Midtown

Wedged between Heritage Hill, East Hills, and Fulton Heights, this square of the near-east side runs from I-196 down to Fulton Street and from Union Avenue over to Fuller — close enough to downtown to walk, far enough to keep its own texture. The bones are industrial and Dutch: brickyards worked the clay along the city's eastern edge from the 1850s on, and by the 1890s three brick-and-tile makers had consolidated here, leaving behind a district dense with the kind of close-set houses a 1901 newspaper compared to a beehive. That density still reads on the ground, in blocks of older homes packed tight along a tidy grid. The everyday landmarks are within easy reach. The Fulton Street Farmers Market — the city's largest source of fresh local produce — sits on park land at the neighborhood's heart, alongside a historic brick building. Houseman Field hosts games and track events, and the Fulton Street Cemetery, the oldest public cemetery in Grand Rapids, spreads its old-growth trees and worn headstones along the southern edge. Midtown breaks down into smaller named pockets — Brikyaat carries the brickyard name, while Old East End, The Woods, and North of Market each have their own feel. Schools fall within Grand Rapids Public Schools. It is a walkable, tightly platted stretch of the city where the industrial past is still legible in the brick underfoot. To read about the neighborhood association and the civic events that run through it, see the Midtown association page.