MICHIGAN TRAVEL TIPS
FROM
THE HOLOGLOBE PRESS
(The 43rd Edition)by
Victor Edward Swanson,
Publisherwww.hologlobepress.com
RULES OF USE
The reports and stories contained on this Web page have been put together with information taken from "The Victor Swanson Fabulous Files of Places to See in Michigan and Wisconsin" and with information obtained from operators and staffers of tourist attractions and from press releases, Web sites, and other sources. The reports and stories are provided as a public service by Victor Swanson and The Hologlobe Press. Almost all persons and entities, such as staffers of radio stations, may freely use the materials; neither AAA Michigan nor any employee of AAA Michigan may use, distribute, download, transmit, copy, or duplicate any of the material presented on this page in any way or through any means.
- - - Travel Thoughts for Everyone - - -
Over the last few months, I have spent time at the main library of the City of Detroit and one of the libraries of Wayne State University (particularly the Purdy-Kresge Library) to find information about television, especially information about television produced by the Detroit-based television stations of the 1940s and 1950s, and my time doing research about television has led to my doing less of what I normally do to keep up on information related to places to see in Michigan (remember, I issue a new Web page every month that has information about television history, and catalog page to all the Web pages with information about television history, which are informally called editions of T.H.A.T., is found through this link: T.H.A.T.). In essence, the Purdy-Kresge Library and the main branch of the Detroit Library system are across the street from each other (the street is Cass Avenue). To get to the two libraries, I have to finding parking, and I usually use a parking lot located next to the New Detroit Science Center, and once I park, to get to the libraries, I have to walk past the Detroit Institute of Arts. Since about May, I have been seeing the construction that has been going on outside the Detroit Institute of Arts, and during that time, the Detroit Institute of Arts has been getting not only outside renovation but also inside renovation, and the place has been closed. As one of the pieces of information in this edition of Michigan Travel Tips that is a collage of tidbit information, I report that the Detroit Institute of Arts is fully open again--at least on November 23, it will again be fully open.
The Detroit Institute of Arts is located in the area of Detroit that is often referred to as the "Cultural Center," and some of the things contained within the borders are the Detroit Historical Museum, the New Detroit Science Center, and Wayne State University. For the record, I report that the management of the Detroit Institute of Arts set the reopening event as a thirty-two-hour event, running from 10:00 a.m. on November 23 through 6:00 p.m. on November 24, allowing people to, for example, see the Detroit Institute of Arts at night, such as at 4:32 a.m. On display are many, many items of the roughly 60,000 items in the collection, and some of the things that a person might go to see are the painted screens and scrolls by such Japanese artists as Suzuki Kiitsu, Ogata Korin, and Maruyama Okyo and "Colonial" paintings by Joseph Blackburn, such as the painting of James Pitts. Generally speaking, the regular visiting hours for this place of art are hours on these days--Wednesday, Thursday, Friday, Saturday, and Sunday.
The Detroit Institute of Arts is a nationally known art museum, and it is only one of a number of art museums, some of which can be called small, but, though small, they can be worth seeing. The Kalamazoo Institute of Arts is not a small art museum, but it is not as big as the Detroit Institute of Arts. Since 1924, the Kalamazoo Institute of Arts has existed, and it now has ten galleries, which are mostly devoted to art of the twentieth century--especially paintings and sculpture works related to the United States of America. The place also has a European and American print collection, photographs, and ceramics. From December 8, 2007, through January 13, 2008, one of the special exhibits that the Kalamazoo Institute of Arts (also called the "K.I.A.") will have will be "Kalamazoo Collects," which will have paintings, sculptures, and other art items owned by people of the general Kalamazoo area, and from December 8, 2007, through January 27, 2008, the K.I.A. will show off works that have been gathered since 1998 in an exhibit entitled "Warhol, Chihuly and Others: Showing New KIA Acquisitions." The Kalamazoo Institute of Arts is open on a Tuesday-through-Sunday basis.
