Burton Memorial Tower, 1936

881 N University Ave
Architect: Albert Kahn
It had long been the dream of U-M President Marion L. Burton (1920–25) to have a centrally located tower and carillon. He died before it became a reality but it now perpetuates his name. The carillon, a set of 55 bells cast in England, was the gift of Charles M. Baird, a lawyer and the U-M’s first athletic director. The carillon marks every quarter hour with Westminster chimes, and during the noon hour and on special occasions tunes are played. It forms a unique part of Ann Arbor’s ambiance and can be seen and heard far from Central Campus.

The 10-story limestone sheath, an obelisk in the Art Deco style with a pointed copper cap and clocks on each of its four sides, was designed by the Detroit architect Albert Kahn and begun in 1935. Burton Tower originally was going to be much taller and it’s believed that Kahn’s design was highly influenced by his friend Eliel Saarinen. The Depression affected the funding, which resulted in the building we see (and hear) today.

YMCA Building, 1904

110 N Fourth Ave
Architects: Pond & Pond
The history of YMCA in Ann Arbor begins in 1858, when a group was started on the University of Michigan campus and eventually housed at Lane Hall. In 1892, the Ann Arbor YMCA was founded, and in 1904 the group built this building.

Designed by Pond and Pond, with elements of the Italian Renaissance Revival and Beaux Arts styles, this building was home to the YMCA from 1904 to 1959. The building originally housed a swimming pool in the basement and a gymnasium on the top floor. Pond and Pond was founded by brothers Irving K. and Allen B. Pond of Ann Arbor. They designed numerous buildings in Chicago, as well as a number of Ann Arbor landmarks. Pond and Pond were known for their elaborate brickwork, which can be seen in the YMCA building with its contrasting layers of hard-fired glazed brick, red brick, and limestone. The glazed brick is utilized on the street level, and is continued upward in the striped, brick pilasters and corner quoins.

In 1959, the YMCA moved to a new building on Fifth Avenue and William (since demolished). Today the old YMCA building serves as the Washtenaw County Annex.

First National Building, 1929

201 S Main St
Architects: Fry & Kasurin
In February 1929, before the stock market crash and the beginning of the Great Depression, this building opened with a flourish and a special edition of the Ann Arbor Daily Times News. Sixteen floodlights made it a focal point of downtown at night. This Romanesque wonder sheathed in terra-cotta has carved lion heads, a sumptuous lobby with black terrazzo floors, black and gold marble, Italian travertine walls, bronze doorways, and a richly decorated coffered ceiling. It was designed by the local firm of Fry and Kasurin.

The First National Bank was the first bank chartered in Michigan under the National Bank Act of 1863. After occupying other spaces, they built their own building only to succumb to economic realities during the Depression.

Hill Auditorium, 1913

825 N University Ave
Architects: Albert Kahn with Ernst Wilby
This brick, limestone, and terra-cotta structure, designed by Albert Kahn with Ernst Wilby, was the first performance space built on campus and Kahn’s second building on campus. Parabolic in shape, it is said to have among the best acoustics in the country. Regent Arthur Hill donated the funds for this 4,300-seat auditorium, designed in the spare Prairie style started by Louis Sullivan in Chicago. The facade, with its tapestry brick framing classical columns, resembles several of Sullivan’s buildings. These brick patterns are almost the only exterior decoration. The name “Hill Auditorium” is spelled out in simple, almost invisible, copper lettering.

Kahn used a special reinforced concrete system developed by his brother Julius (who had two degrees from U-M) known as the “Kahn Bar.” The building underwent a major renovation and was re-dedicated in 2004.

Hill has been the centerpiece of the cultural scene in Ann Arbor since its opening in 1913.

First National Bank Block / Goodyear's, 1867

120-124 S Main St
Shortly after it opened as the “Bank Building” in 1867, this structure was described as having “a freestone front, in which are large and elegant stores and the First National Bank.” This bank was the first federally chartered bank in Michigan and only the twenty-second such bank in the U.S. The building is of solid brick, with various bays of arched windows on both floors, typical of the Italianate commercial style popular in the 1860s and ’70s. The bank portion has a more Gothic front, with pointed arches and a cornice that rose above the others, fitted with higher brackets and pointed pinnacles which increased its visual domination.

For almost 100 years this building was known as “Goodyear’s” because of the department store that over the 20th century eventually occupied the entire building. Goodyear’s was the major retail anchor of downtown for almost a century. It closed in 1983.

