Nice photos. I like the park, but it really is too bad that LCC doesn't have much retail around it. Even though it's only a couple blocks from Washington it feels much farther because of the offices and garages that segregate it. I went to LCC for 3 years and very seldom went anywhere for lunch other than Gibson's or that terrible pizza place in the garage.
It didn't have any retail around it because the college and the park and such largely replaced the retail street. That's what the photo is showing. It certainly wasn't the nice part of downtown, but it's sad what "urban renewal" did to that area.
Vacating the street and letting LCC develop a suburban-styled campus was one of the city's many short-sighted mistakes of that aera. They've done a very nice job updating the Washington Square mall on campus, aesthetically. But it's still just that, a campus pedestrian path.
Wow! The reconstruction of North Washington revealed some very fascinating history. They found old planks and brick; it's not rare to find the bricks, of course, but the planks are rare.
LANSING -- A road construction and water main replacement project has unearthed pieces of the Old Town neighborhood's history that could be valuable collector's items.
The project started April 29 and is expected to continue through October, according to the Lansing Public Service Department's Facebook page.
Dale Schrader, president of the Preservation Lansing organization, said the wooden planks resembling railroad ties and bricks found by crews in the area of Washington and Cesar E. Chavez avenues tell an incredible story.
"It's an amazing thing to see that those planks and those bricks were covered up for over 100 years," Schrader said. "It's like a glimpse of our past. Horses and buggies traveled over those bricks back in the day."
I've always been a proponent of using bricks or pavers not just for aesthetic use, but also to slow traffic in more pedestrian-heavy districts in the city. I really do kind of wish this could at least be considered as an option when they redo streets.
I agree, look at these bricks still in place after decades of use as the foundation for the asphalt paving. Properly installed I believe bricks are less susceptible to making potholes because they do not fall apart in freezing weather and can allow rainwater to drain better not staying on the surface or just under. Bricks can be pulled up for utility work and laid back in place using the same bricks. It would look really nice in Old Town, on Capitol Avenue, and on Michigan Avenue up to Grand Avenue to have brick paving.
The City Pulse had a story last week about how the city is remapping its floodplain on the eastside, and is using money from the sale of the Townsend Street Parking Garage downtown to eat the cost for what would have other been assessments for residents in business owners in some pretty poor-off neighborhoods of the city.
Anyway, in the story this picture was included of the 1975 flood in the area:
I realize that this was before a lot of our times, but does anyone know if this is the existing gas station at the corner of K'zoo and Howard at the freeway? I know it's in Urbandale as that area had the worst flooding. So the picture would appear to be somewhere along Kalamazoo or Michigan. Here is the 100 year floodplain map:
And here's the area just last year when it flooded:
Was there ever a gas station at the southwest corner of Michigan and Howard? If not, this would either have to be the gas station at K'zoo and Howard west of the freeway or K'zoo and Clippert east of the freeway. I'm thinking it's most likely the latter, as I think I can make out the Kircher Park ballpark lights in the background, and the telephone/power lines running up Clippert, so we'd be looking northeast.
In any case, another thing I instantly noticed Checker looks to have had a slick graphic design compared to a lot of the station today, like something out of an old Atari game. lol
Yup, that's the one. This was the '75 flood I believe, which was a really big one. That is a very Mod design for a gas station. I think it would have been a good idea back then to either protect this area with maybe a dike or levee or just move all those businesses out the lowest areas that flood regularly. In the background of this photo, you can see the area that is going to be the Red Cedar project. The new buildings are going to sit high over this neighborhood being built on platforms above the flood plan they will fill this skyline.
The public service department's throwback Thursday this week is probably the highest quality image I've seen of its era from downtown. This is the avenue downtown in 1939:
It's weird how the excellent quality of the photograph makes this feel so familiar. That all of the major buildings pictures are still there doesn't hurt, either. It does bring home just how criminally vacant Grand at Michigan still is, though. One of the most prominent corners in the whole city, and there hasn't ever been a serious proposal for it in my lifetime.
Boy, I hope Sparrow doesn't end up turning it into a parking lot or demolishing it and turnting it into some suburban-styled campus. There little statement in the article is weaker than the commitments they'd announced before about the future of the building.
I was searching the city zoning map the other night, and noticed that they basically own the entire two blocks directly east of the current campus save for Jon Anthony Florists. They seem to have demolished an old apartment building to increased their parking on the block immediately to the east. I do hope there is a better vision for the area than this.
