Coleman celebrates U-M history with dedication

U-M's past will be celebrated Oct. 4 with the launch of a new History Walking Tour and dedication of seven new historical markers along the tour route.

Given to the University by William W. Cook, the four buildings comprising the Law Quadrangle were built between 1924-33. The Law Quadrangle is one of 20 sites on the new History Walking Tour. (Photo by George Robert Swain/Bentley Historical Library, Bl005150)

President Mary Sue Coleman will lead a program at 2:30 p.m. in the Main Lounge of the Lawyer's Club in the Law Quad to commemorate the establishment of the walking tour and to award nine citations to units and individuals for notable history-related projects.

The walking tour has been prepared to guide people on a path that includes 20 historical markers. It opens at the Michigan Union, winds east, then north through the Diag, and continues north past the Michigan League to Rackham.

Turning east again, the tour winds past the Power Center and Palmer Commons before encompassing the Medical Center.

Tour stops include the President's House, built in 1840; the Detroit Observatory, built in 1854, at Observatory and Ann Streets; the Professor's Monument from 1846, east of the Hatcher Graduate Library; the site of the Salk Vaccine Announcement, inside the Rackham building: the First Medical Buildings constructed between 1850-1925, in front of Randall Lab; the site of the Native American Land Gift (1817) at Ingalls Mall; and several more.

The U-M History and Traditions Committee, which researched tour sites and is presenting the Oct. 4 program, was established in 1991 to advise the president on history-related matters.

The committee was instrumental in identifying the need to restore the Detroit Observatory, has sponsored oral history projects, and has identified historical sites, among other activities.

The 20 sites identified by the committee to date note places or events with historical importance to the University beyond specific departmental interest.