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Lansing Photo of the Day


Allan

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The westbank is really terrible, and despite Bernero's support of riverfront redevelopment during his campaign to get elected, he's done nothing. In fact, the proposal for the Triangle Lot pictured is a ugly little office building for the State Police that doesn't utilize the riverfront. This should have been residental with access to the river.

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Photos courtesy of Flickr photographer MichSt - http://www.flickr.com/photos/12299238@N00/

Capitol Hill looking towards Midtown. Austin Blair (statuized), Michigan's Civil War governor, would not believe his eyes if he saw this view, today. Well ahead of his time, Governor Blair was a staunch opponent of slavery, helped to ban capital punishment in Michigan (the first democracy in the world to do so), and supported efforts to get blacks and women the right to vote

475797985_5802806782_b.jpg

Looking west down Allegan, part of the Capitol Loop:

475232282_9a7259cb85_b.jpg

Looking from the heights of North Lansing towards the city center. A rare, but unflattering, view of the skyline.

470783423_9ca715feca_b.jpg

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Those first pics of the old Fisher Body plant are excellent. From where did you take them? It almost looks like you took them from one of the Capitol Commons towers.

The graffiti really sums up a lot of people's sentiments in this community. I wonder why GM didn't try to sell off Oldsmobile, or did they ever?

Edited by Lmichigan
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Those first pics of the old Fisher Body plant are excellent. From where did you take them? It almost looks like you took them from one of the Capitol Commons towers.

The graffiti really sums up a lot of people's sentiments in this community. I wonder why GM didn't try to sell off Oldsmobile, or did they ever?

You nailed it, it was taken from the Capitol Commons Center at Pine and Kalamazoo.

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Sad to see Lansing's history disappearing like this. There was a stat a few years ago that 1 in 4 people in the greater lansing area worked for GM, State of Michigan or Michigan State University. With the layoffs being experienced in the first 2, I would be curious to see what that number is now. :(

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At first, I was sad to see them go, but most other areas of the country shed these jobs long ago, and built themselves up for the new economy. Most of this nation has deindustrialized. Lansing and Michigan's future is not in manufacturing, anymore. Lansing is lucky for MSU, the State government, and healthcare.

As of 2005, these were the largest employers, and, I believe this was before the shuttering of Lansing Metal Center and the Craft Centre:

State of Michigan: 14,355

Michigan State University: 10,500

General Motors Corporation: 6,300

Sparrow Health System: 6,000

Lansing Community College : 3,180

Ingham Regional Medical Center: 2,500

Lansing Public School District: 2,106

Meijer: 2,000

Auto-Owners Insurance: 1,500

Peckham, Inc.: 1,400

Jackson National Life: 1,393

Ingham County: 1,258

City of Lansing: 1,240

United States Postal Service: 1,200

Wal-Mart: 1,185

Dart Container Container: 1,144

I was also surprised as of the 2000 census that manufacturing only made up something like 11% of Lansing's industry. We'd been on the deindustrial track for much longer than people realized, and we've always been lucky to have a rather diversified economy split pretty evenly between government, higher education, and manufacturing. The challenge, now, is finding new economy industries to replace the atrophied auto manufacturing sector of the economy. That's happening with the growth of companies such as Bioport, NeoGen, Nio-Wave...all setting up, here, in the central city.

This should be viewed as a good thing. Not in many decades has Lansing had such an amount of prime land to develop. This is not to mention how much better the environment around the neighborhood will be. The Westside neighborhood had complained for years of paints fumes being leaked, and the long-term health effects have yet to be known.

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At first, I was sad to see them go, but most other areas of the country shed these jobs long ago, and built themselves up for the new economy. Most of this nation has deindustrialized. Lansing and Michigan's future is not in manufacturing, anymore. Lansing is lucky for MSU, the State government, and healthcare.

As of 2005, these were the largest employers, and, I believe this was before the shuttering of Lansing Metal Center and the Craft Centre:

State of Michigan: 14,355

Michigan State University: 10,500

General Motors Corporation: 6,300

Sparrow Health System: 6,000

Lansing Community College : 3,180

Ingham Regional Medical Center: 2,500

Lansing Public School District: 2,106

Meijer: 2,000

Auto-Owners Insurance: 1,500

Peckham, Inc.: 1,400

Jackson National Life: 1,393

Ingham County: 1,258

City of Lansing: 1,240

United States Postal Service: 1,200

Wal-Mart: 1,185

Dart Container Container: 1,144

I was also surprised as of the 2000 census that manufacturing only made up something like 11% of Lansing's industry. We'd been on the deindustrial track for much longer than people realized, and we've always been lucky to have a rather diversified economy split pretty evenly between government, higher education, and manufacturing. The challenge, now, is finding new economy industries to replace the atrophied auto manufacturing sector of the economy. That's happening with the growth of companies such as Bioport, NeoGen, Nio-Wave...all setting up, here, in the central city.

