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Postcards ➔ Set, Postcard
Identifier:
2011.54.1Description:
20 small pictures of Grand Rapids, Michigan contained in a small package with "20 Miniature Views" written across the top and a place for a stamp and address. They contain 20 different black and white shots of landmarks in Grand Rapids which are each identified. They are: John Ball Zoo's Weeping Willow and Rustic Bridge, Masonic Country Club, Lower Monroe Avenue, City Hall, Ramona Park, Mount Mercy Academy, Monroe Ave, Fulton Street Fountain, Fulton Street Park, Ramona Park's Dancing Pavilion, North Park Pavilion at Night, Grand Rapids Boat and Canoe Club, Regent Theatre, Wealthy St. Baptist Temple, Blodgett Hospital and Nurses' Home, John Ball Park Zoo and Entrance, The Dam, B.P.O.E. Building, Sligh Furniture Co.;This set of photographs contains small photographs of many important sites in Grand Rapids that would have been visited by tourists in the early 20th century. The set itself was likely purchased by tourists, as a memento or souvenir of their trip to Grand Rapids. It is instructive to see what types of destinations were being promoted to tourists in the 1920s.;Each card reads a different landmark: John Ball Park's Zoo, Weeping Willow and Rustic Bridge, Masonic Country Club, Lower Monroe Avenue, City Hall, Ramona Park, Mount Mercy Academy, Monroe Ave, Fulton Street Fountain, Fulton Street Park, Ramona Park's Dancing Pavilion, North Park Pavilion at Night, Grand Rapids Boat and Canoe Club, Regent Theatre, Wealthy St. Baptist Temple, Blodgett Hospital and Nurses' Home, John Ball Park Zoo and Entrance, The Dam, B.P.O.E. Building, Sligh Furniture Co. Also the package reads: 20 Miniature Views/Stamp Here and To.Date:
circa 1920Materials:
Paper, CardboardCurrent Location Status:
In StorageCollection Tier:
Tier 2Source:
Gift Of Mary WisnewskiRelated Entities:
Mary Wisnewski (donor) Andrea Melvin (identified by) Ramona Park (is related to)Ramona Park was an amusement park located on the western shore of Reeds Lake in East Grand Rapids, Michigan from 1903-1954. Thousands of families visited each year until the 1950s, when gasoline for cars became more available, and people began vacationing elsewhere. The park was owned and operated originally by the Grand Rapids Street Railway Company, and also after it became the Grand Rapids Motor Coach Company. It featured attractions such as the Jack Rabbit Derby Racer roller coaster, merry-go-round, fun house, mystic chutes, Ferris wheel, bumper cars, rocket swings and a miniature train. The park also included the Ramona Theatre which hosted vaudeville shows, musicals, silent film shorts, and favorite local and national entertainers. Ramona Gardens was initially a dance hall which, in the late 1930s, hosted the best of the big bands, and in 1942, became a roller skating rink.