Our Fair City: The Grand Rapids Calder

By Alayna Kent

For many of us here at Northview, Grand Rapids is the place where we were born and raised and has always been our home, which is why it is hard to recognize how fun of a place it is to grow up in. Grand Rapids is a cool city to live in with Art Prize, the John Ball Zoo, Frederick Meijer Gardens and the weird sculptures all over downtown. A favorite of many city-dwellers is the La Grande Vitesse, commonly known as the Calder.

Located between Michigan and Lyon Streets, the Calder Plaza is a popular spot to visit. The squiggly red sculpture may not look like much, but having the piece here is actually a privilege. Alexander Calder, a now well known artist credited as the inventor of the mobile, came to Grand Rapids in 1969. In 1967 Grand Rapids set out to restore what used to be the north side and was looking for something to fill up the space. According to Mlive.com, a visitor to the city informed the head of the newly formed federal National Endowment for the Arts, which was aimed at bringing the arts to cities all across the country. Our beloved Calder was commissioned for $134,000, from a new up-and-coming artist: Mr. Alexander Calder. 

Montreal, Canada has a Calder similar to ours, as well as Spoleto, Italy, Mexico City, and many others. By the time Alexander Calder died, he had created hundreds of thousands of sculptures and other forms of artwork for people all across the globe to enjoy. The fact that we have here one of his famous pieces is remarkable.

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