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A Grand Tour of Grand Rapids

Michigan’s second city is a great weekend getaway 

By Angela Wibking Fox

Grand Rapids is Michigan’s second largest city – and the state’s fastest growing visitor destination. It’s easy to see why. In fact, with more than 50 restaurants downtown and a bustling entertainment district, plus expanded museums and new attractions for the kids, a mere 48 hours in Grand Rapids may not be enough time to squeeze in all there is to see and do. On our first visit to the city last summer, though, we gave it our best shot.

For our grand weekend, we stayed at – where else? – the Amway Grand Plaza. After all, the hotel has played a major role in the renaissance of downtown Grand Rapids ever since it reopened in 1981 following a multi-million dollar renovation. The original hotel – The Pantlind – opened on the site in 1913 and included one of the world's largest gold-leaf ceilings in its lobby. Today the Amway Grand Plaza combines the graceful heritage of The Pantlind with the modern amenities of the new Glass Tower addition. You can book one of the Pantlind Rooms in the original wing of the hotel or stay in the more contemporary rooms in the Glass Tower, as we did. All 682 guestrooms are generously appointed and feature thoughtful amenities. 

But perhaps the best thing about the Amway Grand Plaza is its location – we could walk to almost everything. In fact, once our bags were stowed, we took a short walk over the Grand River, which the hotel overlooks, to the Van Andel Museum Center of the Public Museum of Grand Rapids in order to get a handle on the history of the city. With dozens of exhibits, a 19th-century Grand Rapids cityscape and a suspended 76-foot long whale skeleton, we certainly got that. But the unexpected treat was to run into members of the All-American Girls Professional Baseball League, at the museum to view “Leagues of Their Own,” a temporary exhibit detailing these remarkable women and their contributions to the sport during the 1940s. The retired baseball stars were delighted to pose for our camera and share stories about their glory days with teams like the Grand Rapids Chicks, Kalamazoo Lassies and Battle Creek Belles. We came away thinking that the hit Hollywood film “A League of Their Own” didn’t come close to capturing this fascinating women and the inspiring chapter they wrote in American sports history.

Next, we left the 1940s behind and walked across the street into the 1970s at the newly-expanded Gerald Ford Presidential Museum, where you can step inside a full-scale replica of the Oval Office, see the original Watergate burglar tools and view other exhibits detailing the life and times of that ‘70s president. After a tour through those turbulent times, we headed for lunch at San Chez, a restaurant specializing in tapas cuisine from Spain and Latin America. We loved the goat cheese dip with crab and caramelized onions and portabello mushrooms layered with Serrano ham, manchego cheese, green onions and roasted red peppers, plus the smoked trout with dill aioli on vegetable salsa and organic greens. And though it’s almost impossible to stop sampling at a place like San Chez, try to do so in order to save room for the kahlua, rum and espresso soaked ladyfingers covered with white chocolate mousse or the pineapple habanero pepper cheesecake.   

For a grand evening of dinner and entertainment, our destination that night was the B.O.B. – short for Big Old Building. The converted warehouse, opposite the Van Andel Arena, offers several restaurants and clubs on four floors. We started the evening at the Monkey Bar, munching on appetizers and sipping a Russian Banana Martini, one of a variety of specialty martinis and handcrafted beers served here. Next we headed for our table at Judson’s Steakhouse, where we indulged in filet mignon and salmon, plus a chunk of classic cheesecake for dessert. Live comedy, jazz and dance music are among the after-dinner entertainment options at the B.O.B., though we were too tired to last long before heading back to our hotel room. 

We slept in after our night on the town – and woke up hungry for a walk through Heritage Hill, a national historic district embracing over 60 different architectural styles. First we fueled up at the Cherie Inn, a Grand Rapids tradition for six decades. The Eggs Benedict with homemade hollandaise is superb, as are the omelettes and cinnamon French toast. We had picked up a self-guided Heritage Hill walking tour brochure at the downtown visitors bureau and walked off our breakfast along the shady streets while admiring the examples of Greek Revival, Queen Anne, Eastlake and other architectural styles. We also toured the two homes in the historic district that are open to the public -- the Meyer May House, a 1908 masterpiece of the Prairie style that is one of the most complete restorations of a Frank Lloyd Wright house in existence, and the Voight House Victorian Museum, a perfectly preserved 1895 Chateauesque mansion with its original furnishings.

We capped our Grand Rapids weekend with an afternoon at the Frederik Meijer Gardens and Sculpture Park, a 10-minute drive from downtown. The sculpture garden is a 125-acre attraction with the most comprehensive outdoor sculpture collection in the Midwest – including the monumental “American Horse” by Nina Akamu based on a design by Leonardo da Vinci and the largest tropical conservatory in the state. After several hours among the gardens and sculptures, we watched the sun go down while enjoying a picnic supper and a classical concert at the Meijer amphitheater, an elegant outdoor venue with terraced lawn seating that presents nationally-known musicians in concert from June through September. The complex newest attraction is the Lena Meijer Children’s Garden, opening summer 2004. The unique family experience interprets the world of art and nature through interactive areas encompassing over three acres. Kids and adults alike are sure to delight in the woodland tree houses and a log cabin, a Great Lakes garden, a butterfly maze and more.

For more information: Grand Rapids/Kent County Convention & Visitors Bureau. 800-678-9859. http://www.visitgrandrapids.org

Photos by Virgil Fox

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