Glance at the Past

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.