Old Town | |
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Coordinates: 42°44′49″N83°8′35″W / 42.74694°N 83.14306°W Coordinates: 42°44′49″N83°8′35″W / 42.74694°N 83.14306°W | |
Country | United States |
State | Michigan |
County | Ingham |
Area | |
• Total | 0.44 sq mi (1.1 km2) |
Elevation | 860 ft (262 meters) ft (228 m) |
Population (2000) | |
• Total | 1,654 |
• Density | 3,708.5/sq mi (1,431.9/km2) |
Time zone | UTC-5 (EST) |
• Summer (DST) | UTC-4 (EDT) |
ZIP codes | 48906 |
Area code(s) | 517 |
FIPS code | 26-80700 [1] |
GNIS feature ID | 1615125 [2] |
Website | http://www.iloveoldtown.org/ |
North Lansing Historic Commercial District | |
Location | E. Grand River Ave. and Turner St., Lansing, Michigan |
Area | 11 acres (4.5 ha) |
Architectural style | Late 19th And 20th Century Revivals, Late Victorian, Vernacular Commercial |
NRHP reference # | 76001029 [3] |
Significant dates | |
Added to NRHP | April 30, 1976 |
Designated MSHS | June 18, 1976 |
Located in the northern end of Lansing, Michigan, Old Town overlooks the Grand River and a winding bike trail. Listed on the National Register of Historic Places as the North Lansing Historic Commercial District, the district was established in the mid-19th century.
Lansing is the capital of the U.S. state of Michigan. It is mostly in Ingham County, although portions of the city extend west into Eaton County and north into Clinton County. The 2010 Census placed the city's population at 114,297, making it the fifth largest city in Michigan. The population of its Metropolitan Statistical Area (MSA) was 464,036, while the even larger Combined Statistical Area (CSA) population, which includes Shiawassee County, was 534,684. It was named the new state capital of Michigan in 1847, ten years after Michigan became a state.
The Grand River is a river in the southwestern portion of the southern peninsula of Michigan, United States, that flows into Lake Michigan's southeastern shore. It is the longest river in the U.S. state of Michigan running 252 miles (406 km) from its headwaters in Hillsdale County on the southern border north to Lansing and west to its mouth on the Lake at Grand Haven. Native Americans who lived along the river before the arrival of the French and British called the river O-wash-ta-nong, meaning "Far-away-water'", because of its length.
The National Register of Historic Places (NRHP) is the United States federal government's official list of districts, sites, buildings, structures and objects deemed worthy of preservation for their historical significance. A property listed in the National Register, or located within a National Register Historic District, may qualify for tax incentives derived from the total value of expenses incurred in preserving the property.
The first settler in North Lansing, later known as Lower Town and now Old Town, was John W. Burchard, an attorney from Mason. He built the first log cabin in Lansing in 1843 on land purchased from James Seymour. He built a dam across the Grand River later that year and hoped to build a mill, but drowned at the dam in 1844 while inspecting a break. A mill was built there later by James Seymour. [4]
The North Lansing area grew when Lansing became the capital of Michigan in 1847, adding commercial and industrial businesses. By the 1870s, North Lansing was thriving. Franklin Street, now Grand River Avenue, was the "main street" of the commercial district, sporting banks, shops, groceries, churches, mills, a passenger and freight railroad station, manufacturing, and a sturdy middle class to support the commerce. By the mid 1900s, however, Upper Town and Middle Town were attracting more people and business; North Lansing lost its status as a commercial/industrial powerhouse. The North Lansing Historic Commercial District, which included 44 buildings, was added to the National Register of Historic Places in 1976. [4]
In more recent years, the area now known as Old Town has sought to revitalize itself through programs like Michigan Main Street. [5]
Old Town hosts a number of annual cultural events, including:
The Old Town BluesFest is a free music festival that takes place each year in the early autumn in Lansing, Michigan. It showcases nationally, regionally, and locally known blues artists such as W. C. Clark, Grana' Louise, Byther Smith, Eddie Shaw and the Wolf Gang, A.C. Reed, Jan James, and Lady Sunshine and the X Band, Calvin Cooke and Sacred Steel Ensemble, Mojo Phoenix, Those Delta Rhythm Kings, the Automatic Blues Band, Root Doctor, Doug Deming and the All Stars, J.R. Clark, and more. The festival welcomes nearly 20,000 attendees over the weekend of the festival.
The Lansing JazzFest is a free music festival that takes place each year in the summer in Lansing, Michigan. It showcases nationally, regionally, and locally known jazz artists such as Marcus Belgrave, the Professors of Jazz at MSU, Eric Reed, Michael Kaeshammer, Straight Ahead, Don Phillips, Lisa Smith and Mike Skory, Sunrise II, Jazz Doggs, Tyrone Johnson, the Claudia Schmidt Quartet, Dick Fizzell & the Dixieland Express, Tim Cunningham, Francis Kofi, Betty Joplin, Sheila Landis, Ritmo, Patti Richards, Los Gatos, and more.
