Sunday, December 29, 2013

Wandering Around Ypsilanti

I wanted to do some pictures today but I didn't want to do something that was too involved, so I thought today would be a nice day to catch a Wolverine.  I also thought it would be a nice day to do another project I've been kicking around.  That will be in one of the next posts.   Since that project required some travelling around Ypsilanti, I decided to take some other pictures from around Ypsilanti.  Enjoy.
 Since I was going to wait around for the Wolverine first, my first stop was in Depot Town and that pretty much sticking around between the freight house and the depot.  I kind of like the freight house.
 This makes me think back to the days of waiting for the train to come in.
 More of an over all shot of the freight house.
 Almost a train eye's view of the freight house and depot.  I kind of liked this shot for the tracks going through it.  The freighthouse was constructed in 1878 and the Depot was constructed in 1864.
 The Depot used to be a three story building but there was a fire in 1910 and it was reduced to 1 and a half stories.  In 1939, a freight train careened into the side of the depot and caused extensive damage.  It was rebuilt to its current configuration.  In 1984, Amtrak discontinued service to Ypsilanti (although there are rumors that it might start again).
 I'm not sure what kind of plane this is.  I'm thinking it is an Embrear commuter jet but don't quote me on that.
 A more or less overall shot of the freighthouse.
 A caboose from a New York Central train.  New York Central owned the Michigan Central and was the main freight service that passed from Detroit to Chicago (also passenger service).  In the early 1960's, it fell into hard times and merged with the Pennsylvania Railroad and becoming the Penn-Central.  It remained in hard times and was taken over by the government as Conrail (although there is some debate whether some financial shenanigans helped its downfall).  Later Conrail sold its tracks to either Norfolk-Southern or CSX.  Norfolk-Southern owns the lines through Ypsilanti.
 The City Body building.  City Body has been around for a while.
 Looking up the Huron River.
 Part of a memorial that honors the soldiers who fought in World War I.
The other part of the memorials honors the men that served in the 107th Field Signal Battalion of the US Army.  This unit was formed by men from Wisconsin and Michigan.  They fought in the Meuse-Argonne Battle (well they laid signal lines which I would imagine was pretty dangerous work).
 A shot of the building that you first encounter if you enter Depot Town from the West.  Currently it houses Fantasy Attic which is a place where you can buy various costumes.
 Not sure what these buildings are.
 The ever present Depot Town Clock.
 Another shot looking down the street.
 I'm not sure what all is in this building but I like the looks of it.
 The part of the block with Sidetrack.
 Next I headed down to Downtown Ypsilanti.  This is the building that houses YPsilanti Cycle which is a higher end bicycle shop.
 This block of Ypsilanti has housed many different businesses.  Currently it is a restaurant.
 The Michigan Heritage building was built in 1905.  I don't have much information on its history.
 Looking at the sign for the Ypsilanti Convention and Visitors Bureau.
 Looking at one of the blocks in Downtown Ypsilanti.
 St. Lukes Episcopal Church. This is a mid-Victorian Gothic Revival Church and was built in 1858. It is Ypsilanti's oldest existing church.  There used to be a spire on this at one time but it was removed due to age.  The church would like to put one back.
 I believe this house was built in 1872 for Dr. Watling who was a dentist. His wife was instrumental in creating the Ladies Library across the street and he was instrumental in creating the dental school at the University of Michigan.
 The Ladies Library started as a house built by Edwin Mills in 1858. Later this house was occupied by Mary Ann Starkweather and she donated it to the Ladies Library. It is an example of Italiante architecture.
 A stained glass window on the Ladies Library.
 This is the current house of the Ypsilanti Historical Museum.  One of these days, I need to pay it a visit.
 This house was built by Daniel Quirk, Jr.  He was the son of Daniel Quirk, the founder of the Peninsular Paper company.
 It is a pretty cool looking house.
I have more details about it on another post.
 Another shot of the Historical Museum.
 Another shot of the cool looking building.
I'm still not sure about this one.

I didn't put all of the details in this post but if you want more information, go here.

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