Michigan Downtowns: 131 of Them

[DetroitSky]

Since about 2006 I have traveled the state of Michigan photographing every downtown I visited. In this thread will be about half of all the cities I have photographed. Sorry they are a little smaller than the typical size, I am still getting used to Picasa.

1. Adrian


2. Albion


3. Allegan


4. Almont


5. Athens


6. Auburn Hills


7. Bad Axe


8. Battle Creek


9. Bay City


10. Beaverton


11. Belding


12. Bellevue


13. Benton Harbor


14. Berkley


15. Bridgeport


16. Bridgman


17. Brighton


18. Brooklyn


19. Brown City


20. Calumet

21. Caro


22. Cass City


23. Cedar Springs


24. Clare


25. Clarkston


26. Climax


27. Clinton


28. Coldwater


29. Coopersville


30. Corunna


31. Crystal Falls


32. Davison


33. Dearborn


34. Detroit


35. DeWitt


36. Douglas


37. Durand


38. East Lansing


39. Elkton


40. Evart


41. Farmington


42. Fennville


43. Fenton


44. Ferndale


45. Flint


46. Frankenmuth


47. Gladwin


48. Goodrich


49. Grand Haven


50. Grand Rapids


51. Grayling


52. Hamburg


53. Hamtramck


54. Hancock


55. Hastings


56. Highland Park


57. Holland


58. Holly


59. Houghton


60. Imlay City


61. Ionia


62. Jackson


63. Kalamazoo


64. Keego Harbor


65. Lake Odessa


66. Lake Orion


67. Lansing


68. Lapeer


69. Laurium


70. Lincoln Park


71. Lowell


72. Ludington


73. Manistee


74. Manistique


75. Marine City


76. Marlette


77. Marquette


78. Mears


79. Memphis


80. Mendon


81. Metamora


82. Milford


83. Montaque


84. Mount Clemens


85. Mount Pleasant


86. Munising


87. Muskegon (this downtown was almost entirely destroyed for a shopping mall-they are now in the process of rebuilding it)


88. Nashville


89. Negaunee


90. New Baltimore


91. New Buffalo


92. New Era


93. New Haven (the entire downtown seen here has since been destroyed, leaving this small town with no downtown)


94. Niles


95. North Branch


96. Northville


97. Olivet


98. Onsted


99. Owosso


100. Oxford


101. Pentwater


102. Pigeon


103. Pinconnnig (Pinconning cheese was created here)


104. Plymouth


105. Pontiac


106. Port Austin


107. Port Huron


108. Ravenna


109. Richmond


110. River Rouge


111. Rochester


112. Romeo


113. Roscommon


114. Saginaw


115. Saline


116. Saugatuck


117. Schoolcraft


118. Sebewaing


119. Sparta


120. Saint Charles


121. Saint Joseph


122. Stevensville


123. Tecumseh


124. Three Rivers


125. Unionville


126. Utica


127. Vicksburg


128. Walled Lake


129. Whitehall


130. Wyandotte


131. Ypsilanti


Thanks for sticking around through this long thread!

[ColDayMan]

Great idea for a thread!

[Urbanguy]

Bad a$$! It's cool to see a little of each downtown & Poniac too where some of my family members live. Thanks for creating this thread DetroitSky!

[Dr Awesomesauce]

Good God, you've lost your mind. But thanks anyway!

[IMBY]

What an ambitious project!!! Wouldn't it be nice if they did this for other states!!! A pile of thanks!!!

I don't know if the Michigan tourism industry appreciates this, as this may take the curiosities away from many would-be travelers to Michigan, and, at the same time, though, it may whet some would-be traveler's appetites!

I love more compact medium-sized cities, and even smaller towns, just so long as they have a decent-priced motel, a nice neighborhood pub (not yuppie-ized) in the center where I don't have to drive once I get there!

[animatedmartian]

Why hello there small town America. Haven't seen your face for quite a while.

I liked finding the similarities between each downtown and the differences when the cities got bigger. Even Detroit's Merchant Row seems like a high-rise version of all the other towns.

Awesome thread!

[dc_denizen]

Kudos, what an incredible project!

[Thundertubs]

Awesome! I tip my hat to your sense of ambition.

I should do this for New Jersey.

[Evergrey]

very cool

[mousquet]

The Rust Belt finial. Bring some more if you will, it's special over there.

People will notice how important the urban vegetation can be. I would honestly bet even locals feel unsafe in their own place in Highland Park where you can hardly see one little tree lost on the ghetto looking sidewalk while for instance Ionia, Kalamazoo or Marquette look like better-off comfy peace. Of course the seasons must have something to do with that, but still...

[DetroitSky]

Thank you everyone! Glad you all enjoyed it. I'm thinking about adding some more photos to this thread.

[plinko]

Heh. I went to high school in #27 (my grandmother used to own the blue building in the distance on the right side of Michigan Ave).

Great thread.

[JonathanGRR]

This is a wonderful thread idea, and those are some beautiful pictures. Its clear that you really love Michigan!

I would love to see more photos if you have them, especially of some more West Michigan towns (Grandville, South Haven, Rockford, Zeeland, etc. come to mind). Thanks for this!

[DetroitSky]

^ I'll see what I can find although my photos are disorganized, I did have a recent-ish thread on Grand Rapids on here I can link you to if you'd be interested.

[JonathanGRR]

I've actually already seen your GR thread (amazing!), but thanks. You'll have to come visit again next summer to see all of our new stuff that just went up!

[DetroitSky]

I will! I'm so glad GR seems to be doing very well

[boulevardofdef]

You know, Michigan gets a lot of crap about its economy and whatnot, but take a look at this thread and then check out this Arkansas thread, which I just so happened to see right before this one. Nine out of 10 Michigan towns look to be in much better shape than nearly anything in Northeastern Arkansas.

[detroitmetro101]

plus one more, ann arbor.

[Illithid Dude]

Great job, but no Petoskey? I used to spend every summer there.

[MolsonExport]

Great thread. So many Mich downtowns are bleak, but with good bones.