This should be viewed as a good thing. Not in many decades has Lansing had such an amount of prime land to develop. This is not to mention how much better the environment around the neighborhood will be. The Westside neighborhood had complained for years of paints fumes being leaked, and the long-term health effects have yet to be known.

Funny, between me and my wife we currently work at 3 of the places on that list.

While the SimCity fanatic in me is thrilled with a clean slate to build on in the middle of the city, I can't help but think I will be disappointed with whatever replaces the factories.

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I have some nagging doubts that these will be developed properly, too. I mean, if they do any housing it better not be like East Village, which essentially functions as a suburban subdivision in the heart of the city.

What is heartening, however, is that Lansing and Lansing Township are being curiously proactive, and have already elicited the help of Wayne State and MSU planning departments, so that really quell some of my nagging concerns. If these two universities are working with the municipalities, we may very well see something like what going to go up at Cedar Village in East Lansing; a true mixed-use development.

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Was in Lansing today and just had a couple of photo requests if anyone has a chance:

1) That really cool old building that houses a Beaner's Coffee, right next to the new Boji (?) complex that spans the street. Anyone have a picture of that building. It's a one of a kind.

2) What's up with the capitol grounds? The entire walk up to the front steps was stripped of any flowers or landscaping, and looked HORRIBLE. I had my kids with me, which they didn't notice anything. But I was glad I didn't have any out-of-state visitors with me. It would have been a total embarrassment. I know the state budget is tight, but how about enlisting some volunteer organizations to kick in some landscaping and flowers? Anyone want to get some shots to go with my letter to the editor at the Lansing State Journal?

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GRdad:

1. The building you're talking about is the historic Hollister Building, Lansing's first 'high-rise' building. It's currently under renovation into mixed use. It's currently only halfway occupied, or so, so they are working around the current tenants. It was constructed in 1898, but was expanded over the ally in 1901.

1900:

hollister2.jpg

1950:

hollister3.jpg

1960 (when they destroyed the ground floor, IMO):

hollister4.jpg

What the renovation will look like:

HOLLISTER1.jpg

Current time:

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As it looks from along Washington Square (which looks much better, today, mind you lol):

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2. There is a day (it must be coming up soon) where the community (and those from out-state) come in a plant flower. I believe it's at the end of this month.

Did you have a trouble with all of the street construction? The construction going on along Michigan Avenue is for the construction of the rain gardens from downtown up to Pennsylvania, as well as the sewer seperation project. Michigan and Washington is being closed off for a new streetscape, and a traffic circle with a decorative fountaion.

Edited by Lmichigan
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I could be mistaken but I don't think he meant the Hollister building. I think he means the old building (and very cool looking) that houses Beaners on the ground floor, it's on Ottawa Street one building down from Capitol Ave. It's ajacent to the building that spans Ottawa, with the pretty multicolor glass.

If I get a chance I'll get a pic today.

Great pics of the Hollister, I love the look back to the original designs.

Edited by sabatoa
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Here are some pictures I took today of the building in question;

lighthouse1.jpg

lighthouse2.jpg

lighthouse3.jpg

lighthouse4.jpg

lighthouse5.jpg

lighthouse6.jpg

lighthouse7.jpg

Here is the text from the historical placard next to the door:

"In 1890, the Lansing Women's Club completed construction of its club jome, a two-story red brick building located at 118 West Ottawa STreet in Downtown Lansing. In the same year, the Michigan Millers Insurance COmpany constructed next door at 120 West Ottawa a two-stroy brick building designed by Darius Moon. In 1911, the club added the theird floor and an elevator at 118 West Ottawa.

Between 1980-1999, while Bill Ralls practiced law here, Rosemary and Bill Ralls renoavted and restored these buildings to their current historic condition. Thus, they preserved them for the people of Lansing and placed them on the Federal Register of Historic Buildings in the United States. Today the buildings, which are ownded by Gary Granger and Jeff McAlvey, are the home of the Lighthouse."

Edited by sabatoa
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