Sunday Morning
by Carl Milles in Ann Arbor
Several annual events – many of
them centered on performing and
visual arts – draw visitors to Ann
Arbor. One such event is the Ann
Arbor Art Fairs, a set of four concur-
rent juried fairs held on downtown
streets, which began in 1960. Sched-
uled 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 support of the
reform of marijuana laws. It has been
celebrated since 1971.
A person from Ann Arbor is called
an “Ann Arborite”, and many long-
time residents call themselves “town-
ies”. The city itself is often called
A² (“A-squared”) or A2 (“A two”),
and, less commonly, Tree Town.
Recently, some youths have taken
to calling Ann Arbor Ace Deuce or
simply The Deuce. With tongue-in-
Customer Service Center
Wel Come
To
cheek reference to the city’s liberal
(Located diagonally across the street
political leanings, some occasionally
from City Hall)
refer to Ann Arbor as The People’s
City Center Building, 1st Floor
ANN
Republic of Ann Arbor or 25 square
220 East Huron
miles surrounded by reality, the latter
Ann Arbor, MI 48104
phrase being adapted from Wisconsin
(734) 994-2700
Governor Lee Dreyfus’s description
ARBOR
Fax: (734) 994-1765
of Madison, Wisconsin. Ann Arbor
E-mail: customerservice@a2gov.org
sometimes appears on citation index-
¬ Ann Arbor, Michigan Opera Theater; the Ann Arbor Sym-
phony Orchestra; the Ann Arbor Ballet
Ann Arbor is a city in the U.S. state of Theater; the Ann Arbor Civic Ballet
Michigan and the county seat of Washt- (established in 1954 as Michigan’s first
enaw County. It is the state’s seventh chartered ballet company); and Per-
largest city with a population of 114,024 formance Network, which operates a
as of the 2000 Census, of which 36,892 downtown theater frequently offering
(32%) are university or college students. new or nontraditional plays.
The city became the seat of Washtenaw
The city, which is part of the Detroit-
County in 1827, and was incorporated Ann Arbor was founded in January
Ann Arbor-Flint, MI CSA, is named
as a village in 1833. The town became 1824 by John Allen and Elisha Rum-
after the spouses of the city’s founders
a regional transportation hub in 1839 sey, both of whom were land specula-
and for the stands of trees in the area.
with the arrival of the Michigan Central tors. On May 25, 1824, the town plot
Ann Arbor was founded in January Railroad, and was chartered as a city in was registered with Wayne County as
1824 by John Allen and Elisha Rumsey, 1851. “Annarbour”.
both of whom were land speculators.
During the 1960s and 1970s, the city
On May 25, 1824, the town plot was
gained a reputation as a center for liber-
registered with Wayne County as “An-
al politics. During the 20th century, the
narbour”.
economy of Ann Arbor underwent a
gradual shift from a manufacturing base
to a service and technology base, which
accelerated in the 1970s and 1980s.
The city’s economy is also centered on
high-technology, with several compa-
nies drawn to the area by the univer-
sity’s research and development money,
and by its graduates.
Many Ann Arbor cultural attractions
and events are sponsored by the Uni-
versity of Michigan. Several perform-
ing arts groups and facilities are on the
university’s campus, as are museums
dedicated to art, archaeology, and natu-
ral history and sciences (see Museums
at the University of Michigan). Regional
and local performing arts groups not as-
sociated with the university include the
Ann Arbor Civic Theatre; the Arbor
