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Interesting Facts
- What's in a name? Over the years, Kalamazoo has enjoyed many different handles. In the earliest days, it was called "Bronson" for founder Titus Bronson. After he was run out of town, citizens voted to change the name to "Kalamazoo." Over the next few years, the city also earned a handful of nicknames, like "Paper City," Celery City," and "Mall City." Of course, locals know it merely as "Kazoo."
- Never let it be said that Kalamazoo is noteworthy in name alone. Anglers have a special place in their hearts for the city since Shakespeare rods and reels were once produced here. In addition, the city was home to the factory that produced Roamer automobiles. Medicine has also benefited from Kalamazoo, thanks to the Pharmacia Corporation, a Fortune 500 company that produces pharmaceutical products. And, of course, nearby Battle Creek is known as the home of Kellogg's Cereal Company.
- Gentlemen, start your engines! The Kalamazoo Speedway hosts a popular series of NASCAR Sanctioned races, which draws fans from all over the state. Special offerings include family nights, practice nights, and even classes for aspiring drivers. There's a race every Saturday night throughout the summer.
- Taxi! Founded in 1922 by Russian immigrant Morris Markin, the Checkered Cab Manufacturing Company was a major Kalamazoo employer for years. Arguably one of the most recognized symbols of US urban life, the big yellow cars were especially popular in New York City, and by the end of the 1920s, the Big Apple boasted some 7000 of them. In 1982 Checker Cabs ceased production, but as a testament to their durability and longevity, the last Checker cab in NYC wasn't retired from use until 1999.
- That's no way to treat your father! According to local lore, eccentric city founder Titus Bronson was hard to deal with, a staunch proponent of temperance, prone to "walking funny," and sometimes aloof and dogmatic. By March of 1836, just six years after he founded Bronson and named it for himself, his neighbors voted to change the name to "Kalamazoo." Fortunately, poor Titus had already been run out of town for, among other things, allegedly stealing a cherry tree from another settler. After a series of misadventures in Iowa and Illinois, he returned to his native Connecticut and died a broken man in January 1853.
- A simple square monument marks the grave of one of the abolition movement's most beloved and heroic figures, Sojourner Truth. Born a slave in New York and known by the name Isabella Bomefree, she gained freedom in 1827; by the 1840's she had changed her name and become quite well known as a street preacher and traveling public speaker. She settled in Battle Creek in the 1850s, and continued to travel throughout the country, speaking publicly on controversial topics such as abolition, women's rights and prison reform. She passed away in November of 1883.
- Celebrated architect Frank Lloyd Wright left his mark in Kazoo when he designed Parkwyn Village in the late 1940s. This cooperative community contains excellent examples of his Usonian-style homes, whose flat roofs, concrete floors, natural wood walls, and brick masonry embodied the aging architect's fervent desire to build affordable homes for the average American family.
- Although the company ceased operations at its original plant in the mid-1980s, the Gibson Mandolin-Guitar Manufacturing Company was founded in Kalamazoo at the turn of the century. Setting the standard for instrument quality for years, Gibson Guitars was the industry leader, especially with the introduction of the Les Paul guitar in 1952. The company moved its production to Nashville in the early 1980s, but some former Gibson employees established Heritage Guitar in its place, continuing the Kalamazoo tradition of fine instrument manufacture.
- Batter up! Kalamazoo had a team in the All American Girls Professional Baseball League from 1950 until the league folded in 1954. Originally the Muskegon Lassies (1946-1949), the Kalamazoo Lassies were never as well known as the Rockford Peaches (think "A League of their Own"), but they were definitely good enough to become Playoff Champions in 1954.
- Kalamazoo Mall, whose telltale herringbone bricks give the city its distinctive old-fashioned charm, was conceived in the late 1950s, when city leaders feared that the city's outward growth would kill its downtown area. On 19 August 1959, more than 50,000 people stood on-hand as the nation's first European-style pedestrian shopping mall opened for business.
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