People in West Michigan are
proud of their communities,
so 13 is on your side of town,
showing off what makes those places special.
Today we're heading out by Lake MI to
a growing city that's rich in history.
Muskegon Thirteens on your side of town.
Hi you guys we've got a lot to cover
about Muskegon in the next 90 minutes.
Lots of amazing things that are happening
in this very special Lakeshore community.
We wanna start with the Muskegon
Museum of Art. You know it's very
well known for its collection of
American and European paintings.
It also, as you know, hosts many events,
educational programs but it is starting
to experience a few growing pains.
It has more art than it has space
to display it as 1300 sides.
Charlie Tinker explains how it fits
into the city's growth strategy.
We've
amassed or the passenger 10 years
one of the nicest collections and
irreplaceable collection of fine
art and culture growing and thriving
since the turn of the last century.
Opened in 1912 and now rivaling some
of the best museums in the Midwest.
We have about 5000 pieces in the
collection without nearly enough
room to put everything on display,
we can get out in our small building,
maybe
150 pieces on a good day,
so hence we're expanding,
doubling in size and despite those
now familiar delays and backlogs
up and down the supply chain.
Muskegon Museum of Art.
Executive director Herk Holman expects
the multimillion dollar expansion
to get underway right on track.
That's really going to change our nature.
This is really going to
make us into a destination.
The buildings for such projects,
since the construction of
a new wing in the 1980s,
is designed to add nearly 20,000
square feet of exhibit space.
The work will extend the museum's
footprint into the current
backlog and the existing alley
toward Clay Street in downtown.
Beyond with integrated public
spaces and a walkable feel,
we're doing 3 big galleries in the
new museum. One will be very large.
Galleries working, you know,
drive a truck into an unload.
Livability is really planned
into the expansion.
Working with the city,
we're going to put a public Plaza out front.
The expanded space will also
feature several smaller galleries,
a rooftop terrace as well as basement
storage for pieces not currently on display.
As for the museum's historic
turn of the century facade,
that won't be touched during the renovation.
Instead,
Holman says the original building
will become a permanent exhibit space.
This town's taken it on the
chin for a long time.
Now we're coming back and
this whole collection.
This institution and the Symphony,
et cetera, et cetera.
This was created out of whole
cloth from the people of Muskegon.
This is what
this town's capable of doing. Absolutely
you guys. You know it was just about
three years ago I introduced you to a
young lady who had just opened up a very
cool business here in downtown Muskegon.
The crew was a very unique
concept this Saturday.
It's her three-year anniversary.
You want to see how things are
going and say hello to Emily. Good
to see you good to see you too. Three years.
Yes no I can't it went by so fast
you had just given birth to a
beautiful baby boy and you've given
birth to this really cool concept.
This yeah like man, cave,
Barber shop and you've been through,
you know we've been through a pandemic.
We've been through a lot of stuff.
But you're doing
OK. Yes, we're doing great.
We're the community has been such
a great support we've created such
a great reputation for ourselves.
I can't be more thankful
and Muskegon talk about being in Muskegon.
Being a young woman, a business owner,
they've really supported you, haven't they?
Yes, they have. You have.
The community really came through,
and they did everything that they
could with guidelines and all
of that coming back from COVID,
yeah, so it's just been great.
And you having a big party on Saturday,
we're having a big party on Saturday.
Have a local band, some hot we're gonna
grill hot dogs and have some chips.
And yeah it's gonna be expanded some services
too since we first met three years ago.
Yes ladies hair now you get
color now talk about that.
Yep, we do everything so it's not just
straight razor shaves and beard trims.
We also do full color.
We have a color specialist that
just is awesome and we're yeah
we're really loving it great.
Well congratulations.
Thank you so much.
It's great to see you too.
Can't wait OK.
Thank
you. Yeah, after 10
years leading muskegon's
public safety department,
Jeff Lewis is retiring this week.
Today the community had a chance
to say goodbye during an event.
It happened at City Hall.
Lewis is retiring after more than
40 years in law enforcement.
He and recently retired former
city manager Frank Peterson got
a send off at Ficano's yesterday.
