Information About Ypsilanti Michigan From the Wikipedia
Ypsilanti (Ǐp'-sǐ-lǎn-tē) (IPA pronunciation: [ˌɪp sɪ 'læn ti]) is a city in Washtenaw County in the U.S. state of Michigan. As of the 2000 census, the city population was 22,362. The city is bounded to the north by the Charter Township of Superior and on the west, south, and east by the Charter Township of Ypsilanti.
Originally a trading post established by Gabriel Godfroy, a French-Canadian fur trader from Montreal, a permanent settlement was established on the east side of the Huron River in 1823 as Woodruff's Grove. A separate community a short distance away on the west side of the river was established in 1825 under the name "Ypsilanti", after Demetrius Ypsilanti, a hero in the Greek war for independence. A bust of Demetrius Ypsilanti stands between a Greek and a US flag at the base of the landmark Ypsilanti Water Tower.
The geographic grid centre of Ypsilanti is the intersection of the Huron River and Michigan Avenue, which connects downtown Detroit, Michigan, with downtown Chicago, Illinois, and is part of U.S. Highway 12.
History
| Historical populations |
| Census |
Pop. |
%± |
| 1930 |
10,143 |
- |
| 1940 |
12,121 |
19.5% |
| 1950 |
18,302 |
51.0% |
| 1960 |
20,957 |
14.5% |
| 1970 |
29,538 |
41.0% |
| 1980 |
24,031 |
-19.0% |
| 1990 |
24,818 |
3.3% |
| 2000 |
22,362 |
-9.9% |
Automotive History
Ypsilanti has played an important role in the automobile industry. From 1920-1922, Apex Motors produced the "ACE" car. It was in Ypsilanti that Preston Tucker (whose family owned the Ypsilanti Machine Tool Company) designed and built the prototypes for his "Tucker Torpedo" car. Tucker's story was related in the film Tucker: The Man and His Dream, directed by Francis Ford Coppola and starring Jeff Bridges.
In 1945, Henry J. Kaiser and Joseph W. Frazer bought Ypsilanti's Willow Run B-24 bomber plant and started to make Kaiser and Frazer model cars in 1947. The last Kaiser car made in Ypsilanti rolled off the assembly line in 1953, when the company merged with Willys-Overland and moved production to Toledo, Ohio. General Motors purchased the Kaiser Frazer plant, and converted it into its Hydramatic Division (now called its Powertrain division), beginning production in November 1953.
Ypsilanti is also the location of the last Hudson automobile dealership. Today, the former dealership is the site of the Ypsilanti Automotive Heritage Collection. The museum is the site of an original Hudson Hornet, identical in appearance to the one animated in the recent film Cars developed by Pixar.
Political History
In the early 1970s, along with neighboring city of Ann Arbor, the citizens reduced the penalty for simple possession of marijuana to $5 with the campaign slogan "5 is fine" (the Ypsilanti Marijuana Initiative; see also the Human Rights Party). This fine was raised in the early 1980s to $25 in both Ypsilanti and Ann Arbor.[citation needed]
In 1979, Faz Husain was elected to the Ypsilanti city council, the first Muslim and the first native of India to win elected office in Michigan.
In the 1990s Ypsilanti became the first city in Michigan to pass a living wage ordinance.
In the late 1990s, the city adopted an ordinance to ban discrimination in housing, employment and public accommodation on the basis of sexual orientation, gender identity/transgender status, body weight (i.e., being obese or underweight), and family obligations. Two ballot measures to repeal the ordinance were led and bankrolled by conservative advocates, including Tom Monaghan. Both measures failed, the second by a larger percentage than the first.
Culture
Since 1979, the city has become known for summer festivals in the part of the city called "Depot Town," which is adjacent to Riverside Park and Frog Island Park. Festivals include the annual Heritage Festival, the Elvis Festival, the Orphan Car Festival, a beer tasting festival, and a Latino festival.
Domino's Pizza was founded in Ypsilanti in 1960, delivering to students at Eastern Michigan University, although the corporate offices are now located nearby in Ann Arbor Township.
In music
- The Ypsilanti City Council declared Lee Osler's "Back To Ypsilanti" the city's official song in 1983.
- Iggy Pop grew up in a trailer park on Carpenter Road in Pittsfield Township (Ypsilanti) during his teenage years at the start of his music career.
- Ypsilanti is the subject of Sufjan Stevens' song, "For The Widows In Paradise, For The Fatherless In Ypsilanti", on his 2003 album Michigan.
- Cerberus Records released "Ypsisongs" on August 10th, 2006. A collection 16 of songs dedicated to/inspired by Ypsilanti. Artists on this compilation include: Dave Lawson feat. Joiya, Annie Palmer, Emily Jane Powers, Vailcode, Fred Thomas, Ian Loy Saylor of The Rants, The Ups, Drunken Barn Dance, Modernlull, Dirt Road Logic, Scotty Karate, Charlie Slick & Johnny Ill, The Eugene Strobe, Leaving Rouge, Gregory Stovetop, Coke Dick Motorcycle Awesome.
- Local legend Vladimir recorded "Ypsilanti" in 1988.
Ypsilanti has the third largest historic district in the state of Michigan, behind only the much larger cities of Detroit and Grand Rapids. The historic district includes both downtown Ypsilanti, along Michigan Avenue, and the Depot Town area adjacent to Frog Island Park and Riverside Park, which features many specialty shops, bars and grills, and a farmers' market.
Other sites of interest include:
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