One of Kalamazoo's most notable features is theKalamazoo Mall, an outdoor pedestrian shopping mall. The city created the mall in 1959 by closing part of Burdick Street to automobile traffic, although two of the mall's four blocks have been reopened to auto traffic since 1999.[5][6] Kalamazoo is home toWestern Michigan University, a large public university,Kalamazoo College, a private liberal arts college, andKalamazoo Valley Community College, a two-year community college.
Originally known as Bronson (after founderTitus Bronson) in the township of Arcadia, the names of both the city and the township were changed to "Kalamazoo" in 1836 and 1837, respectively.[7] The name "Kalamazoo" comes from aPotawatomi word, first found in a British report in 1772. TheKalamazoo River, which passes through the modern city of Kalamazoo, was located on the route betweenDetroit andFort Saint Joseph (nowadaysNiles, Michigan). French-Canadian traders, missionaries, and military personnel were quite familiar with this area during the French era and thereafter. The Kalamazoo River was then known by Canadians and French asLa rivière Kikanamaso. The name "Kikanamaso" was also recorded by FatherPierre Potier, a Jesuit missionary for the Huron-Wendats at the Assumption mission (south shore of Detroit), while en route to Fort Saint Joseph during the fall of 1760.[8] Legend has it that "Ki-ka-ma-sung", meaning "boiling water", referred to a footrace held each fall by local Native Americans, in which participants had to run to the river and back before a pot boiled.[9] The wordnegikanamazo, purported to mean "otter tail" or "stones like otters", has also been cited as a possible origin of the name.[10] Another theory is that it means "the mirage or reflecting river".[11] Another legend is that the image of "boiling water" referred to fog on the river as seen from the hills above the current downtown. The name was also given to the river that flows almost all the way across the state.
The name Kalamazoo, which sounds unusual to English speakers, has become ametonym for exotic places, as in the phrase "fromTimbuktu to Kalamazoo".[12] Today, T-shirts are sold in Kalamazoo with the phrase "Yes, there really is a Kalamazoo".[13] For many years, this was even adopted as the city's main slogan.[citation needed]
The area on which the modern city of Kalamazoo stands was once home toNative Americans of theHopewell tradition, who migrated into the area sometime before thefirst millennium. Evidence of their early residency remains in the form of a smallmound in downtown's Bronson Park. The Hopewell civilization began to decline after the eighth century, and was replaced by other groups.[14] ThePotawatomi culture lived in the area when the first European explorers arrived.
René-Robert Cavelier, Sieur de La Salle, passed just southeast of the present city of Kalamazoo in late March 1680. The first Europeans to reside in the area were itinerantfur traders in the late 18th and early 19th centuries. Records exist of several traders wintering in the area, and by the 1820s, at least one trading post had been established.[15][16]
During theWar of 1812, the British established a smithy and a prison camp in the area.[15]
The1821 Treaty of Chicago ceded the territory south of theGrand River to the United States federal government, but the area around present-day Kalamazoo was reserved as the village of Potawatomi ChiefMatch-E-Be-Nash-She-Wish. Six years later, as a result of the 1827Treaty of St. Joseph, the tract that became the city of Kalamazoo was also ceded.
In 1829, Titus Bronson, originally fromConnecticut, became the first white settler to build a cabin within the present city limits of Kalamazoo.[17] Heplatted the town in 1831 and named it the village of Bronson—not to be confused with the much smallerBronson, Michigan, about fifty miles (80 km) to the south-southeast of Kalamazoo.
Bronson, frequently described as "eccentric" and argumentative, was later run out of town. The village was renamed Kalamazoo in 1836, due in part to Bronson's being fined for stealing a cherry tree.[18] Today, a hospital and a downtown park, among other things, are named for Bronson. Kalamazoo was legally incorporated as a village in 1838 and as a city in 1883.
