| Holland, Michigan | |
|---|---|
| — City — | |
| Nickname(s): The Tulip City | |
| Location of Holland within Ottawa County, Michigan | |
| Coordinates: | |
| Country | United States |
| State | Michigan |
| Counties | Ottawa, Allegan |
| Government | |
| • Mayor | Kurt Dykstra (R) |
| Area | |
| • City | 17 sq mi (44.5 km2) |
| • Land | 16.6 sq mi (42.9 km2) |
| • Water | 0.6 sq mi (1.6 km2) |
| Elevation | 662 ft (202 m) |
| Population (2010) | |
| • City | 33,051 |
| • Density | 2,115.3/sq mi (816.7/km2) |
| • Urban | 95,394 |
| • Metro | 263,801 |
| Time zone | EST (UTC-5) |
| • Summer (DST) | EDT (UTC-4) |
| ZIP codes | 49422-49424 |
| Area code(s) | 616,269 |
| FIPS code | 26-38640[1] |
| GNIS feature ID | 0628421[2] |
| Website | www.cityofholland.com www.enjoyhollandmichigan.com |
Holland is a city in the western region of the Lower Peninsula of the U.S. state of Michigan. It is situated near the eastern shore of Lake Michigan on Lake Macatawa, which is fed by the Macatawa River (also known locally as the Black River).
The city spans the Ottawa/Allegan county line, with 9.08 square miles (23.52 km2) in Ottawa and the remaining 8.13 square miles (21.06 km2) in Allegan. As of the 2010 census, the population was 33,051[3], with an Urbanized Area population of 109,394.[4]
The city is the largest municipality of the Holland-Grand Haven Metropolitan Statistical Area and the seventh largest metro area in the state of Michigan, with a population of 263,801 as of the 2010 census.[5] Holland was founded by Dutch Americans, and is in an area that has a large percentage of citizens of Dutch American heritage.
It is home to Hope College and Western Theological Seminary, institutions of the Reformed Church in America.
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Holland was settled in 1847 by Dutch Calvinist separatists, under the leadership of Dr. Albertus van Raalte, who were escaping from persecution in the Netherlands.[6] An alternative explanation for Van Raalte's and his followers' motivation to emigrate is their opposition to scientific and social advances (e.g., contraception, vaccination, insurance, chemical fertilizers) and their resulting failure to thrive under the economic and agricultural conditions of the time in their homeland (Zeeland, Netherlands).[7]
Van Raalte took the land due to its proximity to the Black River where it streamed to Black Lake (now Lake Macatawa) which, in turn, led to Lake Michigan. At the time, the land was inhabited by the Ottawa people who had been on the lake for hundreds of years.
In Holland's early history, Van Raalte was a spiritual leader, as well as overseeing political, educational and financial matters. In 1847 Van Raalte established a congregation of the Reformed Church in America, which would later be called the First Reformed Church of Holland. On March 25, 1867,[8][9] Holland was incorporated as a city with Isaac Cappon being the city's first mayor. The city suffered a major fire on October 8–9, 1871, the same time as the Great Chicago Fire in Illinois and the very deadly Peshtigo Fire in Wisconsin. Manistee and Port Huron, Michigan also burned.
Holland was known as the "City of Churches."[10] There are 170 churches in Holland, many of which are with the Reformed Church in America and Christian Reformed Church in North America denominations. The city is the home to the church that started the trend of the "What Would Jesus Do?" bracelets in 1989.[11] In 1987, a 23-year-old City Council member Phil Tanis was elected mayor of Holland, becoming its youngest mayor while he was still a Hope College student.
The city is perhaps best known for its Dutch heritage, which serves not only as a part of the city's cultural identity, but the local economy as well: the Tulip Time Festival in May and various Dutch-themed attractions augment the nearby Lake Michigan shoreline in attracting thousands of tourists annually.
The Holland Museum contains exhibits about the city's history. Another, the Cappon House Museum, was built in 1874 and is a historic museum that once housed the first mayor of Holland, Dutch immigrant Isaac Cappon. The Settlers House Museum, a building that survived the great fire, contains furnishings and relics from the 19th Century. Holland's downtown is listed in the National Register of Historic Places. The "Snowmelt Project" established pipes transporting warm water from the nearby power plant to travel underneath downtown with the purpose of clearing the streets and sidewalks in the downtown area of any snow. Nearby Holland State Park is a Michigan State Park.
Across the channel is the Holland Harbor Light, known as "Big Red", a lighthouse in Michigan. De Zwaan, an original 250-year-old Dutch windmill, is situated on Windmill Island, a municipal park. Its height is 125 feet (38 m) with 40-foot (12 m) sails. Holland boasts an annual Fiesta, organized by Latin Americans United for Progress, usually on the Saturday closest to May 5 (Cinco de Mayo). Holland is also host to the annual Tulipanes Latino Art & Film Festival, which is held to celebrate the Latino contribution to the culture. Holland is home to the world's largest pickle factory. The H.J. Heinz Company has operated the factory at the same location since 1897 and currently processes over 1 million pounds of pickles per day during the green season. Holland was the birthplace of Slashdot, an influential early Internet weblog created by Hope College student Rob "CmdrTaco" Malda. CNN Money named Holland as one of the top five places to retire in 2006.[12]
In 2010, Holland was ranked the 2nd healthiest/happiest town in the United States by the Well-being Index.[13]
Each May Holland hosts an annual Tulip Time Festival. Tulip planting and the festival began in 1930 when 250,000 tulips were planted for the event.[14] Currently six million tulips are used throughout the city. Tulips are planted along many city streets, in city parks and outside municipal buildings as well as at tourist attractions like Dutch Village, the city-owned Windmill Island Gardens, and at a large tulip farm named Veldheer Tulip Gardens. It is normally held the second week of May, right when the numerous tulips planted around the town are blooming.
