Ann Arbor tourist information

Ann Arbor was founded in January 1824 by John Allen and Elisha Rumsey, both of whom were land speculators. There are various accounts concerning the origin of the settlement's name, but one states that Allen and Rumsey decided to name it "Annarbour" for their spouses, both named Ann, and for the stands of burr oak in the 640 acres (260 hectares) of land they had purchased for $800 from the federal government. The Native Americans of the region knew the settlement as Kaw-goosh-kaw-nick, after the sound of Allen's grist mill.

Ann Arbor later became the seat of Washtenaw County in 1827, and was incorporated as a village in 1833. The town set aside 40 acres (16 hectares) of undeveloped land and offered it to the State of Michigan as the site of the state capitol, but it lost the bid to Lansing in 1836. In 1837 the unused land was given to the University of Michigan, forever linking Ann Arbor and its history with the university. The town became a regional transportation hub in 1839 with the arrival of the Michigan Central Railroad. Ann Arbor was chartered as a city in 1851.

During World War II, Ford Motor Company's nearby Willow Run plant turned out B-24 Liberator bombers. The population of Ann Arbor exploded with an influx of military personnel, war workers, and their families.

The city gained a reputation as an important center for liberal politics over the course of the 1960s and 1970s. Presidential candidate John F. Kennedy unveiled his Peace Corps proposal in 1960 at the University of Michigan, and there in 1964 President Lyndon B. Johnson first called for a "Great Society." The city also became a locus for left-wing activism, serving as a hub for the civil-rights movement and anti-Vietnam War movement, as well as the student movement. The first major meetings of the national left-wing campus group Students for a Democratic Society took place in Ann Arbor in 1960, and in 1965 the city was home to the first U.S. teach-in against the Vietnam War. Over the course of the ensuing fifteen years, a plethora of countercultural and New Left enterprises sprang up and developed strong constituencies within the city.

These influences washed into municipal politics during the early and mid-1970s when three members of the local, progressive Human Rights Party (HRP) won city-council seats on the strength of the student vote. During their time on the council, HRP representatives successfully fought for measures ranging from pioneering antidiscrimination ordinances to measures decriminalizing marijuana possession to a rent-control ordinance – many of which remain in effect in modified form today.

Alongside these liberal and left-wing efforts, a small handful of conservative institutions were also born in Ann Arbor. These include Word of God (established in 1967), a charismatic Catholic movement of national scope; and the Thomas More Law Center (established in 1999), a leading religious-conservative advocacy group.

The economy of Ann Arbor underwent a gradual shift from a manufacturing base to a service and technology base over the course of the 20th century, a shift which accelerated in the 1970s and 1980s. At the same time, the downtown has transformed from one dominated primarily by retail establishments dealing in staple goods to one comprised mainly of eateries, cafés, bars and clubs, and specialty shops.

Over the past several decades, the city has increasingly found itself grappling with the effects of sharply rising land values and gentrification, as well as urban sprawl stretching far into the outlying countryside. On November 2, 2004, voters approved a greenbelt plan under which the city government would buy development rights to pieces of land adjacent to Ann Arbor to preserve them from sprawling development. Since then, a vociferous local debate has hinged on whether, and how, to accommodate and guide development within city limits.

The city is belted by three highway-grade roadways: I-94 (which runs along the southern portion of the city), US 23 (which primarily runs along the eastern edge of Ann Arbor), and M-14 (which runs along the northern edge of the city).

The streets in downtown Ann Arbor conform to a grid pattern, though this pattern is less apparent in the surrounding areas. Several major roads branch out from the downtown district like spokes on a wheel to the highways surrounding the city. Some of the major surface arteries lead to the I-94/M-14 juncture in the west, US 23 in the east, and the city's southern areas. Also, a large network of bike paths crisscrosses the city.

The Ann Arbor Transportation Authority (AATA), which brands itself as "The Ride," operates public bus services throughout Ann Arbor and nearby Ypsilanti. A separate free bus service operates within the University of Michigan campuses. Plans have been floated several times to operate a trolley service between downtown and Briarwood Mall along disused rail tracks, although these have not come to fruition as of 2005. A downtown bus depot served by Greyhound Lines provides out-of-town bus service, and is the city's only remaining example of the Streamline Moderne architectural style.

Ann Arbor Municipal Airport is a small aircraft general aviation facility located south of I-94. Detroit Metropolitan Airport, the area's large international airport, is located about 28 miles (45 km) east of the city, in Romulus. Additionally, Willow Run Airport in nearby Ypsilanti serves freight, corporate, and general aviation clients.

The city was a major rail hub, notably for freight traffic between Toledo and ports north of Chicago from 1878 to 1982, though the Ann Arbor Railroad also sold 1.1 million passenger tickets in 1913 alone. The city was also served by the Michigan Central Railroad starting in 1837. Currently, Amtrak provides service to Ann Arbor, operating its Wolverine three times daily in each direction between Chicago, Illinois, and Pontiac, via Detroit. Rail service is provided at the Ann Arbor Train Station; the present-day station neighbors the city's old Michigan Central Depot, which was renovated as a restaurant in 1969. There have been plans to build a commuter rail link between Ann Arbor and Detroit, with the U.S. federal government providing $100 million to enable its development.

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