The fertile farmlands attracted prosperousYankee farmers who settled the surrounding area, and sent their sons to Kalamazoo to become businessmen, professionals, and entrepreneurs who started numerous factories.[19] Most of the original settlers of Kalamazoo were New Englanders or from upstate New York.[20]
E. E. Labadie's Souvenir of Picturesque Kalamazoo (PDF, 1909)
On August 27, 1856,Abraham Lincoln gave a speech in Kalamazoo during a campaign rally forJohn C. Fremont, the first Republican presidential candidate. Thetext of the speech was found by Lincoln historian Thomas I. Starr in a copy of theDetroit Daily Advertiser and published in a booklet. This was the only trip Lincoln ever made to Michigan.[21] In July 2022, a local nonprofit, theKalamazoo Abraham Lincoln Institute, was given permission by the city to place a statue of Lincoln in Bronson Park to commemorate the event.[22]
In the 1940s, the city became the first to installcurb cuts.[23][24]
In 1959, the city created theKalamazoo Mall, the first outdoor pedestrian shopping mall in the United States, by closing part of Burdick Street to auto traffic. The mall was designed byVictor Gruen, who also designed the country's first enclosedshopping mall, which had opened three years earlier.[5] Two of the mall's four blocks were reopened to auto traffic in 1999 after much debate.[6]
AnF3 tornado struck downtown Kalamazoo on May 13, 1980, killing five and injuring 79.[25]
On February 20, 2016, Kalamazoo became the site ofa random series of shootings in which six people were killed.[26] A prime suspect was apprehended by police without incident.[27]
CNR derrick car (Sylvester Manufacturing Company, Kalamazoo Railway Supply Company). Mounted on a push car, pulled with aspeeder or draisine.[28]
In the past, Kalamazoo was known for its production ofwindmills,mandolins,buggies,automobiles,cigars,stoves, andpaper and paper products. Agriculturally, it once was noted forcelery. Although much of it has become suburbanized, the surrounding area still produces farm crops, primarily corn and soybeans. Many landmarks and hiking trails are still based around the past celery industry.
Kalamazoo was the original home of Gibson Guitar Corporation, which spawned the still-localHeritage Guitars. The company was incorporated as "Gibson Mandolin - Guitar Co., Ltd" on October 11, 1902, by craftsmanOrville Gibson. One budget model was named theGibson Kalamazoo "Melody Maker" Electric Guitar. Operations were moved gradually from Kalamazoo toMemphis, Tennessee (Electric Division) andBozeman,Montana (Acoustic Division) in the 1980s. Some workers from the original factory stayed in Kalamazoo to create the Heritage Guitars company.[29]
Kalamazoo was once known as the "Paper City" because of the paper mills in and near the city. TheAllied Paper Corporation operated several mills and employed 1,300 people in Kalamazoo during the late 1960s. As the forests of West Michigan were logged, paper mills closed.[30][31]
Early in the 20th century, Kalamazoo was home to theBrass Era car companyBarley.
Kalamazoo was also headquarters of theChecker Motors Company, the former manufacturer of theChecker Cab, which also stamped sheet-metal parts for other auto manufacturers. Checker closed on June 25, 2009, a victim of theLate-2000s recession.
Most of Kalamazoo is on the southwest bank of a major bend in theKalamazoo River, with a small portion, about 2.8 square miles (7.3 km2), on the opposite bank. Several smalltributaries of the Kalamazoo River, including Arcadia Creek and Portage Creek, wind through the city. The northeastern portion of Kalamazoo sits in the broad, flat Kalamazoo Valley, while the western portions of Kalamazoo climb into low hills to the west and south. Several small lakes are found throughout the area. It is halfway betweenDetroit andChicago alongI-94. In addition, it is 50 mi (80 km) south ofGrand Rapids and 75 mi (121 km) southwest ofLansing.
According to theUnited States Census Bureau, Kalamazoo has a total area of 25.11 square miles (65.03 km2), of which 0.43 sq mi (1.11 km2) is covered by water.[32]
Kalamazoo's suburban population is located primarily to the south, in the city ofPortage, and to the west inOshtemo andTexas townships.
Another watershed, Kleinstuck Marsh,[34] is popular with hikers and birdwatchers. Kleinstuck Marsh is south of Maple Street, between Oakland Drive and Westnedge Avenue, Kalamazoo's major north–south artery.
Kalamazoo has ahumid continental (KöppenDfa) climate. Summers can be hot, humid, and relatively long, from May to September. Tornadoes are rare but possible in Kalamazoo. In fact, in 1980, a major tornado ripped through downtown Kalamazoo, causing extensive damage. In winter, temperatures occasionally plummet below 0 °F (-18°). Kalamazoo has been known for brutal snowstorms as late as early April, but some winter days have no snow on the ground at all.Lake-effect snowstorms are commonplace in the winter.
