Local Love: GR’s Coolest Buildings Ranked by Residents

The City of Grand Rapids, Michigan, is 175 years old and has several iconic buildings. Recently, locals shared their opinions on the coolest buildings in town.

City of Grand Rapids

Grand Rapids was established as a city in 1850, but it was first settled in 1826 as a village. European settlers were not the first people in the area since several Indigenous tribes had been in the region for thousands of years.

Grand Rapids began as a European fur-trading settlement, exchanging pelts for metal and textile goods. In the late 1800s, the city became the furniture capital of the world. In the early 1900s, Grand Rapids was an early center for the automobile industry. The city has continued to grow and become one of the best places to live in the country.

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Throughout this great journey, many impressive buildings have been constructed, and several still stand today.

 What Grand Rapids Locals Say Are the Coolest Buildings

Recently, a poster on the Grand Rapids Reddit page wanted to know what locals thought were the coolest buildings. Below are some of the highlights from the Reddit thread.

What I love about this Reddit thread is that it's providing me a list of places to check out when I'm in Grand Rapids.

Mangiamo’s is a well-known local spot.

This poster knows their stuff.

This sounds like a nice drive-by someday.

Fountain Street Church is amazing on the outside and the inside. It has been my favorite building I've seen in Grand Rapids.

My son and I just saw the pyramid this past weekend, and it looked cool, but the trees blocked the view from the freeway. We plan on taking a closer look.

That poster provided an excellent list of buildings in Grand Rapids to visit.

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There are more ideas on the Reddit thread, but if you think there is something you would like to add, click here.

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