This month, I added something that is located at Three Rivers, which is in St. Joseph County (of the Lower Peninsula), to my files. The something is the Carnegie Center for the Arts. Officially, the place is an old "Carnegie Library" building, which was built in 1904, and it is also the location for a museum called the W.R. Monroe Museum--which is located in a restored bank building that is next to the Carnegie Center for the Arts. If you get to Three Rivers, you might think about seeing the place and the exhibits contained within it--it is, generally speaking, open Tuesday through Saturday during the day (there may be no special exhibits on display on Saturday). Some of the annual special exhibits are exhibits of works of art created by local students, which are set up for March and May, and November and December are two months during which the "Center" is filled with quilts. And from January 20, 2008, through March 4, 2008, the featured exhibit at the Carnegie Center for the Arts will be the "2008 Juried Fine Arts Show," which will feature works of fine art and photographs made by individuals of the southwestern region of Michigan and the northern region of Indiana.
Here is some new news for me and you or maybe not new news for you. I finally saw the summer 2007 edition of the Huron-Clinton Metroparks News, which is a newsletter associated with the Huron-Clinton Metropark system of the southeastern region of the lower peninsula of Michigan. On page four of the newsletter, it is noted that, in essence, the wet lands and upland habitats of the Lake Erie Metropark are now going to be watched over by a partnership involving the Huron-Clinton Metropolitan Authority and the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service, and the region is now considered part of the Detroit River International Wildlife Refuge. The Lake Erie Metropark is the Brownstown Township area and is known as a good place to watch birds, especially hawks, and, also, the park is the location for the Marshlands Museum and Nature Center.
I have, here, a few places that I added to my files recently, and I only have a bit of information on the places, obtained from recent newspaper articles. An article in the Detroit Free Press (Brasier, L.L. "Underwater dome shows critters up close." Detroit Free Press, 29 July 2007, pages 1B and 7B.) noted that the Indian Springs Metropark, which is in the White Lake Township area (of Oakland County of the Lower Peninsula), now has an observation dome underneath a pond located next to the James Clarkston Environmental Discovery Center, from where people can look up and see what is swimming around or moving around in the pond, and, generally speaking, the dome is open most days of the year. And a recent article in the Detroit Free Press ("THIS WEEK IN MICHIGAN HISTORY: Ancestor of the typewriter is created." Detroit Free Press, 22 July 2007, p. NA.), noted that Stony Creek Metropark, which is the Shelby Township area (of Macomb County of the Lower Peninsula), has a plaque that notes the location of a home used by William Austin Burt, who in the early 1800s (around 1829) created a machine (called a "typographer") that was a forerunner to the typewriter.
And Bay College is a place that I have not thought about recently--it is a place at Escanaba (of Delta County of the Upper Peninsula), which is one of the biggest cities in the Upper Peninsula. Really, the college is Bay de Noc College, and "Bay College" is the informal name for the two-year college. The place has an art gallery (often colleges and universities in Michigan have exhibits of such things as paintings, glassworks, and photographs on display), and the college runs a film series. If you happen to be at Escanaba, you might see what is on display at the "College Art Gallery" of Bay de Noc College or see what film is being shown.
Your travel tips of Michigan in this edition of Michigan Travel Tips are:
The "College Art Gallery" of Bay de Noc College (or Bay College), Escanaba, Delta County, the Upper Peninsula.
The Carnegie Center for the Arts and the W.R. Monroe Museum, Three Rivers, St. Joseph County, the Lower Peninsula.
The Detroit Institute of Arts, Detroit, Wayne County, the Lower Peninsula.
Indian Springs Metropark, White Lake Township, Oakland County, the Lower Peninsula.
The Kalamazoo Institute of Arts, Kalamazoo, Kalamazoo County, the Lower Peninsula.
Lake Erie Metropark (and the Marshlands Museum and Nature Center), the Brownstown Township area, Wayne County, the Lower Peninsula.
Stony Creek Metropark, Shelby Township, Macomb County, the Lower Peninsula.