Climate data for Kalamazoo Battle Ck Intl Ap, MI, 1991–2020 normals, extremes 1887-present
As of 2000, the median income for a household in the city was $31,189, and the median income for a family was $42,438. Males had a median income of $32,160 versus $25,532 for females. Theper capita income for the city was $16,897. About 13.6% of families and 24.3% of the population were below thepoverty line, including 26.0% of those under age 18 and 11.3% of those age 65 or over.
As of thecensus[39] of 2010, there were 74,262 people, 29,141 households, and 13,453 families residing in the city. Thepopulation density was 3,009.0 inhabitants per square mile (1,161.8/km2). There were 32,433 housing units at an average density of 1,314.1 per square mile (507.4/km2). The racial makeup of the city was 68.1%White, 22.2%African American, 0.5%Native American, 1.7%Asian, 2.8% fromother races, and 4.6% from two or more races.Hispanic orLatino residents of any race were 6.4% of the population.
There were 29,141 households, of which 25.8% had children under the age of 18 living with them, 26.1% weremarried couples living together, 15.6% had a female householder with no husband present, 4.5% had a male householder with no wife present, and 53.8% were non-families. 36.8% of all households were made up of individuals, and 9.3% had someone living alone who was 65 years of age or older. The average household size was 2.29 and the average family size was 3.04.
The median age in the city was 26.2 years. 20.5% of residents were under the age of 18; 27% were between the ages of 18 and 24; 24.9% were from 25 to 44; 18.2% were from 45 to 64; and 9.4% were 65 years of age or older. The gender makeup of the city was 49.3% male and 50.7% female.
The city of Kalamazoo is commonly divided into 22 neighborhoods, many of which are served by aneighborhood association. The Neighborhood Development Division of the city's government works with these associations to invest federal, state, and local funds, including those from theCommunity Development Block Grant program, in community improvements and economic growth.
In 2007, Kalamazoo was named toFast Company's 'Fast 50: Most Innovative Companies 2007',[40] in recognition of the city'scommunity capitalism approach to revitalize the economy. In 2012Kiplinger's Personal Finance ranked Kalamazoo fourth of theTen Best Cities for Cheapskates.[41] The city was named inNerdWallet.com's 2014 'Top 10 Best Cities for Work-Life Balance'.[42][43]
Perhaps the best-known isBell's Brewery, established as the Kalamazoo Brewing Company in 1985 by Larry Bell.[44] The brewery has expanded from its original Kalamazoo location, which houses the Eccentric Cafe, to another brewery in nearbyComstock Charter Township. Bell's beer is distributed to 40 US states, Washington DC and Puerto Rico.[45][46] Other local breweries include Tibb's Brewing Company,[47] Rupert's Brewhouse(2013-2019),[48][49] Boatyard Brewing Co.(2014-2019),[50][51] One Well Brewing,[52] andLatitude 42 Brewing Company, the latter in the southern suburb of Portage. On a smaller scale, Olde Peninsula Brewpub, Bravo! restaurant, and Bilbo's Pizza and Brewing Company[53] serve their own brews. The area is also a hotbed for home brewing and partners with neighboringGrand Rapids to form what is widely considered one of America's more important regions in American craft beer explosion. In recent years, at least two community events have evolved from the growing craft beer industry in the Kalamazoo area (Kalamazoo Beer Week (annual),[54] Kalamazoo Craft Beer Festival[55]). In 2015, theGive a Craft beer trail and passport were introduced.[56] A shuttle bus (Kalamazoo Brew Bus) service[57] and party bike tour service[58] became available in 2016.
