Ann Arbor, MI University of Michigan Regional and local performing arts groups

not associated with the university include

Ann Arbor is a city in the U.S. state of Ann Arbor is home to the University of
the Ann Arbor Civic Theatre; the Arbor Opera
Michigan and the county seat of Washtenaw Michigan, established in 1837. As the domi-
Theater; the Ann Arbor Symphony Orches-
County. It is the state’s seventh largest city nant institution of higher learning in the city
tra; the Ann Arbor Ballet Theater; the Ann
with a population of 114,024 as of the 2000 and one of the top public universities in the
Arbor Civic Ballet (established in 1954 as
Census, of which 36,892 (32%) are university world, the university provides Ann Arbor with
Michigan’s first chartered ballet company);
or college students. The city, which is part a distinct college-town atmosphere. The uni-
and Performance Network, which operates a
of the Detroit-Ann Arbor-Flint, MI CSA, is versity shapes Ann Arbor’s economy signifi-
downtown theater frequently offering new or
named after the spouses of the city’s found- cantly as it employs about 30,000 workers,
nontraditional plays.
ers and for the stands of trees in the area. including about 7,500 in the medical center.
The city’s economy is also centered on high-
The Ann Arbor Hands-On Museum, located
Ann Arbor was founded in January 1824 by technology, with several companies drawn
in a renovated and expanded historic down-
John Allen and Elisha Rumsey, both of whom to the area by the university’s research and
town fire station, contains more than 250 in-
were land speculators. On May 25, 1824, the development money, and by its graduates.
teractive exhibits featuring science and tech-
town plot was registered with Wayne County On the other hand, Ann Arbor has increas-
nology. Multiple art galleries exist in the city,
as “Annarbour”. The city became the seat of ingly found itself grappling with the effects of
notably in the downtown area and around
Washtenaw County in 1827, and was incor- sharply rising land values and gentrification,
the University of Michigan campus. Aside
porated as a village in 1833. The town be- as well as urban sprawl stretching far into
from a large restaurant scene in the Main
came a regional transportation hub in 1839 the outlying countryside.
Street, South State Street, and South Uni-
with the arrival of the Michigan Central Rail-
versity Avenue areas, Ann Arbor ranks first
road, and was chartered as a city in 1851. Attractions among U.S. cities in the number of booksell-
During the 1960s and 1970s, the city gained
Many Ann Arbor cultural attractions and ers and books sold per capita. The Ann Arbor
a reputation as a center for liberal politics.
events are sponsored by the University of District Library maintains four branch out-
During the 20th century, the economy of
Michigan. Several performing arts groups lets in addition to its main downtown build-
Ann Arbor underwent a gradual shift from a
and facilities are on the university’s campus, ing; in 2008 a new branch building replaced
manufacturing base to a service and technol-
as are museums dedicated to art, archaeol- the branch located in Plymouth Mall. This
ogy base, which accelerated in the 1970s and
ogy, and natural history and sciences (see new branch is called the Traverwood Branch,
1980s.
Museums at the University of Michigan). and opened on June 30, 2008.
 consin Governor Lee Dreyfus’s description of
Madison, Wisconsin. Ann Arbor sometimes
appears on citation indexes as an author,
instead of a location, often with the academic
degree MI, a misunderstanding of the abbre-
viation for Michigan.

Events
Several annual events – many of them cen-
tered on performing and visual arts – draw
visitors to Ann Arbor. One such event is the
Ann Arbor Art Fairs, a set of four concurrent
juried fairs held on downtown streets, which
began in 1960. Scheduled on Wednesday
through Saturday in the third week of July,
the fairs draw upward of half a million visi-
tors. One event that is not related to visual
and performing arts is Hash Bash, held on
the first Saturday of April, ostensibly in sup-
port of the reform of marijuana laws. It has
been celebrated since 1971.

Fun Facts
A person from Ann Arbor is called an “Ann
Arborite”, and many long-time residents call Customer Service Center
themselves “townies”. The city itself is often (Located diagonally across the street
called A² (“A-squared”) or A2 (“A two”), and, from City Hall)
less commonly, Tree Town. Recently, some
City Center Building, 1st Floor
youths have taken to calling Ann Arbor Ace
220 East Huron
Deuce or simply The Deuce. With tongue-
Ann Arbor, MI 48104
in-cheek reference to the city’s liberal politi-
(734) 994-2700
cal leanings, some occasionally refer to Ann
Fax: (734) 994-1765

Ann Arbor, MI
Arbor as The People’s Republic of Ann Arbor
or 25 square miles surrounded by reality,
E-mail: [email protected]
the latter phrase being adapted from Wis-