Ann Arbor at a Glance

Ann Arbor is known as the, “Sizzle in Southeastern Michigan” and one of the nation’s fastest growing high-tech cities. You’ll find an incomparable quality of life and a vast assortment of exciting things to do, places to visit and attractions to discover.  

Dine in more than 200 restaurants, from Michigan’s finest to late-night hot dog stands, offering every cuisine under the sun, from Italian to Vietnamese. Thrill to a wealth of fine shopping, museums, galleries, theaters, and clubs, whatever your interest, there’s something to engage you.  

Outdoor enthusiasts can play a vast array of recreational activities in beautiful parks while sports lovers can cheer on teams at both the University of Michigan and Eastern Michigan University as well as the Rangers, Tigers and NBA champion Pistons in Detroit. Ann Arbor also hosts fascinating special events throughout the year, including drawing music lovers to the annual Ann Arbor Blues and Jazz Festival and culture mavens to the Ann Arbor Art Fair. 

The University of Michigan brings much diversity to Ann Arbor's population and culture, although this city of more than 100,000 people is much more than just a college town. There are four sections of downtown, each with its own character and distinctive collection of restaurants, stores and attractions including the Main Street area, the State Street Area, the South University area the Kerrytown Historic District.  

Ann Arbor has a wealth of museums, libraries and educational attractions many of which are associated with the U of M. Included among them are the University of Michigan Exhibit Museum of Natural History and Planetarium, which houses the state's largest collection of dinosaur bones and the University of Michigan Museum of Art, home to nearly 14,000 works of art from around the world.  

Don’t miss a visit to the Washtenaw County Historical Society Museum on Main Street, which relates area history from the time of the Indians and settlers to the present. You’ll also want to tour the Gerald R. Ford Library, the presidential library of the 38th commander-in-chief and University of Michigan graduate.

The city's performing arts offerings include the Ann Arbor Symphony, directed by Arie Lipsky as well as the Kerrytown Concert house, a restored 1850s house that hosts many musical performances. The Performance Network, an award-winning theater company located downtown will impress you with their off-Broadway style productions presented in an intimate 139-seat theater. In addition to its cultural offerings, Ann Arbor boasts dozens of nightspots and entertainment venues that reflect the exciting diversity of this vibrant city.  

There are wonderful neighborhoods filled with family homes and superb investment properties like apartments and flats that will never be vacant. Roads are excellent, healthcare is tops (the U of M Hospital is one of the best in the nation), education is a priority and folks are friendly and helpful.

LOCATION 

Ann Arbor is set in gorgeous Washtenaw County, located in the southeast corner of Michigan. It is commonly referred to as the Ann Arbor-Ypsilanti area and includes that neighbouring town in its Metro Region. The name Washtenaw is Chippewa for "grand river," which the native tribes called the majestic Huron River that flows through the area and is the northern border of the city. The Huron today remains a county showpiece surrounded by a carefully developed park system making it available for all to enjoy.  

Ann Arbor is 27 square miles with a population of more than 114,000 residents. It is 45 miles west of Detroit and 35 miles north of the Ohio border. A pleasant drive along country roads in any direction will lead to one historic and charming town after another including Bridgewater, Chelsea, Dexter and Saline which are all within a thirty minute drive of the Ann Arbor-Ypsilanti area.  

Primary access to Ann Arbor is via three expressways including the I-94, US-23 and M-14. The I-94 runs east-west along the southern edge of the city as part of its route between Detroit and Chicago. US-23 runs north-south along the western and northern edges of the city, as part the major route between Ohio and northern Michigan. M-14 runs along the northern edge of the city and then travels east into the western suburbs of Detroit. The mean travel time to work is 19 minutes and bumper-to-bumper traffic is unheard of.  

Ypsilanti is 9 miles southeast, Toledo is 43 miles south while Chicago is 240 miles west and an easy four- hour drive on US Interstate 94.

