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There’s more to Kalamazoo than “a gal”By Marilyn LoeserA, B, C, D, E, F, G, H Years have gone by, my my how she grew
Kalamazoo, like so many American communities, has a wonderful and interesting history as well as attractions sure to interest every member of your traveling party. Touring the city
It’s the best way to get your bearings, begin to understand the culture and history, and figure out where you might want to return to for a longer visit such as a museum or art gallery.
While visiting Kalamazoo, Michigan, I was fortunate to accompany local historian, author and tour guide Lynn Houghton as I explored the downtown area. Gazelle Sports, along with other local businesses, sponsors the free walking tours on a regular basis. Although Kalamazoo offers several historic areas and individual sites in the downtown area, Lynn chose to take us through Bronson Park, along South Street and back to the Kalamazoo Mall area. As we walked from the sports shop toward the park, Lynn explained a little of the area’s vast history. Originally a Potawatomi Indian village, present-day Kalamazoo started in 1827 after the land was surrendered to America. Two years later Titus Bronson, originally from Connecticut, built a cabin on the land where the park was later established and later platted the town. Kalamazoo was incorporated as a village in 1838 and as a city in 1883. The industrial side of the community includes its production of windmills, buggies, automobiles, cigars, stoves, paper and paper products. It’s also known for its celery and bedding plants, Gibson Guitars, Upjohn and later Pfizer pharmaceuticals. Like a folk art painting, the scene in Bronson Park was one of couples strolling hand and hand, an elderly gentleman reading the newspaper as he relaxed on a wooden park bench and children playing among the flowers, sculptures and fountains.
“Abraham Lincoln’s only Michigan speech during his presidential campaign was given here in the park,” Lynn said. As we headed toward South Street, Lynn pointed out City
Hall, an acclaimed 1931 example of Art Deco architecture, and the 1879 building
owned by the Ladies Library Association.
South Street is lined with stately old homes. As we strolled along the quiet street, Lynn identified the architectural design of each house including Gothic, Italianate, Greek Revival, Sullivanesque, Queen Anne and Art Deco, each providing a glimpse of restored grandeur from the previous century.
Frank Lloyd Wright also found Kalamazoo right for his Usonian-style. Many of his designs are found in and around Kalamazoo. Parkwyn Village, at Taliesin Drive and Parkwyn Drive in southwest Kalamazoo for example, was designed as a cooperative neighborhood by Frank Lloyd Wright in the late 1940s and features his unique style. As we headed back toward the Radisson Hotel, Lynn offered a quick overview of the six areas making up the downtown area.
Arcadia is where Amtrak — traveling between Detroit and Chicago — stops to take on and let off passengers. The area also is home to the Kalamazoo Valley Museum, Kalamazoo Valley Community College and Arcadia Creek Festival Site where special events including the annual Taste of Kalamazoo are held. In South Town you'll find an interesting mix of neighborhoods and people, business establishments and gathering places. Once the city's most populated district, in many ways it still holds onto its personality as a working-class neighborhood. Haymarket was the site of the city’s first hotel and hay auction. Now its fame comes from its century-old architecture, popular restaurants and nightlife. The East End is known for its coffee shops, antique businesses and microbrewery.
The first outdoor pedestrian shopping mall in the United States, Kalamazoo Mall began by closing Burdick Street to auto traffic in 1959. The four block long mall stretched from Lovell Street to Eleanor Street. Today, the mall is two blocks long and is anchored by the Kalamazoo Public Museum. In less than two hours, I had discovered this city’s history, natural beauty and a little about the attractions I planned to take a longer look at.
If you go:
The Kalamazoo Valley Museum features a planetarium and the nationally recognized Challenger Learning Center. The Gilmore Car Museum is another favorite with the whole family, including several cars used in Walt Disney movies. Tours, museums and artifacts depicting the area’s celery farming heritage can be found at Celery Flats Interpretive Center. The center features an 1856 one-room schoolhouse and a 1931 grain elevator.
For more information about the Radisson Plaza Hotel & Suites, located in the heart of the city, call 800-444-3344 or check the website at www.radisson.com/kalamazoomi. For other accommodations and attraction information call the Kalamazoo County Convention & Visitors Bureau at 800 - 530-9192 or check the website at http://www.discoverkalamazoo.com. |
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The
1942 hit I’ve Got a Gal in Kalamazoo, made famous by the Glenn Miller Orchestra,
is just one of the things that might come to mind when you hear the lyrical name
of this Michigan city situated halfway between Detroit and Chicago.
I
always recommend taking an organized tour whenever you’re getting to know a
destination if one’s available: large cities, by bus; small cities and towns, on
foot.
Naturally,
guided tours are the best. But many local tourism bureaus offer suggested routes
if you set out on your own.
Lynn pointed out notable features in the park including an
Indian mound on its south side, a fountain designed by Alfonse Ianelli depicting
the brutality of white settlers toward Native Americans, and The Children May
Safely Play, a sculpture by Kirk Newman.
Organized
in 1852, it’s the oldest women’s club in Michigan and third oldest in the
nation. “The building was the first to house a women’s club in the nation at a
time women couldn’t be property holders or vote,” she added. 
The Upjohn House is again a private residence. It was in
1885 that William Erastus Upjohn, a physician from Hastings, Michigan, invented
a pill making machine and developed the first readily dissolvable pill. He moved
to Kalamazoo and started the Upjohn Pill and Granule Company.
We
had already visited the Bronson Park district, but Lynn explained that there’s a
lot more to discover in the heart of the city.
The
last neighborhood Lynn tells us about as we walk toward Mayors’ Riverfront Park
is Kalamazoo Mall.
Like I said, I always recommend taking an organized tour.
It’s time well spent.
There are several other attractions you may want to check
out including the Air Zoo, featuring several historical and rare aircraft
including the worlds only remaining
More than 2,600 hotel rooms ranging from bed and breakfast
inns to a four-diamond hotel, theaters, 22 golf courses, three ski resorts, four
wineries and 83 lakes with public access will make your weekend or week-long
getaway a relaxing and fun.