Posted on by bunnyhugger

City Market Drive, Bearstone Construction, 2018

I took this photo when returning to the car after Silver Bells (Lansing’s annual holiday parade). The stamp is located inside the Lansing Center’s parking garage off City Market Drive.

I had previously and mistakenly believed that the Lansing Center was built in the 1950s. I think I had been confused by reading old newspapers that referenced a civic center in connection with popular midcentury mayor Ralph W. Crego. In fact, that was the Lansing Civic Center, which functioned mainly as a concert venue. It was renamed the Lansing Civic Arena in its later years to avoid confusion with the Lansing Center. The Lansing Center was only built in 1987, which is very surprising to me. That means when I came to town in 1999 it practically had a bit of new-development shine still on it. The Lansing Civic Arena was demolished in 1999. It had been at the southeast corner of Allegan and Pine Streets.

Posted on by bunnyhugger

N. Foster Ave., Bearstone Construction, 2018

This pair of stamps from Bearstone Construction is on the east side of North Foster Avenue between Michigan and Vine, specifically in front of the Foster Community Center.

The southern stamp of the pair.

The community center contains a small library, which is where I usually have my library holds sent to, since it’s the closest one to home and easier to park at than the main library downtown. It was originally the Foster Avenue School, as the stonework over the door still proclaims. Lansing seems to have named a lot of its early elementary schools after the street they were located on (see also the Allen Street School). I’m surprised no one wanted to be an elementary school’s namesake.

Foster Community Center, taken as I approached from across Foster.

Bearstone Construction, according to its Web site, is “a family owned and operated business in the Lansing area” offering concrete, landscaping, and construction services. Their mailing address actually places them in Bath.

The northern of the two stamps. It showed up quite well under the flash. The two are a fair distance apart, presumably on either end of a run of new sidewalk.
Looking south on Foster from the edge of the northern stamp.