The political football that is the proposed Germantown Historic District is about to be hiked again now that a report advocating for the creation of the historic district has been released.
The 28-page report says a public meeting about the creation of the historic district on the south side of downtown is expected to be held in May. The committee charged with exploring its creation must also finish its work by September. Right now it's moving toward creating the historic district.
"Through its older homes, grid like layout and street alley … it reflects the period during which early settlement of Ann Arbor by Yankees as well as Germans immigrant families took place," the report states. "It contains the homes of a number of early city leaders."
The proposed Germantown Historic District encompasses three blocks that include both sides of Fourth and Fifth avenues between William Street and Packard Road, along with both sides of Packard between Fourth and Fifth.
It is also the area where the City Place development (now called Heritage Row) is proposed and near the proposed Moravian project. Both developments call for building dense housing geared toward people who want to live close to downtown Ann Arbor. The historic district has been used as a political tool by some local preservationists who are or have opposed either or both developments.
Politics aside, the report contains interesting information about the neighborhood. It includes 46 homes and one church that were built between 1838 and 1925. Most were built in the late 19th Century. Those homes represent a wide variety of architectural styles, including Greek Revival, Italianate, Arts and Crafts, Colonial Revival, Dutch Colonial Revival and Queen Anne homes. The Queen Anne was popular because of the easy access to lumber from Michigan's plentiful lumber mills.
The church, Bethlehem Evangelical, was built in 1895 in a Romaneque Revival style with Gothic influences. Its stone work serves as the biggest architectural statement. It also is the church that spawned Zion Lutheran Church on the city's west side.
"It's one of the city's oldest neighborhoods," says Patrick McCauley, chair of the historic district creation committee. "Its part of the original plat of 1824. There are a few houses there that date from this period."The neighborhood was originally settled in the early 19th Century by American Yankees. German immigrant families began moving into the neighborhood in the late 19th Century and early 20th Century. By 1880 one out of nine of every Ann Arbor residents was German born. The population was served by a German newspaper, shooting club, cornet club, a large park and athletic society. The common denominator was the word German in the title.
University of Michigan faculty and students began to move into the building as the 20th Century began to take shape. First it was through German families taking on boarders.
"There was a significant period of time everyone had a boarder in their house," says Rebecca Lopez-Kriss, who serves on the historic district creation committee. "It was normal."
The neighborhood converted to university off-campus housing by World War II when U-M underwent a rapid expansion. Today the neighborhood is a mix of a few local families and mostly university student renters.
"Keep in mind," Lopez-Kriss adds, "the sole charge of the
committee is to weigh whether the neighborhood has historic value. All
other considerations like affordable housing, density, sustainability
have to be weighed by city council. It's also not our job to evaluate
the economic benefits or even whether someone would ever spend the money to
restore these homes."
Source: City of Ann Arbor and Rebecca Lopez-Kriss, member of the Germantown Historic District Committee and Patrick McCauley, chair of the Germantown Historic District Committee
Writer: Jon Zemke
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