The 28th Street Metro Cruise, commonly known as the Metro Cruise, is an annual
auto show
An auto show, also known as a motor show or car show, is a public exhibition of current automobile models, debuts, concept cars, or out-of-production classics. It is attended by automotive industry representatives, dealers, auto journalists a ...
and
car cruise event held on
28th Street in
Wyoming
Wyoming () is a state in the Mountain West subregion of the Western United States. It is bordered by Montana to the north and northwest, South Dakota and Nebraska to the east, Idaho to the west, Utah to the southwest, and Colorado to t ...
,
Grand Rapids
Grand Rapids is a city and county seat of Kent County in the U.S. state of Michigan. At the 2020 census, the city had a population of 198,917 which ranks it as the second most-populated city in the state after Detroit. Grand Rapids is the ...
and
Kentwood,
Michigan
Michigan () is a state in the Great Lakes region of the upper Midwestern United States. With a population of nearly 10.12 million and an area of nearly , Michigan is the 10th-largest state by population, the 11th-largest by area, and t ...
, typically occurring one week after the
Woodward Dream Cruise
The Woodward Dream Cruise event is an automotive enthusiast event held annually on the third Saturday of August in Metropolitan Detroit, Michigan, along Woodward Avenue, a major thoroughfare built in the early 20th century. The WDC Event spans mu ...
. Participants often cruise in their vehicles down 28th Street, driving between
Grandville and
Cascade Township and participating in events occurring in the corridor.
Background
Cruising down
28th Street near
Rogers Plaza
Rogers Plaza is an enclosed shopping mall in Wyoming, Michigan, a suburb of Grand Rapids, Michigan. Opened in 1961, it was the first shopping mall in Western Michigan and the first enclosed one in the state of Michigan. The center features Planet F ...
in Wyoming was a common pastime for
car enthusiasts in the late 20th century when the street was the main retail corridor from the 1960s until the 1990s.
In 1999 when
Rivertown Crossings Mall opened in Grandville near the southwest border of Wyoming, many commercial tenants left the 28th Street corridor.
Following the opening of the
M-6 highway in late-2004, the Wyoming-Kentwood Area Chamber of Commerce planned the first Metro Cruise to be held in August 2005 in an initiative to bring business to 28th Street.
History
The first Metro Cruise in 2005 experienced 85,000 visitors and 15,000 vehicles participating in one day.
In 2007, the cruise was expanded to two days of events and the prohibition of
burnouts was strictly enforced following the
Selmer, Tennessee burnout tragedy, when 6 were killed and 20 injured after a
funny car
Funny Car is a type of drag racing vehicle and a specific racing class in organized drag racing. Funny cars are characterized by having tilt-up fiberglass or carbon fiber automotive bodies over a custom-fabricated chassis, giving them an appea ...
crashed into a crowd during a burnout.
In 2015, a locally-restored
GM Futurliner
The GM Futurliners were a group of custom vehicles, styled in the 1940s by Harley Earl for General Motors, and integral to the company's Parade of Progress—a North American traveling exhibition promoting future cars and technologies. Having ear ...
participated in the cruise and was added to the National Historic Vehicle Register. By 2019, between 250,000 and 275,000 people visited the Metro Cruise.
In 2020, the Metro Cruise was cancelled due to the
COVID-19 pandemic in the United States
The COVID-19 pandemic in the United States is a part of the COVID-19 pandemic, worldwide pandemic of COVID-19, coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) caused by SARS-CoV-2, severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2). In the Uni ...
.
The cruise would return the following year in 2021, producing an estimated $7 million for the local economy that week.
Events
The main event sites for the Metro Cruise are two
shopping mall
A shopping mall (or simply mall) is a North American term for a large indoor shopping center, usually anchored by department stores. The term "mall" originally meant a pedestrian promenade with shops along it (that is, the term was used to refe ...
s;
Rogers Plaza
Rogers Plaza is an enclosed shopping mall in Wyoming, Michigan, a suburb of Grand Rapids, Michigan. Opened in 1961, it was the first shopping mall in Western Michigan and the first enclosed one in the state of Michigan. The center features Planet F ...
and
Woodland Mall
Woodland Mall is an enclosed super-regional shopping mall located in Kentwood, Michigan, a suburb of Grand Rapids. It comprises over 100 tenants in of retail space, with three anchor stores (Macy's, JCPenney, and Von Maur), along with Barnes ...
.
The majority of events are free and include classic automobile shows, concerts,
dynamometer
A dynamometer or "dyno" for short, is a device for simultaneously measuring the torque and rotational speed (RPM) of an engine, motor or other rotating prime mover so that its instantaneous power may be calculated, and usually displayed by the ...
testing, food concessions and the Miss Metro Cruise
pin-up girl
A pin-up model (known as a pin-up girl for a female and less commonly male pin-up for a male) is a model whose mass-produced pictures see widespread appeal as part of popular culture. Pin-up models were variously glamour models, fashion models ...
contest.
See also
*
Back to the Bricks
Back to the Bricks is a car show held annually in Genesee County, Michigan.
The five-day event is structured with the first day having a Kick off party and "Brick Flick" automotive movie seen at the US 23 Drive-in Theatre, at least two days of R ...
*
Cruisin' Downriver
Cruisin' Downriver is an unofficial annual event which takes place through several Detroit downriver communities and inspired by the Woodward Dream Cruise. People with vintage, classic, tricked-out, or otherwise interesting cars cruise through t ...
References
{{reflist
Auto shows in the United States
Automotive events
Michigan culture
Grand Rapids, Michigan
Recurring events established in 2005
2005 establishments in Michigan
Tourist attractions in Kent County, Michigan