Vacation links: comparing Ann Arbor and Marquette
I'm back from a week's vacation to the Upper Peninsula, where I spent most of a week in Marquette. I couldn't help but do some city comparisons along the way, imagining a national survey where the top 100 cities in the nation were compared along the lines of what I thought was important.
Here's a breakdown of how the two places compare on the four things that matter most: blueberries, roundabouts, water and the downtown.
Blueberries
The most important thing in this hypothetical city competition is the proximity of blueberries and blueberry picking during the season
In Ann Arbor, blueberries are ripe now, and a good picker will get a gallon an hour of the large, high bush commercial berries. Real Time Farms will tell you who is bringing blueberries to the farmers markets. There's only one berry farm in the county, the Dexter Blueberry Farm on Beach Road.
In Marquette, blueberries grow wild in the pine woods around the county, and a good picker will get a quart an hour of the small, wild berries. No one will tell you precisely where to go, but there's enough public land with good picking that if you drive toward one of the likely spots and look for cars parked on the side of the road you'll be in good shape. The local news will have reports like "In Sands Township they're small yet plentiful," leaving the reader to ponder which of the 70 square miles of Sands Township are being described. Obituaries of old-timers read "Leonard enjoyed hunting, fishing, and picking blueberries along with throwing horseshoes." An annual downtown blueberry festival caps off the season.
Results: Marquette wins the blueberry competition; the Ann Arbor berries are four times as big, but don't become a focus of civic pride.
Roundabouts
A successful modern city with all of its conveniences should have a prominent and beautiful roundabout for visiting motorists to enjoy, and for locals to complain about in moderation.
In Ann Arbor, no roundabout yet has reached the center of town. The grandest ones are on the edges of town, but their state of maintenance has prompted citizen discontent. Construction at Geddes Road is snarling traffic this summer on the east side of town; when it's done, this $5.3 million effort should provide a new gateway to town and improve east-west traffic.
In Marquette, there is a new roundabout under construction, the first of its kind in the entire Upper Peninsula. Opinion is predictably divided about the effect on traffic especially during snowy weather. It's unlikely that there will be complaints about highway beauty, though, since for over 20 years volunteers have been planting petunias on the entryways to the city as a part of the Petunia Pandemonium Project. That project was inspired by similar efforts in Charlevoix, and it lines the medians of the major roads into the city with bright, colorful flowers during the short summer season.
Results: Too early to decide the roundabout competition; in a year, a look at how both cities have managed their new construction will be telling. Ann Arbor could learn a lesson from Marquette (and Charlevoix) about ornamental plantings on entrance roads.
Water
A thriving city near a body of water will make good use of that water body as an attraction for visitors and for locals.
Ann Arbor enjoys the mighty Huron River, and the recent Huron River Day showed it off to good effect. When the weather is rough, the risk to the public is from flooding, not so much of the Huron River itself but of its tributaries like Allen Creek and Mallets Creek, which fill streets and basements with storm water.
Marquette enjoys Lake Superior, an even more mighty body of water which provides it with swimming beaches, a shipping harbor for coal and iron ore freighters, and a landing spot for tall ships on a Great Lakes tour. The risk to the public is that some of the swimming beaches are perilous, with rip currents even in what looks like ordinary weather. While we were there, a top Wisconsin agriculture official died, swept by a wave off a sandbar near the Picnic Rocks.
Results: Lake Superior beats the Huron River, both for majesty and for peril. Marquette needs to do a better job of guiding tourists to safe swimming beaches, since it seems that people from elsewhere always underestimate the lake's power.
Downtown
A lively city has an active downtown, with restaurants, shops, a movie theater, a library, a bookstore and a place to watch people go by.
Ann Arbor has all of these, in a Main Street that has won national honors. Downtown boosters are rightly proud of the city's walkable downtown, which draws people from all over the area.
