50 Fun Facts About Ann Arbor

Ann Arbor was founded in 1824 by which two land speculators?

John Allen and Elisha Rumsey paid $800 for 640 acres of federal land in 1824 and platted the settlement that became Ann Arbor.

The 'Ann' in Ann Arbor honours what?

The founders' wives, both named Ann — Ann Allen and Mary Ann Rumsey — gave the town its name, registered as 'Annarbour' in 1824.

The 'Arbor' part of the name refers to groves of which tree?

Bur oak groves on the founders' 640-acre purchase supplied the 'arbor' in the town's name, registered as 'Annarbour' in 1824.

Ann Arbor is the seat of which Michigan county?

Washtenaw County made Ann Arbor its seat in 1827, and the town was chartered as a city in 1851.

With about 123,851 residents in 2020, Ann Arbor ranked where among Michigan's most populous cities?

Ann Arbor was Michigan's fifth most populous city in the 2020 census, behind Detroit, Grand Rapids, Warren and Sterling Heights.

Ann Arbor lost a bid to become Michigan's state capital to which city?

Lansing won the capital in 1847; the 40 acres Ann Arbor had reserved for a capitol went instead to the University of Michigan.

In what year did the University of Michigan move to Ann Arbor?

The University of Michigan moved to Ann Arbor in 1837, twenty years after its 1817 founding in Detroit as the state's oldest university.

Ann Arbor's nickname 'Tree Town' reflects roughly how many street trees?

Ann Arbor keeps roughly 50,000 street trees and a similar number in its parks, hence 'Tree Town'; the emerald ash borer destroyed many of its roughly 10,500 ash trees.

Which river runs through Ann Arbor?

The Huron River flows through Ann Arbor past Gallup Park and the Nichols Arboretum on its way to Lake Erie.

Which pizza chain is headquartered at a Frank Lloyd Wright-inspired complex just outside Ann Arbor?

Domino's has been based at Domino's Farms, a Frank Lloyd Wright-inspired Prairie-style complex in Ann Arbor Township, since 1985; founder Tom Monaghan also opened Ave Maria School of Law in Ann Arbor in 2000.

The Monaghan brothers took over DomiNick's pizzeria in 1960 in which town next to Ann Arbor?

Tom and James Monaghan bought DomiNick's in Ypsilanti in 1960 and renamed it in 1965 after the original owner refused to let them keep his name.

Which bookstore chain was founded in Ann Arbor in 1971 by two brothers?

Borders was founded by brothers Tom and Louis Borders in 1971; Kmart bought the chain in 1992 and it was liquidated in 2011.

Zingerman's Delicatessen, founded in 1982, was originally going to be named after what?

'Greenberg's' was dropped after another business objected, and Zingerman's grew into a bakehouse, creamery and roadhouse.

What is the central open space of the University of Michigan's Ann Arbor campus called?

The Diag takes its name from the diagonal walkways crossing the University of Michigan's central campus, where a brass block 'M' is set into the pavement.

Which US president's presidential library is in Ann Arbor?

Ford graduated from Michigan in 1935 and used 'The Victors' instead of 'Hail to the Chief' as his entrance music.

On the steps of which Ann Arbor building did JFK first float the Peace Corps in a 2 a.m. speech?

Kennedy spoke from the Michigan Union steps at about 2 a.m. on October 14, 1960, and a plaque there marks the spot.

Michigan Stadium's official capacity is what?

Michigan Stadium's official capacity has been 107,601 since its 2015 renovation, making it the largest stadium in the United States.

What is Michigan Stadium's nickname?

'The Big House' opened in 1927 holding 72,000, with footings poured for future expansion at coach Fielding Yost's insistence.

Which two NHL teams played the 2014 Winter Classic at Michigan Stadium before a record crowd of 105,491?

The Toronto Maple Leafs and Detroit Red Wings met at the 2014 Winter Classic, the Leafs winning 3-2 in a shootout before a record NHL crowd of 105,491.

Michigan Stadium's first game, in October 1927, was against which opponent?

Michigan beat Ohio Wesleyan 33-0 on October 1, 1927; the formal dedication game against Ohio State came three weeks later.

The 2013 Michigan v Notre Dame game set an NCAA single-game record with what attendance?

The 115,109 crowd for Michigan-Notre Dame on September 7, 2013, beat the 114,804 drawn by the same matchup's 2011 night game.

What is Ann Arbor's annual cannabis rally, held on the first Saturday of April, called?

Hash Bash dates from the April after the Michigan Supreme Court freed John Sinclair, who had drawn ten years for giving two joints to an undercover officer.

The Ann Arbor Art Fairs, drawing upwards of half a million visitors, are held in which month?

The Ann Arbor Art Fairs fill the downtown streets each July; the original Street Art Fair began in 1960 and several juried fairs run concurrently.

The Ann Arbor Film Festival (1963) is North America's oldest festival of what kind of film?

The Ann Arbor Film Festival, founded in 1963, is North America's oldest experimental and avant-garde film festival and an Academy Award-qualifying event for short films.

What tiny works of installation art are scattered around downtown Ann Arbor?

Fairy doors, tiny doorways built by artist Jonathan B. Wright, began appearing on downtown Ann Arbor shopfronts in 2005 and are hunted by children.

Endover, the spinning black steel cube on the U-M campus, is by which sculptor?

Tony Rosenthal, a 1936 Michigan graduate, made Endover in 1968; his similar Alamo cube stands at Astor Place in New York.

Roughly how much does the Endover cube weigh, despite spinning with relative ease?

