Scrapbooking your family vacations is so 2014 when you consider the new forms of historical, sleuth-like adventures that are waiting within your city to be uncovered and then rendered in a form of your choosing. And while the focus of this event is on story sleuthing history, what you do after in reaction is sure to be creative, so consider a scrapbook.
On Saturday you are invited to attend the Grand Rapids Public Library’s award-winning “History Detectives: Sleuthing for Local History” event produced in conjunction with the Grand Rapids Historical Society. This all-day function is a gem of a program where, for free, you are encouraged to participate in six programs devoted to exploring the various aspects of Grand Rapids' history.
The various topics listed below are presented by notable members of our cultural and historical organizations who are rich with stories and anecdotes about a city many are just discovering for the very first time.
I cannot think of a better way to begin the new year than with a group who knows our city and loves it just the same. Trust me, we are complex and wonderful for our successes and failures…and history helps us sort this out as we move forward.
Topics include:
• Why Grand Rapids Chose to Bulldoze Downtown in the Name of Urban Renewal by Garret Ellison
• The Architecture of Production: Grand Rapids’ Furniture Factories by Matthew Daley
• Pharaohs on the Grand: The Egyptian Revival in Grand Rapids by Thomas R. Dilley
• Stories from Maple Grove: A History of the Kent County Poor Farm by Adam Oster
• Fannie Boylon: The Legacy of Grand Rapids’ First Female Home Designer by Marcella Beck
• Support Our Schools: Mid-Century Architecture and Rebuilding the Schools Plant in Grand Rapids by Melissa Fox and Pamela VanderPloeg
General admission: Free. A boxed lunch is available for purchase if ordered in advance. Email
[email protected] to purchase a boxed lunch.