Choose a subject below to start exploring Ann Arbor Observer: Then & Now.
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Agriculture & Gardening |
A Former Estate at Fourth and Ann (June 1981)
Weinberg's Peony Garden (June 1984)
Saline Valley Farms (August 1989)
The 1940 Garden Show (April 1991)
The Tuomy Farm (June 1991)
Landscape Architect Bob Grese (October 1992)
Vivienne Farm (October 1995)
Scott Kunst (November 1995)
The Farmer's Market Bounces Back (July 1998)
Bridgewater (Community Observer, Summer 1998)
Gunther Gardens (Community Observer, Summer 1999)
The Botanical Gardens on Iroquois (May 2001
Chelsea Farmer's Supply (Community Observer, Summer 2006)
Re-creating the Rentschler Farm (Community Observer, date unknown)
Outdoor Eduction (January 2021)
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Architecture & Buildings |
A Former Estate at Fourth and Ann (June 1981)
Ann Arbor Central Mills (April 1982)
Weinberg's Coliseum (February 1983)
Ann Arbor's Steel Houses (March 1989)
The Three Lives of 1830 Washtenaw (June 1989)
Ann Arbor's Oldest Buildings (August 1989)
Cobblestone Houses in Washtenaw County (September 1989)
The Unitarians' Creative Reuse of 1917 Washtenaw (October 1989)
417 Detroit St., by Grace Shackman (January 1990)
The Remarkable History of the Kempf House (May 1990)
When Ann Street Reigned Supreme (July 1990)
Wall Street Journey (September 1990)
Behind the Facade (March 1991)
Ann Arbor's Kit Homes (January 1991)
Treasure Mart (November 1991)
David Rinsey's Queen Anne Monument (December 1991)
The Kelsey's Stone Castle (March 1992)
Ann Arbor's First Skyscraper (April 1992)
The First National Building (September 1992)
Growing up in the American Hotel (May 1993)
211 S. Fourth Avenue (March 1993)
The Country Estate of Christian Eberbach (January 1994)
The Historic Bell Road Bridge (September 1995)
At last, a new use for the armory! (August 1996)
Firehouse and the Hands-On Museum (November 1996)
Dexter's Vinkle-Steinbach House (Community Guide to Chelsea, Dexter, Manchester & Saline, 1997-1998)
The Earhart Mansion (June 1997)
Alden Dow's Ann Arbor (August 1998)
Landmarks: Space Pod Replaced (June 1999)
Michigan League (September 1999)
Lost Ann Arbor (October 1999)
The Lost University (December 1999)
Saline's Mansion (Community Observer, Spring 2000)
The Fountain-Bessac House (Community Observer, Summer 2000)
109 East Madison (January 2000)
5 Rms, Riv Vu (December 2000)
Frank Lloyd Wright in Ann Arbor (April 2002)
Rescued from the Scrap Heap (Community Observer, Fall 2003)
Ann Arbor's Oldest Apartments (January 2004)
A Piece of Henry Ford's Dream (Community Observer, Spring 2004)
David Byrd Chapel (December 2004)
U-M Deaf to Preservation Appeals (Community Observer, Summer 2005)
The George Matthew Adams House (Community Observer, Summer 2007)
Living Well at Observatory Lodge (April 2008)
The Many Lives of 210 E. Huron (October 2008)
Herman Bock, Decorator (March 2009)
Bridge to the 19th Century (Community Observer, Spring 2009)
The Stone School (May 2011)
Metcalf Modern (April 2011)
Lima Center Interuban Station (July 2011)
First Presbyterian's move to Washtenaw (October 2011)
From Church to Fraternity: SigEp's Creative Reuse of Memorial Christian Church (October 2012)
Dream Houses: When Architects Design Their Own Homes (November 2012)
Many Lives of 2390 Winewood (February 2013)
301 S. Main St: The Best Corner in Ann Arbor (March 2014)
Lurie Terrance at Fifty (December 2014
Nickels Arcade: The First 100 Years (July 2017)
Modern History (May 2019)
Endangered Pentastar (October 2019)
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Business & Industry |
Ann Arbor Central Mills, by Grace Shackman (April 1982)
