Public The Michigan Sol diers' Home, maintained by the State with ac commodations for 1,000 veterans and 200 widows, is located three miles north of the city. There are three large hospitals, two orphan asylums and two homes for the aged.
Public The public buildings are city hall, valued at $452,000; courthouse, $300, 000; Federal building and post-office, $700,000; county jail, $50,000; Ryerson library building, $506,000; museum, '476,000; police headquarters, $138,000.
Clubs and The Peninsular Club owns a clubhouse in the heart of the city valued with real estate at $200,000. The Owashtanong Club has a clubhouse at Reed's Lake costing $60,000. The G. R. Boat and Canoe Club owns a clubhouse on Grand Rapids River at North Park valued at $25,000. The Kent Country Club owns 100 acres of land and a $15,000 clubhouse and the Highland Golf Club also own land north of the city. There is an Elks temple valued at $200,000; a Masonic tem ple at $500,000; Knights of Columbus building, $125,000 and the Loyal Order of Moose build ing, $30,000; the Germans have four club houses and halls; the Irish, the Danish and the Polish each one. The Ladies' Literary Club and the Grand. Rapids Woman's Club, the West Side Ladies' Literary Club and the Saint Cecilia (musical) Society, all made up exclusively of women, own clubhouses. The Young Men's Christian Association owns and occupies a building that cost $250,000. The Grand Rapids Association of Commerce has 1,400 members.
Parks and The city has John Ball Park of 137 acres, the original 40 acres being the gift of John Ball; the Antoine Campau park of four acres, the gift of Martin A. Ryer son; Highland Park, 34 acres; Lincoln Park, 15 acres,• Fulton Street Park and 25 other small parks, playgrounds and squares making a total, of about 400 acres. Comstock Park of 100' acres, north of the city, is owned by the West Michigan Fair Association. Reed's Lake, three miles east of the city, and North Park, near the Soldiers' Home, are popular nearby summer resorts. The Lake Michigan resorts at Sauga tuck, Holland, Grand Haven and Muskegon are one hour away by rail.
Public Utility.—The city owns its own waterworks, with •Grand River as a source of supply; a filtration plant, ensuring an abundant supply of pure water and 229 miles of mains of all sizes; it also owns its own electric-lighting plant (furnishing light for some of the city buildings, city hall, library and schools), gar bage burner and market. Seven bridges
owned by the city span the river, two being of concrete construction and four of steel. Com mercial lighting is furnished by the Grand Rapids Gas Light Company and the Consumers Power Company (electric), each company hav ing a monopoly in its field.
Government—Municipal affairs are con ducted by a mayor, elected for a term of two years, and a council of 24 aldermen, two from each ward elected for two-year terms, half re tiring each year. The fire and police depart ments, the health, the poor and the public works and parks are under the control of boards appointed by the mayor. The schools are under a board of nine members elected by the people, and the library and museum under a board of five members, also elected. The as sessed valuation in 1916 was $163,726,341. On 29 Aug. 1916 the electorate approved a new city charter which provides for • commission manager form of government, with seven com missioners, two elected from each of three districts by the city at large, and one chosen from the city at large. The city commission selects a city manager, who appoints a director of public service, a director of public safety and a director of public welfare. The city manager, with these three directors, exercise all of the administrative functions of the city, subject to the supervision and regulation of the city commission. The commission selects one of its members as mayor. This charter be came effective the first Monday in May 1917.
History.—In 1826 Louis Campau established an Indian trading station here and in 1831, after the government survey, made the first entry of land. The first permanent settlement was made in 1833 by the Dexter Colony, of about 60 persons, which came from Herkimer County, N. Y. Grand Rapids was incorporated as a village in 1838 and as a city in 1850.
Population.— The Federal census of 1910 gave 112,571 which made Grand Rapids the 44th city in the United States. Estimated pop ulation 130,000 in 1917.