Greenfield Village, Michigan, USA

Defining Main Street: The Nostalgia. Let's end where we began, with Sinclair Lewis. Main Street was the most influential component of American urbanism for more that a century. Do you think it will ever be eclipsed by nostalgia for strip malls, retail strips, big-box stores, or shopping malls? [2008]

Howell, Michigan, USA

Defining Main Street: The Restaurant. It is hard for suburbs to duplicate the ambiance of Main Street restaurants. Still, in most small towns it will be hard to find more than one or two full-service eateries like this. Does "seafood" capture the essence of place in a setting surrounded by Great Lakes? [2018]

Dundee, Michigan, USA

Odds and Evens, Ones and Twos, Singles and Doubles, Which one be You? Here are two happy hooligans getting ready for their favorite holiday. The setting: a sunny afternoon au coin de la maison. [2008]

Nashville, Michigan, USA

"Never again" said God, after the flood, as he put a rainbow in the sky to remind people it would never happen again. Yesterday, a similar deluge ended. It lasted four years instead of forty days. Now, it's time to look for rainbows that repeat the message: "Never Again." Can you find the double rainbow in the sky here? [2018]

Flint, Michigan, USA

 

Past, present, and future are all part of Flint's marquee. Past: The city must have been founded or incorporated in 1855. Present: The digital screen allows passers-by to keep up with changing events and reminds them of their cell phones. Future: The foreword-thrust script suggests the city is flowing gracefully into a rosy future world yet to come. [2018]

Rockwood, Michigan, USA

Let your letters pass from mail truck to hook-and-ladder truck. See the ladder? See the hook? In this case the hook seems to be something the letter carrier pulls to open your mail box. [2008]

Flint, Michigan, USA

Flint's native son, Michael Moore, laid out the facts of the lead poisoning epidemic in his documentary Fahrenheit 11/9. Other exposés have added to and expanded the narrative, but the problems have yet to be solved. What is wrong with our political system? [2018]

Flint, Michigan, USA

Flint has tried to turn things around since the auto industry's collapse. But, conditions are not as idyllic as an upscale brewery may suggest. When the city had a new source of water forced on it, Legionnaire's disease broke out. That was followed by lead poisoning. You owe it to yourself to read Dr. Mona Hanna-Attisha's What the Eyes Don't See. [2018]

Flint, Michigan, USA

Flint, Michigan, is looking good today, but the Flint Water crisis persists. In fact, it has persisted for five years. The most recent exposé was PBS Frontline's Flint's Deadly Water. If you thought the Vehicle City's problem was lead poisoning, think again. Before there was lead, there were outbreaks of Legionnaire's disease, and no one in power seems to care. [2018]

Livonia, Michigan, USA

The darkest day of the year falls today: April 15. Isn't this how most people think of the tax collector, as the Grim Reaper's twin brother? And, this year, tax day falls right in the middle of the Easter Season. [2008]

Monroe, Michigan, USA

Faux Animal Characters: Here's a beloved character right out of "kiddie lit": Little Brown Bear. His life was chronicled by Marjorie Upham in the 1940s and 50s. Now, he helps honor his creator outside the Monroe Public Library. But, where is Little Grey Goose? [2008]

Lansing, Michigan, USA

Michigan became the 26th state admitted to the Union on this day in 1837. Ten years later, Lansing replaced Detroit as the state's capital city, and construction of a capitol (not this one) began. In moving the state's government westward, Michigan followed the lead of most seaboard states. [2018]

Sturgis, Michigan, USA

E.T. was one of the most popular movies of the late 20th century, and its impact on popular culture has continued. Here, Elliot and E.T. have re-appeared on main street. Can't you just see them circled by the moon as they pedal across the night sky? Did E.T. win the Best Picture Oscar in 1983, however? Of course not. [2018]

Centreville, Michigan, USA

The 3-span Langley covered bridge is the longest in Michigan, but it's not long enough. It has the help of a causeway to get it to the distant shore. Nor, is it high enough, so it has the help of height restrictors that remind drivers of the portals' clearance. In fact, when the reservoir was created it wasn't even elevated enough, so it was raised 8 feet. [2018]

Dearborn, Michigan, USA

Christopher Columbus made landfall in the Americas on this day in 1492. Or, was it Cristoforo Colombo who made landfall? Or, was it Cristóbal Colón? Or, Cristòffa Cómbo? Anyway, if you have the day off today, say thanks to Chris. Then, look at the date again. Should the 8th day of October really be called Columbus Day? [2008]

Flint, Michigan, USA

Under a parking lot canopy, she sells small salvage that cyclists might need. Yes, that's right: Here in the birthplace of General Motors, she is dealing with cyclists. And, she is probably vexed by that mural, or maybe hoping that people notice how much city space cars consume, especially when compared to bikes. Nevertheless, I must say: Go MSU! [2018]

Royal Oak, Michigan, USA

The world knows them as snow monkeys, but they are really Japanese macaques. Primates they are, and the only primates who are adapted to life in a cold and snowy climate: Just look at those fur coats. They are also adapted to life in the "hot tubs" that nature has provided on Japan's portion of the Pacific Rim of Fire. [2018]

Vermontville, Michigan, USA

There's a little patch of New England in mid-Michigan, and Vermontville is its unofficial capital city. Just as you would expect, here is the Congregational Church, planted here after a Congregational minister visited the area in 1835. Even the architecture is reminiscent of the New England "meetinghouse." [2018]

Dundee, Michigan, USA

"When you got it, show it. Put your hidden treasures on display." These lyrics by The Producers seem to fit the hog show perfectly, and so does the setting. [2008]

Jonesville, Michigan, USA

Scarecrows have left the garden patches of rural America and come to the cities. Now, they help us celebrate fall with straw while standing tall for us all to see. Is this what public art has come to? [2008]