Mack & Company: The Nieman-Marcus of Ann Arbor, by Grace Shackman (April 1982)
Walker Carriage Company/Ann Arbor Art Association, by Grace Shackman and Mary Hunt (December 1982)
The Rise and Transformation of American Broach (May 1989)
Arnet's and the Sepulchral Monument Industry (November 1989)
Fiegel's Men's Store (December 1989)
The Artificial Ice Company (February 1990)
The Unsinkable Mayor Brown (May 1990)
Recycling Rugs on Huron Street (June 1990)
Muehlig's (October 1990)
Main Street's Last Shoe Store (October 1991)
Treasure Mart (November 1991)
The History of the Ann Arbor Foundry (January 1992)
From Wooden Ladders to Computer Software (February 1992)
Ehnis and Son, by Grace Shackman (May 1992)
The Rise and Fall of "Power Laundries" (December 1992)
Rentschler Photographers (February 1993)
The Rise and Fall of Allen's Creek (June 1993)
Schlanderer's on Main Street (October 1993)
Dr. Chase's Successors (November 1993)
Henry Krause's Tannery (September 1994)
Ann Arbor Buick (October 1994)
Goetz Meat Market (March, 1995)
Dry Goods at Main and Washington (June 1995)
Willow Run's Glory Days (July 1995
Crescent Corset Factory (March 1996)
The Allenel Hotel (October 1996)
The Athens Press on Main Street (December 1997)
Schuyler's Mill in Saline (Community Observer, Winter 1998)
Chelsea Savings Bank (Community Observer, Winter 1998)
When Coal Was King (February 1999)
Turning the Clock Ahead in Dexter (Community Observer, Fall 2000)
Gasoline Alley (October 2000)
L. W. Cole and the Michigan Argus (February 2001)
John Haarer Photography Studio (June 2002)
Gardens of Stone (Community Observer, Fall 2002)
Personal Connections (Community Observer, Fall 2003)
The Dexter Co-op (Community Observer, Winter 2004)
Chelsea Farmer's Supply (Community Observer, Summer 2006)
415 West Washington (February 2007)
The Many Lives of 210 E. Huron (October 2008)
Industry on the Raisin (Community Observer, date unknown)
Manchester Mill (Community Observer, date unknown)
A Tale of Two Funeral Homes (Community Observer, date unknown)
Many Lives of 2390 Winewood (February 2013)
301 S. Main St: The Best Corner in Ann Arbor (March 2014)
West Stadium Blvd. at Ninety (May 2016)
Nickels Arcade: The First 100 Years (July 2017)
The Underwhelming History of the Ann Arbor Research Park (April 2018)
Affordable Care (October 2020)
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Chelsea |
McKune Memorial Library (Community Guide to Chelsea, Dexter, Manchester & Saline, 1997-1998)
Chelsea Retirement Community (Community Observer, Winter 1998)
Chelsea Savings Bank (Community Observer, Winter 1998)
Weighing the Price of Progress in Chelsea (Community Observer, Spring 2001)
Memories of the One-Room Schoolhouse (Community Observer, Summer 2001)
Rescued from the Scrap Heap (Community Observer, Fall 2003)
A Tale of Two Lakes (Community Observer, Fall 2004)
Building Bookshelves (Community Observer, Summer 2005)v
Chelsea Farmer's Supply (Community Observer, Summer 2006)
Chelsea Private Hospital (Community Observer, date unknown)
Christmas Past (Community Observer, date unknown)
A Tale of Two Funeral Homes (Community Observer, date unknown)
Thriving on the Railroad (Community Observer, date unknown)
Yamasaki's Chelsea High School (Community Observer, Winter 2013)
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Dexter |
Dexter's Vinkle-Steinbach House ((Community Guide to Chelsea, Dexter, Manchester & Saline, 1997-1998))
Dexter Cider Mill (Community Observer, Winter 1998)
Dexter Area Museum (Community Observer, Summer 1999)
Turning the Clock Ahead in Dexter (Community Observer, Fall 2000)
The View from the Hill (Community Observer, Spring 2001)