Comments
Nice photos. I like the park, but it really is too bad that LCC doesn't have much retail around it. Even though it's only a couple blocks from Washington it feels much farther because of the offices and garages that segregate it. I went to LCC for 3 years and very seldom went anywhere for lunch other than Gibson's or that terrible pizza place in the garage.
It didn't have any retail around it because the college and the park and such largely replaced the retail street. That's what the photo is showing. It certainly wasn't the nice part of downtown, but it's sad what "urban renewal" did to that area.
Vacating the street and letting LCC develop a suburban-styled campus was one of the city's many short-sighted mistakes of that aera. They've done a very nice job updating the Washington Square mall on campus, aesthetically. But it's still just that, a campus pedestrian path.
Wow! The reconstruction of North Washington revealed some very fascinating history. They found old planks and brick; it's not rare to find the bricks, of course, but the planks are rare.
Lansing's Old Town history: What construction crews found while digging up a road
I've always been a proponent of using bricks or pavers not just for aesthetic use, but also to slow traffic in more pedestrian-heavy districts in the city. I really do kind of wish this could at least be considered as an option when they redo streets.
I agree, look at these bricks still in place after decades of use as the foundation for the asphalt paving. Properly installed I believe bricks are less susceptible to making potholes because they do not fall apart in freezing weather and can allow rainwater to drain better not staying on the surface or just under. Bricks can be pulled up for utility work and laid back in place using the same bricks. It would look really nice in Old Town, on Capitol Avenue, and on Michigan Avenue up to Grand Avenue to have brick paving.
The City Pulse had a story last week about how the city is remapping its floodplain on the eastside, and is using money from the sale of the Townsend Street Parking Garage downtown to eat the cost for what would have other been assessments for residents in business owners in some pretty poor-off neighborhoods of the city.
Anyway, in the story this picture was included of the 1975 flood in the area:
I realize that this was before a lot of our times, but does anyone know if this is the existing gas station at the corner of K'zoo and Howard at the freeway? I know it's in Urbandale as that area had the worst flooding. So the picture would appear to be somewhere along Kalamazoo or Michigan. Here is the 100 year floodplain map:
And here's the area just last year when it flooded:
Was there ever a gas station at the southwest corner of Michigan and Howard? If not, this would either have to be the gas station at K'zoo and Howard west of the freeway or K'zoo and Clippert east of the freeway. I'm thinking it's most likely the latter, as I think I can make out the Kircher Park ballpark lights in the background, and the telephone/power lines running up Clippert, so we'd be looking northeast.
In any case, another thing I instantly noticed Checker looks to have had a slick graphic design compared to a lot of the station today, like something out of an old Atari game. lol
It's the gas station that is currently Admiral/Marathon at K'zoo and Clippert. My older brother worked there while in high school.
Yup, that's the one. This was the '75 flood I believe, which was a really big one. That is a very Mod design for a gas station. I think it would have been a good idea back then to either protect this area with maybe a dike or levee or just move all those businesses out the lowest areas that flood regularly. In the background of this photo, you can see the area that is going to be the Red Cedar project. The new buildings are going to sit high over this neighborhood being built on platforms above the flood plan they will fill this skyline.
Thanks!
The public service department's throwback Thursday this week is probably the highest quality image I've seen of its era from downtown. This is the avenue downtown in 1939:
It's weird how the excellent quality of the photograph makes this feel so familiar. That all of the major buildings pictures are still there doesn't hurt, either. It does bring home just how criminally vacant Grand at Michigan still is, though. One of the most prominent corners in the whole city, and there hasn't ever been a serious proposal for it in my lifetime.
The LSJ has a story on Eastern as it graduates it's last class in it's 1928 building. It's a bittersweet read.
https://www.lansingstatejournal.com/story/news/local/2019/05/30/lansing-eastern-high-school-building-pattengill-sparrow/1177776001/
Boy, I hope Sparrow doesn't end up turning it into a parking lot or demolishing it and turnting it into some suburban-styled campus. There little statement in the article is weaker than the commitments they'd announced before about the future of the building.
I was searching the city zoning map the other night, and noticed that they basically own the entire two blocks directly east of the current campus save for Jon Anthony Florists. They seem to have demolished an old apartment building to increased their parking on the block immediately to the east. I do hope there is a better vision for the area than this.