About one million tourists visit Tulip Time each year, for which the community finds innovative ways to enhance self-funded projects. It has been ranked as America's third largest town festival and was named Reader's Digest's best small town festival.[15] The Tulip Time Festival has attracted big name acts in recent years such as: Christina Aguilera in 2000, O-Town in 2001, The Verve Pipe in 2004, and Jars of Clay in 2006. Ed McMahon visited Tulip Time in 2007 along with Bobby Vinton.
Holland is on the shores of Lake Michigan and Lake Macatawa. Scattered along the shoreline are many public beach accesses. The best known are Holland State Park and Tunnel Park. Smaller beaches along Lake Michigan are present but not well marked. Public accesses are frequent along dead-end streets bordering the shoreline.
Riley Trails consists of approximately 10 acres (40,000 m2) of public land about 3 country blocks west of the Riley St. and Butternut Dr. intersection. Trail maps mark the entrance and features four routes (A, B, C, and V—V). The park also features a large pond.
As of the census[1] of 2005-2007, there were 32,030 people, 29,089 households, and 7,756 families residing in the city. The population density was 1,929.5 per square mile (746.6 per km2). There were 13,059 housing units at an average density of 786.7 per sq mi (304.4 per km2). The racial makeup of the city was 80.1% White, 1.3% African American, 0.7% Native American, 3.0% Asian, 0.0% Pacific Islander, 13.6% from other races, and 2.3% from two or more races. Hispanic or Latino of any race were 22.0% of the population.
There were 11,401 households out of which 33.3% had children under the age of 18 living with them, 75.2% were married couples living together, 3.1% had a female householder with no husband present, and 23.2% were non-families. 26.6% of all households are made up of individuals, and 9.6% had someone living alone who was 65 years of age or older. The average household size was 2.55 and the average family size was 3.08.
The age distribution of the city is as follows: 23.6% of the population was under the age of 18, 62.6% between the ages of 18 and 65, and 13.8% who were 65 years of age or older. The median age was 31 years. The distribution of males and females was 51.4% female and 48.6% male.
The median income for a household in the city was $81,111, and the median income for a family was $101,889. Males had a median income of $80,637 versus $48,167 for females. The per capita income for the city was $80,020. About 2.2% of families and 3.4% of the population were below the poverty line, including 2.1% of those under age 18 and 4.7% of those age 65 or over.
The City of Holland utilizes a council/manager form of government. The day-to-day operations of the city are under the supervision of the City Manager and his/her staff. The City Manager is responsible for selecting all department heads, preparation of the budget and supervision of all employees through his/her appointments. The city manager serves at the direction of the Mayor and city council which are elected position. The current city manager (since 1988) is Soren Wolff, who also served as assistant city manager in the mid 1970s. The current assistant city manager is Greg Robinson. In the spring of 2011, Wolff announced his intentions to retire that September. Over the summer, Robinson was named interim city manager until a permanent replacement could be found.
Holland's city charter requires a mayor and eight city council members. The Mayor serves a two-year term, while two "at large" council members and six "ward" council members each serve four-year terms.
The current Mayor is Kurt D. Dykstra, recently elected in 2009 to replace long-serving mayor, Albert H. McGeehan. Prior to becoming Mayor, Dykstra was a five-year member of the Holland City Council, representing the city's fifth ward. He is a partner at Warner Norcross & Judd LLP, a Grand Rapids, Michigan-based law firm. He earned his juris doctorate from Marquette University Law School and received his bachelor's degree from Northwestern College, in Orange City, Iowa, graduating magna cum laude.
The city is serviced by two public airports, the recreational Park Township Airport (IATA: HLM, ICAO: KHLM), and the larger, corporate and charter jet West Michigan Regional Airport (IATA: BIV, ICAO: KBIV). Neither facility is served by regularly scheduled commercial carriers. The city also is served by regularly scheduled Amtrak service (the Pere Marquette) east to Grand Rapids and west to Chicago with connections to all points east and west.
The city and surrounding area is served by the MAX (Macatawa Area Express) transportation system, which offers both on-demand and fixed-route bus service, linking different parts of the city as well as commercial, medical and government locations outside the city. This service evolved from the former "Dial-A-Ride Transportation" (DART) system.
The city is served by the following highways:
The channel between Lake Macatawa and Lake Michigan allows pleasure craft and commercial boats, even bulk freighters, to access Holland's docks to unload coal, salt and iron scrap.
| Logo | Club | Sport | League | Venue | Championships |
| Holland Blast | Basketball | International Basketball League | Holland Civic Center | None | |
| Hope College Flying Dutchmen football | College football | Michigan Intercollegiate Athletic Association | Holland Municipal Stadium |
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