The Watering Hole

[GRCentro]

Guess what guys!? I'll be visiting Grand Rapids with my mom on the 11th. Today she mentioned some button convention held by the National Button Society there and I volunteered to go right away so that I could explore downtown Grand Rapids. I'm really excited! The Amway Grand Plaza Hotel is right downtown isn't it?

Yessir! It's the big "crome" one. (Awesome photo, civitas!)

Enjoy the buttons, Zach.

[GRDadof3]

Guess what guys!? I'll be visiting Grand Rapids with my mom on the 11th. Today she mentioned some button convention held by the National Button Society there and I volunteered to go right away so that I could explore downtown Grand Rapids. I'm really excited! The Amway Grand Plaza Hotel is right downtown isn't it?

In addition to downtown, within walking distance is the Heritage Hill Historical District, one of the largest residential historic districts in the country with over 1300 homes dating as far back as 1848. Well worth the walk.

http://www.heritagehillweb.org/

Just take Monroe Center Southeast to Fulton, and follow Fulton up the hill to the East to College. That's just about dead center of the district:

http://www.google.com/maps?f=q&hl=en&a...030384&om=1

Have a good time!

[ZachariahDaMan]

Thanks mgreven, I'll make sure to take lots of pictures and tell you guys what I think about Grand Rapids.

And GRDadof3 thanks a ton for telling me about Heritage Hill. I will be walking around so is there anywhere else I should be sure to hit up?

[MJLO]

well if your mom's at a convention, you'll not only be within walking distance of the Grand Plaza, you're pretty much there, I'd suggest Downtown, Heartside, and Midtown, all within striking distance, Heritage Hill in the middle, Also North Monroe has some cool things

[GRDadof3]

Thanks mgreven, I'll make sure to take lots of pictures and tell you guys what I think about Grand Rapids.

And GRDadof3 thanks a ton for telling me about Heritage Hill. I will be walking around so is there anywhere else I should be sure to hit up?

When MJLO says Heartside, he means Ionia Avenue, Commerce Avenue and South Division all going South from Fulton. Division is our skid row, but they are doing a lot of artists loft renovations and there is some great architecture. Ionia is the entertainment district near the Van Andel Arena, and Commerce also has a few architectural gems.

SAMPLE

If you're staying at the Amway Grand or the other hotels downtown, you're right by the new Marriott construction site, which has the unusual distinction of being the only high rise going up in Michigan right now .

SAMPLE

Midtown is a little further walk, but it's basically when you're in Heritage Hill (College at Fulton), go South on College to Wealthy, and then head East for a couple of blocks. The "College Avenue" sign on Fulton is hard to see because of all the trees, so watch for a large colonial apartment complex called Waters House Apartments on Fulton.

SAMPLE

The new GVSU downtown campus is also a good place to get photos. It's West on Fulton from downtown, and just on the other side of US-131 (look for the big blue Grand Valley State University sign).

SAMPLE

Another interesting area is to take Monroe North (runs North/South in front of the convention center and Grand Plaza), then take a right at Michigan and follow the two big tower cranes. It should look like this:

Where there is massive work going on with the new medical expansions.

Or I'd be remiss if I didn't mention the giant Otterness sculpture exhibit downtown right now. They're scattered all over downtown within easy walking distance. You can find a map here:

http://www.meijergardens.org/media/scms/Otterness_GRMap.pdf

Or we've been shooting the daylights out of it in this thread:

http://www.urbanplanet.org/forums/index.php?showtopic=21187

There's a lot to see and photograph, so I'm sure you'll be pretty busy.

Otherwise, if you see any pictures in my signature flickr link below that you want to see, just send me a PM and I can fill you in where that sight is located.

[gvsusean]

while at the amway grand be sure to see the pantland, its the great brick building connected to the tower, it has one of the worlds largest gold leaf cielings in the world!!

[Veloise]

Guess what guys!? I'll be visiting Grand Rapids with my mom on the 11th. Today she mentioned some button convention held by the National Button Society there and I volunteered to go right away so that I could explore downtown Grand Rapids. I'm really excited! The Amway Grand Plaza Hotel is right downtown isn't it?

You'll be amazed and awed. GR is definitely not Canton, nor is it Detroit. We have a real downtown (walkable, well designed, and measurably getting better) surrounded by interesting neighborhoods.

You might want to stop in City Hall (entrance at 300 Monroe, right across from DVP, just follow one of those green ped xings) and pick up the Bike GR map. Best map available of DT and the area.

Be sure to check out Monroe Center and our many local establishments. Just head southeast from Monroe and Pearl on that diagonal street.

Free Wifi all over downtown, or if you don't have a laptop, the library (on, um, Library Street, about 5 minutes walk from AGP) has free computers.

What kind of buttons?

[GRDadof3]

What kind of buttons?

Wooden it be Grand? - no joke

[Veloise]

Wooden it be Grand? - no joke

Looks like they've issued me a personal invite.

[everything is about the bike!]

[suydam]

Hello, All!

I am requesting permission to use some of your photographs that

have been posted in the various forums for use on my blog. I'd like

to do a photo album and blog entry about our fair city. I don't have

a digital camera, and well, face it, some of you take many of the

best pics of GR I've ever seen!

I will credit Urban Planet as well as each photographer individually

and include a link to here.

If you will allow me to use your photos, no need to respond, I'll

take that as a yes. If you have any objections, just let me know

either here or PM me, and I will refrain. I'll wait a couple of days

before proceeding to give anyone time to object. Thanks everyone

in advance.

