Posted on by bunnyhugger

Prospect St., Eastlund Concrete, 1998

This stamp represents an Eastlund Concrete variation I had not yet recorded. Among the several stamps they have used, it’s the only one that gives their city. It’s on a bit of walk between the sidewalk and the street – what I have taken to calling a “curb walk” since I don’t know the real name for it – on the north side of Prospect Street between Bingham and Jones.

The walk – which has seen better days – is unusually long for the breed. This is because of something interesting I have observed in the Prospect Place neighborhood, though I don’t know the significance of it: the sidewalks are inset quite a bit further from the road compared with other east side neighborhoods. This gives the lawns much bigger than usual “extensions.”

The stamp is at the very bottom of the (relatively long) curb walk. Note how wide the extension is – perhaps twice as wide as my own house’s.

“Extension,” I must explain, is the name I have always used for the grass strip between the sidewalk and the street. That’s what my parents called it, so that’s what I called it, and still do. Eventually, though, I noticed that other people didn’t call it that. I’ve heard it called all kinds of things by people from different regions, but seemingly never “the extension.” I began to wonder if it was idiosyncratic to my family, until I discovered the Wikipedia article on (as they call them) road verges. The article contains a list of some examples of regional names for road verges, and among them is “extension lawn,” claimed to be specific to Ann Arbor, Michigan (citation needed). I grew up in Ann Arbor. That said, I never heard “extension lawn,” just plain “extension.” I did a bit more poking around and discovered that Ann Arbor’s municipal code in fact uses the name “lawn extension” (not “extension lawn,” Wikipedia) for it. One thing I do remember from my youth in Ann Arbor is that the extension is a frequent cause of fights between the city and homeowners over whether anything can be planted there besides grass.

Lansing’s municipal code has its own name for this piece of land: “parkway.” I don’t think I have ever heard a Lansingite use that in conversation. I think the most common name for it here is “the-right-of-way,” which is correct but not specific: as the terms are used in the city code, the parkway as a right-of-way, but not all right-of-ways are parkways. The code also makes clear that “No plant, shrub or tree shall be planted or allowed to grow in the right-of-way unless authorized by the Director of Public Service” (1020.03, “Maintenance of Parkways”). In stark contrast to Ann Arbor, I see no evidence this rule is ever enforced. It’s nearly as common to see violation of it as compliance.

Posted on by bunnyhugger

E. Kalamazoo St., Eastlund Concrete, 2002

This one is on my list of mysteries and oddities. It’s a curb cut at the northwest corner of East Kalamazoo and South Howard Streets, next to the parking lot for Dagwood’s Tavern, and it has no reason to exist.

.

Kalamazoo has no sidewalk at this point; its sidewalk mostly disappears after it crosses into the wilds of Lansing Township. The sidewalk on Howard appears and disappears with no discernible pattern, but at this point there is also none. So the curb cut is out there on its own, facing the busy intersection of Kalamazoo and Howard. It doesn’t even give access to Dagwood’s parking lot, since the corner of the lot has a metal barrier directly adjoining the curb cut.

The curb cut faces southeast across the intersection. That’s the on-ramp to 127 and 496 up ahead. There is a bit of asphalt around and to the north of the curb cut, probably just some overlap from the parking lot, but no sidewalk.

It would make sense, I suppose, for a curb cut to be installed (perhaps while doing other work on the curb or road nearby) if it was part of an intention to someday get around to putting in a sidewalk. But there just isn’t somewhere for a sidewalk to go, not unless Lansing Township makes Dagwood’s give up part of their parking lot. And to the best of my recollection, the barrier at the edge of the lot has always been there as long as I’ve been going to Dagwood’s, which means it pre-dates the curb cut.

Another view to show that the curb cut absurdly points directly at the corner of the parking lot barrier.
And here’s Dagwood’s, in case you’re somehow not familiar. I’m standing on the curb cut and facing west while taking this.

Posted on by bunnyhugger

Marshall St., Eastlund Concrete, 2006

This stamp is actually on the grounds of Eastern High School, on a curb cut in front of the school. There are lots of similar ones on the walks around the school as well as on the public sidewalks on Marshall Street and East Saginaw Street. They must date to when the school was built.

The building was constructed to house Pattengill Middle School, which became a “biotechnical” magnet school called Pattengill Academy when it moved there in 2007. It had previously been located on Jerome Street next to Eastern High School, but like so much of that neighborhood it ended up in the hands of Sparrow and was demolished to build a parking lot. Its original name when it opened in 1921 was East Junior High, but the following year it was renamed Pattengill Junior High.

Approaching Eastern High School from the south, via the sidewalk that extends from the dead end of Horton. (The stamp isn’t visible here. I just liked the pretty sky.)

Pattengill closed in 2013. Meanwhile, the original (1928) Eastern High School got sold to (guess who?) Sparrow, so in 2019, Eastern High School was moved into the former Pattengill building.

Posted on by bunnyhugger

S. Ionia St., Albion, Eastlund Concrete, 2006

I took time out from visiting family in Albion for Easter to take a walk in and around Victory Park. I know from past experience that stamps are much rarer in Albion than in Lansing, suggesting they are not required by ordinance there. Most of the ones I found were Miller’s Cement, the same one I found during my Christmas visit. I found one other, on the curb cut leading from the east side of South Ionia Street south over West Oak Street. It’s our old friend Eastlund Concrete, a familiar sight in Lansing.

There’s a vacant lot here now, though Google’s street view shows a house here as recently as 2012. They cut the trees in front of it down too, more’s the pity.

Heading north on South Ionia.

Posted on by bunnyhugger

Elizabeth St., Eastlund Concrete, undated

I didn’t forget. I’ve just been up all night writing an exam, and this was my first chance to get this posted. I took a lightly snowy walk in the early evening, enjoying some early Christmas lights (even while mildly disapproving).

There are a bunch of these Eastlund Concrete stamps on Elizabeth Street, but none of them are dated. Scofflaws, I tell you. This one is on the north side of Elizabeth Street, just on the east side of the corner of Lathrop.

Looking west on Elizabeth toward Lathrop.

Posted on by bunnyhugger

E. Michigan Ave., Eastlund Concrete, undated

This stamp is on the south side of East Michigan Avenue between Allen and Shepard. It’s undated, which is curious because I have seen other Eastlund stamps around town with dates, mostly in the 2000s if I’m remembering correctly. Eastlund Concrete of Holt is still in business and has been providing commercial concrete services since 1962, according to their Web site.

It’s out in front of Papa John’s Pizza, my longtime go-to pizza place (except when my parents are visiting because my dad prefers Jet’s). Papa John’s is no relation to the national chain. They had the name in this area long before the other Papa John’s came to town, so they had no legal obligation to relinquish it. When someone opened a Papa John’s franchise in Lansing back in the 2000s it had to go by the name Papiano’s. It’s long gone but our east side Papa John’s endures.

I’m trying so hard not to be bothered by the disorderly letters in that neon sign. I miss their previous neon, which was a cartoon chef’s face with big green eyebrows.

The stamp is on a half-sized slab right in front of the street tree in this next photo. (It’s right above a BBRPCI stamp oriented in the other direction.)