March 18, 2015

A Look Back at Grand Rapids in 1908

Take a look back at Grand Rapids in 1908, with a photo from Canal St. and Monroe intersection. Compare the vintage photo with today’s Google Street View. Discover the historical changes in the city with this insightful article.

Posted in 1900s, Grand Rapids, Michigan, United States

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We put out a request over the weekend for some city suggestions. Below is what we received from Brad (aka, @Booyahcacha).

@CoolOldPhotos one of the 3 cities should be @ExperienceGR Grand Rspids, MI @CityGrandRapids @GRACC @grbj @grmagazine
— Booyahcacha © (@Booyahcacha) March 14, 2015

Well, here is a cool one that we dug up of Grand Rapids from 1908. You’re looking down Canal St., which was renamed Monroe. It looks like we are looking north from today’s intersection of Monroe and Pearl. Take a look at the Google Street View below.

Grand Rapids, Michigan, circa 1908. “Canal Street from corner of Monroe.” Merchants vying for your trade include The Giant, Idlehour and People’s Credit Clothing Co. 8×10 glass negative, Detroit Publishing Company.

Source: Shorpy

This is what we see on Google Street View today.

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