Marquette's downtown is looking good this year, better than two years ago when we last visited. The biggest find of the year was Doncker's, which I remember as a candy store but which is newly expanded into a lunch counter upstairs with a view of the lake. There's a working movie theater (the Delft) which has an abandoned entrance that is being cleaned up, a downtown public library and county research library, a thriving independent bookstore, and people watching all up and down Third Street, which has its share of bagels, ice cream, and outdoor stores.
Results: July is an unfair comparison; both cities look great in the summer time. The real test of a community's downtown is in February, when it's gray (in Ann Arbor) and snowed under (in Marquette) and when you need the warmth of human companionship to stay sane.
Edward Vielmetti is the lead blogger for AnnArbor.com. Contact him at edwardvielmetti@annarbor.com.
Comments
krc
Wed, Jul 28, 2010 : 9:43 a.m.
This may or may not get printed because it just sort of mentions Marquette, but here goes: My daughter and SIL took me with them on a trip thru the UP about 10 years ago and it is one of my favorite memories. I saw animals I'd only seen in zoos - otter, moose, black bear - ate at some of the neatest places. Drove to Marquette just to see a movie and then decided, even though it was coming on dusk to continue up to Copper Harbor and got there just as the sun went down. There is a 'scenic overlook' there and we made our way up (this is where we saw the bear! It lumbered out right in front of the truck). The sky was just amazing. It was just before the stars came out and was this just indescribable color. We did all the other touristy things already mentioned here. It was just the best time. I'd do it again in a heartbeat. I'd try to time it for when the biting flies had all died though!
Jon Saalberg
Tue, Jul 27, 2010 : 6:07 p.m.
I'm married to a Yooper, so Marquette is a second home for me. Comparing the two is really absurd. You have a town of 25,000 people that is far from a lot of what Ann Arbor's proximity affords - less than an hour from Detroit, four hours from Chicago, for starters. So you are never far from large city expeditions that hold unlimited possibilities. Marquette isn't near large cities, and is not large, but it has - a Great Lake walking distance from my father-in-law's house; a small, but interesting downtown, with a nice place to get coffee and a muffin; unparalleled winter enjoyment in the middle of February; a skate park (how is that Ann Arbor doesn't have one); a great bike path that circumvents the town (another thing that seems impossibly absent from Ann Arbor).Ann Arbor has a plethora of dining opportunities - we can walk downtown and pick any one of a number of excellent places to sit outside, eat, and enjoy the summer. The Art Fair. The Summer Festival. The special events downtown, including Taste of Ann Arbor and the Rolling Sculpture auto show. A world-class university. Sports of every variety. I think both places have their great points, and it would be better to list what's great about both places, rather than denigrating one or the other. To me, that is pointless.
Jorie O'Brien
Tue, Jul 27, 2010 : 1:07 p.m.
As a native Ann Arborite and a resident of Marquette for the last four years, I've found that I need to stop comparing Ann Arbor and Marquette, because it just isn't fair to either city -- they're both so different. I'll be returning to Ann Arbor in a few weeks, but it's not exactly a happy departure from where I now call home. Marquette and Ann Arbor are two very different places, and in the past four years that I have lived here, I have grown to love Marquette. Marquette is not a 'quaint' town, as someone commented earlier, nor is it a city made up of exclusively of hunters and those who despise organic produce. Marquette is lively, even in the winter; there is a wonderful co-op that serves the community, as well as a number of organic farms close to town. There are several restaurants and bakeries that use organic and local produce in their food, and the farmers market here, dare I say it, is better than the one in Ann Arbor. It's certainly more friendly. There is also a very involved vegan and vegetarian movement. So, no, Marquette is not just people who hunt. (And, 1Block, there are no possums in Marquette, or most of the U.P. for that matter.) People in Marquette are friendly, nature is literally minutes away (even right outside your door), apartment rent is reasonable, there are amazing artists here, and the music scene is excellent. NMU is no U of M -- and that's a good thing. The NMU School of Art and Design is the best undergraduate art education you can get, and it's considerably less expensive than what you might shell out for something substandard at the Center for Creative Studies or, god forbid, U of M. Ann Arbor has its own fair share of positive things going for it, too. I just can't seem to think of any right now.;)
Mark
Tue, Jul 27, 2010 : 12:33 p.m.
