From the beginning, Grand Rapids’ West Side was the place to shop for those unique items that couldn’t be found anywhere else in town.
It still is.
In 1833, before the city was a city, 300 Odawa Indians lived on the west bank of the Grand River. White traders, including city founder Louis Campau, shopped with them, trading household goods and liquor for furs and handmade Odawa crafts that were unique to the tribe.
Bounded by Leonard Street on the north, John Ball Park on the west, Fulton Street on the south, and the Grand River on the east, the West Side spent much of its early history separated from the city by the Grand River. There were no bridges, and it was too hard to cross the rushing rapids in boats. In 1842, a footbridge was placed across the river at Bridge Street (probably so-named after the bridge was built); two years later it was replaced by a plank bridge.
In the 1850s, German immigrants settled just south of Bridge Street. Shortly afterward, Polish immigrants took up residence near John Ball Park. Grocers built corner stores in the residential areas and lived with their families in apartments upstairs. In the German neighborhood, these stores sold homemade foods like German shortbread cookies and wienerschnitzel, made from time-honored family recipes the storekeepers brought with them from the old country. Likewise, the stores in the Polish neighborhoods offered their culture’s kielbasa and paczki.
A Taste Tour
Today, shoppers can still purchase authentic Polish and German foods made from those same family recipes and sold in traditional-style corner stores like Lewandoski’s Market and Frank’s Market.
“The West Side has always had little ethnic pockets, like Polish, German, Irish, and Dutch” said Nola Steketee, executive director of the West Grand Neighborhood Organization, “so it holds true to our history that we now have a Hispanic population. The Stockbridge business corridor is a mix of all kinds of entertainment and restaurants, along with other businesses. Peppered among them are Hispanic and Mexican restaurants, like El Ganadero and Maggie’s Kitchen.”
“There are some great Italian restaurants like Salvatore’s and Joey V’s,” Steketee added. “You not only go there to eat the great food, it’s the atmosphere. Each one of them is an experience. That’s what makes the west side so wonderful.”
Other neighborhood eateries cater to families or college students - Grand Valley State University's downtown campus anchors the West Side - and lend their own personalities to the Stockbridge, West Leonard, and West Fulton business districts.
“Lanning's is a great place to go for family cuisine,” Steketee said. “There’s Johnny Brann’s. I mean, where can you go for a sizzler and salad lunch for the price you can get it at Brann’s?”
Other family favorites are Arnie’s Restaurant, Arnie’s Bakery, Railside Pizza, Vinny’s Pizza, and Vito’s Pizza.
Cozy stopovers like Dillenbeck’s Coffee Shop and The Hardware Restaurant are great places to have a cup of joe, a pastry, or breakfast while soaking up the hometown ambience.
The Bitterend, an artsy coffee shop within walking distance of Grand Valley State University’s Pew Campus, is open 24/7. It’s common to see tables full of students chatting, laughing, or studying into the wee hours while enjoying a freshly brewed latté or cappuccino.
Unique Shop Stops
Each of the three main shopping districts have a “Smalltown, America” feel; clothing stores are next to antiques stores which are next to furniture stores that are beside shoe stores. Mieras' Family Shoes, Shakedown Street, Freewheeler Bike Shop, Rainbow Music, Ball Park Floral, Northwestern Home Furnishings, The Shade Shop, and Jurgens & Holtvluwer Menswear are just a few.
Susan Teunissen, owner of Green Eden, an eclectic home decorating store, also intends to move her store into one of the West Side business districts.
“I carry a mix of antiques and new home décor,” Teunissen said. “A lot of men like to shop in my store because they’re able to find industrial antiques here, like old wood and steel racks, carts on wheels, old chalkboards, school clocks, and architectural salvage items. Most of it is from Grand Rapids buildings, like the slate baseboards we salvaged from the old Sibley School.”
Museum Row
Folks who like to walk, bike, jog, skateboard, or rollerblade enjoy the Riverwalk, a paved pathway that winds gracefully along both banks of the Grand River. The west bank’s trail takes travelers over short hills, under bridges, and through lushly landscaped green spaces on GVSU’s Campus and in Ah-Nab-Awen Park. Anglers like it for its easy access to the river.
The Riverwalk is perfect for self-guided tours of some of Grand Rapids’ outdoor art: the majestic fountain and waterfall in front of the Gerald R. Ford Museum; the Indian Burial Mounds honoring the area’s native Americans at Ah-Nab-Awen park (which means resting place); and Lorrie’s Button, a huge red steel button, located in a shady spot just north of the Ford museum.
