Highland Park

Squeezed into roughly one square mile on the northeast side of Grand Rapids, this Highland Park sits between Leonard Street to the north and I-196 to the south, with College and Fuller Avenues framing its west and east edges — not to be confused with the Highland Park near Detroit. The namesake park anchors the area and predates most of the houses around it: laid out in 1873 by Alpinus and Melvill Bissell along with Benjamin Harland, it started at about 3.5 acres and grew to roughly 30, and today holds a swimming pool, a baseball diamond, and a soccer field. A short distance off, Eastern Park adds a basketball court and paved walking trails. The setting is one of edges and vantage points. To the west lies the Belknap Lookout neighborhood and Lookout Park, which opens onto views of the Grand River and downtown. To the north sits the Kent Country Club with its 18-hole course. The highway to the south puts the rest of the city within a quick drive, and a cluster of food spots — including a 24-hour diner — sits just across I-196. The blocks themselves are close-grained and walkable, the housing a mix of older frame houses on modest lots, the kind of stock that fills in a compact grid platted generations ago. Because the neighborhood is bounded on two sides by a highway and a major street, its interior stays largely residential, with the parks doing the heavy lifting for open space. To learn about the neighborhood association, the annual cleanups, and the local history documentary, see the Highland Park association page.