wyoming according to the definition of the US Census Bureau 2015
| year | Residents¹ |
|---|---|
| 1990 | 791.515 |
| 2000 | 930.880 |
| 2010 | 988.940 |
| 2016 | 1,047,099 |
¹ 1990–2010: census results; 2016: US Census Bureau estimate
politics
The citizens of Grand Rapids introduced the council manager system in 1916. Since then, political responsibility has been shared between the mayor and the employed city manager , who is appointed by the council. The council only has a legislative function.
Former US President Gerald Ford lived in Grand Rapids for a long time, which is why the Gerald Ford Presidential Museum is dedicated to him. In Grand Rapids, former Democratic presidential candidate John Edwards announced his support for Barack Obama's running for president on May 14, 2008 .
Town twinning
Grand Rapids has partnerships with five cities:
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Omihachiman , Japan (1986) -
Bielsko-Biała , Poland (1991) -
Perugia , Italy (1993) -
Ga District , Ghana (1994) -
Zapopan , Mexico (2008)
geography
Grand Rapids is located 188 m above sea level on the Grand River , where there used to be a series of rapids .
According to the US Department of Statistics, the city has an area of 117.4 km².
economy
The Grand Rapids metropolitan area achieved a gross domestic product of 58.5 billion US dollars in 2016, making it 53rd among the metropolitan areas of the United States. The unemployment rate in the metropolitan region was 2.9 percent, which is below the national average of 3.8 percent. (As of March 2018).
Grand Rapids has long been a center of the American furniture industry. At the latest with the world exhibition in Philadelphia in 1876, it became internationally known as the furniture city. Even if the importance of the furniture industry has declined since the 1960s, Grand Rapids is still the world leader in the production of office furniture. The Kindel Furniture Company , the Grand Rapids Chair Company and Steelcase are located here. More recently, some biotechnology companies have joined in, in addition to the Van Andel Medical Institute and the new Cook-Devos Medical Training Facility , which is part of Grand Valley State University , and the new Michigan State University medical training facility .
Gerald R. Ford International Airport is located near Grand Rapids .
Grand Rapids is the venue for ArtPrize, an art exhibition that takes place every two years and is decentralized across the entire city center. In total, prizes with a total value of over $ 500,000 will be awarded. According to the company, the event brings in half a million tourists and several million US dollars to the local economy.
media
- WPRR , radio station
Sports
The NBA Development League Team Grand Rapids Drive has been based in the city since 2014 . The team plays its home games in the DeltaPlex Arena. With the Grand Rapids Griffins, an American Hockey League team is also based in the city, which plays its home games in the Van Andel Arena . The River Bank Run , which has been taking place since 1977, is one of the world's most important road runs over 25 km.
The West Michigan Whitecaps baseball team, a farm team of the Detroit Tigers, has been playing in neighboring Comstock Park since 1994 .
The amateur football club Grand Rapids FC started in 2015. The first season was played in the Great Lakes Premier League, in 2016 "Die Blauen" moved to the National Premier Soccer League . In the first season at Houseman Field, an average of more than 4,500 spectators attended.
