Downtown
Ann
Arbor
is characterized by architectural diversity as
a result of the growth that
began in the early 1800’s and has spread outward. When I first moved
to Ann Arbor, I was amazed at the vibrancy of all the older
buildings. Living
in downtown Ann Arbor is a
quality of
life-style and the prices of homes in the downtown area are priced for
the
lifestyle they afford. I recently posted on how much Ann
Arbor people like to walk.
There
has been much debate through the years and history
buffs disagree on how Ann Arbor
got its name.
Legend
has it that Ann
Arbor
was named after the two mens wives, that founded Ann Arbor,
two settlers named John Allen and
Elisha Rumsey. They made their way from Detroit
and registered the name AnnArbour after their wives. John’s
wife was named Ann
and Elisha’s wife middle name was Ann. The name was
registered on February 12,
1824 as AnnArbour, because of the grape arbours and lush vegetation.
Originally
registered AnnArbour, and later separated as Ann Arbor,
it is the only place in the United States
with that name.
This is why when you do a Google Search you only have to put in Ann
Arbor and not Michigan.
Local
people abbreviate the name Ann Arbor to A2 and yes mail
gets delivered
using that ancronym.
A
few interesting facts about Ann Arbor that you might not know:
In
1860, Ann Arbor had
five hotels, one drug store and 10 saloons.
But 1872, Ann
Arbor
had 8 hotels, five drug stores and 49 saloons.
The
1901-1905 University of Michigan
football team, coached by Fielding H. Yost was known as the
“point-a-minute”
team. It had a record of 55-1-1. In the first Rose Ball Game in 1902, U
of M
defeated Stanford 49-0
In
1929, Ann Arbor
had more cars and telephones per capita than any city in the world.
“Handel’s
Messiah” has been performed annually in Ann Arbor since
1880.
The
printed version of the letter Columbus
sent to
Queen Isabella of Spain
in 1493, is part of the collection at the Clements Library on U of M.
Campus.
Nickels
Arcade, built in
1915 to 1918 is one of the
few glass-roofed shopping arcades in the county.
Ann Arbor is
one of only
11 cities that can boast of a Presidential library. The papers of
President
Gerald Ford comprise nearly 15 million pages and over a mile of
shelving.
There is a walking
tour of downtown Ann Arbor where you can see
all the historical sites. There are 16 sites that are on
display.
Disclaimer: The opinions
expressed here are the views of the author and the comments are the
strict
opinion of the commenter. No warranty is expressed or implied. Active
Rain
community is not responsible for the opinions given or Keller Williams
Realty
of Ann Arbor.
;)
;)