Michigan Central Railroad Depot, 1886

401 Depot St
Architects: Spier & Rohns
Detroit architects Spier and Rohns designed this Richardsonian Romanesque train station that opened in 1886. Diagnostic of the style are the heavy stone walls, the deep-set openings, and the large arched entry into the building. The heavy construction represented the solidity, strength, and prestige of the railroad. Stained glass windows, two fireplaces, and beautifully carved woodwork graced the interior of the waiting rooms and baggage areas. It was considered the finest station on the Michigan Central Line (and later the New York Central Line) when it opened.

The station was a port of entry into Ann Arbor for visiting students, tourists, and presidents of the United States. Cabs met them there and traveled up State Street to the main campus. Soldiers left from here during both world wars. After World War II, passenger service declined and the station closed in 1967. In 1968, Chuck Muer bought the property and restored it, opening a seafood restaurant with a railroad theme called the Gandy Dancer.

Glazier Building, 1906

100 S Main St
Architect: Claire Allen
Jackson architect Claire Allen designed this fine example of a Beaux Arts building in 1906 for Frank P. Glazier, a wealthy banker and stove factory owner from Chelsea, Michigan. It is constructed of red brick with fluted limestone columns, rosettes, and garlands over the windows. The elaborate cornice, which had been removed in the 1950s, was completely restored by owner Dennis Dahlman in 2008, who received an award from the Historic District Commission. The style had been made popular by the Columbian Exposition in 1893 in Chicago.

Frank Glazier was the State Treasurer in 1906, but was jailed over corruption charges for using state funds to build this building and pad his own bank. The Panic of 1907 caused the collapse of his financial empire and in 1910 he was convicted of embezzlement and sent to Jackson Prison.

Steve's Lunch was a classic 1960s lunch counter diner opened at 1313 S University Ave by Greek immigrant Steve Vaniadis. Around 1972 Steve sold the business to an outgoing Korean couple, known to customers as Mr. and Mrs. Lee. They kept the diner’s name and the no frills location grew into a cultural institution with fantastic Korean food. Steve’s Lunch was a hangout for townies and students alike, and one of the first Ann Arbor restaurants to offer standards like Japchae and Bibimbap. In the late 1970s, the Lee family sold the business, much to the dismay of devoted regulars.

Located at 112 W Washington St, The Cracked Crab was a tiny restaurant with a big reputation. Opened in 1971, it became a celebrated local landmark for consuming some of Ann Arbor’s best seafood. Although the restaurant closed in 1991, many townies still fondly remember the exceptional Dungeness crab and the funky nautical decor.

Opened in 1970, Del Rio was a cooperatively run Ann Arbor bar, featuring management by consensus, with owners and employees having equal say. Some would call it a bohemian sanctuary, others simply a hippie bar. On the corner of West Washington and Ashley Streets, at 122 W Washington, this dimly lit space served up the legendary Det Burger (a cheeseburger soaked in beer then topped with mushrooms and black olives), an eclectic music selection from a collection of over 1,000 cassette tapes, indifferent customer service, and the best bathroom graffiti in the city. Following a last-night celebration, it closed in the early morning hours of January 1, 2004.

Perfect thin-crust pizza cut into squares, peanut shells on the floor, singing along with the band, and pitchers of beer and red pop were all staples of the legendary Bimbo's at 114 E Washington St in Ann Arbor. Matt "Bimbo" Chutich opened this mecca for families in 1962, where parents and children could both enjoy themselves. The fun lasted until the restaurant closed in 1983. Chutich owned/operated a chain of Bimbo’s restaurants all across the country, with locations in Pennsylvania, Georgia, and Minnesota, as well as many other Michigan locations, including another in Ann Arbor known as Bimbo's on the Hill.

The basement space at 611 Church St, near South University Ave, once housed a restaurant, bar, and disco known as Blue Frogge. Opened in July 1976, it offered "DISCO Dancing 7 Nights A Week" during the height of disco mania. It lasted two years until it was remodeled as Don Cisco’s Mexican Restaurant & Disco in July 1978. Despite its brief existence, Madonna once mentioned frequenting Blue Frogge to a Rolling Stone interviewer, sealing its status as an iconic Ann Arbor nightclub hangout. In July 1979 it transformed into Rick’s American Cafe, which university students still frequent today.

Shaman Drum Bookshop was an independent Ann Arbor bookstore originally located at 313 S State St. Opened in 1980 by Karl Pohrt, it took over the upstairs space occupied by Paideia Books. In 1994 the beloved store expanded down into two, large, street level storefronts and was frequented by fiercely loyal customers until it closed in June 2009.