Oh, and as for Organic food -- The Marquette Food Coop is very good. They have a weekly farmer's market in town, as well. The two most common vehicles on the road in Marquette are Jeep Cherokees and Subarus.
Mark
Tue, Jul 27, 2010 : 12:29 p.m.
I have spent a lot of time in Marquette over the past 28 years, as I used to do research in the Huron Mountains; but in the past 4, my daughter went to NMU and just graduated from their School of Art & Design. Comparing Ann Arbor and Marquette is something I have done a lot of. Downtown Marquette actually has stores that you can shop in and buy useful things like books, clothes, shoes, groceries. It's not a gauntlet of restaurants and bars with a few galleries and up-scale clothing shops. The people there are friendly and will engage you in conversation. In the past 10 years, the major chains have moved in, and you can go to the US-41 strip and shop at Office Max, Target, Kohls, etc., if you can't find it downtown. Marquette is a far more bike-friendly place than Ann Arbor. You can walk or bike along a several mile stretch of Lakeshore Drive - and on any given day, you will see a lot of people using it. There are new condos going up near the lake, and I suspect more are on the way as retirees decide that maybe the sun belt isn't the place to be. NMU is a quality university, and I have had more interaction with their president in 4 years than 30 at UM. As a much smaller school, and not "research university" one gets the feeling that student education is a top priority there. NMU had campus-wide wireless long before UM did. Obviously, one of the best things about Marquette is that you can see spectacular views of nature and Lake Superior within the city limits. Presque Isle Park is a real gem, and AA has nothing like it. If I could relocate, I'd move to Marquette and leave the hustle and bustle of Ann Arbor behind.
Commoncents
Tue, Jul 27, 2010 : 11:18 a.m.
DonBee: You're the one person on the board that I've gained a lot of respect for through your comments/suggestions on the Ann Arbor public school's recent "budget crunch". I am grinning ear to ear to find out that you grew up in the U.P. It really makes sense that someone with your logical point of view backed with data wouldn't have been raised in Ann Arbor.. So maybe you wouldn't want to answer, but where in the U.P. did you grow up? You're not friends with Bill Martin are you? haha that was a long shot but sitting courtside at a basketball game one of Bill's friends grabbed my ear as he saw me wearing a Michigan Tech sweatshirt and we talked a lot about the U.P. I guess it really is a small world as I figured I'd never run into anyone in ANN ARBOR from the U.P. Well, that's enough out of me.... just refreshing to hear you're a yooper! It really is another world up there, I'm heading up to Copper Harbor in a few weeks - I'll take in some fresh air for you!
DonBee
Mon, Jul 26, 2010 : 9:23 p.m.
Growing up in the UP, Marquette and Green Bay were the big cities and Escanaba and Menominee the Cities. Marquette was home to all the radical leftists in the UP. Fast forward almost 1/2 a century and more travel than I ever expected to do, and prespective changes. Marquette is a great place to spend time, Going to Copper Harbor to bike ride is a lot of fun. Pictured Rocks, Lake of the Clouds, fishing, hunting and more. The UP is a great place to grow up with small schools. I recommend everyone in Michigan spend at least a week in the UP. You have to try Pasties for lunch and stop for Venison Stew. Try Smoked White Fish from Kings. Maple Syrup from one of the Suger Bushes and Cheese Curds fresh from the cheese factory. Go to Split Rock and see why it is called Split Rock, ride the Tunerville Trolley and take the boat to the falls. Hang out at the Soo Locks and watch a freighter go thru the locks. Visit a sawmill and watch a tree turn into lumber for furniture. Go to Fayetteville and see the park there. If you are a real nature fan - go to the Sylvania Tract, if you can get reservations - the best lakes in the whole US of A.
Bubble world west
Mon, Jul 26, 2010 : 6:27 p.m.
your wild blueberry yield would increase with one of these: http://www.thelensflare.com/gallery/p_planttool_27627.php
Lokalisierung
Mon, Jul 26, 2010 : 6:11 p.m.
