Blog Post
Walks with Brenda Bentley
by annevm
Plan to join Riverwalks Ann Arbor author Brenda Bentley for educational walks around the city this fall. On Thursdays Sept. 3 and Sept. 17, she will lead “Citywalk” a vigorous one-hour exercise loop over varied terrain, starting at 10 a.m. outside Washtenaw County's Meri Lou Murray Recreaction Center on Washtenaw Avenue. Or try a “Riverwalk,” a vigorous one-hour (or longer) hike and history tour from high ground, down to the river, and back by a different route, on Saturdays Sept. 5 and Sept. 19. On Sept. 5, the walk starts at 3 p.m. at the base of Burton Tower (Ingalls Mall), and on Sept. 19, at 3 p.m. at the base of Lurie Tower (North Campus Commons). Walks cost $10 and group size is limited. Register by email bbentley@citywalks.us. More information, 945-9804.
Blog Post
Five women cook up some local history in 1899
by amy
While testing the recipes in Ann Arbor Cooks you can savor an extra slice of Ann Arbor history: Several recipes, particularly within the 1899 Ann Arbor Cookbook, bear the names of prominent Ann Arbor citizens. On your next visit to Allmendinger Park you can take along Miss E. C. Allmendinger's Quince Tents; or you can enjoy Mrs. W. B. Hinsdale's Cream Puffs at the Broadway Park near the former intersection of 19th century Indian trails mentioned in her husband's book, The Indians of Washtenaw County. Mrs. Junius Beal probably whipped up her Marguerites at her home on the corner of 5th Avenue and William St., now the site of the Downtown library. Mrs. Samuel W. Beakes, whose husband wrote The Past and Present of Washtenaw County, baked Excellent Cocoanut Cookies, and Mrs. Frank Kelsey actually makes Prune Pudding sound...ok.
The names Allmendinger, Hinsdale, Beal, Beakes and Kelsey are frequently cited within the text and image collections of The Ann Arbor Observer: Then & Now, Ann Arbor Founders, The Downtown Ann Arbor Historical Street Exhibit and The Making of Ann Arbor.
Blog Post
Along the Huron River: Explore and Enjoy!
by ballybeg
How is your Ann Arbor history and geography? Where would you find these in Ann Arbor: Picnic Island, Lover’s Lane, Cat Hole, the Pudding Stone, Cascade Glen or the Botsford Homestead? Hint: they all appear on walks along the Huron River detailed in the new book Riverwalks: Ann Arbor by Brenda Bentley. (Ok, some of the names have changed.)
I wasn’t expecting what I discovered in this book. The detailed instructions, with maps, for 31 ambles around all points of the Huron River would be expected in a walking guidebook. It was the history, of the river and Ann Arbor’s relationship to it over the years, with beautiful, old-time photographs of early Ann Arbor locations, all woven through a story-like narrative, with the Huron River a larger-than-life presence holding it all together, which surprised and delighted me. This book makes me feel like I am living beside a treasure, which I want to explore and get to know better.
An excellent organization working to protect and educate people about the Huron River is the Huron River Watershed Council and we carry its publication the Huron River Report in our periodicals department.
To celebrate our beautiful river, hike (or row) on over to Gallup Park, on Sunday, July 12th for Huron River Day.
Blog Post
The Story Of The Boll Weevil Jass Band
by shannon riffe
Travel back in time to the late 1950’s when a new jazz band made up of a motley crew of residents and students was formed in Ann Arbor. Known as the Boll Weevil Jass Band (aka The Weevils) they played gigs at fraternity and sorority houses and staged several public concerts. On Sunday, April 19, 3pm - 4:30pm at Malletts Creek Branch, music expert (and co-founder of the Weevils) Mike Montgomery will discuss Dixieland Jazz in Ann Arbor and play excerpts from Weevil recordings to illustrate the various musical conventions used, such as breaks, stop-time, after beats, double-time and changing keys.