I was never
that person that counted the Minutes
or the hours to go to retire,
but it's time. But the sweet part
of it is, is our our police fire inspections
are in really good shape right now
and so I'm so happy for that.
Now Louis hands in his badge on Friday and
he'll be replaced by Captain Andrew Rush,
who will take over on an interim basis.
Richard Hunt is one of the best
known artists of public sculptures.
His welded stainless steel together
rising can be found in the
roundabout at Western Ave and 3rd St.
This 60 foot tall structure has shapes
resembling waves, wings and arms.
One of the nice things
about living in Muskegon.
All the parks there are 34 of
them within the city limits,
with many more in the surrounding area.
A new county park just opened in Muskegon.
It is called Dune Harbor
Park in Norton shores.
It's a new 214 acre park that offers a
natural trail that surrounds an inland
lake so you can get about a just under
A3 mile hike in through forested dunes
that are filled with native plants
and native species telling you this is
going to be a favorite spot for birders.
Number Park open to the public in March,
but there is an official
ribbon cutting next month.
This is phase one of the park.
Phase two opens next year and
it'll include access to 200
feet of Lake MI shoreline.
If you wanna go there,
it's on Seminole Rd near Norton
Hills Rd in Muskegon County.
Michigan's adventure is the largest
amusement park in the state.
The park features a midway with
roller coasters, other rides,
amusements and a full water park. With
a look at what Muskegon might look like
5 years from now, we have seen a lot of
progress in the last few years and as
our Charlie Tinker reports, the city
wants to keep that going.
You know, if you just left Muskegon
5-10 years ago and you just pulled
back into town today, you would be
in for a pretty dramatic reveal.
Not only does downtown
look and feel very different, but
many of those former industrial
areas on the Lakeshore have now also
been cleaned up and have a very
different look and feel to them and
this city over the next 5 to 10 years
is hoping history repeats itself.
Muskegon has really leapfrogged into the
future during the past five to 10 years.
There's been so many changes and
a lot of them are very physical,
so people can see the changes
that are taking place. There
so is that momentum
Muskegon can build on.
It's really helpful to
create a vision in your head
one time deputy, now interim
city manager Leanne Mike Cell.
You know what do you want
your city to look like? And
talking about a recent
formal goal setting exercise,
a yardstick to measure the
progress of the next five years.
Defining what success looks like,
what the priorities are,
and how does any strategy
bear out in the long term.
If you could look at a snapshot of our
downtown five years ago and what it
looks like today, it's just dramatic.
We've had significant progress and
I think it's made a really nice
foundation for us to continue forward.
We've started by really getting
the attention of the tourist,
but now it seems that we're getting
attention from people who want to live here,
so that's what I see happening
in the future is people are going
to want to move to Muskegon,
which is exciting for us.
After all, Muskegon numbered among the
modest number of spots in Michigan not
to actually shrink in the 2020 census.
Demand for housing is
still near record highs,
while housing supply steps near rock bottom.
It's why Cindy Larson sees the big picture.
Economic focus down the road,
pivoting from tourism to livability
and you could say that boils
down to just one key question,
what is your passion?
Can you find it in Muskegon?
As the saying goes, if you build
it they will come in a number of
massive projects in the pipeline.
It could be that draw
well, you know we've got a
number of projects that are
going right now and there are.
There are developments that
have occurred and now we've
got these developers that are
ready to take the second phase.
And and go to that next step,
places for newcomers to live
and play like Harbor 31 or the
30 acre Adelaide Point with its
massive lakefront footprint,
400 condos and 270 slip Marina.
Then there's the city operated
infill housing program which got its
start with pandemic relief dollars.
We've committed funds to doing
even more housing developments
in the in the neighborhoods
engagements. Another piece of the puzzle,
making sure locals and would be
locals are dialed into the plans
and the process Mike sells.
Because that's our priority, she highlighted
we we really want to have a staff
that reflects our community.
We really want to have a a diverse.
A diverse commerce and we want
everybody to feel like they're welcome.