Pulling the Plug on Mill Creek (Community Observer, Spring 2001)
Memories of the One-Room Schoolhouse (Community Observer, Summer 2001)
House Raising (Community Observer, Summer 2002)
The Dexter Co-op (Community Observer, Winter 2004
U-M Deaf to Preservation Appeals (Community Observer, Summer 2005)
The Dexter Underpass (Community Observer, Spring 2007)
Christmas Past (Community Observer, date unknown)
The Legacy of Judge Dexter (Community Observer, date unknown)
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Downtown Ann Arbor |
Mack & Company: The Nieman-Marcus of Ann Arbor (April 1982)
Walker Carriage Company/Ann Arbor Art Association (December 1982)
When the Salvation Army Marched Downtown (July 1996)
Justin Trubey and the Ice Cream Trade (July 1989)
Fiegel's Men's Store (December 1989)
512 South Main (December 1990)
Behind the Facade (March 1991)
Main Street's Last Shoe Store (October 1991)
Prochnow's Dairy Lunch (July 1992)
The First National Building (September 1992)
Eighty-nine years at the Corner of Main and Stadium (October 1992)
211 S. Fourth Avenue (March 1993)
Growing up in the American Hotel (May 1993)
Fred Hoelzle's Butcher Shop and Metzger's Restaurant (August 1993)
Schlanderer's on Main Street (October 1993)
When Downtown Was Hardware Heaven (May 1994)
Yanitsky's: A Real Family Restaurant (June 1994)
The Whitney Theater (August 1994)
The Passing of the Old German (March 1995)
Dry Goods at Main and Washington (June 1995)
The Herz Paint Store (December 1995)
The Court Tavern (January 1996)
Foster's Art House (February 1996)
Crescent Corset Factory (March 1996)
When the Salvation Army Marched Downtown (July 1996)
Economy Baler (September 1996)
The Allenel Hotel (October 1996)
The Pardon Block (January 1997)
Christmas Past: Holiday Displays Downtown (December 1997)
Lost Ann Arbor (October 1999)
John Haarer Photography Studio (June 2002)
The Lost Street Names of Ann Arbor (July 2002)
The Many Lives of 210 E. Huron (October 2008)
301 S. Main St: The Best Corner in Ann Arbor (March 2014)
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Food & Drink |
Justin Trubey and the Ice Cream Trade (July 1989)
439 Fifth Street: From Drinking Spot to Play Yard (January 1992)
Prochnow's Dairy Lunch (July 1992)
The Short Life of the Royal Cafe (January 1993)
Growing up in the American Hotel (May 1993)
Fred Hoelzle's Butcher Shop and Metzger's Restaurant (August 1993)
Yanitsky's: A Real Family Restaurant (June 1994)
The West Side Dairy (January 1995)
The Passing of the Old German (March 1995)
The Court Tavern (January 1996)
The Aura Inn (Community Observer, Summer 1999)
The Latke versus the Hamantasch (December 1999)
Brewed on Fourth Street (December 2007)
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Manchester |
Manchester Township Library (Community Observer, Summer 1998)
Building Manchester (Community Observer, Winter 1998)
122 West Main Street, Manchester (Community Observer, Winter 1998)
The Aura Inn (Community Observer, Summer 1999)
The Fountain-Bessac House (Community Observer, Summer 2000)
Memories of the One-Room Schoolhouse (Community Observer, Summer 2001)
Building Bookshelves (Community Observer, Summer 2005)
Christmas Past (Community Observer, date unknown)
Industry on the Raisin (Community Observer, date unknown)
Manchester Mill (Community Observer, date unknown)
The Village Tap (Community Observer, date unknown)
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Public Buildings & Institutions |
The County Poor House (October 1986)
Ann Arbor's Permanent Polling Places (April 1989)
The Three Courthouses of Washtenaw County (August 1990)
Books and Learning at the Corner of Fifth and William (January 1991)