Pedestrian bridges—the Blue Bridge and the Gillette Bridge—are easy ways to cross the river to the east Riverwalk, or to CenterCity where art enthusiasts can view works such as Ecliptic by Vietnam Veteran’s Memorial creator Maya Lin, and La Grande Vitesse by Alexander Calder.
The lower west side is home to two of the city’s four museums. At the Gerald R. Ford Museum, Michigan’s only presidential museum, the permanent exhibits include Gerald Ford's America: Pop culture of the 1970s, and, At Work in the Oval Office: A recreation of the Oval Office during Ford's years as President of the United States.
The VanAndel Museum Center-Public Museum was founded in 1854 and is one of the oldest history museums in the nation. Exhibits include a collection of furniture manufactured during the heyday of the city’s furniture industry, and a 76-foot whale skeleton suspended above the museum's three-story Galleria. A ride on the fully restored 1928 Spillman carousel, housed in its own round room that extends over the river, is a thrill for parents and children, alike.
A Pub For All Seasons
Just like everything else on the west side, the nightlife has its own style.
“We have those little exciting pub places like the Kopper Top,” said Nola Steketee. “You can’t wait to go to the Kopper Top on Valentine’s Day and Christmas because it’s all decorated and lit up inside, and the food is fantastic. And O’Toole’s has their windows open in the spring and summer.”
Because GVSU’s campus is so close by, many college students frequent places like Monte’s and O’Toole’s Public House, according to Dave Reinert, who owns both establishments with his brother, Paul.
“We renovated Monte’s and reopened in April 2006,” Reinert said. “It’s a dance club with a posh, big-city feel to it. We have four different DJs that play on a rotating basis during the week. Wednesday nights are 80s nights, and those are a lot of fun. O’Toole’s is a great neighborhood pub. We get a good mix of college crowd, local residents, young professionals, and older people who come in for a beer once in a while.”
Young people, old people, a rich history, art, shopping, ethnic cultures, ethnic foods, and a zest for life; the West Side is truly a neighborhood of many passions.
For more information about the West Side visit the Rapid Growth:
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Moving Guide
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Investing Guide
Directions to the West Side
From the North:
Take US-131 South toward Grand Rapids and take Exit 85B toward Pearl St/Downtown. Stay straight to go onto Mt. Vernon Ave NW and turn right onto Pearl St NW. Pearl St NW becomes Lake Michigan Dr. NW. Arrive in the West Side.
From the East:
Take I-96 West toward Grand Rapids and then take I-196 West toward Downtown Grand Rapids/Holland. Merge onto US-131 South via Exit 77B on the Left toward Kalamazoo. Continue to Exit 85B toward Pearl St/Downtown. Stay straight to go onto Mt. Vernon Ave NW and turn right onto Pearl St NW. Pearl St NW becomes Lake Michigan Dr. NW. Arrive in the West Side.
From the South:
Take US-131 North toward Grand Rapids. Take Exit 85B for Pearl St and turn left onto Pearl St NW. Pearl St NW becomes Lake Michigan Dr. NW. Arrive in the West Side.
From the West:
Take I-196 East toward Grand Rapids and merge onto US-121 South via Exit 77B toward Kalamazoo. Take Exit 85B toward Pearl St/Downtown. Stay straight to go onto Mt. Vernon Ave NW and turn right onto Pearl St NW. Pearl St NW becomes Lake Michigan Dr. NW. Arrive in the West Side.
Take I-96 East toward Grand Rapids and merge onto US-131 South via Exit 31A toward Grand Rapids/Kalamazoo. Take Exit 85B toward Pearl St/Downtown. Stay straight to go onto Mt. Vernon Ave NW and turn right onto Pearl St NW. Pearl St NW becomes Lake Michigan Dr. NW. Arrive in the West Side.
Deborah Johnson Wood is a freelance writer and communications consultant who lives in Grand Rapids. She also reports and writes the Development News and Innovation News sections for
Rapid Growth Media.
Photographs by Brian Kelly - All Rights ReservedImages:
St. Mary's Catholic Church anchors the West Side
Paddle Boats at John Ball Park Zoo
Frank's Market on West Fulton (photo by A J Paschka)
The Bitter End Coffee House on West Fulton
The Van Andel Museum Center
O'Toole's Public House on Bridges St.