Lansing History

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  • Thanks for posting these photos. The trees did look nice. I wonder if they saved any of them? I always disliked the textured cement walled outdoor rooms they tried to create. They were a feature of indoor malls that did not translate to the outdoors. I try to think of how they could have been more successful. It was a decent concept but the reality of the mall was an expensive failure. I remember wanting to like it very much, but when I would go there I would be the only person actually sitting out there in a downtown full of people. I wonder if that architecture frim ever got another contract to build a pedestrian mall? I hope not!

  • The mall didn't have to fail. I don't think it was all the architect's fault. We needed ground floor retail and restaurants on the mall. We also needed people living downtown and businesses and places for people to go and stay active late in to the evening. Much of downtown would become a ghost town at 5:01pm. The mall only helped make it worse but it didn't have to fail if the other parts were better.

  • edited November 2018

    The LSJ's "From the Archives" piece this week detail's the old Boys Training School that stood north of Eastern. I had no idea the Don Johnson Fieldhouse was built for the Training School and not for Eastern, originally.

    The first time it came to my attention was when then-Mayor Hollister was building the deal to develop East Village on the back part of the site (the hill portion). I remember the area being a wild, overgrown area. Near the end some neighbors along Orchard Street had developed a small urban garden near Saginaw; wish I'd taken pictures. I imagine some homeless people camped out there from time to time; it was like a wilderness area in the middle of town for a minute.

    I believe this is a view looking down Linden Grove off of Oak Park to help orient you better. This is where the old baseball fields were and where the Lansing School District's new stadium is being built.

  • Wow cool!! Neat photos. I remember seeing photos of this in one of the Lansing history books and very being intrigued....I wanna say the book called it the mechanics school, or normal school, or boys reform school or something like that.

    The building looks very much like something you'd see in England, much more of a victorian style vs the neoclassical/georgian style of Eastern HS. I always wondered if Don Johnson was originally part of the boys school. Pretty sure that's the fieldhouse immediately to the right of the building in that lower photo.

    I also always thought that ball field felt kind of haunted. Now I see why!! The most fun summer ball league I ever played on used this field for our games. Lots of fun memories here.

  • Eastern High School acquired the field house after they closed what we used to call The Boys Reform School. Eastern used to have a tiny gym before that. I remember going to a Sexton vs. Eastern game over there at the fieldhouse in '72 when Sexton had a pretty good team, so it has been at least since '72. I want to say they remodeled that gym in '70. My Dad would drive us boys by the school and tell us if we did not behave we would end up there where all you get to eat is bread and beans! The Reform School had corn fields and gardens where the new houses are now, off Saginaw.

  • It's true that the mall did "have to" fail. I think if they had built the shopping center and office tower that was planned for the 100 block there would have been a lot more people and activity on the mall. My point is that the arcitects and City planners failed to understand by the time it was built most folks had already decided to shop eleswhere at outlying shoping centers that freed them from the hated parking meters. The whole urban renewal district ended up more like an office park than a shopping district, and the cement dominated mall was not really comfortable or welcoming enough to attarct people. I realize that that arcitects are planning for what their customer wants. An indoor mall with just offices lining the mall may not have been very active either.

  • Yeah, that's true. In that sense it was the architects fault that the mall failed, and I do agree that the mall was designed in a very brutalist fashion. I believe that we go through generational trends of space use. There were about 20 years where the suburban mall was the pot of gold that drew people from near and far. We appear to have entered a new trend where the live/work/play downtown is the new pot of gold. It would be great if this will last for a 20 year span. I wonder what the next trend will be?

  • I find that whole mall attempt really interesting, and at the time it really was seen as the new trend. I actually recall in my undergrad that had a landscape architecture component with urban planning, our professor showed an old documentary on the behavior habits of people and shared outdoor public spaces. It demonstrated what should be considered, how to layout them out, etc. Funny enough, Lansing's new Washington Court Mall was featured alongside major cities like NYC. The video, given the mall was relatively new, made it appear that the whole thing was a huge success. The idea was that people working in the area would use it, though we know that never really happened. So I'd have to say that I think the architect/landscape architect thought it out and were following trends but perhaps it wasn't right for a moderate city like Lansing or times simply changed.

    Funny enough, he showed this video after the mall had been removed so all of the students from the Lansing area new it wasn't such a success...

    I've got to say, I'm also really curious what the next trend will be. As someone who despises urban sprawl and suburbs I'd really like the focus to remain on a live/work/play downtown or at least maintain it while chasing another trend

  • The mall was put built in 1973 and lasted until 2007, over thirty years was a pretty good run. I am glad that the city saw it was time for a change. I could see the urban centers that were emptied out like Lansing's become the place folks want to live. I have lived in places where I would not have to use my car for days because everything I needed including my job was within walking distance. I have also lived in places where I would have to use my car for every time I left the house. I think walkable villages with the city will be a new phase. It is very nice to be able to walk to work and shopping. We have the start of this idea with Old Town, and downtown EL and East Michigan Ave. In downtown Lansing, I could see Grand Ave. parking lots being filled in with apartment/office buildings, as well as the areas directly to the south and west that are just starting to be developed. This new population will start a return of more retail and services to the downtown area. Like the urban Meijer's.

  • @gbdlansing, you are right; it really did have a good run. I guess I was just trying to say I don't think it worked out quite as intended in the long run.

    I agree with the walk-able cities/districts being a trend. A city I always reference is Columbus, OH as far as it's success with various districts. It's similar to Lansing, of course on a larger scale, in the sense that it has distinct districts which may be difficult to walk from one to another but once you're in it you don't really need a car to get around. I think what could help Lansing is that while the districts are separated from downtown, they are much closer for walking than places like Columbus.

    As things fill in, like all those parking lots in general, I think it will help with the walk-ability. Walking down streets with huge, empty parking lots after 5 isn't the most pleasant walk. I'm still surprised no developer has pounced on any Grand properties yet honestly. Seems like a missed opportunity.

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