Ann Arbor's Carnegie Library (February 1991)
The Private Hospital Era (March 1994)
At last, a new use for the armory! (August 1996)
The future of the Broadway bridges (August 1996)
The 1882 Firehouse (November 1996)
McKune Memorial Library ((Community Guide to Chelsea, Dexter, Manchester & Saline, 1997-1998))
Library Board, Too, Attracts a Crowded Field (June 1998)
Red Howard, Small-Town Cop (November 1999)
The 1838 Jail (May 2000)
House Raising (Community Observer, Summer 2002)
Weighing the Price of Progress in Chelsea (Community Observer, Spring 2001)
Reinventing the Farmer's Market (August 2004)
A Century at State and Huron (September 2005)
Chelsea Private Hospital (Community Observer, date unknown)
Yamasaki's Chelsea High School (Community Observer, Winter 2013)
Lurie Terrance at Fifty (December 2014)
Which Perry? (June 2015)
Library Threads (October 2016)
Nickels Arcade: The First 100 Years (July 2017)
Outdoor Eduction (January 2021)
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Recreation & Culture |
Weinberg's Peony Garden (June 1984)
Books and Learning at the Corner of Fifth and William (January 1991)
Ann Arbor's Carnegie Library (February 1991)
The 1940 Garden Show (April 1991)
The Rock (September 1991)
The Band Master (December 1991)
Dr. Chase's Successors (November 1993)
Mullison's Stables (December 1993)
The Roy Hoyer Dance Stuido (February 1994)
The Whitney Theater (August 1994)
Sunnyside Park (December 1994)
Scott Kunst (November 1995)
The Court Tavern (January 1996)
Foster's Art House (February 1996)
When the Salvation Army Marched Downtown (July 1996)
The Broadway Bridge Parks (August 1996)
Osias Zwerdling's Art Deco Sign (August 1997)
Meredith Bixby (Community Observer, Summer 1998)
Chad Williams: WCBN's Apostle of Country Music (July 1998)
Alden Dow's Ann Arbor (August 1998)
Dexter Area Museum (Community Observer, Summer 1999)
Ann Arbor's Municipal Beach (August 1999)
The Community Christmas Sing (December 1999)
"Watch Out! Here I Come!" (December 2000)
Otto's Band (October 2001)
Cinema's First Century (September 2003)
Building the County Parks (November 2008)
Traveling the Chain of Lakes (Community Observer, Spring 2013)
Ann Arbor's Seven Sisters (May 2015)
Library Threads (October 2016)
The Barton Hills Boat Club (August 2018)
The Many Lives of Burns Park (June 2019)
Puppy Promenade (September 2020)
Outdoor Education (January 2021)
Huron River Renaissance (Ann Arbor Observer City Guide 2021-2022)
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Religion & Churches |
Trinity Lutheran, 1893-1993 (July 1993)
The Unitarians' Creative Reuse of 1917 Washtenaw (October 1989)
Trinity Lutheran, 1893-1993 (July 1993)
The Calico Cat ((Community Guide to Chelsea, Dexter, Manchester & Saline, 1997-1998))
First Congregational Church (May 1998)
122 West Main Street, Manchester (Community Observer, Winter 1998)
St. Andrew's Episcopal Church (July 1999)
Bethel AME (April 2000)
Freedom Township's Zion Lutheran Church (Community Guide to Chelsea, Dexter, Manchester & Saline, 2003)
David Byrd Chapel (December 2004)
Memories of St. Mary's (Community Observer, Summer 2005)
First Presbyterian's move to Washtenaw (October 2011)
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Saline |
Saline Valley Farms (August 1989)
The Calico Cat ((Community Guide to Chelsea, Dexter, Manchester & Saline, 1997-1998))
The Saline Train Depot (Community Observer, Summer 1998)
Meredith Bixby (Community Observer, Summer 1998)
Schuyler's Mill in Saline (Community Observer, Winter 1998)
Gunther Gardens (Community Observer, Summer 1999)
Hubert Beach (Community Observer, Summer 1999)
Saline's Mansion (Community Observer, Spring 2000)
