Grand Rapids, Michigan: Meijer Gardens and Sculpture Park

According to the tour guide, the Meijer company - which has a chain of markets in the Midwest - had a piece of land that it wanted to use for a store. However, the neighborhood didn't particularly like the idea.

In response, the company was willing to turn the land into a site for gardens. Company president Frederik Meijer insisted on using the sculpture that was sitting in the equivalent of garages to fill up the space.

The idea went over well, and the Frederik Meijer Gardens and Sculpture Park was created. And it's wonderful. You'd have to call it a world-class facility, and no doubt is the pride of Grand Rapids. The gardens don't take up a large percentage of the space, in a sense. Most of the land is devoted to showing off the sculpture, and it's an impressive collection.

The signature piece of the place is shown here. "American Horse" is given its own little plaza; you can see its size when compared to the people nearby. Kudos to Nina Akamu for the work here.

It's not fair to show only one piece of work from the place, but that's my format. A video will give you a better tour.

 

As of this writing, the facility has acquired more land and is figuring out what to do with it. My guess is that it will be used for more enclosed gardens, so that it can become even more of an all-season attraction. But it's really, really good as it is. You should go out of your way to see it.

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