A great place to visit is Waterfront Plaza in Allegan, Michigan. Allegan, Michigan has a great combination of the historic small-town atmosphere and a sense of community. 
The city downtown Waterfront Plaza boasts a beautiful riverfront boardwalk that surrounds a great view of fountains and the historic Allegan Bridge. My wife and I stopped there on Labor Day 2010 when we were taking a drive to see some of the Lake Michigan shoreline towns like Holland and Saugatuck.
The boardwalk in Waterfront Plaza in Allegan, Michigan is a wonderful place to stop. There was even a boardwalk ice cream place open. We had to try a scoop of coconut and another of almond fudge! A great summer treat! 
According to the 2000 census, Allegan had a population of 4838. A longtime industrial town, Allegan's downtown waterfront fell into disrepair and environmental pollution by the late 1960s and early 1970s.
The potential for loss of an aging iron bridge would cause the citizenry of Allegan to focus on community history, en masse, for an event that solidified Allegan's view toward community architectural preservation.
The Second Street Bridge is a whipple-trough truss bridge off Waterfront Plaza in Allegan, Michigan erected by the King Iron Bridge Company (Cleveland, Ohio) in 1886. Used 
as a two-Lane Bridge until discussions about its demise began in 1970s.
City planners were discussing the removal of the historic Bridge, but the community of Allegan protested. In fact, the City of Allegan experienced an unprecedented and consistent outcry not to demolish its most prominent downtown trademark, and the Bridge was saved.
Today you can walk around Waterfront Plaza in Allegan, Michigan on the boa
rdwalk and enjoy the beautiful 2nd Street Bridge as a backdrop for photographs.
For several years in the late 1980s and 1990s, a city festival called "Bridgefest" was held in Waterfront Plaza in Allegan, Michigan in honor of the Second Street Bridge. The "Old Iron Bridge", as it is referred to by residents, remains the most common logo and identifying characteristic of historic Allegan, Michigan.
So if you want a unique historical place to visit, stop by Waterfront Plaza in Allegan, Michigan in the summertime and have some ice cream! As a local Realtor in Southwest, Michigan, I am always looking for unique historical locations to talk to people about. This is one of those interesting places I will be sure to tell others about.
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