Downtown Lansing
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Downtown Lansing is the central business district of Lansing, Michigan, United States. Located in the west-central part of the city along the banks of the Grand River, downtown Lansing is primarily home to Michigan's state government and three
college A college (Latin: ''collegium'') is an educational institution or a constituent part of one. A college may be a degree-awarding tertiary educational institution, a part of a collegiate or federal university, an institution offerin ...
s, and also contains sports facilities, museums, entertainment and retail, and a growing residential population.


History

The area that would become downtown was part of the original
plat In the United States, a plat ( or ) (plan) is a cadastral map, drawn to scale, showing the divisions of a piece of land. United States General Land Office surveyors drafted township plats of Public Lands Surveys to show the distance and bea ...
of Lansing. When the city was chosen as the capital of Michigan in 1847, this area – known as Middle Town – was chosen as the site of the state capitol building, but the city's primary and older business district of Old Town – then known as Lower Town – would remain the dominant business district for another decade or so. The building of the first Michigan Avenue Bridge in 1848 and the relocation of the area's post office in 1851 expedited the growth of Middle Town.


Overview

The boundaries of downtown Lansing are formally defined by one organization and one neighborhood association. Downtown Lansing Inc., a business improvement district, is the most narrow definition of the district, and only includes the office core of the downtown. Its boundaries are Larch Street on the east, St. Joseph Street to the south, Capitol Avenue to the west, and Shiawassee Street to the north. A 16-block portion of this area was added to the
National Register of Historic Places The National Register of Historic Places (NRHP) is the United States federal government's official list of districts, sites, buildings, structures and objects deemed worthy of preservation for their historical significance or "great artistic ...
as the Lansing Downtown Historic District on July 31, 2009. The Downtown Lansing Neighborhood Association defines the district as being bounded by the Grand River to the east, I-496 to the south, MLK Boulevard to the west, and Oakland Avenue to the north. This neighborhood association actually overlaps and includes in full other neighborhood association boundaries. It overlaps parts of the Walnut and Old Forest neighborhoods to the north, and includes the neighborhoods of Cherry Hill in the southeast corner of the neighborhood, Renaissance in the southwest corner, and
Genesee Genesee, derived from the Seneca word for "pleasant valley", may refer to: Geographic features Canada *Genesee, Alberta, an unincorporated community United States *Genesee, California *Genesee, Colorado *Genesee County, Michigan *Genesee Co ...
in the northwest corner.


Government & infrastructure

The offices of the city's government are located in Lansing City Hall at the corner of West Michigan Avenue and Capitol Avenue across the street from the Michigan State Capitol, which is the seat of the state government. Despite not being the
county seat A county seat is an administrative center, seat of government, or capital city of a county or civil parish. The term is in use in Canada, China, Hungary, Romania, Taiwan, and the United States. The equivalent term shire town is used in the US st ...
, downtown Lansing is home to some
Ingham County Ingham County ( ) is a county located in the U.S. state of Michigan. As of the 2020 Census, the population was 284,900. The county seat is Mason. Lansing, the state capital of Michigan, is largely located within the county. (Lansing is the only ...
offices.


Transportation

Downtown is one of two hubs for the
Capital Area Transportation Authority The Capital Area Transportation Authority (CATA) is the public transit authority that operates mass transit bus service and paratransit within the metro Lansing, Michigan area, including service on the campus of Michigan State University. In , the ...
. The CATA Transportation Center (CTC) is the central and western hub of the system, and also intercity bus companies including
Greyhound The English Greyhound, or simply the Greyhound, is a breed of dog, a sighthound which has been bred for coursing, greyhound racing and hunting. Since the rise in large-scale adoption of retired racing Greyhounds, the breed has seen a resurgenc ...
and
Indian Trails Indian Trails, Inc. is an inter-city bus company based in Owosso, Michigan, with offices in Romulus (in Metro Detroit) and Kalamazoo. History Indian Trails was founded in 1910 in Owosso as the Phillips-Taylor Livery Service, whose main busi ...
.


Education

There are no existing primary or secondary education facilities located in downtown.


Colleges & universities

Downtown is home to three institutions of
higher learning ''Higher Learning'' is a 1995 American drama film written and directed by John Singleton and starring an ensemble cast. The film follows the changing lives of three incoming freshmen at the fictional Columbus University: Malik Williams ( Omar Epp ...
. The largest is
Lansing Community College Lansing Community College is a public community college with its main campus in Lansing, Michigan. Founded in 1957, the college's main campus is located on an urban, site in downtown Lansing spanning seven city blocks approximately two bloc ...
, which reported an enrollment of 14,739 students for the 2020-21 academic year. Cooley Law School, the largest law school in the nation by enrollment, is located just south of the capitol. The Lansing campus of
Davenport University Davenport University is a private university with campuses throughout Michigan and online. It was founded in 1866 by Conrad Swensburg and currently offers associate, bachelor's, and master's degrees; diplomas; and post-grad certification progra ...
, a private, non-profit university, is located in the Cherry Hill neighborhood of downtown, but is currently renovating a facility along East Allegan Avenue two blocks east of the capitol to relocate to.


Libraries

The headquarters and main library of the
Capital Area District Library Capital Area District Libraries (CADL) is a system of libraries in Ingham County, Michigan, United States. It was formed in 1998 by an agreement between Ingham County and the City of Lansing. It consists of thirteen libraries and a mobile library. ...
are located along Kalamazoo Street and Capitol Avenue.
Library of Michigan The Library of Michigan is a state-run library and historical center located in Lansing, Michigan that was created to provide one perpetual state institution to collect and preserve Michigan publications, conduct reference and research, and suppo ...
& Historical Center is located along Kalamazoo Street in the west end of downtown. The library also includes the Archives of Michigan and State Law Library. Thomas E. Brennan Law Library, a part of Cooley Law School, sits at the corner of Kalamazoo and Washington Square in the central business district. It is one of the largest law libraries in the country.


References


External links


Downtown Lansing Inc.Lansing Downtown Neighborhood Association
{{Lansing-East Lansing, state=collapsed
Lansing Lansing () is the capital of the U.S. state of Michigan. It is mostly in Ingham County, although portions of the city extend west into Eaton County and north into Clinton County. The 2020 census placed the city's population at 112,644, makin ...
Geography of Lansing, Michigan