A Visit to Jackson, MI

I had to go to the Department of Environmental Quality office in Jackson today to do my refresher training to be a Storm Water Operator. That's basically where I look at the property and making sure that no pollutants are escaping from the property.  It wasn't too bad.

 I had a little time to kill before the class started and I didn't realize that the train station was so close to the office, I decided to get some pictures of it.  I've been by it so many times, I figured it was a good time to actually get some pictures of it.  I'll have to admit, it is a pretty nice looking station.

 The current station was built in 1871 by the Michigan Central as a replacement for the original station which was built in 1841.  It served as a Union Station as it served three other railroads that went through Jackson.  In 1978, it was extensively refurbished and named to the National Register of Historic Places in 2002.  They are looking to do more renovations in the near future.

 This is the headquarters for the Consumers Energy Company.

 In 1829, Horace Blackman and Alexander Laverty came across the spot that would become Jackson by following an established Native American trail west.  Blackman claimed the land for 2 dollars an acre.   Originally it was named Jacksonopolis, then Jacksonburgh and in 1838, it was simply known as Jackson.  Like so many other communities in the Midwest, it has seen it's ebbs and flows.

 The Jackson County Tower was designed by Albert Kahn in 1929 for the Union and Peoples National Bank.  The original bank never opened for business.  In 1933, the National Bank of Jackson was organized and moved into the building but never took ownership of it.  By 1955, the building was abandoned and sold to Jackson County in 1975.

 I should have recognized who designed this building based on some of the clues.

 I guess I will call this the standard midwestern block.

 I do kind of like the architecture here.

 City Hall is another pretty nice looking building.

 Looking up at another building.

 An old hardware store.

 A fountain.

 This building depicts some of the history of Jackson.  I think this may have been the site where the city was founded.

 A former pharmacy and it looks like it going to be a former art shop.

 Another angle of the City Hall.

 The Michigan Theater.

 They are in the process of improving the street.

 

Looking down the sidewalk.   Based on what I saw today, I think I need to find my way back to Jackson.