Grand Rapids neighborhood says goodbye to a historic lodge [Video]

GRAND RAPIDS, Mich. — The City of Grand Rapids began demolition of the historic lodge at Martin Luther King Park Wednesday morning, also marking the start of construction for the new MLK Lodge, which is expected to open in the summer of 2025. 

As crews began tearing down the building, several neighbors of the park arrived. Some cars even stopped on the side of the road to take photos. It was one last look at a lodge, they say, that provided so much.

“It just looks like a big building, but there’s a lot of life that’s gone on inside there, and I will miss that part,” said Ellen Atkins, program coordinator for the MLK Park Neighborhood Association, who has been living there for almost 50 years. She says there is some difficulty …