Ypsilanti (/ˌɪpsəˈlænti/ IP-sə-LAN-tee [4]), commonly shortened to Ypsi (/ˈɪpsiː/ IP-see) is a college town and city located on the Huron River in Washtenaw County in the U.S. state of Michigan.

Ypsilanti is conveniently located on the intersection of US Highway 23 (North-South) and Interstate 94 (East-West), and is a short 15 to 20 minute drive to Detroit Metropolitan Wayne County Airport (DTW).

[5] Woodruff's Grove changed its name to Ypsilanti in 1829, the year its namesake effectively won the war for Greek Independence at the Battle of Petra, with the two communities eventually merging.

This area has been referred to as "The Amazing Quarter Mile" and was eventually added to the Ypsilanti Historic District.

The last Kaiser car made in Ypsilanti rolled off the assembly line in 1953, when the company merged with Willys–Overland and moved production to Toledo, Ohio.

[9] On June 23, 2020, Mayor Beth Bashert resigned after a controversial comment she made about race during a Zoom meeting.

Bert Lahr and Dame Judith Anderson starred in two productions, The Oresteia, a trilogy of Greek tragedies written by Aeschylus and The Birds by playwright Aristophanes.

Painter Fay Kleinman moved to Ypsilanti in the late 1980s with her husband, pianist Emanuel Levenson.

Established in 1994 through the efforts of the Ypsilanti Downtown Development Authority and several public spirited citizens, the Riverside boasts a 115-seat black box theater, a sizable art gallery and some meeting rooms and offices.

In 2006 the adjacent DTE building was renovated with "Cool Cities Initiative" money and is in the process of being incorporated into the center's activities.

Ypsi Pride takes place on the first Friday in June and seeks to celebrate LGBTQ+ culture across the community by hosting a variety of family friendly programming, entertainment, and educational content.

[23] Ypsilanti has the second largest contiguous historic district in the state of Michigan,[24] behind only the much larger city of Grand Rapids.

The Ypsilanti Historic District includes both downtown Ypsilanti, along Michigan Avenue, and the Depot Town area adjacent to Frog Island Park and Riverside Park, which features many specialty shops, bars and grills, and a farmers' market.

[25][26] The Ypsilanti Water Tower, adjacent to the campus of Eastern Michigan University, holds the unique distinction of being the winner of the Most Phallic Building contest.

It also was the setting of a well known and long running High/Scope Perry Preschool Study regarding the effects of early childhood education in children.

[37] As well, Ypsilanti is home to Washtenaw Community College (WCC) sponsored off-site extension center.

[38] Upon closing, the Press sold its masthead, archives and subscriber list to The Ann Arbor News, which then began publishing an Ypsilanti edition.

A weekly newspaper, the Ypsilanti Courier, is published every Thursday by Heritage Media from their Saline, Michigan offices.

It was mostly staffed by graduate students who attend Eastern Michigan University and runs several database websites and mailing lists.

Because a large number of residents or their ancestors migrated from Appalachia, certain neighborhoods (particularly on the far east side of the city and into Ypsilanti Township) are sometimes called "Ypsitucky".

Harriette Arnow's book The Dollmaker, which was made into a film starring Jane Fonda, focused on the lives of these "Ypsituckians".

In 2008, the issue was raised after a dinner being held in Ann Arbor to honor Harriette Arnow was described as an "Ypsitucky Supper" in some of the event organizer's media releases.

[70][71] In 2009, planning began for the "Ypsitucky Jamboree", a new music festival celebrating bluegrass music to be held in Ypsilanti in September 2009; this resulted in objections from some area residents and some members of the City Council, leading to renaming the event as simply "The Jamboree".