Memories of the One-Room Schoolhouse (Community Observer, Summer 2001)
A Piece of Henry Ford's Dream (Community Observer, Spring 2004)
Saline Railroad Depot (Community Observer, Winter 2006)
Saline's Photographer (Community Observer, Winter 2006)
Building Bookshelves (Community Observer, Summer 2005)
The Lodi Cemetery (Community Observer, Spring 2008)
The Choice of Orange Risdon (Community Observer, date unknown)
Christmas Past (Community Observer, date unknown)
Re-creating the Rentschler Farm (Community Observer, date unknown)
Wayne Clements (Community Observer, date unknown)
Saline's Plymouth Rock (Community Observer, Spring 2014)
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Social Fabric & Communities |
The Anna Bach Home on West Liberty (December 1983)
The Colored Welfare League (August 1991)
Pilar Celaya (September 1993)
Variations on a Theme (February 1995)
Willow Run's Glory Days (July 1995)
Delhi Village (August 1995)
Dixboro (May 1996)
Housing the Homeless (June 1996)
At last, a new use for the armory! (August 1996)
Christmas Past: Holiday Displays Downtown (December 1997)
Manchester Township Library (Community Observer, Summer 1998)
The Underground Railroad in Ann Arbor (December 1998)
Ann Arbor's Santa Claus (December 1998)
Chelsea Retirement Community (Community Observer, Winter 1998)
Gifts From the Past (December 2000)
Memories of the One-Room Schoolhouse (Community Observer, Summer 2001)
Old West Side Story: The Germans in Ann Arbor (August 2001)
The Story of the Schwaben Halle (December 2002)
Freedom Township's Zion Lutheran Church (Community Guide to Chelsea, Dexter, Manchester & Saline, 2003)
Flower Power in Bloom (July 2003 Art Fair Guide)
A Tale of Two Lakes (Community Observer, Fall 2004)
The Buried History of Barton Hills (June 2005)
Building Bookshelves (Community Observer, Summer 2005)
Living Well at Observatory Lodge (April 2008)
The Lodi Cemetery (Community Observer, Spring 2008)
Location is Everything (Community Observer, Summer 2008)
History: Calvin Fillmore (November 2009)
The Choice of Orange Risdon (Community Observer, date unknown)
Birth of the Cube Farm (June 2014)
Lurie Terrance at Fifty (December 2014)
Ann Arbor's Seven Sisters (May 2015)
Which Perry? (June 2015)
Library Threads (October 2016)
Puppy Promenade (September 2020)
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Transportation |
109-113 Catherine (September 1988)
The Michigan Central Depot (May 1991)
The Ann Arbor Cooperative Society (August 1992)
The Ferry Yard Turntable (November 1992)
Ann Arbor Buick (October 1994)
Ann Arbor's Streetcars (November 1995)
Ann Arbor's "Other" Railroad (December 1997)
The Saline Train Depot (Community Observer, Summer 1998)
Gasoline Alley (October 2000)
Orange Risdon's 1825 Map (December 2000)
The Lost Street Names of Ann Arbor (July 2002)
Lifelines (Community Observer, Spring 2003)
Saline Railroad Depot (Community Observer, Winter 2006)
The Dexter Underpass (Community Observer, Spring 2007)
Thriving on the Railroad (Community Observer, date unknown)
Lima Center Interuban Station (July 2011)
Traveling the Chain of Lakes (Community Observer, Spring 2013)
Fixing The Damn Roads (September 2019)
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The University of Michigan |
Weinberg's Coliseum (February 1983)
Inglis House (September 1990)
The Rock (September 1991)
The Band Master (December 1991)
The Kelsey's Stone Castle (March 1992)
The Remarkable Legacy of Francis Kelsey (August 1996)
The Detroit Observatory (May 1999)
Michigan League (September 1999)
The Lost University (December 1999)
Lane Hall (December 2000)
When Football Players Danced the Can-Can (May 2004)
The Pumas (May 2007)
Herman Bock, Decorator (March 2009)