In 2015, Rupert's Brew House entered the Kalamazoo craft spirits market.[59] Two additional distilleries,Green Door Distilling, formerly Revival Distilling[60] and Kalamazoo Distilling Company, are in the licensing stage.[61]
Kalamazoo is also home toKalsec, another flavorings company, which was founded byPaul H. Todd Jr., Albert Todd's grandson and U.S. Representative in the89th Congress. Founded as the Kalamazoo Spice Extraction Company, Kalsec is owned and managed by Todd family descendants.[63]
Kalamazoo Outdoor Gourmet designs and manufactures outdoor kitchen equipment.[65]
Fabri-Kal, a supplier of food service and other containers produced fromthermoformplastic or plant-based materials (Greenware product line), has operated corporate headquarters in Kalamazoo since the 1960s.[66] The company closed the Kalamazoo-based manufacturing facilities in 1991, but returned and expanded manufacturing capacity in 2008 with the opening of aLEED-certified 400,000 square foot (37,000 m2) facility.[66] In recent years, the company's product lines have introducedsustainable and plant-based materials,[67][68] and innovations to reduce the plastic content of consumer and other packaging.[69]
Parker Hannifin Aerospace's Hydraulic Systems Division (HSD) is located at 2220 Palmer Ave in Kalamazoo, Michigan. The 170,000-square foot facility designs, manufactures, and services hydraulic components for both military and commercial aerospace sectors. It produces hydraulic axial piston pumps and motors, electric motor-driven pumps, hydraulic power transfer/supply units, electrohydraulic power modules, hydraulic thrust-reverser & landing gear actuators, accumulators, reservoirs, filter modules and valve packs.[70]
TheUpjohn Company was a pharmaceutical research and manufacturing firm founded in 1886 in Kalamazoo; through a series of mergers and acquisitions that took place between 1995 and 2003, the Upjohn Company assets became a part of thePfizer Corporation.[71][72] Most of Upjohn's original facilities remain, many have been renovated and some new buildings have been constructed. The bulk of the former Upjohn Company facilities in the area exist inPortage, under Pfizer or Zoetis operation; others, located in downtown Kalamazoo, have been re-purposed as the campus of theWestern Michigan University Homer Stryker M.D. School of Medicine,[73] the research and development headquarters ofZoetis, and office space forBronson Methodist Hospital.[74]
In 2014,Newell Rubbermaid established a global product design center in Kalamazoo, consolidating fifteen global design units at a single location within theWestern Michigan University Business Technology and Research Park.[76][77] The Business Technology and Research Park is also home to design firm TEKNA Solutions.[78] In 2015, Kalamazoo-based landscape design and manufacturing firmLandscape Forms, Inc., received five National Design Awards.[79]
TheW. E. Upjohn Institute for Employment Research, a nonpartisan, not-for-profit research organization, has operated in Kalamazoo since its establishment in 1945. The institute conducts research into the causes and effects of unemployment, and measures for the alleviation of unemployment. The institute also publishesBusiness Outlook for West Michigan,[80] a quarterly journal that provides economic analysis and forecasts on the West Michiganeconomy.
The economic development organization Southwest Michigan First was established in Kalamazoo in 1999, with a focus oncommunity capitalism.[81] The organization was recognized as a Best and Brightest Company to Work For[82] in 2013,[83] and has receivedFast Company commendations for innovative strategies to improve the economy.[84] In 2015, two members of Southwest Michigan First were selected for Development Counsellors International's "2015 40 under 40," top 40 young economic developers in the United States.[85]
PNC Bank—Kalamazoo was formerly the corporate HQ of First of America Bank, which merged withNational City Bank in 1997. National City has since been purchased and merged withPNC Bank which still maintains a large corporate building in Texas Township, and several locations downtown, along with numerous branches in the region.
Henderson Castle, an 1895 Queen Anne-Style house that sits on West Main Hill across from Mountain Home cemetery, overlooking the city. It is privately owned but open to the public and currently functioning as a bed and breakfast, restaurant and spa.
Kalamazoo government is administered under acommission-manager style of government. Thecity commission is the representative body of the city, and consists of seven members—six city commissioners and a separately elected mayor—elected on a staggerednon-partisan basis every four years. Whoever receives the most votes during an election becomes vice mayor of the city for the first two years of their term until a new vice mayor is selected. The current City Commission consists of Mayor David Anderson, Vice Mayor Don Cooney, and commissioners Jeanne Hess, Chris Praedel, Qianna Decker, Stephanie Hoffman, and Esteven Juarez.[86] The current mayor, David F. Anderson, was elected to a second term on November 2, 2021, beating Ben Stanley with 78.7% of the vote.[87]
The vice mayor of Kalamazoo is Don Cooney, who won election in 2021 with 69.37% of the vote.[88]
Thecity manager is the city's chief administrative officer. The manager is hired by, and answers to, the city commission.
