Grand Rapids
| Grand Rapids, Michigan | |||||
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| City | |||||
| City of Grand Rapids | |||||
Images from top to bottom, left to right: downtown cityscape, Meyer May House, Gerald R. Ford Presidential Museum,
La Grande Vitesse, pedestrian bridge over the Grand River, Van Andel Arena, Grand Valley State University's Cook–DeVos Center on the Medical Mile |
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| Nickname(s): GR, The River City, Beer City USA, Furniture City | |||||
 Location of Grand Rapids within Kent County, Michigan |
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 Grand Rapids, Michigan
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| Coordinates: 42°57′40.5″N 85°39′20.59″W / 42.961250°N 85.6557194°WCoordinates: 42°57′40.5″N 85°39′20.59″W / 42.961250°N 85.6557194°W | |||||
| Country |
 United States
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| State |
 Michigan
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| County |
 Kent
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| Founded | 1826 | ||||
| Incorporation | 1850 | ||||
| Government | |||||
| • Type | City Commission-Manager | ||||
| • Mayor | Rosalynn Bliss (D) | ||||
| • City Manager | Greg Sundstrom | ||||
| Area | |||||
| • City | 45.27 sq mi (117.25 km2) | ||||
| • Land | 44.40 sq mi (115.00 km2) | ||||
| • Water | 0.87 sq mi (2.25 km2) 1.92% | ||||
| Elevation | 640 ft (200 m) | ||||
| Population (2015) | |||||
| • City | 195,097 | ||||
| • Rank | 122nd in US | ||||
| • Density | 4,364.7/sq mi (1,685.2/km2) | ||||
| • Urban (2010) | 569,935 (US: 70th) | ||||
| • Metro | 1,038,583 (US: 52nd) | ||||
| • CSA | 1,421,374 (US: 38th) | ||||
| Demonym(s) | Grand Rapidian | ||||
| Time zone | EST (UTC-5) | ||||
| • Summer (DST) | EDT (UTC-4) | ||||
| Area code(s) | 616 | ||||
| FIPS code | 26-34000 | ||||
| GNIS feature ID | 0627105 | ||||
| Website | www.grcity.us | ||||
Grand Rapids is the second-largest city in Michigan, and the largest city in West Michigan. It is on the Grand River about 30 miles (48 km) east of Lake Michigan. As of the 2010 census, the city population was 188,040. In 2010, the Grand Rapids metropolitan area had a population of 1,005,648, and the combined statistical area of Grand Rapids-Muskegon-Holland had a population of 1,321,557. Grand Rapids is the county seat of Kent County, Michigan.
A historic furniture-manufacturing center, Grand Rapids is home to five of the world's leading office furniture companies, and is nicknamed Furniture City. Its more common modern nickname of River City refers to the landmark river for which it was named. The city and surrounding communities are economically diverse, based in the health care, information technology, automotive, aviation, and consumer goods manufacturing industries, among others.
Grand Rapids is the hometown of U.S. President Gerald Ford, who is buried with his wife Betty on the grounds of the Gerald R. Ford Presidential Museum in the city.
For thousands of years, succeeding cultures of indigenous peoples occupied the area. Over 2000 years ago, people associated with the Hopewell culture occupied the Grand River Valley. Later, a tribe from the Ottawa River traveled to the Grand River valley, fighting three battles with the Prairie Indians who were established in the area. The tribe later split, with the Chippewas settling in the northern lower peninsula, the Pottawatomies staying south of the Kalamazoo River and the Ottawa staying in central Michigan.
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Wikipedia