Driving Around Downtown Kalamazoo, Michigan in 4k Video

Filmed on Monday, July 3 2023, I drive around downtown Kalamazoo, MI to see what's going on.

The name “Kalamazoo” comes from a Potawatomi word. The meaning of the word is unclear. It might mean "boiling pot" or "where the water boils" but it could mean "mirage" or "reflecting river". It could also mean something entirely different.

The first Europeans to reside in the area were fur traders in the late 18th and early 19th century. There are records of several traders wintering in the area, and by the 1820s at least one trading post had been established.

In 1829, Titus Bronson, originally from Connecticut, became the first white settler to build a cabin within the present city limits of Kalamazoo. He platted the town in 1831 and named it the village of Bronson—not to be confused with the much smaller Bronson, Michigan, about fifty miles to the south-southeast of Kalamazoo.

Bronson, frequently described as "eccentric" and argumentative, was later run out of town. The village was renamed Kalamazoo in 1836, due in part to Bronson's being fined for stealing a cherry tree. Today, a hospital and a downtown park, among other things, are named for Bronson.

On August 27, 1856, Abraham Lincoln gave a speech in Kalamazoo during a campaign rally for John C. Fremont, the first Republican presidential candidate. This was the only trip Lincoln ever made to Michigan.

In the 1940s, Kalamazoo became the first city to install "curb cuts", making sidewalks more accessible.

Kalamazoo was the original home of Gibson Guitar Corporation. Operations were moved gradually from Kalamazoo to Memphis, Tennessee, (Electric Division) and Bozeman, Montana, (Acoustic Division) in the 1980s. Some workers from the original factory stayed in Kalamazoo to create the Heritage Guitar company.

Kalamazoo has many local breweries and brewpubs that produce a variety of beer styles.

Perhaps the best-known is Bell's Brewery, established as the Kalamazoo Brewing Company in 1985 by Larry Bell. Bell's beer is distributed to 40 US states, Washington DC and Puerto Rico.

The name Kalamazoo, which sounds unusual, has become a metonym for exotic places, as in the phrase "from Timbuktu to Kalamazoo". Today, T-shirts are sold in Kalamazoo with the phrase "Yes, there really is a Kalamazoo".

Kalamazoo's name is a familiar reference in popular music, since its unique sound makes it a "great word for a lyric". The city's name is referenced in at least a dozen hit songs.

In Dr. Seuss's classic children's book Horton Hatches the Egg, Horton the Elephant visits Kalamazoo while he is in the circus.

As of the 2020 census, 73,598 people resided in the city, down from 74,262 in 2010.

The racial makeup of the city was 68.1% White, 22.2% Black or African American, 0.5% Native American, 1.7% Asian, 2.8% from other races, and 4.6% from two or more races. Hispanic or Latino of any race were 6.4% of the population.

The median household income was $44,296 and the Per capita income was $25,305. 27.8% of the population was living below the poverty line.

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