Kalamazoo has a higher crime rate than the national average. Crime is spread throughout Kalamazoo and is especially high in the inner neighborhoods such as Edison, the Northside and Vine. Crime is lower in the downtown area and most of the southwest area.[89] The aggravated assault rate in 2015 was 793.3 per 100,000[90]—3.3 times the national average. The murder rate was 12.5 per 100,000 in 2010 and 7.9 in 2014.[91][92] The2016 Kalamazoo shootings by Uber driver Jason Dalton claimed 6 lives and caused 2 serious injuries inKalamazoo County.[93] Between 2008 and 2013 firearms were involved in 61% of homicides in Kalamazoo county compared to 77% statewide.[94]
Waldo Library and the University Computing Center, joined by the Stewart Clocktower, on Western Michigan University's campus.The campus of Kalamazoo College.
Kalamazoo is home toWestern Michigan University. The college has four campuses in Kalamazoo, (West Campus,East Campus,Parkview Campus andOakland Drive Campus) as well as several regional locations throughout Michigan and two in Florida. West Campus, located just west of downtown, has the largest concentration of university students, programs and school services. In 2005, Western Michigan ranked as the no. 2 wireless campus in the United States, per a national survey done by theIntel Corporation.[95] In 2014, theWMU Homer Stryker School of Medicine (WMed) opened, welcoming an inaugural class of 54 students.[96][97]
Each May, WMU hosts theInternational Congress on Medieval Studies. Organized by the Medieval Institute's faculty and graduate students, the Congress brings some 3,000 professors and students from around the globe to present and discuss a variety of topics related to theMiddle Ages.
Kalamazoo College, a private liberal arts college founded in 1833, is located on a hill opposite WMU's original campus.
Kalamazoo is home toKalamazoo Valley Community College,Davenport University, and Kalamazoo Area Mathematics and Science Center (KAMSC). Construction of the new Kalamazoo Valley Community College Culinary and Allied Health campus began in August 2014.[98] It had also been the home ofNazareth College, which closed in 1992.
The public schools for the vast majority of Kalamazoo are managed byKalamazoo Public Schools.[99] Every resident graduate of the Kalamazoo Public Schools is provided with a scholarship for up to 100% of tuition and mandatory fee costs for four years at any public university or community college in Michigan, starting with the class of 2006. This program is known as theKalamazoo Promise.[100]
The city has an Arts Council.[101] On the first Friday of each month, the council organizes the 'Art Hop'. Art Hop is a free event, during which downtown businesses and galleries display works by local artists, and patrons 'hop' from venue to venue, enjoying art, live music, and the chance to interact with local artists. A popular site during Art Hop is thePark Trades Center, which houses theKalamazoo Book Arts Center, Glass Art Kalamazoo, and many other studios.
OnNew Year's Eve, downtown Kalamazoo is the site of an annual New Year's Fest celebration. This celebration is centered at Bronson Park and surrounding venues, allowing patrons to walk from venue to venue to enjoy an all ages showcase of performing arts and other activities (music, magic, comedy, exhibitions, fireworks, food). Initiated in 1985, the event has grown in scope and popularity.[102][103]
The annual "Eccentric Day" atBell's Eccentric Cafe celebrates the brewery's Eccentric Ale on the December Friday that marks the end of finals at Western Michigan University.[104]
There is no longer azoo in Kalamazoo. TheMilham Park Zoo closed in 1974.
Next to Milham Park is the Milham Park Golf Course.[105] Completed in 1936, the 18-hole, par-72 course is entirely within the city limits of Kalamazoo. During winter,sledding andcross-country skiing are popular activities at the golf course (free of charge). In recent years, the Kalamazoo Nordic Skiers[106] club has groomed and maintained skate ski and classic ski trails for community use.
In 2002, theKalamazoo Public Library was named "Library of the Year" byLibrary Journal.[107] The library includes a main location and four branch libraries, and until 2010, abookmobile system.[108] In 2014, the library opened 'The Hub', a digital lab open to the public for digitizing photos and video, producing podcasts, preserving old vinyl records, cassettes and VHS tapes, and other services.[109]
Kalamazoo's theaters and performing groups include theKalamazoo Civic Theatre, The New Vic Theatre, Farmers Alley Theatre, Crawlspace Theatre Productions, TheState Theater, and theBarn Theatre in nearbyAugusta. Plays and musicals are also performed at Kalamazoo College and Western Michigan University.
A project ofKalamazoo Valley Community College, The Kalamazoo Animation Festival International (KAFI) encourages and educatesanimation artists, promotes Kalamazoo's animation industry, and provides community entertainment.[110] In addition to a biannual festival, KAFI sponsors events such as film screenings and workshops throughout the year.
