Monument Park unveils new renovations

GRAND RAPIDS, Mich. -- Nearly $1 million worth of renovations were unveiled at Monument Park in a ribbon-cutting ceremony on Thursday.
The Civil War monument has stood at the corner of Fulton and Division since 1885.
It’s the first Civil War monument honoring the efforts of women - along with the first to include a fountain.
The renovations were made possible by the City of Grand Rapids and Downtown Grand Rapids, Inc.
They include the relocation and refurbishment of the monument, new walkways, site furniture, signs, and landscaping.
Mayor Heartwell was at the ceremony, along with several Civil War reenactors, who say Monument Park is truly the center of Grand Rapids.
"It’s primarily seen the city grow up around it," local historian Bruce Butgereit says, "and yet this little triangle of land has stayed here - and since 1885 has included the Civil War monument and a place for people to gather and to memorialize the Civil War and those that died."
A new United States flag raised at Monument Park has only 35 stars - just as the flag was 150 years ago during the Civil War.