text taken from Historic Buildings Ann Arbor, Michigan by Marjorie Reade and Susan Wineberg

Ann Arbor Architecture

Like most cities, Ann Arbor is a cluster of visually distinct districts. It has a central commercial core surrounded by neighborhoods which are identifiable by the “flavor” or character of the buildings which fill them.
Most of the neighborhoods are residential, and each has a high degree of visual consistency. That is, styles of architecture are similar from building to building and block to block. This consistency results from a pattern of gradual growth outward from the center of town. In contrast to neighborhood areas surrounding it, Ann Arbor’s downtown is characterized by architectural diversity as the product of years of growth and evolution. Growth has brought continual renewal of the built environment through replacement and remodeling of old buildings, producing a varied mix of building styles.

Because architecture is a cultural product, it reflects changes in its social and economic environment. Consequently, each historic period has a unique stylistic expression. Of course not all buildings can be readily categorized. Styles frequently overlap and there are no clear-cut starting and stopping dates for each period. One style often melts into the next.