KAFI's first festival drew 235 submissions and nearly 1,000 attendees in 2002. A second festival was held in 2003. Since then, an every-other-year schedule has been adopted. The 2007 festival attracted more than 500 entries from 37 countries. In addition to an animated film competition with $15,000 in prizes awarded, the festival features events for students, artists, educators, filmmakers and the general public. Past KAFI award winners includeBill Plympton,Chris Landreth andJohn Canemaker.[citation needed]
The city's most prominent art museum is theKalamazoo Institute of Arts, whose collection has more than 3,600 works and a focus on 20th-century American art. The KIA regularly mounts temporary exhibitions.
The local andindie music scene has produced pop stars such as RCA recording artistsThe Verve Pipe[citation needed] and Metal Blade recording artistsThought Industry. Kalamazoo is also host to the Kalamashoegazer music festival, held for the last 13 years and a showcase for both local and national shoegaze and dream pop bands.
TheKalamazoo Wings (aka K-Wings) minor league hockey team play games inWings Event Center and has played since 1974. The team is currently a member of theECHL, a development league for theNHL.
Hyames Field played host to the first twoCollege World Series held in 1947 and 1948. Future U. S. President George H. W. Bush was a first baseman for Yale in the 1947 series.[116]
Kalamazoo is served by one daily newspaper, theKalamazoo Gazette, which now prints seven and delivers two editions weekly.Business Review Western Michigan, abusiness-to-business publication headquartered in Kalamazoo, covering Western Michigan news, was rolled intoMLive online coverage in late 2012. The ultimate parent company of both theGazette andBusiness Review are Advance Publications, Inc.
WWMT, West Michigan'sCBS affiliate, is licensed and operates out of Kalamazoo, but serves the entire West Michigan region. The station was originally owned and operated by famous broadcasting pioneer (and formerDetroit Tigers owner)John Fetzer, as "WKZO-TV". Along with television, Fetzer introduced Kalamazoo to radio in 1931, when AM 590WKZO signed on the air. Fetzer also created Kalamazoo's firstcable television system, then known as Fetzer Cablevision; it is a predecessor of Kalamazoo's current cable franchise,Charter Communications.
Public Media Network, located in downtown Kalamazoo, hosts media outlets, including Charter cable channels 187-191 where daily public access programs are produced and aired to the public.
Kalamazoo is part of theWest Michigan television market, which also includes Grand Rapids and Battle Creek. Most channels that serve the entire market are receivable in Kalamazoo, including WWMT,WOOD-TV (NBC),WXMI (Fox),WZPX (Ion) andWLLA (religious). Some channels based in the northern part of the market reach Kalamazoo through a satellite or translator, such asWTLJ Muskegon (religious, through W26BX),WGVU-TV Grand Rapids (PBS, through WGVK), andWXSP-CD Grand Rapids (MyNetworkTV, through WOKZ-CA).WOTV in Battle Creek broadcastsABC andCW programming for the southern part of the market, including Kalamazoo. Charter offers all West Michigan channels on its system to Kalamazoo subscribers, includingWZZM, the ABC affiliate for Grand Rapids and the northern part of the market.
WIDR is the college student-run, commercial-free radio station at Western Michigan University. It is known for playing obscure and underground music of all genres, and some local news and talk. Broadcasting 100 watts on 89.1 FM, WIDR can be heard from about a 20-mile radius from campus.
WMUK is also on Western Michigan University's campus. It hosts many local music programs, including jazz and classical performances, as well as programming fromNPR. WMUK broadcasts at 50,000 watts in high definition on 102.1 FM.
WKDS is West Michigan's only high-school student-run radio station. The station signed on in 1983 at 89.9 on the FM dial, broadcasting fromLoy Norrix High School. The call letters stood forKalamazooDistrictSchools (now Kalamazoo Public Schools). For most of its history, WKDS broadcast only during daytime hours and not at all on the weekend. In the fall of 2004, the station began broadcasting 24 hours a day, 7 days a week in an attempt to prevent an outside organization from taking over the time WKDS was off the air. WKDS was part of a county-wide Education for Employment program for years. The radio station is still owned byKalamazoo Public Schools, although the EFE program has been discontinued. High-school students from around the area continue to operate the station.