Blog Post
Corea/McLaughlin/Ann Arbor: Then and Now
by amy
The University Musical Society and AADL invite you to participate in Then and Now: Community and Cultural Change from the Fusion Era to Today, an online exhibit in celebration of Ann Arbor’s community heritage from 1968-1975 and the return of Chick Corea and John McLaughlin to UMS on April 4. Both of these musicians have continually reinvented themselves over the years while maintaining an exceptional level of artistry and commitment to their music.
Help us to show Ann Arbor's parallel evolution in its cultural, musical, and community landscape. Do you have a photograph from that era or the present day that you’d like to share? We’d love to include it on our site. Go to pictureAnnArbor to find out how to submit your photographs online, or email AADL Productions at productions@aadl.org to arrange a time to submit your photographs in person.
Blog Post
City Council Minutes 1891-1930 Online
by andrewjmac
Ever wonder how much things in Ann Arbor have changed in the last century? Find out what life was like through the eyes of the body that's overseen it all, the Ann Arbor City Council, with the new Ann Arbor City Council Meeting Minutes archive. This collection features searchable and browsable sets of council minutes from 1891-1930, letting you see 40 years of local issues and legislation. And for all you genealogists, council minutes also contain a wealth of information about the individual citizens of Ann Arbor, whether they were making a request, receiving a citation, or working for the city. Take a look and find out that Ann Arbor hasn't changed that much: we've got speed limits (7 mph in 1902), public transportation fare disputes, and pigs still aren't allowed to run through the streets.
Blog Post
What's next for the Downtown Ann Arbor Historical Street Exhibit Project?
by amy
Listen in as local historians Ray Detter, Louisa Pieper and Grace Shackman talk about the origins, challenges and rewards of putting together the Downtown Ann Arbor Historical Street Exhibits Program. You'll hear about what's coming up (hint: books and corsets) and how our schools are planning to work the exhibit into the AAPS curriculum.
Blog Post
Seeding the Cloud
by local_girl
Have you ever been to the Bentley to research local history? It is quiet as a tomb and you have to wear these white cotton gloves if you want to handle the old photos. It can be intimidating but it's also pretty cool. The whole environment is so reverential that the experience can be nearly spiritual. I highly recommend checking it out.
If you don't want to make the trip and just want to sit around in your jammies checking out old photos of Ann Arbor, you can look at some of the Bentley collection online. The material is cataloged according to professional standards and the information is very useful. Which is great, unless you like to browse sites with a little more personality.
If that's the case, you must take a peek at Wystan Steven's Flickr profile. It's a great start to a lost afternoon wandering the old streets of A2. Wystan is well known for his passionate interest in photos and stories about our town (come on, you know, he's the cemetery tour guy). The bummer was that until recently, there was no easy way for him to share his collection. He now has over 200 uploads on Flickr, with notes! Good notes. Sometimes funny notes.
A photo of Carrie Nation (the hatchet wielding saloon smasher) is one of his most viewed uploads but there are also photos of JFK in Ann Arbor. So go and give the man some views and check his page often, he's on there every day.
Blog Post
New online collection profiles the founders of Ann Arbor
by amy
AADL is pleased to present a new collection, The Ford Gallery of Ann Arbor Founders, based on the permanent exhibit located in the Michigan Theater. You can browse the exhibit panels, which include such topics as early settlers, women who made a mark on the community, and the people who made the parks. Click on any image for a larger view or "read this panel" for a text-only version. You can also browse all the founders by name and search the collection by keyword. The permanent exhibit was funded by the Ford Motor Company Fund, with the cooperation of the Michigan Theater and the Bentley Historical Library.
Blog Post
A History of U of M's Medical School
by amy
Join us Sunday, November 16, from 2-4 p.m. in the Downtown Library's Multi-Purpose Room for a talk by Dr. David Bloom on the history of the University of Michigan Medical School. In preparation, consider taking a look at some of our online collections, including this panel about the history of medicine in Ann Arbor from our new online collection of Ann Arbor Founders, or search for the term 'medical school' in The Making of the University of Michigan, 1817-1992.