The grandrapidslocalhistory's Podcast

We chat about some great old buildings around town. As usual, a few other topics, including what the Gillette Bridge was used for, are discussed. We also issue our first correction - what mistake was made this time?

We touch on the history of schools, schooling, and living in Grand Rapids over the years.

We'll zipline back into the past to explore the future. Islands in the Grand River became useful land for the City, baseball fans, and thrifty shoppers but we don't quite know what the future holds.

Mooo...ve this episode to the front. Matthew points to pigs in the early city, and Jess provides a purr-fect history of fire dogs.

We put together a mini-episode for the holidays this year. Please, steer clear of any crazy sledding!

*Here's the full episode. It's almost as if...something...didn't want their story told.* This episode will put you in high spirits as we discuss spooky places and stories around town.

This episode touches on communication forms in Grand Rapids. From the first telephone line to amateur radio and a bizarre karaoke session on GVSU's campus, we cover it all. Aliens are discussed along with WLAV's infamous river raft races.

We discover how gardens grew into their own, wonder why there's no Iris Festival, and send positive thoughts to Jess' basil.

We talk about the evolution of hospitals in Grand Rapids, the city's ties to the goal of polio eradication, and we take a quick detour to cemeteries.

Recording remotely, we talk about how annexation shaped Grand Rapids and the surrounding communities. Meijer's bulk food section and Matthew's puppy make guest appearances, as well.

We talk about the history of Prohibition in Grand Rapids, when brewing started in Beer City, Jess gives us some lessons in brewing, and for some reason, Matthew has never heard of Full House.

On this episode, we talk about women's history, suffrage, farmers markets, and a bit more.

In our pilot episode, we talk about the USS Grand Rapids, the Grand River, the Works Progress Aministration, and Matthew gets an education in vinyl records.