Qualla: Ann Arbor: Tree Town and the Big House https://qualla.com/ann-arbor en-us © 2026 Bendyline Mon, 20 Jul 2026 10:21:05 GMT Qualla serial false Qualla support@bendyline.com yes https://qualla.com/_m/tpc/an/n-/ar/bo/ann-arbor/huronriverannarbor.jpg Qualla: Ann Arbor: Tree Town and the Big House https://qualla.com/ann-arbor Ann Arbor: Tree Town and the Big House: Introduction https://qualla.com/ann-arbor/ Photo credit (WT-shared) Carson Maynard, CC BY-SA 1.0. They named the town for the wives of its founders - Ann Allen and Mary Ann Rumsey - and for the arbor of burr oak trees where the settlement began in 1824. A decade later, the University of Michigan arrived from Detroit, and Ann Arbor's identity merged permanently with the institution that would grow to 47,000 students. The campus and downtown intertwine so completely that distinguishing between them requires local knowledge. On autumn Saturdays, the population doubles when 107,000 fans pack Michigan Stadium - the Big House, largest football stadium in the Western Hemisphere. The rest of the year, Ann Arbor functions as a bookstore-and-coffee-shop utopia, a place where independent retailers survive and sidewalk cafes fill Main Street. They call it Tree Town, and from the air in summer, that's exactly what it looks like: a canopy of green with buildings barely visible beneath.

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Image: (WT-shared) Carson Maynard | CC BY-SA 1.0

]]> Thu, 15 Jan 2026 00:00:00 GMT https://qualla.com/_m/d/p/s/2/ann-arbor-wk/dps2-ann-arbor-tree-town-and-the-big-house-intro.mp3 0:06 1 full Ann Arbor: Tree Town and the Big House: The Big House https://qualla.com/ann-arbor/ Photo credit Andrew Jameson, CC BY-SA 3.0. Michigan Stadium opened in 1927 with a capacity of 72,000, designed by architect Bernard Green with expansion in mind - the foundations were built to support additional seating above the original bowl. The expansion came: 80,000 by 1956, 100,000 by 1975, 107,601 today. The Big Ho...

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Image: Andrew Jameson | CC BY-SA 3.0

]]> Thu, 15 Jan 2026 00:00:00 GMT https://qualla.com/_m/d/p/s/2/ann-arbor-wk/dps2-ann-arbor-tree-town-and-the-big-house-the-big-house.mp3 0:06 2 full Ann Arbor: Tree Town and the Big House: Campus and Town https://qualla.com/ann-arbor/ Photo credit Traveler100, CC BY-SA 4.0. The University of Michigan's Central Campus occupies 3,200 acres interwoven with downtown Ann Arbor. The Diag - a diagonal path crossing the original campus - remains the symbolic center, where students cut through between classes and protesters have gathered since the Vietnam er...

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Image: Traveler100 | CC BY-SA 4.0

]]> Thu, 15 Jan 2026 00:00:00 GMT https://qualla.com/_m/d/p/s/2/ann-arbor-wk/dps2-ann-arbor-tree-town-and-the-big-house-campus-and-town.mp3 0:06 3 full Ann Arbor: Tree Town and the Big House: Tree Town https://qualla.com/ann-arbor/ Photo credit Pentawing, CC BY-SA 3.0. In the early 20th century, Ann Arbor had leveled most of its original forest for development. Then the city planted trees - aggressively, systematically, until the canopy grew back thicker than before. From altitude, Ann Arbor appears as solid green, buildings hidden beneath leav...

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Image: Pentawing | CC BY-SA 3.0

]]> Thu, 15 Jan 2026 00:00:00 GMT https://qualla.com/_m/d/p/s/2/ann-arbor-wk/dps2-ann-arbor-tree-town-and-the-big-house-tree-town.mp3 0:06 4 full Ann Arbor: Tree Town and the Big House: Books and Coffee https://qualla.com/ann-arbor/ Photo credit (WT-shared) Carson Maynard, CC BY-SA 1.0. Ann Arbor claims more bookstores per capita than any other American city - a claim difficult to verify but easy to believe after walking downtown. The flagship Borders bookstore opened here in 1971 (though the chain later collapsed, the original location is gone). Dawn Treader an...

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Image: (WT-shared) Carson Maynard | CC BY-SA 1.0

]]> Thu, 15 Jan 2026 00:00:00 GMT https://qualla.com/_m/d/p/s/2/ann-arbor-wk/dps2-ann-arbor-tree-town-and-the-big-house-books-and-coffee.mp3 0:06 5 full Ann Arbor: Tree Town and the Big House: Wolverine Country https://qualla.com/ann-arbor/ Photo credit Chris Rycroft from Madison, Wisconsin, United States, CC BY 2.0. Detroit Metropolitan Airport (DTW) lies 25 miles east, a 40-minute drive when traffic cooperates. Amtrak's Wolverine service connects Ann Arbor to Detroit and Chicago. The town is walkable within the campus-downtown core, though parking frustrates everyone. From altitude, Ann Arb...

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Image: Chris Rycroft from Madison, Wisconsin, United States | CC BY 2.0

]]> Thu, 15 Jan 2026 00:00:00 GMT https://qualla.com/_m/d/p/s/2/ann-arbor-wk/dps2-ann-arbor-tree-town-and-the-big-house-wolverine-country.mp3 0:06 6 full