Grand Rapids, Michigan is situated along the Grand River. The city is located nearly 40 miles east of Lake Michigan and presently supports a population of more that 188,040 people according to census numbers. The Grand Rapids-Muskegon-Holland combined statistical area had a population of 1,321,557 while that same year, the Grand Rapids metropolitan area had around 774,160 inhabitants.
The city of Grand Rapids serves and the seat for Kent County and is the state's 2nd biggest city and the biggest city in West Michigan. The city of Grand Rapids is home to 5 of the globe's leading office furniture companies and as such has been known as "Furniture City." The city together with its surrounding communities is economically diverse. Amongst the biggest economic sectors consist of information technology, aviation, and consumer goods manufacturing businesses, health care and automotive amongst others.
Louis Campau was the founding father of Grand Rapids. He was an astute businessman who established a trading post together with the Ottawa Indians during the year 1827, and dealt in real estate. Over 2000 years ago, the mound building Hopewell Indian tribe lived in the area of the existing Grand Rapids. President Gerald R. Ford hails from the city of Grand Rapids and is the most famous son of the city.
Grand Rapids enjoy all 4 seasons with moderate summer and winter temperatures because of lake Michigan. The lake-effect does on the other hand contribute to the annual average snowfall of 64.4 inches. The daily high and low temperatures during the month of July are 60.5 and 82.3 degrees Fahrenheit. The daily low and high temperatures in the month of January are 15.6 and 29.3 degrees Fahrenheit.
This city of Grand Rapids is the home to 3 Fortune 500 Companies, including Spartan Stores, Universal Forest Products and Steelcase. Bissell, Inc. is another popular business within the vicinity. The parent company of Amway, called Alticor is likewise located here. There are about a dozen colleges and universities located within the region.
The manufacturing sector of the city has suffered through a major decline, although the overall market sector remains strong, specially in the area of office furniture. Amongst the top furniture manufacturing businesses consist of Herman Miller, Knoll, Haworth, Steelcase and American Seating. There are a variety of businesses that also make furniture for the home. Other businesses such as automotive parts, plastics, chemicals, printing and graphic arts, food processing and industrial machinery likewise offer many work.
Grand Rapids is recognized for science and health related industries as well and has the nickname of the "Medical Mile." The city of Grand Rapids is also a center for Christian publishing and home to publishers like for example Kregel Publications, Eerdmans Publishing, Baker Books and Zonervan.
Grand Rapids has become a key convention and vacation destination allowing the tourism trade to grow more important to the city. There are numerous popular concert places in Grand Rapids like Van Andel Arena, the Mixtape Cafe, Orbit Room, the DAAC, the Royce Auditorium, the Deltaplex, DeVos Hall and the Forest Hills Fine Arts Center. Founded in the year 1930, the Grand Rapids Symphony showcases over 400 performances each year.