Endover weighs about 2,400 lb; the 15-foot black steel cube spins on a central pivot in Regents' Plaza and was a gift of the class of 1965.

Which proto-punk band was formed in Ann Arbor in 1967 by Iggy Pop and the Asheton brothers?

The Stooges formed in Ann Arbor in 1967 with Iggy Pop, Ron and Scott Asheton and Dave Alexander, and entered the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame in 2010.

Iggy Pop got his stage name from which earlier Ann Arbor-area band he drummed in?

The Iguanas, the Ann Arbor garage band Iggy Pop drummed for from 1963, gave him the 'Iggy' nickname, coined by his later bandmates.

Which national left-wing campus group held its first major meetings in Ann Arbor in 1960?

Students for a Democratic Society held its first meeting at the University of Michigan in 1960, electing Alan Haber its first president; Tom Hayden drafted its 1962 manifesto.

Which student-backed 1970s Ann Arbor party won council seats pushing to decriminalise marijuana?

The Human Rights Party won two council seats in the early 1970s and pushed through the city's $5 fine for marijuana possession; it also backed rent control and antidiscrimination rules.

Locals jokingly call Ann Arbor '25 square miles surrounded by' what?

'25 square miles surrounded by reality' mocks the liberal college town's bubble; other nicknames include A2, 'A-squared' and 'The People's Republic of Ann Arbor'.

Long-time Ann Arbor residents call themselves what?

'Townies' is what long-time residents call themselves; anyone from the city is formally an Ann Arborite.

Which Cisco-owned two-factor-authentication firm is headquartered in Ann Arbor?

Duo Security, founded in Ann Arbor in 2010 by Dug Song and Jon Oberheide, was bought by Cisco for $2.35 billion in 2018 and kept its Ann Arbor headquarters.

Ann Arbor's Hill Auditorium, opened in 1913, was designed by which famous Detroit architect?

Albert Kahn designed Hill Auditorium, funded by regent Arthur Hill's $200,000 bequest; a 2004 renovation reduced its seating to about 3,500.

The Michigan Theater's original 1927 pipe organ was built by which company?

The Michigan Theater's Barton organ, built by the Barton company of Oshkosh, Wisconsin, was installed for the January 1928 opening to accompany silent films.

Nichols Arboretum, 'the Arb', is famous for North America's largest collection of which heirloom flower?

Peonies fill the Arb's Peony Garden, grown from Dr W. E. Upjohn's 1922 gift into North America's largest collection of heirloom herbaceous varieties, blooming late May to mid-June.

What is the tallest building in Ann Arbor?

Tower Plaza, a 26-storey condominium block completed in 1969, rises about 267 feet over a downtown of mostly two- to four-storey buildings.

In which year did Ann Arbor's Old West Side join the National Register of Historic Places?

The Old West Side, a neighbourhood of 19th-century homes built largely by German immigrants, joined the National Register of Historic Places in 1972.

Which Ann Arbor company built the first mass-produced AC/DC set, the Kadette, in 1931?

International Radio Corporation of Ann Arbor launched the Kadette in 1931 and followed with the Kadette Jr., the first pocket radio, in 1933; it later became camera maker Argus.

Amtrak's train through Ann Arbor between Chicago and Pontiac is named what?

The Wolverine runs three daily round trips between Chicago and Pontiac; the 1886 Michigan Central depot beside Ann Arbor's station became the Gandy Dancer restaurant in 1970.

Which polio vaccine pioneer served on the University of Michigan faculty?

Jonas Salk worked on influenza vaccines at the University of Michigan from 1942 to 1947 before moving to Pittsburgh; his polio vaccine's success was announced in Ann Arbor on April 12, 1955.

The University's student newspaper, founded in 1890, is called what?

The Michigan Daily, founded in 1890, is editorially and financially independent of the university; Tom Hayden was among its editors.

From 1967 to 1990 Ann Arbor hosted KMS, the first company to commercially pursue what?

Inertial confinement fusion was pursued by KMS Fusion, which in 1974 produced the first laser-driven fusion neutrons from a deuterium-tritium pellet; the firm closed in 1990.

Ann Arbor's soccer club, founded 2014, calls itself what?

AFC Ann Arbor, founded in 2014, calls itself The Mighty Oak, a nod to the 'Tree Town' nickname; its crest features an oak tree.

Ann Arbor hosted the first US 'teach-in' against which war, in 1965?

The Vietnam War teach-in at the University of Michigan on March 24-25, 1965 drew about 3,000 people and was copied on campuses nationwide within weeks.

Which car magazine moved its headquarters from New York to Ann Arbor in 1978?

Car and Driver relocated from New York to Ann Arbor in 1978 under editor David E. Davis Jr., who later founded a rival magazine in the same city.

Ann Arbor's oldest sister-city link, dating from 1965, is with which German university town?

Tübingen, the university town in Baden-Württemberg, became Ann Arbor's first sister city in 1965; Belize City followed in 1967 and Hikone, Japan, in 1969.

Which architect designed Ann Arbor's city hall, approved by a 1960 bond vote and opened in 1963?

Alden B. Dow, the Midland architect and Frank Lloyd Wright apprentice, designed the city hall that opened in 1963 and was later named the Guy C. Larcom Jr. Municipal Building.

In 2003 Ann Arbor voters approved what plan to curb sprawl into the surrounding countryside?

Voters approved a greenbelt buying farmland development rights: a 30-year millage passed in November 2003 pays for those rights so parcels around the city stay agricultural.