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Ann Arbor, MichiganAnn Arbor is a city in the U.S. state ofMichigan and the county seat of Washt-enaw County. It is the states seventh largestcity with a populaon of 114,024 as of the

2000 Census, of which 36,892 (32%) are uni-

versity or college students. The city, which is

part of the Detroit-Ann Arbor-Flint, MI CSA, is

named aer the spouses of the citys found-

ers and for the stands of trees in the area.

History

Ann Arbor was founded in January 1824by John Allen and Elisha Rumsey, both

of whom were land speculators. On May

25, 1824, the town plot was registered with

Wayne County as Annarbour. The city be-

came the seat of Washtenaw County in 1827,

and was incorporated as a village in 1833. The

town became a regional transportaon hub

in 1839 with the arrival of the Michigan Cen-

tral Railroad, and was chartered as a city in

1851. During the 1960s and 1970s, the city

gained a reputaon as a center for liberal

polics. During the 20th century, the econ-

omy of Ann Arbor underwent a gradual shi

from a manufacturing base to a service andtechnology base, which accelerated in the

1970s and 1980s.

University of Michigan

Ann Arbor is home to the University ofMichigan, established in 1837. As thedominant instuon of higher learning in the

city and one of the top public universies in

the world, the university provides Ann Arborwith a disnct college-town atmosphere. The

university shapes Ann Arbors economy sig-

nicantly as it employs about 30,000 workers,

including about 7,500 in the medical center.

The citys economy is also centered on high-

technology, with several companies drawn to

the area by the universitys research and de-

velopment money, and by its graduates. On

the other hand, Ann Arbor has increasingly

found itself grappling with the eects of

sharply rising land values and gentricaon,

as well as urban sprawl stretching far into the

outlying countryside.

Local Aracon

Many Ann Arbor cultural aracons andevents are sponsored by the Univer-sity of Michigan. Several performing arts

groups and facilies are on the universitys

campus, as are museums dedicated to art,

archaeology, and natural history and sci-

ences (see Museums at the University of

Michigan). Regional and local performingarts groups not associated with the univer-

sity include the Ann Arbor Civic Theatre;

the Arbor Opera Theater; the Ann Arbor

Symphony Orchestra; the Ann Arbor Ballet

Theater; the Ann Arbor Civic Ballet (estab-

lished in 1954 as Michigans rst chartered

ballet company); and Performance Network,

which operates a downtown theater fre-

quently oering new or nontradional plays.

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Fun Facts

Aperson from Ann Arbor is called an AnnArborite, and many long-me residentscall themselves townies. The city itself

is oen called A (A-squared) or A2 (Atwo), and, less commonly, Tree Town. Re-

cently, some youths have taken to calling

Ann Arbor Ace Deuce or simply The Deuce.

With tongue-in-cheek reference to the citys

liberal polical leanings, some occasionally

refer to Ann Arbor as The Peoples Republic

of Ann Arbor or 25 square miles surrounded

by reality, the laer phrase being adapted

from Wisconsin Governor Lee Dreyfuss de-

scripon of Madison, Wisconsin. Ann Arborsomemes appears on citaon indexes as an

author, instead of a locaon, oen with the

academic degree MI, a misunderstanding of

the abbreviaon for Michigan.

Customer Service Center

(Located diagonally across the street from

City Hall)

City Center Building, 1st Floor220 East Huron

Ann Arbor, MI 48104

(734) 994-2700

Fax: (734) 994-1765

E-mail: customerservice@a2gov.org

The Ann Arbor Hands-On Museum, locat-ed in a renovated and expanded historicdowntown re staon, contains more than

250 interacve exhibits featuring science

and technology. Mulple art galleries exist in

the city, notably in the downtown area andaround the University of Michigan campus.

Aside from a large restaurant scene in the

Main Street, South State Street, and South

University Avenue areas, Ann Arbor ranks

rst among U.S. cies in the number of book-

sellers and books sold per capita. The Ann

Arbor District Library maintains four branch

outlets in addion to its main downtown

building; in 2008 a new branch building re-

placed the branch located in Plymouth Mall.This new branch is called the Traverwood

Branch, and opened on June 30, 2008. The

city is also home to the Gerald R. Ford Presi-

denal Library.

Events

Several annual events many of themcentered on performing and visual arts draw visitors to Ann Arbor. One such event isthe Ann Arbor Art Fairs, a set of four concur-

rent juried fairs held on downtown streets,

which began in 1960. Scheduled on Wednes-

day through Saturday in the third week of

July, the fairs draw upward of half a million

visitors. One event that is not related to visu-

al and performing arts is Hash Bash, held on

the rst Saturday of April, ostensibly in sup-

port of the reform of marijuana laws. It has

been celebrated since 1971.

Michigan

Ann Arbor