"not found to be true in this primary care outpatient population." It's way more accepted there to have alcohol issues, so it's kind of hard to compare. Places like marquette are more easily compared to places Russia/Syberia than to Ann Arbor. Do towns with 20K people report the same number of outpatient alcohol problems as 20K toen in Amercia or England? Probably not, but it's just the way of life there.
Lokalisierung
Mon, Jul 26, 2010 : 4:33 p.m.
"not found to be true in this primary care outpatient population." It's way more accepted there to have alcohol issues, so it's kind of hard to compare. Places like marquette are more easily compared to places Russia/Syberia than to Ann Arbor. Do towns with 20K people report the same number of outpatient alcohol problems as 20K toen in Amercia or England? Probably not, but it's just the way of life there.
Lokalisierung
Mon, Jul 26, 2010 : 4:19 p.m.
"Ann Arbor costs ~3x more to live in. Property taxes in Ann Arbor are out of control, but in Marquette they are almost non-existant." Wait wait wait...you mean property taxes are higher in Ann Arbor than the U.P?!? Oh my gosh this is shocking news.
Lokalisierung
Mon, Jul 26, 2010 : 4:17 p.m.
"there are more 'problem drinkers' (to be kind) than jobs in Marquette." Haha...That is too true. Everyone just relax, it's a warm hearted story for fun. Obviously Marquette is a qaint little UP town, a lot like any city in West Verginee, and Ann Arbor (compartitivly) is full of city slickers.
Commoncents
Mon, Jul 26, 2010 : 1:48 p.m.
Also, Ann Arbor owes it's average high salary per family completely to The University of Michigan.... lets not pretend there's something else in Ann Arbor that is keeping the bubble from popping... we're surrounded by reality, but Ann Arbor is far from it.
Commoncents
Mon, Jul 26, 2010 : 1:06 p.m.
Suitsme: I do live in ann arbor. Why'd you go to Northern if you like to brush elbows with people who rate high GPA's as something that's very important of their friends? As you pointed out, not the most academic school. Also, why is diversity, or as you pointed out Interratial marriage a GOOD thing? I don't have a problem with it, but if I meet a bunch of white girls, odds are that's who I'm going to date. I wouldn't ever call that a bad or negative thing. We shouldn't be too quick to judge forced diversity (like at UofM) to be considered the best thing for people. Skin color doesn't matter to me. People who preach skin color are most of the problem if you ask me. I'd rather people just stop talking about it. For what it's worth, I went to your rival school and there are problem drinkers everywhere, some consider it a problem in the U.P., others don't. By the way, I can think of a lot more comparisons if you'd like, but the one that just jumped out is all of the money this city spends on ART. What a waste.... if they did that in Marquette the guy who approved it would be fired and would be forced to leave the city. NUXI: I thought about commenting on the plowing, but to be honest we don't get any snow in Ann Arbor. I laugh when I see my hippy neighbors get out their snow blowers when we get 1" of a dusting. For me I don't even get a shovel because in 1 day we'll get a warm spell and it will all melt. As far as the yooper loop goes, do you mean the one in Houghton? That's the only one I know of by that specific name.... drove across it all the time, didn't ever bother me.
jameslucas
Mon, Jul 26, 2010 : 12:51 p.m.
Three years ago I got a chance to spend a week in Marquette in July. I have to agree with everyone the town has lots of charm. The fishing on Lake Superior's Standard Rock was out of this world. The fishing on the rivers, streams, and inland lakes out classed anything near Ann Arbor. But why was nothing said about the bicycling, it has got to be some of the most enjoyable biking in Michigan.
Suitsme
Mon, Jul 26, 2010 : 12:47 p.m.
