The photographs in this collection were generated by two departments in the City of Grand Rapids, Michigan, providing a unique record of various streetscapes in the city.

The Public Service Department photos document efforts by the city smoke inspector to record air pollution as well as several public works projects in the city, such as the widening of Division Avenue in the 1920s.

The Traffic Engineer's Department photos document bridges, grade separations and traffic lanes. The series has many views of expressways throughout the city as well as many aerial views of the city from the 1960s and 1970s. The series also contains many negatives for which there are no positive reproductions in the collection.

The content listings essentially document the 4x5 negatives, though there appears to be some duplication of the basic images in some of the other undescribed negatives.