Williamston is a city in Ingham County in the U.S. state of Michigan. The city is at the southeast corner of Williamstown Township, but is politically independent. A portion of Williamston was annexed from adjacent Wheatfield Township. Downtown Williamston is located at the intersection of Grand River Avenue (M-43) and Putnam Street. The population was 3,854 at the 2010 census. Williamston is most notable for its antiques markets, and it has been promoted as a quaint, small town just outside the larger city of Lansing. It recently renovated McCormick Park, which borders the Red Cedar River in downtown Williamston.
Bellows Falls is an incorporated village located in the town of Rockingham in Windham County, Vermont, United States. The population was 3,165 at the 2000 census. Bellows Falls is home to the Green Mountain Railroad, a heritage railroad; the annual Roots on the River Festival; and the No Film Film Festival.
Wilder is an unincorporated village and census-designated place (CDP) within the town of Hartford in Windsor County, Vermont. It is the location of the Wilder Dam on the Connecticut River. The population of the CDP was 1,690 at the 2010 census. The village center is an early example of a planned mill community, and was listed on the National Register of Historic Places as the Wilder Village Historic District in 1999.
East Lansing is a city in the U.S. state of Michigan directly east of Lansing, the state capital. Most of the city is within Ingham County, with the rest in Clinton County. The population was 48,579 at the 2010 census, an increase from 46,420 in 2000. It is best known as the home of Michigan State University. It is part of the Lansing–East Lansing metropolitan area.
This is a list of the National Register of Historic Places listings in Houghton County, Michigan.
Farmington Historic District is the town center of Farmington, Michigan. It was listed on the National Register of Historic Places in 1976. The area roughly corresponds to the section of Grand River Avenue and Shiawassee Avenue from Warner Street to junction of Grand River and Shiawassee.
The Dundee Historic Village is a historic district located in Dundee, Michigan. The district was added to the National Register of Historic Places on August 20, 1990. This area is commonly referred to as the downtown area of Dundee and was settled almost concurrently with the Old Village Historic District in nearby Monroe. Both were built in their respective locations due to the River Raisin. Originally, the buildings within the district were small, wood buildings, but these were eventually replaced with two-story, brick storefronts. Most of the surviving buildings were built between 1866–1900, although the district traces its origins to Dundee's establishment in 1825.
The Old Mill Museum, also known as the Alfred Wilkerson Grist Mill, is a historic structure located along the River Raisin at 242 Toledo Street in Dundee, Michigan. It was designated as a Michigan Historic Site on August 3, 1979. It was later listed as a contributing property within the Dundee Historic District, which was added to the National Register of Historic Places on August 20, 1990.
REO Town is a district in Lansing, Michigan, United States, located south of downtown. The neighborhood is bordered by West Malcolm X Street to the north; South Cedar Street BL I-96 to the east; West Mount Hope Avenue to the south; and Townsend Street, the Grand River, and South Martin Luther King Jr. Boulevard to the west.
Downtown Lansing is the central business district of Lansing, Michigan, United States. Located in the west-central part of the city along the banks of the Grand River, downtown Lansing is primarily home to Michigan's state government and three colleges, and also contains sports facilities, museums, entertainment and retail, and a growing residential population.
The Ypsilanti Historic District is a historic district located along several blocks on each side of the Huron River in the center of Ypsilanti, Michigan. The original portion of the district was designated a Michigan State Historic Site in 1973 and listed on the National Register of Historic Places in 1978; additions to the district were nationally listed in 1989.
The Camden Great Fire Historic District encompasses a significant portion of the central business district of the town of Camden, Maine, United States. Extending from the Camden Opera House north nearly to Atlantic Avenue, the area's buildings were almost all built in 1893, following a large fire in November 1892 that swept through the area. The district was listed on the National Register of Historic Places in 2007.
The Downtown Three Rivers Commercial Historic District is a commercial historic district located along North Main Street, between Michigan and Portage Avenues, in Three Rivers, Michigan. It was listed on the National Register of Historic Places in 1982.
The Portland Downtown Historic District is a primarily commercial historic district located along Kent and Maple Streets, between Academy Street and the Looking Glass River, in Portland, Michigan. It was listed on the National Register of Historic Places in 2005.
The River Ledge Historic District is a primarily residential historic district located along Jefferson, Scott, and Lincoln Streets between Franklin and Maple Streets in Grand Ledge, Michigan. It was listed on the National Register of Historic Places in 1987.
The Downtown Seymour Historic District encompasses most of the historic downtown of Seymour, Connecticut. Sandwiched between Connecticut Route 8 and the tracks of the former Naugatuck Railroad line, now the Waterbury Branch, it developed in the mid-19th century as a successful industrial center dominated by the production of brass goods. The district was listed on the National Register of Historic Places in 1983.
The Lansing Downtown Historic District is a primarily commercial and office historic district located in downtown Lansing, Michigan. The district stretches along the east side of Capitol Avenue from Ionia Street to Lenawee Street, and along both sides of Grand Avenue between Michigan and Washtenaw, with additional structures along Kalamazoo Street between Walnut and Grand and along Lenawee Street between Washington and Walnut. The district was listed on the National Register of Historic Places in 2009.