Ypsilanti

Understand

Ypsilanti is Ann Arbor's smaller, poorer, uglier, and infinitely cooler sibling. Surrounded by pretentious neighbors, Ypsi residents tend to see their city as more relaxed and less yuppified. Ypsilanti was the birthplace of Iggy Pop and home of the Ypsilanti Water Tower, dubbed the most phallic building in the world. It's been said that Ypsi is the Brooklyn to Ann Arbor's Manhattan, and many artists have relocated to Ypsi after being priced out of Ann Arbor. This has resulted in a thriving art scene, most visible at the Shadow Art Fair each summer. Although Eastern Michigan University's enrollment of 23,000 students is more than the permanent population of the city (less than 20,000), and the school is the city's largest employer, with roughly 1,700 faculty and staff members, Ypsilanti is not culturally dominated by the university in the way Ann Arbor is by the University of Michigan. Ypsilanti has long 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 '48. In 1945, Henry J. Kaiser and Joseph W. Frazer bought the nearby Willow Run B-24 Liberator bomber plant from Ford Motor Company, 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 the Powertrain division), beginning production in November 1953, eventually ending production at the facility in 2010. Ypsilanti is also the location of the last Hudson automobile dealership. Today, the dealership is the site of the Ypsilanti Automotive Heritage Museum, with a collection including an original Fabulous Hudson Hornet race car.

Climate

Ypsilanti has a fairly typ

Getting there

By car The simplest way to arrive an Ypsilanti is by car. Ypsilanti is bounded by I-94 (between Detroit and Jackson) on the south, and by US-23 (between Flint and Toledo, Ohio) on the west. From Toledo and other points south, take US-23 north; from Detroit, the airport, and points east, take I-94 west; from Chicago and points west, take I-94 east; from the north, take US-23 south.

By plane The nearest major airport is Detroit Metropolitan Wayne County Airport (DTW IATA), about 20 minutes away, from which it will probably be necessary to rent a car or have a friend pick you up. A taxi will cost you in the neighborhood of $45 one-way; alternatively, several shuttle services offer pre-booked trips for $30-35 one-way and $55-60 round-trip, with the cost per person decreasing as the size of the group increases. There are quite a lot of airport shuttle services, but the following will give you a place to start: Ann Arbor Airport (ARB IATA), (intersection of State Street and Ellsworth Road), is a small 24-hour airport that handles business, corporate, public and private flights, air ambulance service, flight instruction and charter services. 1 Willow Run Airport (YIP IATA). General aviation only. (updated Oct 2019)

The Ride Airport Service, ☏ +1 734 707-7247. A service of the Ann Arbor Transportation Authority, the AirRide is a bit roundabout, but probably the cheapest way to get from the airport to Ypsilanti without a car and without someone picking you up. With a reservation, standard adult fares are $12 one-way or $22 round-trip. The bus makes 12 daily round trips between DTW and Ann Arbor, with easy connections to local buses running between Ann Arbor and Ypsilanti. A2 Area MetroRide, Ann Arbor, ☏ +1 734 709-1204, +1 734 994-5984, [email protected]. Convenient Airport Pickup is also available. Advance Reservations Advised. competitive prices.

By train There has been no railway service to Ypsilanti since 1984, however Amtrak serves nearby Ann Arb

Getting around

Ypsilanti is a small enough city that it's easy to get around on foot or on a bicycle -- bicycle racks are plentiful in the downtown, Depot Town, and campus areas -- at least when the weather is good. Free parking is plentiful throughout the city, though in some areas (downtown and campus) free parking may leave you a few blocks away from your destination.

By bus 2 Ann Arbor Transportation Authority (The Ride), 220 Pearl St, ☏ +1 734-996-0400. M-F 6:30AM-11:30PM, Sa Su 7:30AM-7PM, depending on the route. Provides bus service in and around Ypsilanti and Ann Arbor. Full price adult fares for regular AATA routes are $1.50, with free transfers within 90 minutes; various discounts and passes are also available.

By taxi Ann Arbor Taxi & Airport Car Services, ☏ +1 734-330-2028.

See

1 Michigan Firehouse Museum, 110 W Cross St, ☏ +1 734-547-0663. Museum that houses many pieces of firefighting equipment and vehicles, promotes fire safety and prevention. Dedicated to the history of firefighting in Michigan. (updated Apr 2019) 2 Ypsilanti's Automotive Heritage Museum and Miller Motors Hudson, 100 East Cross St, ☏ +1 734-482-5200. Tu-Su 1-4PM. A varied collection of automobiles as well as the last Hudson dealership in the United States. $5 for adults, with children 12 and under free, when accompanied by an adult. (updated Feb 2020) 3 Ypsilanti Historic District. Ypsilanti, despite being a relatively small city (fewer than 20,000 as of the 2010 census), boasts the second-largest contiguous historic district in Michigan. (updated Nov 2019) 4 Ypsilanti Historical Society, 220 N Huron St, ☏ +1 734-484-0080. Tu-Su 2-5PM. A local historical museum featuring a large collection of antiques and historical documents. Free. (updated Nov 2019) 5 Ypsilanti Water Tower. A historic water tower completed in 1890, it has the curious distinction of having won Cabinet magazine's competition to find the "world's most phallic building." With apologies to squeamish readers: it's 147 feet (45 m) high, has a base diameter of 85 feet (26 m), and is known locally as "the brick dick." A bust of the city's namesake, Demetrius Ypsilanti, a hero of the Greek war of independence, stands just west of the water tower.

Parks Many of Ypsilanti's parks are on the Huron River, which flows through the center of Ypsilanti into Ford Lake, a man-made lake covering 1.5 square miles (4 km2) in Ypsilanti Township.

6 Peninsular Park. 6AM-10PM daily. The northernmost park in Ypsilanti, offering picnic areas and fishing. (updated May 2021) 7 Frog Island Park. 6AM-10PM daily. No longer an island, the park has a small amphitheater at the south end, an athletic field (which is set up for soccer) with a running track, and a community garden at the north end. A three-way bridge, called the "trid

Do

1 Eastern Michigan Eagles, 799 N. Hewitt Rd. Eastern Michigan University fields 19 varsity sports teams competing in the Mid-American Conference. Although they do compete in NCAA Division I -- the top tier of co