The AmericaJR Web Team visited downtown Grand Rapids, Michigan last week. It is on the Grand River about 30 miles east of Lake Michigan. Grand Rapids is home to five of the world’s leading office furniture companies, and is nicknamed “Furniture City”. Other nicknames include “River City” and more recently, “Beer City” (the latter given by USA Today and adopted by the city as a brand). The city and surrounding communities are economically diverse, based in the health care, information technology, automotive, aviation, and consumer goods manufacturing industries, among others. Grand Rapids is the childhood home of U.S. President Gerald Ford, who is buried with his wife Betty on the grounds of the Gerald R. Ford Presidential Museum in the city.
A view of the Grand River in Grand Rapids 
Van Andel Arena is a 11,005-seat multi-purpose arena, situated in the Heartside district of Grand Rapids, Michigan. 
The arena houses the Grand Rapids Griffins hockey team as well as concerts and other special events. 
AmericaJR’s Jason Rzucidlo stands outside the Van Andel Arena 
Grand Rapids-based Frey Foundation unveiled “LOVE,” a sculpture by artist Robert Indiana in May 2018. 
Rosa Parks statue 
Former U.S. Senator Arthur Vandenberg 
The historic Amway Grand Plaza, Curio Collection by Hilton 
Gerald R. Ford Federal Building & United States Court House 
The famous La Grande Vitesse sculpture at Calder Plaza 
AmericaJR’s Gloria and Jerome Rzucidlo 
Miniature model of the La Grande Vitesse at Calder Plaza 
DeVos Place Convention Center, erected in 2004 on the Grand River in downtown Grand Rapids, Michigan, is a multi-purpose convention center. 
Locals tend to refer to it as “The Calder” in deference to the man who created it: Alexander Calder, widely considered one of the most important American sculptors of the 20th century. 
Miniature model of the La Grande Vitesse at Calder Plaza 
ArtPrize is an art competition and festival held annually in Grand Rapids. 
The Blue Bridge is iconic to the city and is the one of the longest truss bridges in Michigan. 
The Blue Bridge stretches across the Grand River with access points next to GVSU’s Eberhard Center and the Grand Rapids River walk near Plaza Towers. 
AmericaJR’s Jason Rzucidlo stands on the Blue Bridge 
. The bridge was originally constructed in 1892 as a railroad bridge, but now has been converted into a pedestrian walk. 
We stayed at The Grand River Hotel
Grand Rapids, Michigan is about 150 miles west of Detroit and is 180 miles northwest of Chicago. For more information, go to https://www.experiencegr.com/