 TRANSPORTATION/AIRPORTS 

Residents enjoy a plethora of easy and convenient ways to get around the Ann Arbor area. Roads are excellent, traffic is manageable, bus and train service is exceptional and several easy-to-use airports are located throughout the region. 

Primary access to Ann Arbor is via three expressways including the I-94, US-23 and M-14. The I-94 runs east-west along the southern edge of the city as part of its route between Detroit and Chicago. US-23 runs north-south along the western and northern edges of the city, as part the major route between Ohio and northern Michigan. M-14 runs along the northern edge of the city and then travels east into the western suburbs of Detroit. 

Detroit Metro Airport (DTW), the eighth busiest airport in the nation, serves Ann Arbor. Located in nearby Romulus, off the I-94, Metro Airport is about 25 miles east of Ann Arbor. It is the major hub of Northwest Airlines, which carries approximately seventy-five percent of the passengers traveling in and out of the Detroit Metro Area. Easy and convenient commuter flights to major cities in the Northeast Region and along the East Coast are also available from nearby airports in Flint and Lansing. 

Local private air service is available through Ann Arbor Airport, accommodating both airplanes as well as helicopters while cargo service is available through Willow Run Airport, which sprawls across the Washtenaw-Wayne county border and is the third busiest air cargo terminal in the U.S. 

Passenger rail service to Ann Arbor is provided via Amtrak, with a station located right in the heart of the city, which is the one stop in the county on the route between Detroit and Chicago. Amtrak's Michigan Services trains run throughout the state and connect Michigan to Illinois and Ohio. Michigan Services cover Chicago, Grand Rapids, Port Huron, and the Detroit Region. Train routes for getting around Michigan include the Pere Marquette offering daily service between Grand Rapids and Chicago, the Wolverine offering daily service between Pontiac and Chicago and the Blue Water offering daily service between Port Huron and Chicago. There are multiple departures daily from the Ann Arbor station with reserved coach and business class seating available. Freight service is available at the same station via the Ann Arbor Railroad. 

Local bus service is available through AATA - The Ride, which operates 110 buses throughout the Ann Arbor-Ypsilanti area picking up passengers at more than 1500 stops. The AATA operates two transit centers including the Blake Transit Center in downtown Ann Arbor on Fourth Avenue between William and Liberty and the Ypsilanti Transit Center, located on Pearl Street at Adams Street. Most Ann Arbor bus routes originate at the BTC at 15 minutes after and 15 minutes before each hour. The AATA has been acclaimed as the best mid-size transit authority in the country and the current fare is $1.00 for adults and 50 cents for children.  

Long-distance bus service to Ann Arbor is provided via the Greyhound station in the city and campus bus service for University of Michigan students, faculty and staff is provided free via the U of M Bus System. Local taxi service is available from Ann Arbor Taxi and shuttle service from Metro Airport is provided by Commuter Express vans. 

BRIEF HISTORY 

In 1823, a group of pioneers traveled along the banks of the Huron River in search of a location for a new frontier community. Among the settlers were John Allen and Elisha Rumsey who pushed 40 miles east through the Michigan Territory in February of 1824. Some forty miles west of Detroit, in the slopes that bounded the Huron River, these two pioneers established their settlement after purchasing 480 and 160 acres each from the Federal Government at $1.25 cents per acre for a total of $800. 

They named their new settlement Annarbour in honor of their wives, both of whose names included Ann and because the word Arbor (or "arbour" according to Allen's spelling) best described this new town of great Burr oaks and thick, lush vegetation.  

The town’s name quickly morphed into Ann Arbor and tragically Rumsey died in 1827 but Allen eventually became the town's postmaster, newspaper publisher, village president and all-around promoter. Ann Arbor became the seat of Washtenaw County in 1827, was incorporated in 1833, and chartered in 1851, which was also the year that John Allen died. 

