The city of Ann Arbor was founded in 1824 by John Allen of Virginia and Elisha Rumsey of New York. There is some speculation as to how the city came to be known as Ann Arbor, and several theories have emerged. The most believable and widely accepted is, Allen wanted to name the town after himself (Allensville), but his wife (who was named Ann) preferred “Annarbour”.
In the mid 19th Century, Ann Arbor vied for the position of Capitol of Michigan, but lost out to Lansing. However, it did “win” the University of Michigan – which was previously located in Detroit – in 1841.
In the past, Ann Arbor was a big music town. Ultra-liberal MC5 manager and White Panther founder John Sinclair hailed from AA, and Sinclair managed Iggy & the Stooges in the early days. The ‘Physchedelic Stooges’ (later shortened to just ‘Stooges’) were formed in 1967 after Iggy Pop left Ypsilanti to attend the University of Michigan.
Today, Ann Arbor is primarily known as a “college town”, with many local bars and hangouts. Leopold Bros and the Blind Pig continue to be Ann Arbor’s most popular rock joints. In the early 1990’s the Blind Pig boasted a performance from a new band from Seattle called Nirvana. Since then however, the Ann Arbor area has fallen out of musical favor. High rent and an influx of corporate chain establishments in the downtown area have driven most rockers to nearby Ypsilanti or to Hamtramck. For one of the best used record stores in the states, stop into Encore Records on Liberty Street.