Grand Rapids Public Museum, Part 3
During the 2025-2026 winter holiday season, I took a trip to western Michigan. During this adventure, I visited the Grand Rapids Public Museum, which is receiving its own three-part mini series. The first part featured the history of the museum, the temporary dinosaur exhibit, a permanent exhibit about the people of Grand Rapids, a permanent exhibit about animals in Michigan, and a special exhibit featuring LEGO models. The second part featured an exhibit near the planetarium, signed baseballs, a large map of Michigan, skeletons, transportation, and exhibits in the Gallaria. In the third part, I visited a scale model of a city street, saw many Santas, and enjoyed a pair of unexpected artifacts just outside the giftshop.
The Streets of Old Grand Rapids is a three-fourths scale model showing the city in the 1890s. Thirteen stores open onto the street, including an opera house, a printing office, Voigt Herpolsheimer Department Store, Rudell Drug Store, and a fire station. The docent in the drug store had vintage toys that visitors could gently try, while the costumed interpreter in the drug store shared fun facts about 19th century medicine. The second floor containing Kent Scientific Institute, which was a precursor to the museum, and a dentist office was not open during my visit.
Since I visited during the late December, fifteen historic Santas stood along the streets, but I had a few favorites. In the Union Depot railroad station was dignified Kris Kringle of Germany, Austria, and Switzerland wearing a white fur robe with red lining. Just past the station was the original St. Nicholas, a bishop from Greece. A patriotic Santa wore red, white, and blue like an American flag and stood near the bright window of the department store. In the window near the dentist office sat Yul Tomten, a small pagan Nordic spirit. While not a Santa, St. Lucia stood in an alley with a wreath of candles on her head, representing the Christian side of Scandinavia.
After I left the street and was about to leave the museum, I noticed a sign describing the encaustic floor tiles that were originally created by the Paul Charnoz et Cie tileworks of Paray-le-Monial, Francie in around 1886 to become part of the Old City Hall, complimenting the clock on the second floor. Outside the Curiosity Shop were two more artifacts of interest. A reproduction Terracotta Warrior resembled those created over two thousand years ago in honor of Quin Shi Huang, the first emperor of China, which were excavated during the 1970s. statue and the wall. Nearby was a piece of the Berlin Wall special ordered by the Meijer family, owners of the Meijer grocery store chain, as the slab of concrete prominently bears their name. The Berlin Wall Commemorative Group, located in New Jersey, had the rights to sell parts of the wall to Americans. Unfortunately, it does not match the original photos taken when the wall came down and was evidently altered to please the wealthy buyers.
Grand Rapids Public Museum is open from 9:00 a.m. to 5:00 p.m. on weekdays and 10:00 a.m. through 5:00 p.m. on weekends. Tickets prices range from $0 to $14 depending on age, memberships, and Kent County residency. Be aware that parking is $2 per half hour and up to $24 a day, although Kent County residents receive free parking with admission to the museum. I was impressed by signage indicating where spaces might be noisy, which used an icon similar to a heart wearing headphones. These signs along with sensory bags available at the front desk were added in collaboration with KultureCity. However, I did not see a sign at the noisiest spot in the dinosaur exhibit, likely because this was a temporary attraction. This unique small city museum is a great place to spend the day, especially for local residents. I may need to return again when the carousel reopens.
