GRAND RAPIDS, Mich. — Starting in September, a new tour in Grand Rapids will highlight historically significant spaces in the Third Ward.
“We believe that the stories that come from the Third Ward are the ones that are lost most quickly,” Executive Director for the Grand Rapids African American Museum and Archives George Bayard III said.
The Third Ward is the most diverse in the city. Bayard is helping put together the tour.
“Our task is to bring alive the people, places and events in the Third Ward district of Grand Rapids and tell those stories in the form of a tour,” Bayard said.
Bayard says so far, 50 different spaces have been identified. They include places like Ted Rasberry Field on Jefferson.
“Ted Rasberry was a Negro League player here. Owner, player and manager,” Bayard said.
Also on the list is Brown's Funeral Home. The former South High School will also be highlighted.
“It was a place where many of the people in the neighborhood went to school. Gerald R. Ford of course went to South High School. But it was also a place, in 1968, that was closed down and had forced busing where students from South were bused all the way over to Union High School. So there was a lot of consternation and disruption in that regard. But it tells a story," Bayard said.
They're also working to showcase the spot where this image was taken.
“It used to be called the Black People’s Free Store. It was a place where people would come, barter, pick up things like books or diapers,” Bayard said.
The tour will take the form of QR codes and plaques and, in some cases, kiosks.
“If you look around the city, the First Ward and the Second Ward have had lots of money poured into those areas. They’re upgrading the housing and business districts. And the Third Ward is the last one to come to fruition,” Bayard said.
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