Harry Morgan, best known as Colonel
Sherman T Potter in the hit show Mash,
was raised in Muskegon and graduated
from Muskegon High School where
he achieved distinction as a
statewide debating champion. 13
on your side, digital producers have
spent the past few months looking for
the best restaurants in West Michigan
as part of our reports, called 13
eats and this week's Amy and Riley are
heading to your side of town along the lake.
Or to visit the restaurant you voted
on tonight, they're showing us around
fatty lumpkins I'm excited it looks so cute.
It does look adorable.
I love the yellow. Hey guys,
I'm Amy and I'm Riley and we are
here at fatty lumpkins and muskegan.
These buildings actually a lot
of people think they're houses,
but they've been both businesses
since the 1920s.
This one I think I dated back to 1922.
Most people remembered as a beauty salon.
That's what the velvet and
gold leaf wallpaper is from.
I have a couple of ladies
that came in here and said, oh, I used to
sit under the big hair dryer with my
curlers on right against that wall. So
really well known for their sandwiches.
I love a good sandwich. I'm ready to eat.
We have two salads here. Once a pasta
salad and one is a chicken salad,
this is the Pasto pasta salad.
It looks amazing, super creamy,
super fresh, it looks incredible.
I have the chicken salad in
front of me right now but it's
a lot of goodies in there.
Looks like there's maybe some onions,
some nuts, everything looks
really creamy and washes all
right. Here we go.
Let's cheers. I really, really,
really good just got these two sandwiches.
They look so good. Amazing here.
We have the how now brown cow which
is roast beef and it's got some
creamy horseradish sauce in there.
This one is the daily special today.
It's the Mary Jane so we got some bacon.
Got a lot of Pickles and some tomatoes too.
Looks delicious.
Look at this guys.
It looks so so good enough
talking we need to dive in
because I am really hungry.
This is incredible.
The bread is still warm,
but everything else is cold.
It is phenomenal.
Yeah, I feel like the warm bread
for that one really like it.
Just is a nice contrast.
It's perfect. OK,
any final thoughts?
OK, I really, really love this place.
I thought everything was so, so tasty.
It's a really great atmosphere in here
and the people are really kind as well.
I agree I was a little bit skeptical when
we pulled up just because of its size.
It is really tiny, but. I loved it.
The food was amazing and I see why
the people of Michigan mother here.
Yeah, it's definitely a tiny place
that packs a really big punch.
I would definitely recommend it to
anyone who's coming out to Muskegon.
Agree
today we were on your side of town
at Fatty Lumpkins in Muskegon
until next time I'm Amy and
I'm Riley and this is 13 E.
The Pier Marquette Beach is the
largest free public beach on
the western shore of Lake MI.
The beach area is popular for windsurfing,
kiteboarding, professional
volleyball trail riders and hikers.
We're on your side of town
and Muskegon this week.
One big draw for the city.
The nearly two miles of shoreline on
Muskegon Lake where the channel to Lake
MI that makes Muskegon an appealing
stop for cruises on the Great Lakes.
This year, three cruise lines will be
dropping anchor at Heritage Landing visit,
Muskegon, says many.
First time tourists don't know
what to expect, but are pleasantly
surprised once they come ashore.
That's one of the things that
we really love to see is is the
impact that that we have on people
once they do stop here and see
everything that we do have to offer.
All of our museums, our lakefront,
our trails, you know they,
they're just not expecting it.
When and it's great when they get
here and they see that it's all here.
The first crews will arrive from Milwaukee
in late May.
Charles Hackley was an American
philanthropist who made his fortune
in the lumber industry in Muskegon.
Hackley's gifts to the city
of Muskegon alone were valued
at $12 million back in 1905.
Muskegon really is undergoing a
positive change and one of the
biggest cheerleaders is a man
named Craig Pearson. And trust me,
he is a person making a difference.
Welcome to Blue House Manor in the
McLaughlin neighborhood of Muskegon,
a four unit high tech smart apartment
complex, seven years in the making,
it's the brainchild of Craig Person.
Let me see if I can use some light
innovation here in Michigan where I
can afford to buy properties and do
something a little bit outside the box.
And so it began for this
transplant from the Silicon Valley.