Just an FYI, the burden is on you to get permission...not the photographer to deny it.

Your post reads like those auto-renewal magazine subscriptions...."tell us if you don't want it or we'll sign you up for another year at the no-longer-introductory rate of $50/year!"

[suydam]

Zach, buy a bus pass, take Route 6 to Eastown (Lake Dr. and Wealthy St. intersection) and walk back Lake Dr. to downtown.

The total walk is 2 miles and passes through great neighborhoods:

• Eastown
  
• East Hills (part of Midtown)
  
• Heritage Hill
  

Lake Dr. dead ends at Fulton in Heritage Hill, turn left on Fulton and you'll enter the heart of Heritage Hill, and you'll be on your way downtown.

The bus system here is useful and easy to navigate.

Edited July 31, 2006 by suydam

[ZachariahDaMan]

You'll be amazed and awed. GR is definitely not Canton, nor is it Detroit. We have a real downtown (walkable, well designed, and measurably getting better) surrounded by interesting neighborhoods.

You might want to stop in City Hall (entrance at 300 Monroe, right across from DVP, just follow one of those green ped xings) and pick up the Bike GR map. Best map available of DT and the area.

Be sure to check out Monroe Center and our many local establishments. Just head southeast from Monroe and Pearl on that diagonal street.

Free Wifi all over downtown, or if you don't have a laptop, the library (on, um, Library Street, about 5 minutes walk from AGP) has free computers.

What kind of buttons?

Thanks a lot for telling me about the Bike GR map. I just realized today that I should take my bike with us so I can do as much exploring as possible and that map will certainly help

I would also like to thank everyone on here for suggesting places to go. If it wasn't for you I would have no idea where to go and would probably miss the best places.

[mejane]

Just an FYI, the burden is on you to get permission...not the photographer to deny it.

Your post reads like those auto-renewal magazine subscriptions...."tell us if you don't want it or we'll sign you up for another year at the no-longer-introductory rate of $50/year!"

[Veloise]

Thanks a lot for telling me about the Bike GR map. I just realized today that I should take my bike with us so I can do as much exploring as possible and that map will certainly help

I would also like to thank everyone on here for suggesting places to go. If it wasn't for you I would have no idea where to go and would probably miss the best places.

Of course you should bring your bike! Guess I forgot to mention...GR is an extremely bikeable locale, with the exception of some severe contours just a couple blocks east of Monroe. (Go up Monroe Center to Fulton, then right on Jefferson, then up State, and you're at the top of the same plateau as you'd have struggled up going straight up the Michigan Street hill.)

The drivers here are much more courteous than in the westside 'burbs. (I moved here from Westland, where someone actually threw lit firecrackers at me!)

Couple years back, I was riding on Division downtown, and planning a left turn onto the immediate street or perhaps the next one. Turned my head to glance over my left shoulder, to check for a break in traffic. (I ride like a slow-moving narrow car, and make left turns from the designated lanes.) Behind me were several cars in all three lanes...and they all eased up on the gas. (It was like that scene in the Ten Commandments where Charlton Heston raises his arm and the faux-water Jello parts.) That **never** happens in Dee-troit.

There are places to go; it's not a grid of 45 mph "mile" roads bordered by the same national chains and parking lots. If you don't want to ride on city streets, there's an extensive network of converted rail-trails with a variety of pavement surfaces and destinations.

Head west on Fulton and you'll end up at the zoo. Come back on Lake Michigan Drive. Bring mom's bike, too.

[GRDadof3]

85 humid degrees at 10:46 PM. Aye Caramba!

[GRGridGirl]

Zach, buy a bus pass, take Route 6 to Eastown (Lake Dr. and Wealthy St. intersection) and walk back Lake Dr. to downtown.

The total walk is 2 miles and passes through great neighborhoods:

• Eastown
  
• East Hills (part of Midtown)
  
• Heritage Hill
  

Lake Dr. dead ends at Fulton in Heritage Hill, turn left on Fulton and you'll enter the heart of Heritage Hill, and you'll be on your way downtown.

The bus system here is useful and easy to navigate.

Okay... Let's get this right for the DaMan...

The East Hills neighborhood is south of Midtown.

Thank you, TripleG

For the record, this is the correct way to spell Eastown. There is no "e" or double "t" in Eastown.

[6th Gen local]

85 humid degrees at 10:46 PM. Aye Caramba!

80 humid degrees at 5:15AM. Today is going to be a nasty one.

[Allison Slater]

Ah great. I love working next to a 600 degree oven on a 100+ degree day.

[Sunlover38]

80 humid degrees at 5:15AM. Today is going to be a nasty one.

Don't worry . . .in a week or so it will be snowing and we can all complain about how cold it is . . . .

[Allison Slater]

hahaha my boss said the same thing. If only it were spring year-round =p

[twoshort]

Quite the view: http://public.grar.com/public/addmed.mac/list?MLS=G560837

[Allison Slater]

Wow that loks nice, but oh so expensive. If only the pictures weren't such low-quality.

[Nitro]

If only the pictures weren't such low-quality.

The pictures do look weird, like they were taken for a 1954 issue of Better Homes and Gardens.

[twoshort]

The pictures do look weird, like they were taken for a 1954 issue of Better Homes and Gardens.

The real estate market is tough these days.. you can't expect every realtor to spend $99.00 on a digital camera when they already have their trusted camera phone!

[Rizzo]

Anyone catch the new design for the license plate ? Just a few trees, the Detroit Skyline, and Big Mac. Its pretty crappy. Old blue has done itself great, you know just blue.