Grand Rapids Public Museum

The Roger B. Chaffee Planetarium, named for astronaut Roger B. Chaffee, was constructed in the early 1960s as part of the Public Museum of Grand Rapids. The facility initially featured a 30-foot (9.1 m) plaster dome and a Goto Optics mechanical star projector. Among the planetarium's first shows was "Star of Wonder", an astronomical attempt at an explanation of the Star of Bethlehem. The show received positive reviews in the Grand Rapids area and remained in the Chaffee's catalogue for several years. The Chaffee, then known as the Planetarium of the Public Museum of Grand Rapids, came under the curatorship of David L. DeBruyn in 1964. A young man fresh out of college at the University of Michigan, DeBruyn helped found the Great Lakes Planetarium Association in 1965, hosting the first meeting in Grand Rapids. In 1967 the theater was dedicated as the Roger B. Chaffee Planetarium, following the death of the astronaut in the Apollo 1 mission. During the late 1960s the Grand Rapids Amateur Astronomical Association began a project to construct a new dark sky observatory in the Grand Rapids area. A site was leased to them on Kissing Rock Hill and the James C. Veen Observatory was constructed by the Association members, with some support from the Public Museum and Chaffee Planetarium. Today the Veen remains tied to the museum and the Chaffee. In 1994 the planetarium was relocated to a new facility, along with the entire museum, where it would feature a new 50-foot (15 m) aluminum dome and the state-of the art projection system: a prototype of the Evans and Sutherland Digistar II digital star projector, running on Digistar software. Within a few years this was upgraded to software for Digistar II. The system also features three Sony video projectors, a Barco video projector, scores of Kodak ektagraphic slide projectors and even more special effect projectors and devices. The planetarium is well known for its many educational programs, as well as its unique library of laser light shows, many programmed at the Chaffee itself, making use of the unique effects of the Chaffee and innovative and original Digistar programming. Visiting the Planetarium is a popular activity for students of all ages in Grand Rapids and across Michigan, from preschoolers who learn about the cycles of day and night, to elementary students studying the Solar System and stars, up to high schoolers and even college students focused on the more mysterious wonders of the universe. The Chaffee also draws in visitors to its educational public shows, especially its informal "Under Starlit Skies" descriptive astronomy lectures and spectacular laser light shows. The Chaffee remains a member of the Great Lakes Planetarium Association, and as of 1995 began hosting conferences on the decennial anniversaries. David L. DeBruyn officially retired after forty years of curatorship in 2003, and still serves in an advisory capacity as a volunteer. In 2014 the planetarium received a 1.2 million dollar upgrade.

The JW Marriott Grand Rapids is a hotel located in downtown Grand Rapids, Michigan. It was the first JW Marriott Hotel in the Midwest and is the sixth tallest building in Grand Rapids. Its theme is based on Grand Rapids's sister cities: Omihachiman, Japan; Bielsko-Biala, Poland; Perugia, Italy; Ga District, Ghana; and Zapopan, Mexico. When the hotel was first opened, Amway Hotel Corporation hired photographer Dan Watts to travel to each of the sister cities and photograph them for the property. Each floor of the hotel features photography from one of the cities and is unique to that floor. The property was identified as the brand's best hotel for customer service in North America for 2008, 2009, and 2014.

The Gerald R. Ford Presidential Museum is the presidential museum and burial place of Gerald Ford, the 38th president of the United States (1974–1977), and his wife Betty Ford. It is located near the Pew Campus of Grand Valley State University in Grand Rapids, Michigan. Ford's presidential museum is the only such facility under the auspices of the National Archives and Records Administration to be separate from the presidential library, which is located approximately 130 miles (210 km) to the east in Ann Arbor. Despite the separation, the library and museum are a single institution with one director.

Amway Grand Plaza Hotel is located in Grand Rapids, Michigan and is named after Amway Corporation, which is based in nearby Ada Township. Originally known as The Pantlind Hotel (founded in 1913), the Amway Grand Plaza Hotel reopened in 1981 after extensive renovations done by Marvin DeWinter & Associates, including the addition of a 29-story glass tower. The Pantlind's designers Warren & Wetmore were inspired by the work of the Scottish neoclassical architect Robert Adam. During its prime years, the hotel was consistently rated as one of the top ten hotels in the US.The hotel is owned by AHC+Hospitality, a subsidiary of Amway's holding company Alticor. Amway Grand Plaza Hotel is a member of the Curio Collection by Hilton, an affiliation which began in 2016.

Celebration on the Grand was a free music festival held in Grand Rapids, Michigan to celebrate the quality of life in the Grand River valley and to act as an unofficial end to the summer for Grand Rapids. It included a fireworks display. The event was held annually on the weekend following Labor Day weekend. Celebration on the Grand (COTG) was organized by a board of directors, committee members and event staff who all volunteer their time. The first Celebration on the Grand took place in 1980 as a part of the events that opened the Gerald R. Ford Presidential Museum, the Amway Grand Plaza Hotel, and the Grand Rapids Art Museum's move to the old Federal Building. Funding was provided by corporate sponsorships, private donations and fund raising activities held by COTG volunteers during the event. In 2015, the Celebration on the Grand organization dissolved, ending the festival after more than 30 years.

Plaza Towers is a mixed-use highrise building in Grand Rapids, Michigan. At 345 feet (105 m), it was the tallest building in the city until the completion of the River House Condominiums in 2008. The building contains apartments on floors 8–14, individually owned condominiums on floors 15–32, and a 214-room Courtyard by Marriott hotel on floors 1–7.

The Exhibitors Building, previously known as the Fine Arts Building, is a commercial office building located at 220 Lyon Street NW in Grand Rapids, Michigan, adjacent to the Amway Grand Plaza Hotel. It was listed on the National Register of Historic Places in 1982.

Welsh Auditorium also known as "Civic Auditorium," was a 3,800-seat multi-purpose arena and convention center in Grand Rapids, Michigan. The front façade and lobby remain today.

The Beckering Family Carillon Tower is a 151-foot-tall (46 m) carillon-clock tower located in Grand Rapids, Michigan, United States on the Pew Campus of Grand Valley State University. The tower and carillon was funded and built by Pioneer Construction in 2000. The Beckering family, for which the tower is named, established Pioneer Construction in 1933.The 48 carillon bells are cast of bronze by the Fonderie Paccard in France, who also installed them within the tower.GVSU also has another carillon, the Cook Carillon Tower, located on the main Allendale campus in Allendale, Michigan.

The Seidman College of Business is an American business school operated by Grand Valley State University. The college is named after Francis E. Seidman, one of the principal founders of the BDO Seidman accounting firm and the father of businessman (and later FDIC Chairman) L. William Seidman, who helped found GVSU. The college is located at GVSU's Pew Grand Rapids campus in downtown Grand Rapids.It offers bachelor's and master's degrees with several degree options. The college is a part of The Washington Campus which is a consortium of business schools that was established by L. William Seidman in 1978.

JAFAX is an annual three day anime convention held during June/July at the Amway Grand Plaza Hotel & DeVos Place in Grand Rapids, Michigan. The convention's full name stands for Japanese Animation Film and Art Expo. JAFAX was previously a two-day event held at Grand Valley State University in Allendale, Michigan and was organized by the university's anime club (Otaku No Anime) and tabletop gaming club (AltReal).

The Goodspeed Brothers Building is a commercial structure located at 188 Monroe Street NW in Grand Rapids, Michigan. It was listed on the National Register of Historic Places in 1980.