Grand River Waterfront (Grand Rapids)

The city named itself after the rapids, then spent more than a century burying them. The Restore the Rapids project — more than fifteen years in the making, announced in a 2013 State of the State address — aims to bring whitewater back to downtown Grand Rapids. As of mid-2025, construction on the Lower Reach was finally slated to begin, while Lyon Square, a new $12 million riverfront park near the Amway Grand Plaza Hotel, had just opened. The river is still becoming what the city always promised it would be.