FM radio stations that originate from or can be heard over the air in Kalamazoo include:
WCXK 88.3 - Kalamazoo - Christian Adult Contemporary
TheWolverine, eastbound, crosses Academy Street in Kalamazoo. The campus ofKalamazoo College lies to the right.The train station component of the Kalamazoo Transportation Center.
Kalamazoo is served by highways I-94, US 131, M-96 and M-343. It was on the originalTerritorial Road in Michigan of the 19th century, which started in Detroit and ran to Lake Michigan. Much of that, but not all, later becameOld US 12—the "old" designation came about when I-94 was built parallel to it—and also was calledRed Arrow Highway after aWorld War I army division. The name "US 12" was shifted south to what once was US 112 between Detroit andNew Buffalo. Some parts of Old US 12 outside of town, especially inVan Buren andBerrien counties to the west, are still called Red Arrow Highway. The term "Old US 12" has faded from use.
Kalamazoo has rail service provided byAmtrak, with the station located downtown and combined with a newly renovated bus terminal. Kalamazoo serves as the hub and largest city in Amtrak's only high-speed corridor outside the Northeast, with 110-mile-per-hour (177 km/h) service betweenPorter, Indiana andAlbion, Michigan.[122]
Kalamazoo also has a freight service provided byGrand Elk Railroad running north to Grand Rapids, Michigan and south to Elkhart, Indiana. The line they lease was a former Grand Rapids and Indiana Railroad mainline.
On the southern end of the city is theKalamazoo/Battle Creek International Airport (AZO), which offers flights on various airlines to hubs and leisure destinations. Construction of a new $36 million terminal was completed in 2011.[123]
TheKal-Haven Trail, heavily used by cyclists, runners, walkers, and snowmobilers, extends to downtown Kalamazoo. It runs 34 miles (55 km) betweenSouth Haven, to a trailhead just west of Kalamazoo. Between that trailhead and South Haven the trail is run by Van Buren County, even the parts within Kalamazoo County. A trail pass is no longer required. The Kal-Haven is arail trail, built on the formerright-of-way of theKalamazoo and South Haven Railroad.
The section east of the trailhead was opened in 2008 and extends to downtown Kalamazoo. It is known as theKalamazoo River Valley Trail and is run byKalamazoo County. No pass is required on that section.
Kalamazoo's name is a familiar reference in popular music, since its unique sound makes it a "great word for a lyric."[124] Its use asmetonym for a remote place is discussed above—"although when it comes to bothTimbuktu and Kalamazoo, most of that brag-worthy exotic allure is merely in their names."[12] Nonetheless, numerous songs use the city's name in their song title orlyrics.
The city was also mentioned in the operaEinstein on the Beach by Philip Glass and in the chorus of the song "Gotta Get Away" byThe Black Keys, from their albumTurn Blue ("I went fromSan Berdoo to Kalamazoo/Just to get away from you...").[140] Like Miller, the Creedence and Axton lyrics probably use the word "Kalamazoo" as an oblique reference toGibson, which made various models named "Kalamazoo" that were all prominently adorned with the city's name as their origin. In 2011, rap artistYoung Jeezy mentioned the city in the song "Higher Learning" on his albumTM:103 Hustlerz Ambition. In 2014, Kalamazoo was mentioned again byRittz in the song "Bounce" on his albumNext to Nothing.[124][141]
^Houdek, John T.; Heller, Charles F. Jr. (2011). "The Emergence of Prosperous Farmers and Businessmen in Nineteenth-Century Kalamazoo County, Michigan".Michigan Historical Review. Vol. 37, no. 2. pp. 53–78.
^"Kalamazoo 1980 Tornado".Kalamazoo County, Michigan, Genealogy and Local History. Archived fromthe original on February 19, 2007. RetrievedJuly 30, 2006.
^"Station: Kalamazoo Battle CK INTL AP, MI".U.S. Climate Normals 2020: U.S. Monthly Climate Normals (1991-2020). National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration. Archived fromthe original on March 5, 2024. RetrievedMay 8, 2021.
^Liberty, John (May 24, 2014)."things to do in Kalamazoo".MLive.com. Kalamazoo: Booth Newspapers.Archived from the original on December 5, 2014. RetrievedNovember 29, 2014.
_-_Kalamazoo_Area%2c_MI(ThreadEx).svg)