- - - Public Service Copy for Broadcasters (four pieces) - - -
Number One:
To get between Michigan and Indiana, some people like
to travel through Three Rivers, or some people find themselves
passing through Three Rivers on a trip between Michigan and
Indiana. Three Rivers has things to see--it is the location of the
Carnegie Center for the Arts and the W. R. Monroe Museum.
In November and December, the Carnegie Center for the Arts
has an annual quilt display, and in March and May, local students
have art works on display, and there are regular works to see.
From January 20, 2008, through March 4, 2008, the special exhibit
will be the "2008 Juried Fine Arts Show," which will feature
fine-art works and photographs made by individuals of the
southwestern region of Michigan and the northern region of Indiana.
Next door to the "Center" is the W.R. Monroe Museum. The
Carnegie Center for the Arts is open on a Tuesday-through-Saturday
basis. Enjoy your safe traveling in Michigan and to Three Rivers.
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Number Two:
When you drive, do you think of other things besides driving?
For example, do you daydream about what you saw recently
at The Roger B. Chaffee Planetarium, which is part of the public
museum at Grand Rapids, or do you think about what you saw
while taking a "Rouge Plant Tour," which is a tour associated
with the Ford Motor Company and takes place in Dearborn?
Instead, though, do you think about what places you might take
the family to next summer, some of which might be the Harbour
House Museum at Crystal Falls, which is in the Upper Peninsula,
or Keweenaw Water Trail, which exists in the Keweenaw area of
the Upper Peninsula? Thinking about other things while driving is
probably inevitable, but thinking too much about other things is not
good. Concentrate on that driving! Watch out for deer on the
roads ahead, drunk drivers at the intersections, ice on the roads,
and snow plows. And enjoy your safe traveling in Michigan.
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Number Three:
A lot has happened since 1924. For example, the Kalamazoo
Institute of Arts was developed into one of the main art museums
in Michigan. Today, the K.I.A.--as it is also called--has ten galleries,
which are mostly devoted to art of the twentieth century, especially
paintings and sculpture works related to the United States of America.
From December 8, 2007, through January 13, 2008, one of the
special exhibits that the Kalamazoo Institute of Arts will have is
"Kalamazoo Collects," which will have paintings, sculptures, and
other art items owned by people of the Kalamazoo area, and from
December 8, 2007, through January 27, 2008, the K.I.A. will show
off works that have been gathered since 1998 through an exhibit
entitled "Warhol, Chihuly and Others: Showing New K.I.A.
Acquisitions." The Kalamazoo Institute of Arts is open on a
Tuesday-through-Sunday basis. Take time for art, and buckle
up, and enjoy your safe traveling!
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Number Four:
In the Upper Peninsula of Michigan, one of the main cities is
Escanaba, and one of the reasons that vacationers and travelers
go to Escanaba throughout the year is to see what is happening
at the William Bonifas Fine Arts Center. Besides the William Bonifas
Fine Arts Center, Escanaba has another place where some fine art
can be found. The city is where Bay de Noc College is located--the
college is informally called "Bay College." This two-year college has
an art gallery, which can feature more than only paintings. For instance,
during the past fall session, the main special exhibit was a photography
exhibit featuring works by Dennis Staffne. Also, the college runs a
film series. Since Bay College is a college, you can only see things,
generally speaking, when the college is open for classes. When you
are at Escanaba, see if the art gallery of Bay College has exhibits open
or if films are being run. And enjoy your safe traveling!
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- - - Contact Information - - -
The Hologlobe Press
Postal Box 20551
Ferndale, Michigan 48220-0551
The United States of Americacopyright c. 2007
File date: 10 November 2007To see the next edition of Michigan Travel Tips,
click on: Travel #44.
To see the previous edition of Michigan Travel Tips,
click on: Travel #42.
To see the catalog page for Michigan Travel Tips,
click on: Travel.
To go to the main page of The Hologlobe Press,
click on: www.hologlobepress.com.
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