Beginning just a few steps south of downtown's busiest intersection, Heartside encompasses art galleries and retail shops along with leading-edge medical facilities and revered spiritual centers. This is where artists come to live and work, where bodies and souls come to heal, and where visitors come to experience a vibrant, diverse community that is rich in history and progressive in spirit.
Where to Eat in Heartside
You’ll find upscale restaurants, casual coffee shops and Asia-inspired eateries in Heartside.
Mingle with local artists, artisans, and art patrons at Avenue for the Arts events throughout the year, including monthly First Fridays.
Visit Heartside Park, a former railyard now equipped with a playground, plash pad, basketball court and picnic tables.
Take a Steeple Chase Running Tour of religious landmarks to learn about the history of churches in Heartside (and throughout downtown) while you burn calories.
Treat your eyes to an incredible diversity of visual delights along Avenue for the Arts - from landmark buildings to public art to a wealth of art galleries. Don't miss the trope l'oeil mural by award winning artist Richard Haas in Pekich Park (at the corner of Cherry Street and Division Avenue).
Grand Rapids is known as a "City of Churches" - get a look at four of our most awe-inspiring sacred spaces:
The classic Byzantine design of St. George Antiochian Orthodox Church, with an austere three-domed exterior opening to a richly decorated interior worship space.
The iconic steeple of LaGrave Avenue Christian Reformed Church, which is an uncovered, exposed structural framework meant to represent the unfinished work of Christ.
The rusticated red sandstone exterior of Seventh-Day Adventist Church, which combines a Byzantine aesthetic with some items of Greek and Roman influence.
Local Heartside Favorites
Rumors Nightclub, a longtime favorite of the LBGTQ community, offers dancing and entertainment seven nights a week.
Rockwell Republic is an award-winning gastropub with a three-season screened-in lounge and elevated outdoor beer garden.
Heartside Hidden Gems
Cathedral Square is a three-block Italian-style piazza modeled after Michelangelo's Piazza del Campidoglio in Rome.
Haute at New Hotel Mertens is a rooftop lounge serving up French food and spectacular views of the city skyline.
