Wandering Around Ann Arbor - Part II

So my walk around Ann Arbor continued. This part will focus on the town part of Ann Arbor.

So how many times have I mentioned Ann Arbor on this blog, quite a few, right? I don't think I've ever gone over the history of Ann Arbor before. So here goes...

Ann Arbor was founded in 1824 by John Allen and Elish Rumsey. The story is that it was named after their wives as they were both named Ann and the stand of Burr Oak in the land they purchased. Some times it is called A-squared or Tree Town. Because of the political tendencies of some of the residents it also sometimes called The People's Republic of Ann Arbor. Ann Arbor's claim to fame is the University of Michigan which moved from Detroit to Ann Arbor in 1837. Having the University kind of shelters it from the ebbs and flows of the economy and the city has shown steady growth since its founding.

The city has a population of over 100,000 people and is the sixth largest city in Michigan. The University is the largest employer of the city by employing over 30,000 people. It also attracts many businesses because of its research and alumni who decide to stay in Ann Arbor.

In the 1800's, the city was a major rail hub as the confluence of the Michigan Central Railroad and the Ann Arbor Railroad. That has since waned a bit. The economy is fairly diverse.

One of the places I have visited throughout my stay in the area has been Pinball Pete's which is an old school arcade. Given all the improvements in home video game systems, it is amazing that this place is still in business but it still chugs along. It has quite a few classic video games (Pac Man, etc) and quite a few modern games. There used to be two of these in Ann Arbor but one closed. The Original Pinball Pete's which used to be across the street from this one burned down

a couple years ago.

Because Ann Arbor is a college town, you will see many things that you would not see in a town of comparable size. This is one of them.

This is a shot looking north on State Street from North University. There are a few restaurants here. The bars are to the south and closer to the actual campus. State Street is kind of one of the borders between "town" and "university" although it's tough to call it that since there is some overlap.

Nickel's Arcade.

The State Theater. This theater shows movies that are between art film and films that you would see a the multiplex. As you can see from the marquee, it also shows older films.

The sign of the Michigan Theater. Here they show art films, classic old films and the occasional concert. It is really cool looking on the inside.

On this picture, I deliberately wanted the violin player shaded although I wish he stood out a little more against the background. I think it is possible that the background is too busy. Anyways, he was playing one of the songs from the 90's version of "Last of the Mohicans" and he did a pretty good job with it.

This building used to house a restaurant called the Pantree. It was one of the few places that was open 24 hours. Unfortunately, they went out of business almost 20 years ago. If I remember correctly, the food wasn't too bad.

Another one of the odd sights of Ann Arbor.

Looking south on Main Street. This is where some of the more fancy restaurants can be found.

The Fleetwood Diner which is a block west of Main Street. It was opened in 1949. I've only eaten here a couple of times and it's not too bad but generally when I eat in Ann Arbor, I will go elsewhere.

Looking north on Main Street from Williams. The restaurant in the foreground is Palio. Judging by the crowd, it must be decent but I've never eaten there.

Another odd place is Ann Arbor is the Beer Depot. This used to have a drive thru but that has since closed. There is a pretty good selection of beers and I've been here a few times.