Depot Town
[4] Ypsilanti's original city hall and jail were built just across the Huron River from Depot Town on West Cross Street.
[5] As the depot was built one mile north of the Chicago Road (now Michigan Avenue), the community of Ypsilanti was split between competing locations.
[8] Tunnels, originally built for water drainage, passed beneath the railroad and ran between the Thompson Block and the businesses on Cross Street, and were used as hiding places by escaped slaves, who hid by day and then rode boats down the Huron River by night.
The longtime gardener, John Laidlaw, built enormous arrangements that evoked Niagara Falls, the battleship Maine, and well-known landscapes.
[11] In the March 2016, local, state and federal officials formally began the process of proposing the return of Amtrak service to Depot Town.
Its subsequent rehabilitation and preservation would be a great asset and historical resource for not only the citizens of Ypsilanti but also an excellent example of Midwestern architecture from the 1800s for the entire country.
[6] At the northeast corner of Cross and River Streets stands the Thompson Block, a historic building which was used as barracks in the Civil War.
The Thompson Block suffered a bad fire early in the morning on September 23, 2009,[17] and the temporary supports reaching into adjacent streets, installed shortly after the fire to stabilize the structure, blocked westbound traffic on Cross Street for more than three months[18] and have resulted in legal tussles between the city and the property owner.
On an early January morning, the twelfth car, laden with lumber, of an 85-car freight train came off the tracks and crashed into the corner of the building.
[20] When the current owners went to build a patio on the spot, they found some of the debris had been piled up underneath, which made it more difficult to dig post holes.
[22] At the southeast corner of Cross and River Streets, the Ypsilanti Automotive Heritage Museum is housed in the last Hudson Motor Car Company dealership.
Toward the west end of Depot Town, on both sides of Cross Street, there are several one-story structures, which are of more-recent construction than the taller buildings.
Frog Island and Riverside Parks, both on the Huron River, are immediately to the west of Depot Town, and are often informally considered part of the district.
[27][28] In addition to antique stores, a Michigan artisan market (The Eyrie), tattoo parlor, record shop, fly fishing store, one of Ypsilanti's two farmers' markets & a variety of services including massage therapy, Russian ballet instruction, and motorcycle/auto repair; Depot Town is home to several well-known restaurants.
Depot Town's newest restaurant MAIZ Mexican Cantina opened June 2014 serving fresh from scratch Mexican fare complementing the other institutions on Cross St. Sidetrack Bar & Grill has occupied the southwest corner of the River Street-Cross Street intersection since 1980,[20] while Aubree's Saloon is in the last building on the north side of Cross Street.
The Ypsilanti Food Co-op, established in 1975, moved into the Mill Works Building in the 1980s and in addition to groceries, sells sandwiches, salads, soups, and fresh bread from the bakery next door.
[3][29] The River Street Bakery, also in the Mill Works Building and now owned by the Co-op, claims to have the only wood-fired brick oven in commercial use in Washtenaw County.
[30] The Ypsilanti Automotive Heritage Museum is housed in the world's last surviving Hudson Motor Car Company dealership,[3][31] across the street from the Thompson Block.
[32] Due to Michigan's cold winter, the majority of Depot Towns events are held from late March to early October.
[34] The Michigan Brewers Guild Summer Beer Festival, established in 1997, is held in Riverside Park on the fourth Saturday (and the Friday evening before) of July.
[36] In 2010, the festival drew about 9,000 attendees, despite "sweltering heat, torrential downpours, an overflowing Huron River, power blackouts and the possibility of tornadoes".
Discontinued models of ongoing brands are accepted if they were made in Ypsilanti, and foreign vehicles are allowed if they are no longer sold in the United States.
