20th-Century Retailing in Downtown Grand Rapids

By Marianne Weldon and Michael Hauser

Book Overview

Grand Rapids, Michigan was the center for shopping in western Michigan with department stores, five-and-dimes and more, until the advent of the shopping mall.

For decades, downtown Grand Rapids enjoyed a long run in the limelight as the epicenter of shopping in western Michigan. The vibrant Monroe Avenue corridor included three homegrown department stores, several chain department stores, five-and-dime stores, and scores of clothing and specialty retailers. It weathered mother nature, wars, the Great Depression, the advent of neighborhood shopping centers, and civil disturbances--but the one change it could not overcome was the regional shopping mall.

• Format: Paperback
• Language: English
• ISBN: 1467112569
• ISBN13: 9781467112567
• Release Date: October 2014
• Publisher: Arcadia Publishing (SC)
• Length: 128 Pages
• Weight: 0.91 lbs.
• Dimensions: 0.4" x 6.6" x 9.3"