Grand Rapids Facts
Fact 1: It's the "SpaghettiOs Capital of the World!" According to the Franco-American company, Grand Rapids has the highest per capita consumption of the circular pasta in the country. At some 1750 Os per can, that quite a feat!
Fact 2: Grand Rapids' Heritage Hill Historic District, which includes some 1300 homes, is one of the largest such districts in Michigan. More than 60 different architectural styles are represented in Heritage Hill, including the chateauesque Voigt House (1895) and Georgian Revival Brayton House (1889).
Fact 3: Batter up! Grand Rapids had a team in the All American Girls Professional Baseball League from 1945 until the league folded in 1954. Although the team was never as good or as popular as the Rockford Peaches (think "A League of their Own"), they did manage to win the playoffs in 1947 and 1953.
Fact 4: Gerald Rudolph Ford, Jr. grew up in Grand Rapids after he and his mother moved here in 1917. America's 38th president was born Leslie Lynch King, Jr., but he changed his name after his stepfather adopted him. President Ford is well-represented in Grand Rapids thanks to the Gerald R. Ford Museum and Gerald R. Ford International Airport.
Fact 5: When M.R. Bissel started having allergy problems from all the straw on the floor of his china shop in Grand Rapids, what did he do? Since the year was 1876, you might think he grabbed a broom and swept the offensive material out the door. But in fact, Mr. Bissel invented a machine to suck the straw and dust up off the floor – in other words, the first vacuum cleaner!
Fact 6: Baseball fans take note: Grand Rapids' West Michigan Whitecaps use about 2880 balls per game. Just think how many the Detroit Tigers go through...
Fact 7: Grand Rapids is the proud home of the Western Hemisphere's largest bronze horse sculpture. The only full-size replica of da Vinci's ‘Il Gavallo' stands tall (24 feet, to be exact), overseeing activities at the Frederik Meijer Gardens. The original sits atop a pedestal in Vinci, Italy.
Fact 8: Grand Rapids traces its history back to the 1820s, when Isaac McCoy, a Baptist minister, became the first European to settle the area. By 1831, Frenchman Louis Campau established a trading post here and purchased what would eventually become the downtown area. The city of Grand Rapids was incorporated in 1850.
Fact 9: The Meyer May home, a beautiful Prairie-style structure in the Heritage Hill area, was designed by renowned architect Frank Lloyd Wright. The home's contemporary layout features a Spanish tile roof and a myriad of Wright-esque right angles. In 1985, the home underwent one of the most complete restorations of any Wright home.
Fact 10: Not only was Grand Rapids the first city in the country to fluoridate it's drinking water, it was also the first city (along with Detroit) to have scheduled daily flights. Starting in 1926, passengers could fly from Grand Rapids to Detroit, and back again, aboard a Stout Air Services plane.
