20th Century Retailing in Downtown Grand Rapids
20th Century Retailing in Downtown Grand Rapids (Images of America) by Michael Hauser, Marianne Weldon
English | October 27, 2014 | ISBN: 1531670032, 1467112569 | True EPUB | 128 pages | 64.9 MB
English | October 27, 2014 | ISBN: 1531670032, 1467112569 | True EPUB | 128 pages | 64.9 MB
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.