I had to check my records several times before satisfying myself that I hadn’t done this one before. It’s in a part of town I walk very frequently and it’s two things I always stop and photograph: a 1920s stamp and a diagonal one. Except for a crack, it’s in really nice shape, too. Somehow, I have missed it before now. It’s on the east side of South Fairview Avenue between Michigan and Prospect.
The house it’s in front of was built in 1910, so it was relatively young when the stamp was place.
Walking on the south side of East Kalamazoo Street, between Pennsylvania and Bingham, I found a hopscotch court that someone had drawn in chalk. I was heading west, the correct direction to appreciate it, as it started with an enticement to “Have fun!” and then concluded with the valediction “Have a good day.”
I love that kids still draw hopscotch, because I love keeping folk practices alive, something kids seem especially good at. I wonder, though, whether kids still play hopscotch. While it is not uncommon for me to come across a hopscotch court on the sidewalk, I have never seen hopscotch actually being played. I wonder if kids in Lansing play the game or just draw the board, ritualistically re-enacting something they have seen older kids do. I don’t know any kids to ask.
Did you miss me yet? I’m back with some graffiti, dated October 2019, from a vacant lot on the 100 block of Regent Street, between Michigan and Kalamazoo. Sorry it got a little cut off on the right. The bright sunlight made it hard for me to see what I was doing.
This is in front of a vacant lot which used to have one of the houses I thought of as “the Triplets,” three similar Dutch colonial houses in a row, all built in 1908. The Triplets were not actually identical. The one in the middle – the nearer home in this photo – has to be considered a fraternal triplet. In addition to having a different arrangement of windows in the front, it is actually quite different seen from the side. The two on either side of it were closer to identical, but were actually mirrored, judging from the arrangement of windows and placement of the front door. One of those triplets – my favorite one because it was pink – is gone, the victim of the infamous 2013 ice storm. A large tree limb fell on its roof, significantly damaging it. For a long time afterward it had a tarp laid over the hole, but after months went by and no work was done it became obvious that it was done for. It was demolished in 2015.
This lot is now owned by Dave Muylle, who owns quite a lot of that block of Regent. He also owns the middle triplet. Other Muylle properties in the vicinity include Regent Place, the Regent Arms, and the Cottage Lane project (a cluster of small homes around a common area between Regent and Leslie).
Although it’s just about illegible, I am fairly sure this is a Lansing DPW stamp. I read the date as 1933, but 1938 is a possibility too. It’s on the west side of Allen Street between Michigan and Prospect.
This stamp is on a driveway on the north side of East Michigan Avenue between Leslie and Horton. It’s what I call a ghost driveway; the house it belonged to was demolished sometime between 2008 and 2011, along with another one next door. It was one of those old houses-turned-businesses that line so much of the Avenue here. The city has an account for a business called “Digital Photo Magic” at this address, indicating delinquent taxes for 1999 and 2000, so they may have been here when this stamp was made. I can’t find much else about the history of the house except that in the 1950s and early ’60s it was home to a real estate agency called Brennan Realty Co.
There is a large and somewhat mysterious vacant lot on the northeast corner of East Kalamazoo Street and South Foster Avenue. The Kalamazoo side of it is lined with a row of handsome evergreens, and that’s where you can find this series of three graffiti-covered blocks. I assume the number on one of them represents a date, ’95, but I can’t be sure. They are facing sideways from the perspective of a pedestrian, as though meant to be read by the evergreens. Here they are, presented from east to west.
Nothing eventful today, just a nice L & L stamp from the east side of the 200 block of Regent Street between Michigan and Kalamazoo.
This stamp is on the west side of Regent Street just about midway between Kalamazoo and Elizabeth. It’s in front of the same house as this J. Wilson stamp. The house itself is a cute little Dutch colonial. A decade-plus ago, I had to have part of my chimney rebuilt, and the mason who did it lived in this house. He said, “You know I’ll do a good job because I’ll have to look at it.” In fact, he did do a really nice job.
The date appeared to be 1988 when I raked it with my flashlight beam, but now that I look at the photo it seems more like 1987. I will have to look at it in daylight next chance I get.
I picked up this one on a driveway apron on the west side of North Fairview Avenue between Vine and Fernwood. I can’t resist a 1920s stamp, even if they are much more common than I originally thought when I started the blog.
Unfortunately, while I can read the date fine, the name is deep but obscure. It looks to end with -ER, possibly -MMER or -NNER, but I can’t figure anything else out. Normally a driveway apron stamp of this age would likely be Lansing DPW, but what I can make out of this one does not match that. I tried using a flashlight to cast a raking light across it, which sometimes helps, but it didn’t do any good this time. Maybe next time I see it in daylight I’ll be luckier.
This garden variety Able stamp is on the north side of East Michigan Avenue between Horton and Clemens, in front of the Capitol Macintosh/Lansing Central AA building. This is a couple of doors east of the City Pulse building and their respective Able stamps are probably siblings.
This isn’t related to the stamp, but I have a fun story about Capitol Mac. A couple of years ago my elderly MacBook was having issues with the touchpad. I’d had some unpleasant experiences with Capitol Mac, but I felt guilty going to the Apple Store instead of supporting a local business, so I thought I would give them one more chance and dropped my computer off with them. A few days later they called to say that they had a break-in and one of the things stolen was my MacBook. I got paid $300 (the value of my aged computer) and then proceeded to go through way more than $300 worth of grief trying to put my digital life back in order. The rest of that story also involves a really bad experience with the Apple Store, so no one comes out smelling like roses in this. But that’s enough about that. Back to this spot on Michigan Avenue.
This is another instance of a storefront built in front of an old house, common on this stretch of Michigan. The house, as far as can be seen, is a large and handsome Victorian. According to the city’s parcel records, it was built in 1889. The records claim that the office space was also built in 1889, but I find that hard to believe.
Capitol Macintosh moved in here sometime in the 2000s, having previously been located in Frandor under the name Eubulus. Around that time the office building, previously a plain box, had a cosmetic overhaul, giving it a gabled entrance and faux gables on the sides, as well as eyebrow details over the side windows. These elements were chosen to match the house, albeit in an amusement-park sort of way.
A search through the [Lansing] State Journal turns up (ready for it?) two car dealers previously at this address, Stratton Sports Cars (October 1, 1961) and Precision Imports (July 1, 1969). Ads throughout 1980 offered the space for a beauty parlor, implying it was set up as one in the 1970s sometime. I also see from some mentions in the social pages that it was the residence of Mr. and Mrs. Charles Horn in the 1950s. Most interesting to me is that on November 27, 1926, there is an advertisement for Faggion Plumbing and Heating at this address. I previously wrote about Mundo Faggion Plumbing and Heating as the former occupant of the Mercy Ambulance building, but Mr. Faggion’s obituary claimed that his business was founded in 1929. Either that date is incorrect or they are not the same business, although surely they are at least related.
The city’s records have (undated) accounts for a few other businesses using the address: Tax Lien Inspection Company, First Hand Impressions, Advanced Computer, and Creative Touch Hair & Nails Design.