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Old 04-22-2012, 11:34 PM
 
Location: Kittanning
4,692 posts, read 9,041,015 times
Reputation: 3668

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I grew up in Michigan and my parents still live there. I lived in Howell and went to college in Mt. Pleasant. I moved away to Pittsburgh at 23. It's been a few years since I've been able to drive around and explore some of Michigan's cities again, which is what I did last week when I went home to visit my family.

Here are some pictures and my impressions of the three cities I visited in Michigan during my trip home (Lansing, Flint, and Ann Arbor). Michigan is blessed to have several small-to-midsize cities which have some urban amenities and nice architecture. One of my favorites is Jackson, which is very historic and has a lot of beautiful old buildings for its small size. Unfortunately, I did not have time to visit Jackson this time.

I took a few snapshots in each city, but I did not do comprehensive photo tours. Hopefully, these pictures will give you a little taste of each city.

Lansing



My first stop was Lansing. I remember working in downtown Lansing before I moved to Pittsburgh, back in 2008. I remember it as a very quiet city. My recent visit confirmed my old impressions of the city. It still seems quiet. I was downtown on a weekday during business hours, and there were very few people out and about. I had coffee in a local coffee shop and walked around the downtown area. Sadly, downtown looks pretty much the same as I left it. The old YWCA building is in ruins, with broken windows, and the art deco Knapp building still looks vacant. I drove around the periphery of downtown and explored some of the historic districts and neighborhoods. Old Forest seemed like a decent neighborhood walkable to downtown. I also enjoyed seeing Old Town and the Reo Town neighborhood (which was full of character, but looked like it had seen better days).

Flint

Restored Victorian near downtown Flint:
http://a7.sphotos.ak.fbcdn.net/hphotos-ak-prn1/528903_10100741224916338_21709059_52577398_1673417 439_n.jpg (broken link)

My next stop was Flint, which is a city that everyone loves to hate on in Michigan. I always liked Flint, though, probably because it is an underdog. I remember visiting Flint back in 2008, and seeing how the downtown was improving. I wanted to see how it had changed since then.

I am glad to report that downtown Flint looks very nice. A lot of the buildings appear to have been restored. The historic Durant Hotel has been beautifully renovated into lofts. I was also curious about seeing the Carriage Town Historic District, which is a Victorian neighborhood adjacent to downtown and has a lot of revitalization projects in the works.

Sadly, Carriage Town did not look as nice as I had hoped. There is still a lot of work to do, but the renovations that I saw were fantastic. The neighborhood is unfortunately plagued by many vacant lots and urban prairie, as well as many abandoned homes. I hope this neighborhood can continue to improve!

Old Durant Hotel (restored):
http://a7.sphotos.ak.fbcdn.net/hphotos-ak-ash3/564668_10100741242970158_21709059_52577429_1342209 063_n.jpg (broken link)


Carriage Town Historic District (Flint):
http://a5.sphotos.ak.fbcdn.net/hphotos-ak-ash3/581010_10100741253219618_21709059_52577440_9335164 85_n.jpg (broken link)


I was shocked to find row-houses in Flint (Carriage Town):


Abandoned homes in Carriage Town (Flint):
http://a5.sphotos.ak.fbcdn.net/hphotos-ak-prn1/555744_10100741269132728_21709059_52577468_6702433 _n.jpg (broken link)

Downtown Flint historic buildings:


Handsome art deco skyscraper in downtown Flint:



Ann Arbor

Greek Revival home in Old Fourth Ward Historic District (Ann Arbor):
http://a7.sphotos.ak.fbcdn.net/hphotos-ak-prn1/540554_10100743534088738_21709059_52585075_1210743 172_n.jpg (broken link)


My last stop was Ann Arbor, which was probably the most attractive of the three cities. It also had the most vibrant feel. Unlike Flint and Lansing, there were many people out on the streets and enjoying the urban amenities and walkability of the city. Downtown Ann Arbor does not have the scale of Flint or Lansing, in terms of tall buildings, but it is quite large in area and has several different business districts. Ann Arbor also had the most intact and beautiful historic district of the three cities: Old Fourth Ward. This neighborhood is located within the general downtown area and walkable to everything. Ann Arbor is a nice city. I only wish the other cities in Michigan could enjoy the same level of vitality. Granted, I have not visited Grand Rapids yet.

Historic home in Old Fourth Ward (Ann Arbor):


Victorian in Old Fourth Ward (Ann Arbor):
http://a5.sphotos.ak.fbcdn.net/hphotos-ak-prn1/528790_10100743538200498_21709059_52585112_1415773 740_n.jpg (broken link)

Seemingly abandoned home in Old Fourth Ward (Ann Arbor):

http://a2.sphotos.ak.fbcdn.net/hphotos-ak-prn1/540054_10100743542162558_21709059_52585161_8276043 34_n.jpg (broken link)


Historic buildings in downtown Ann Arbor:
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Old 04-23-2012, 08:02 PM
 
12,823 posts, read 24,413,624 times
Reputation: 11042
Ann Arbor = Palo Alto East
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Old 04-24-2012, 01:03 AM
 
Location: Midwest
1,004 posts, read 2,773,321 times
Reputation: 253
Good Lansing picture
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Old 04-24-2012, 08:36 AM
 
Location: West Michigan
3,119 posts, read 6,609,367 times
Reputation: 4544
Thanks for the great post and the pictures. Especially the ones from Flint, since I've never had a chance to explore downtown Flint.

Hopefully you'll get a chance to visit Grand Rapids one of these days. Downtown gets more impressive every year. Or at least it seems that way.
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Old 04-24-2012, 05:05 PM
 
Location: North of Canada, but not the Arctic
21,156 posts, read 19,742,228 times
Reputation: 25695
Yspilanti also has a large number of Victorian homes. I believe it has the second or third largest concentration in Michigan.
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