Tired of being on what he calls
the hamster wheel, he landed.
In Muskegon and has been
going full steam ever since.
So when I bought it,
the first thing I did is stand
out front here and channel the
the dreams and the hopes that the
people who built it right and and
then I started looking at the
neighborhood and I said someone
needs to do something different
because this neighborhood suffering
the result. Blue House Manor. This
particular unit is completely
powered by Google Home,
so everything from light to the
thermostat to entertainment to music
to making phone calls to figuring
out how to cook a baked potato.
Can be done right here.
Built into our wall.
Hey Google, what's the forecast today
in Muskegon? There will be scattered
showers with the forecasted
high of 53 and a low of 46.
He is 1 busy guy spreading.
The good word about Muskegon,
including coffee with Craig.
No coffee today, his YouTube
series coffee with Craig
started right in the backyard of
Blue House Manor and I called that
Blue House garden and I wanted
to reach out and touch people
and let them know there's so much
opportunity to learn about Muskegon.
If you're thinking about leaving,
don't leave just yet because
I have another adventure
that's called Muskegon.
What's to come? We're going out.
We're discovering all the good
things that are happening in
Muskegon and all the good people
in Muskegon and what they're doing.
His positive outlook about Muskegon
is contagious, and he's excited.
About spreading the word, the
opportunity for change to start a
family to be part of a community,
and you can even sit down and have a
cup of coffee coffee with the mayor.
That's how open we are here in Muskegon.
And be sure to follow him on social media.
His some of his videos have gone viral and
he he just talks about all the exciting
things that he's doing in the city.
And we've got a link to those on
this web story on 13 on yourside.com.
Buster Keaton's iconic comedian and
film director spent childhood summers
in the Bluffton neighborhood and
regarded Muskegon as his hometown.
He spent time with famous
vaudevillians at the Actors Colony.
This morning we're focusing
on some of the landmarks.
It's hard to talk about Muskegon
without first mentioning the beaches,
most notably Pier Marquette,
known for its sandy shoreline along
Lake MI and the Muskegon Lights.
Both of these lighthouses are listed on
the National Register of Historic Places,
but they're not the only historical
landmarks in this area just to our
E unique piece of naval history
is on display USS Silversides.
She turned 80 in December.
She was the first submarine that
was commissioned after Pearl Harbor.
She was put into service on December 15th.
1941 and she has served her country
valiantly over the course of the war.
Her history is incredible.
Tribute to all the men and the women
of the United States military that
made our country safe for democracy,
and she's open for tours year
round. We have
six torpedo tubes
and we carried 16 torpedoes up forward,
six in the tube and 10 spares in the room.
Continue traveling EA few miles and
you'll find some houses that look like
they're straight out of a fairy tale.
This is the Hackley and Hume.
Historic site built in the late 1800s,
these incredible structures were once
home to Charles Hackley and Thomas Hume.
Businessmen who worked together in
the lumber industry ended up living
right next to each other here at
the corner of Webster and 6th.
This is Queen Anne style architecture.
With both of these houses,
you can see them in specific spots,
especially in some of these old lumbering
cities. There might be one or two left,
but not quite like this,
and not quite preserved in the way that
these two have been for so long. The
preservation effort.
Started it started back in the late 60s.
In the early 70s and it's an effort
that we continue to this day so we're
always trying to repair and redo and
make sure everything looks wonderful.
Just a few blocks to the north.
Another significant piece of Muskegon
history, this time celebrating the arts.
Welcome to the Frauenthal center.
Originally built as the Michigan theater,
construction began in 1929 with the theater
opening on September 16, 1930, offering.
All 100% talking motion pictures
today the FRAUENTHAL offers a
variety of entertainment from music,
dancing, comedy and more.
The frontal definitely is a place
to experience it all. So whether
you're seeking a live performance
underwater adventure,
intricate works of art, or that wind
blown look from a day at the beach,
Muskegon offers something for everyone.
Thank you for joining us
for this look at Muskegon.
Don't forget to check out all
of the other interesting W
Michigan highlights we capture
when 13 is on your side of town.
It's all here on 13 plus.