Grand Rapids Audio Tours

Louis Campau established a trading post on the south bank of the Grand River in 1826, and Grand Rapids grew steadily on timber and then furniture. By 1911, 47 factories employed 8,500 workers making chairs, desks, and cabinets, and the city's nickname, Furniture City, became synonymous with quality American craftsmanship. President Gerald Ford grew up here, and his presidential library and museum sit on the riverfront. In 1945, Grand Rapids became the first city in the United States to add fluoride to its drinking water, a fact that tends to spark conversation.

The furniture industry thinned out over the second half of the 20th century, but the city found its footing in craft brewing with the same methodical confidence it once applied to armchairs.

It tied with Asheville, North Carolina for Beer City USA in 2012, then won outright in 2013. There are now dozens of local breweries operating within city limits. The Van Andel Institute, a biomedical research centre opened in 2000, anchored what the city calls Medical Mile, a cluster of health sciences institutions along Michigan Street that has become the largest single employer in the region.