Several mills, a tannery and a general store flourished in the settlement. The general store, or tavern, depending on which source you accept was painted bright red and the corner of Huron and Main on which it stood became known as Bloody Corners. In 1836, Ann Arbor lost a bid to be established as the state capital but the following year won its bid to be the new location of the University of Michigan when it offered forty acres of land free for the site. Only two years later it became a major regional transportation hub when the Michigan Central Railroad arrived..  

In 1852, Eastern Michigan University was formed in Ypsilanti, becoming the first teachers college outside the 13 colonies. Along with the U of M, these institutions served, as the focal point for the development of what has become one of the leading medical research and technology centers in the world where many corporations and businesses came to make their home. 

Ann Arbor became home first to large numbers of German immigrants, particularly from the state of Württemberg and escapees from the Great Irish Famine, though Canadians accounted for the largest percentage of immigrants during most of the 19th century. 

During World War I, Germans became targets of animosity because of their alleged sympathy for their native country and four professors in the U of M’s German department were dismissed. During World War II, Ford Motor Company’s nearby Willow Run plant turned out B-24 Liberator bombers and the population of Ann Arbor exploded with an influx of miltary personnel, war workers and their families. 

In 1960, Ann Arbor was the site of major speeches by both major presidential candidates, John Kennedy and Richard Nixon. President Kennedy outlined his proposal for what would become the Peace Corps at the Michigan Union on October 14, 1960 and on May 22, 1964, in memory of the slain president, President Lyndon Johnson unveiled his Great Society initiative during a University of Michigan commencement address. 

During the 1960s, Ann Arbor was one of the first major cities to embrace both the civil rights movement and the anti-Vietnam War movement. It was the site of the first major meeting of Students for a Democratic Society in 1960 and after a number of protests and an extensive public campaign, the city passed its first fair housing ordinance in 1963. 

Between 1972 and 1976, the city council went through a period in which members of the Human Rights Party got elected and fought for several measures that at the time seemed radical, including a rent control ordinance. In 1973, Kathy Kozachenko was elected to the Ann Arbor City Council and became the first openly gay candidate to run successfully for elected office in the United States. 

The economy of Ann Arbor has undergone a gradual shift from a manufacturing base to a service and technology base over the course of the 20th century, a shift which accelerated in the 1970s and 1980s. Ann Arbor now prides itself as home to 25 research centers and libraries. 

Modern and progressive yet imbued with the traditional values of family, community and faith in the limitless possibilities of education, Ann Arbor remains a cutting edge city embracing the future. 

ABOUT EDUCATION 

The Ann Arbor Public School District consists of 21 elementary schools, five middle schools, and three high schools with another major high school planned. There are currently 16,724 students enrolled in AAPS schools and students do above average in the Michigan Educational Assessment Program as well other standardized tests. There is strong parental involvement, caring teachers, competent administration and the resources of the Univeristy of Michigan to augment educational opportunity. There are also more than ten private, elementary and middle schools as well as five private high schools serving both religious and secular needs in Ann Arbor as well. 

Ann Arbor is home to the University of Michigan, one of the most distinguished universities in the world and a leader in higher education. It is one of only two public institutions consistently ranked in the nation's top ten universities and boasts of one of the largest health care complexes in the world, the best university library system in the country and the some of the best computer access for students and faculty of any campus in the world. Over 5,500 undergraduate courses are taught each term in over 100 programs. Undergraduate, graduate and professional students have a choice of 17 separate schools and colleges, 588 majors, over 600 student organizations, 350 concerts and recitals every year, as well as hundreds of speakers, symposia, films, and readings, many of which may also be attended by members of the Ann Arbor community. 

Other local colleges and universities include Washtenaw Community College, Cleary College, Concordia College and Eastern Michigan University in nearby Ypsilanti with a renowned teacher-training program. There are also two massage schools, two travel and tech schools and even an international business and language institute. 

Source:www.NancyBishop.net