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The City of Roosevelt Park, Michigan is surrounded by the cities of Norton Shores to the west, south, and east, and Muskegon to the north. Roosevelt Park occupies one square mile in southwestern Muskegon County.

The chief route through the city is Roosevelt Road, which traverses the city diagonally from its southwest corner before turning east at Broadway Avenue, just south of the railroad tracks, connecting with Business US-31 just east of the city limits.

Besides Norton Shores and Muskegon, which abut Roosevelt Park, other cities and villages within twenty miles include Muskegon Heights, North Muskegon, Fruitport, Ferrysburg, Spring Lake, Grand Haven, Lakewood Club, Ravenna, Montague, Coopersville, and Whitehall.

Roosevelt Park was a planned community, with its original schools and churches located in the city center, commercial businesses at the fringes for easy access to the highway, particularly the northern portion of the city, north of the railroad, entirely given to commercial or light industrial uses.

Although Roosevelt Park was not incorporated as a city until 1946, its origins go back to the early 1900s and the efforts of Leon J. Lambert, a real estate agent, and M.J. Riordan, a land developer, who sought to create a unique, largely residential, community in the midst of an industrial township.

The city was laid out as a residential subdivision on land set aside by the Campbell Wyant and Cannon foundry (now operating as CWC Textron) in 1925, which was initially occupied largely by employees of the foundry.

After persuading CWC to dedicate the land as a residential subdivision, Lambert and Riordan secured the assistance of Irvin R. Root, an architect, and director with the Parks and Public Lands Division of the United States Department of Interior, who drew up plans for a planned living community.

Three hundred and six lots sold quickly, and the new community was named for former President Theodore Roosevelt. During the Depression years, further land sales slowed but began selling again after World War II.

The new development began experiencing problems with drainage and flooding, and the developers grew frustrated with Norton Township over its disinclination to invest in a storm drain system and other infrastructure needs, such as additional street lights. Lambert circulated petitions to separate from the township and incorporate as a city. Although the first two votes failed due to tax concerns, a third effort succeeded on June 18, 1946, and Roosevelt Park was incorporated as a city on October 7, 1946.

Since 1981, the city has celebrated Roosevelt Park Day each summer with a parade, arts and crafts, live music, and other activities.

Today, the small city is a blend of residential and commercial development, with some light industry. Except for Roosevelt Road and some small streets, particularly those that serve as the city's borders (Sherman Boulevard, Norton Avenue, and Henry Street), most of its streets don't connect with those of abutting cities.

The city operates nine neighborhood parks, known as Ashland Street Playfield, Fordham Street Playfield, James V. Wells Playfield, H.D. Carsell Park, Hidden Park, Davies Park, Leon J. Lambert Playfield, Community Center Park, and Delmar Playfield.

Roosevelt Park maintains its own police department, but contracts with Norton Shores for fire services and Muskegon for water services. The city does not have its own post office but is served by the Muskegon post office.

The city's K-12 public school population is served by the Mona Shores School District, which operates Campbell Elementary School within the city limits of Roosevelt Park. There are two private schools within the city, however: West Shore Lutheran School (K-8) and Explorers Learning Center (K-5).

Topics related to the City of Roosevelt Park are the focus of this portion of our guide. Online resources for the municipal government, as well as local businesses, industries, schools, churches, organizations, attractions, events, entertainment venues, and recreational opportunities, are appropriate for this category.

 

 

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