Retrovision

Everything old is new again, and with the continued restoration of old buildings downtown, Grand Rapids has been digging into its past to form its future. Here is some old school vintage Grand Rapids stuff I found online that you can gift to the GR lover in your family.

A film student with a brand new camcorder captured nine minutes of life at a late night 7-Eleven. It will make you recall a simpler time before cell phones when we talked into rear view mirrors (?) and guzzled Slurpees.

This is a great look back to a time long ago. Not only are there giant cars parked outside a downtown business (remember 'Art and Design Center'?), but also have some great shots of Festival in its early years.

In 1939, color film was rare, and even more so for home film like this, which was shot by a fan in the stands.

If you grew up in Michigan, there are certain experiences we all shared, regardless of what city or town you grew up in. See how many things you did on our list.

Remember when you could kill an hour easy just perusing the Radio Shack at the Woodland Mall while you waited for your Mom and sister to get done school shopping? Radio Shack put a bunch of stuff found in their offices up for grabs on the internet. So if you need a 1984 answering machine or a drawer full of remotes, this is the place to go.

This preserved home movie from 1946 touts our hometown as a 'Good Place To Live'. It still is.

Perhaps you used it as a landmark to figure out which entrance you came in, or maybe you and your hood rat friends hung out near it when you were teenagers. Either way, you remembered the big circular sculpture that adorned the center of the Woodland Mall. It was taken out of the Mall on Sunday, destined for an unknown location downtown.

There used to be a stock car racing track in Grand Rapids on the Northwest side near where the White Pine Trail starts along US 131. Here's some old 8mm film footage of some racing from 1951.

This 1910 promotional film touting the Grand Rapids area shows that while we've changed in some ways over the past 106 years, in others ways, we're still the same.

Remember the Top of the Rock on Alpine? Mr. Fables? Daryl Nathan? All these memories are now wrapped up for you as a gift tees from our friend and '80s aficionado Jef Leppard. Now what are you waiting for?

I've argued the point here that 1984 may have been one of the greatest years for pop music in American history, and when compiling this list, it kind of confirms my point. When songs like Night Ranger's 'Sister Christian', ZZ Top's 'Legs' and Scandal's 'The Warrior' can't even come close to cracking the Top Ten Summer Songs list from that year, it had to have been a good summer for tunes. Read Mor