Attractions
- John Ball Park
- Calvin College
- Van Andel Arena , home of the Grand Rapids Griffins ice hockey team
- Devos Place Convention Center
- Frederik Meijer Gardens & Sculpture Park
- John Ball Zoo
- Grand Rapids Art Museum
Personalities
sons and daughters of the town
- Charles Daniel White (1879–1955), Roman Catholic Bishop of Spokane
- Arthur H. Vandenberg (1884–1951), politician
- Stanley Ketchel (1886-1910), boxer
- Stephen Goosson (1889–1973), Oscar-winning production designer
- Frederick Henry Mueller (1893–1976), US Secretary of Commerce
- Leo Sowerby (1895–1968), composer
- John Herman Randall, Jr. (1899–1980), historian and philosopher
- Ward Silloway (1909-1965), jazz musician
- TL Sherred (1915–1985), science fiction writer
- Lorna Gray , actually Virginia Pound (1917–2017), actress
- Richard DeVos (1926–2018), founder and owner of Amway
- Edmund Casimir Szoka (1927–2014), emeritus Roman Catholic Archbishop of Detroit
- Joseph Crescent McKinney (1928-2010), Roman Catholic auxiliary bishop of Grand Rapids
- Frederic N. Andre (1933–2014), lawyer and government employee
- Del Shannon (1934–1990), singer
- Roger B. Chaffee (1935–1967), astronaut (Apollo 1)
- Jack R. Lousma (* 1936), astronaut (Skylab 3, STS-3)
- Stephen W. Bosworth (1939–2016), university dean and diplomat
- Kurt Luedtke (1939–2020), screenwriter and Oscar winner
- George Andrie (1940-2018), American football player
- Max Apple (* 1941), writer and screenwriter
- Ken Medema (* 1943), composer and singer
- Paul Schrader (* 1946), screenwriter and film director
- Marvin Wayne Meyer (1948–2012), coptologist
- Chris Van Allsburg (* 1949), draftsman and author (Jumanji, Der Polarexpress)
- Fergie Frederiksen (1951-2014), singer, a. a. the band Toto
- Kim Zimmer (born 1955), actress
- Scott Steed (1957-2020), jazz musician
- Tony Tucker (born 1958), boxer
- Antonia Franceschi (* 1960), ballet dancer, choreographer and actress
- Roger Mayweather (1961–2020), professional boxer and world boxing champion
- Jon Casey (* 1962), ice hockey goalkeeper
- Anthony Kiedis (* 1962), co-founder, lyricist and singer of Red Hot Chili Peppers
- Eric Allan Kramer (born 1962), actor
- Andy Richter (* 1966), entertainer
- Stacy Haiduk (* 1968), actress
- James Toney (born 1968), boxer
- Matt Keeslar (born 1972), actor
- Marc Miller (* 1975), racing car driver
- Floyd Mayweather Jr. (born 1977), boxer
- Justin Amash (* 1980), politician
- Brian Mast (* 1980), politician
- Jason Hartmann (* 1981), long-distance runner
- Chris Kaman (* 1982), German basketball player
- Dathan Ritzenhein (* 1982), long-distance runner
- Kyle Visser (born 1985), basketball player
- Paul Walter Hauser (* 1986), film actor
- Luke Glendening (* 1989), ice hockey player
- Taylor Lautner (born 1992), actor
Personalities related to the city
- Gerald Ford (1913-2006), 38th US President (1974-1977); his tomb is in Grand Rapids
Climate table
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Monthly average temperatures and rainfall for Grand Rapids, Michigan
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Individual evidence
- ↑ Article in The Daily Beast : America's Dying Cities ( November 9, 2011 memento in the Internet Archive )
- ↑ Article in Die Presse : "Dying City" Grand Rapids Strikes Back
- ^ Salon.com: Grand Rapids' lip dub versus Newsweek
- ↑ GrandRapids world record on Youtube
- ↑ Sister cities of Grand Rapids. Retrieved May 17, 2020 (English).
- ^ US Department of Commerce, BEA, Bureau of Economic Analysis: Bureau of Economic Analysis. Retrieved July 4, 2018 (American English).
- ^ Grand Rapids-Wyoming, MI Economy at a Glance. Retrieved July 5, 2018 .
- ↑ Grand Rapids Historical Perspective on www.grcity.us ( Memento of the original from June 6, 2014 in the Internet Archive ) Info: The archive link was inserted automatically and has not yet been checked. Please check the original and archive link according to the instructions and then remove this notice. , accessed on May 13, 2015
- ↑ Melinda Schnyder: Grand Rapids' ArtPrize is one of the largest art events in the world. In: The Wichita Eagle. September 8, 2018, accessed June 13, 2020 .
- ↑ Businesses, residents disappointed with ArtPrize 2020 cancellation. June 10, 2020, accessed on June 13, 2020 .
Web links
- The City website (English)
- Tourism site (English)