Wow, I sure hope '1BlockRadius' does not live in Ann Arbor. I have lived in both places and love Marquette however, there are more 'problem drinkers' (to be kind) than jobs in Marquette. As a fourth generation Ann Arborite I can tell you that what you are disparaging, our diversity, is something we celebrate as it gives our town a special atmosphere and the lowest unemployment rate in Michigan. Marquette likewise has a very diverse population if I do remember correctly in the UP, if a finn marries an italian, it is considered an interracial marriage. Marquette has a very short growing season thus most foods are trucked in from Wisconsin. Maybe with global warming the summer will last long enough to grow organic food. I loved attending NMU but the 1.5 grade point average required for acceptance sometimes made it hard to find people to have an intelligent conversation with. Youse gotta love it, heh? Honestly, why not love both cities and appreciate our great state of Michigan. PS I was reading on WLUC.com that yes, they just completed a traffic circle.
NUXI
Mon, Jul 26, 2010 : 12:18 p.m.
They just better not get any ideas about replacing my beloved Yooper Loop with a roundabout. I love honking at the tourists who stop at the wrong places :P 1BlockRadius: You forgot to rag on Ann Arbor's inability to plow streets. Its a personal favorite topic of mine here since I'm also a former resident of the UP. (In all fairness to the city, they did better last year.)
Commoncents
Mon, Jul 26, 2010 : 11:43 a.m.
I spent many years in the U.P. before moving to Ann Arbor. Here's a few comparisons off top.... Marquette has a more practical, common sense thinking population in line with the majority of The United States. Ann arbor is a majority far left liberals which is in line with less than 20% of the population of the USA.. Ann Arbor costs ~3x more to live in. Property taxes in Ann Arbor are out of control, but in Marquette they are almost non-existant.. In Ann Arbor you'll need at least $1,000 to rent an apartment in the city. In Marquette you might only need $300.. You can get a beer in Marquette at a bar for $2, but in Ann Arbor you'll have to pay closer to $5 and sit next to guys in shiney shirts or tribal tattoo t-shirts.... There is ample parking in Marquette. In Ann Arbor they have expensive solar powered meters and towered garage parking.. In marquette you can drive 5 minutes in any direction and go fishing and hunting. In ann arbor the same drive will take you 30mins due to bicycles that drive down the middle of roads, hippies in their Hybrids trying to get the best possible mpg going way under the speed limit, etc. Once you find a Hunting spot it will be over crouded and in general will be frowned upon by most ann arborites, but eating meat is more than fine.. In ann arbor city limits many people leave food out for the "critters" which increases the population of skunks and possum, which are over-running the city limits, not to mention causing costly damage to many home owners. In Marquette people eat all of their food, in part because a lot of it they shot or caught themselves, also because they don't want to bait skunks and possum right next to their front door.. In Ann Arbor they have multiple super-expensive all organic grocery stores. In Marquette they don't have money to waste on inefficient methods of farming in the name of some sort of myth about the organic health advantage.. In Ann Arbor we have giant squirrels because of all the hippies that feed them. In Marquette some people eat squirrel, but no one feeds them so they are normal sized.. In Ann Arbor people drive BMW's, Mercedes, Audi, etc. In Marquette people drive old american pickup trucks and are very happy to just have a vehicle that runs.. In Marquette they border to one of the great lakes. In Ann Arbor we have the dirty, smelly Huron River which is often too shallow to canoe down without bottoming out at least once.. In Marquette they have many waterfalls you can jump off of and into the water. In Ann Arbor you can wade your ankles in the Huron River, but you might want to wash your feet immediately after. I could go on forever.... I just hope this post doesn't get deleted by one of the AnnArbor.com staff members for some arbitrary reason. Just trying out a little sarcasm folks....
treetowncartel
Mon, Jul 26, 2010 : 10:48 a.m.
@ Ed, you should have discussed the amount of entrances to the second story of houses that don't actually need stairs, since the snow is high enough that you can just walk out onto it. I think Marquette wins in that category. I have been in and around the UP a bit, but got my first taste of Marquette a few years back for a business trip. Luckily, I went up in August. The town certainly has a lot of charm and I think it has to have one of the easiest aiports in the nation to get in and out of. I guess we can't compare airports at ths point in time until the runway expansion is approved. You should also try blueberry picking in a Jeep Wrangler, that way you can take the two tracks deep into the forest.