Archives & Photos
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Photo Sleuth for March
Service with a smile! Please help us identify the staff of the Colony Restaurant, located at 209 Monroe Avenue. The image is part of our Robinson Studio Collection (#125), taken December 12, 1946. This image is just one honoring the unsung women workers in Grand Rapids.
The Local History Department and Archives needs your help in identifying the people in this photo. If you know any of these people please contact us and let us know!
Archives
The Archives, together with the Grand Rapids Local History & Genealogy Collection, form one of the largest collections of local and family history material in the state of Michigan. Included are more than 30,000 books and periodicals, plus holdings on microfilm. Collecting emphasis is on the Grand Rapids and Kent County area, with additional sources on Western Michigan, Michigan and the Old Northwest. County and state histories, atlases & maps, family histories & biographical information, census data, city directories, local newspapers on microfilm, and vertical files are just some of the items to be found.
Additionally, the Archives contain over 300 collections,including more than a million photographs and negatives, as well as original letters, business documents, videos, and other types of data related to area families, businesses & organizations. The Archival Collections are secured in a temperature & humidity control storage area.
Finding Aids
Over 360 finding aids make up the bulk of the Archives of the Grand Rapids Public Library.
A finding aid is a description of an archival collection, usually containing a history of the person or organization that produced the collection and an inventory of its contents.
Photos
Over a million local photographic images document pivotal events and daily life in West Michigan during the past one hundred fifty years.
Photo Essays
Photo Essays - Series of photos highlighting items from our collection.
Robinson Index
The Robinson Studio Collection (#125) is the largest archival collection held by the Grand Rapids History & Special Collections Department Archives. It contains more than 950,000 black & white negatives, with some accompanying photographic prints, containing Grand Rapids views, news, businesses & peoples from the 1930's to the 1960's.
Some indexing of this collection is available.
A sampling of this collection is available in our Online Photo Collection
Research
Due to the time and staff resources involved in researching answers to local history , genealogy, and furniture questions, some fees apply to certain types of requests.
Family history queries are answered by the Western Michigan Genealogical Society research committee for a fee of $15.00 per hour of research.
Michigan and Grand Rapids history research questions are answered by the Local History Department staff at a rate of $30.00 per hour. Copying charges are extra. Indexed obituaries are charged as follows: no charge for the first requested obituary, with any request beyond one obituary to be charged based on the library's research rate of $30.00 per hour. Non-indexed obituaries are charged at the hourly research rate.
Contact Information
The Local History Department may be reached by phone at 616-988-5400. Requests for both the Western Michigan Genealogy Society and the Local History Department may be sent here: Contact the Grand Rapids History and Special Collections Department
