This is the City I remember as depicted  in City Four Square by Reynold Weidenaar as "Urban Renewal" was destroying it.

This is the City before Urban Renewal from Heart and Soul by Linda Samuels.

This is where I played many times as a child. I remember all these buildings although the old Butterworth Hospital was being used as a residence hall for nurses. The homes and apartment houses still existed. People lived downtown.

The police department (not shown) was just east of the Brewery and they used the abandoned brewery building as a parking garage and to house alcoholics which I found to be quite amusing.

Division Avenue was extended north of Michigan street about 1929. It replaced a dead-end street which name I can' t recall.

This shows the approximate route of the freeway. Everything but Immanuel Lutheran is gone.

Everything but Immanuel Lutheran Church is gone. And now even what replaced everything is gone too. I can remember what used to be before what just got torn down. LOL

Division Avenue was re-routed along side Ionia Avenue under an overpass to make room for on and off ramps. 

This photo from Heart & Soul shows the destruction of downtown.

A close up postcard view looking east from about 1916.

.The "I" above Immanuel Lutheran shows the only building in this postcard that still exists.

I have tried to impact every source with corrections or comments so everything on this site is copywrited. The information may be used for your project but the source must be cited.

From Heading History and the City of GrandRapids

From web site:  MyCityofGrandRapids.info