Thursday, February 28, 2013

The Day in Ann Arbor Part II

Because I didn't want to cram too many pictures into one post, I decided to split this into two posts.  I hope that you don't mind.
 So my tour took me to the Natural History Building next.  I didn't go inside though although I probably should have.  This is one of the two lions that guard the front entrance of the Museum.  I tried to get a picture of the other one but I wan't too happy with it.
 The owl is a symbol of knowledge.  So it is only appropriate that it's likeness graces a place of knowledge.
 This could almost be a picture for a boardgame site.  It looks like two sheep playing a game.
 The lion statue probaly aspires to being a griffin statue.
 One thing that seems common to many Kahn buildings is some sort of writing across the top.
 Based on some of the flashiness, I'd almost call Kahn the anti-Wright.  Frank Lloyd Wright thought that buildings should blend into their surroundings.  Kahn buildings seem to dominate their surroundings.
 Another angle of the Bell Tower.
 A picture of the museum.  As you can see, it is a nice towering structure.
 This is the Dana Building and it houses the School of Natural Resources.  At one time it housed the Medical School.  It also is a Kahn bulding.  (Thanks to an alert reader for pointing that out for me)
 Looking up at one of the towers of the West Engineering Building.  I think this is probably one of my favorite buildings on Campus next to the Law School.
 The Arch.  I think it was kind of cool that this symbol was common to both Central Campus and North Campus.  If I remember correctly it is the symbol of an Engineering society.
 A more pulled out shot of the building.  When you think of college campuses, this is the image you get, I think.
 The Clements Library is another Kahn building.
 A detail of one of the arches.
 I don't remember if I've ever covered this building on this blog in the past.  If so, I apologize.  If not, here is the story.  This is the Official Residence of the University President and no records exist of its building but based on other records it was probably constructed in 1839 or 1840.  It was one of four buildings created for the housing of University Presidents.  Starting in 1852, it became the house for the President and has been with the exception of 1909 to 1920, when President Hutchins decided not to live there.  It has seem numeration additions since it's creation, including the third story.  Because of its age, the first and second stories represent the oldest structure on the campus.
 A shot of the diag from the Grad Library.  I didn't take pictures of it, but it is another Kahn building.
 A snow block M.
 The proper block M.
 A shot of Angell Hall from the side.
 And the front.  Again, you see text at the top of the building.  You also see some Greek Revival hints.
 The Michigan Union.
 Another angle of Angell Hall.  I'm not sure about the sculpture though but I thought it was a nice contrast to the classical looking building.
 I also liked this look of State Street.  It gives you a hint of the amount of snow we received.
 The Mulberry House.
 Some detail of Angell Hall.
 Looking up the columns.
 I'm not sure which Church this is but it is at the corner of State and William.  I thought it was a pretty neat building.
 This building has seen a number of different tenants during my time in the Ann Arbor area.  When I first came down here, the top floor was occupied by Dave's Comics.  Not sure what is up there now.  The bottom floor has seen a number of different places.  The first one I remember was Steve's Ice Cream shop.  It was pretty decent.  There have been a number of places here since then.
 Under the yellow awning is the door that leads to the stairs that lead to the Wazoo Record Shop.  It has been around here for as long as I have been here and is a pretty cool record shop.  It sells used records and some new ones.  If I recall it has a pretty decent selection.
 Looking at the rest of the block.  You can see Nickels Arcade in the middle.
 Further down the block.
 Looking up at the columns.

Looking down the arcade.  This is another fairly old building and represents one of the earlier malls.
 Another orientation of the shot above.  I think I like the first shot better though.
 This is the block that used to house Drake's Sandwich Shop.  It is another business that was around when I first came to Ann Arbor but has since vanished.
 Looking down State Street.  I had to hurry to take this picture because I was crossing the street at the time.
And one last shot before heading back to the car.

So where are the pictures of the Law School you ask?  Well, they are in the process of renovating it, so no pictures this time.

1 comment:

Thomas Cook said...

Great pics! The building you said you think is the School of Natural History is actually the Dana Building and houses the School of Natural Resources and Environment. In the past it was a medical school building.