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Midland Michigan Attractions
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The Bradley Home and Carriage House Museum |
3200 Cook Road
Midland, Michigan
Phone: 989-832-5319
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A charming reflection of 19th century American city life, the Bradley Home Museum offers inviting room displays inside a Gothic Cottage style home painted in the traditional tri-color design. Benjamin and May Bradley built their home in 1874, at the height of the Victorian era when Midland was a bustling frontier lumber town. Every visitor is welcomed to the home by a friendly guide and given a personal tour through each of the well-appointed room. The period wallcoverings, fabrics, window designs and furnishings have all been selected and restored with careful attention to historic detail. Colorful, old fashioned gardens, including a heritage rose garden, surround the home. A Carriage House, with antique sleighs, carriages and a working blacksmith forge, is just a few step away. The Carriage House Hall hosts parties and events for up to 200 guests. The Herbert H. Dow Historical Museum is adjacent to the Bradley Home Museum.
Hours: Wednesday-Saturday 10:00 AM - 4:00 PM, Sunday 1:00 - 5:00 PM
Group tours by appointment. Admission Charge
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Herbert H. Dow Historical Museum |
3200 Cook Road
Midland, Michigan
Phone: 989-832-5319
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Herbert H. Dow, pioneer scientist and founder of The Dow Chemical Company, arrived in Midland, Michigan in 1890. The buildings where young Dow perfected his revolutionary process using electrolysis to extract bromine from the area's underground brine deposits are recreated in the museum complex. Dow began his experiments in the Evens Flour Mill, which has been rebuilt as a 10-gallery barrier-free high-tech interpretive museum. This AAA starred attraction features automated voices, films and a hologram. Artifacts, photographs and documents interpret Dow's pioneering chemical experiments and his lifetime of accomplishments An especially interesting exhibit is a replica of the laboratory Dow used from 1890 to 1892. The complex includes an authentic1950s brinewell derrick, the Victorian Bradley Home Museum and the Carriage House and Hall.
Hours: Wednesday-Saturday 10:00 AM - 4:00 PM, Sunday 1:00 - 5:00 PM
Group tours by appointment. Admission Charge
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Alden B. Dow Home and Studio |
315 Post Street
Midland, Michigan
Phone: 989-839-2744
Fax: 989-839-2611
Visit Web Site
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Set in a parklike garden and placed along a stream, the home and studio of Alden B. Dow is a most beautiful expression of his picturesque architecture. The organic qualities of the home -- the vivid colors, the use of natural light, the materials, and the close relationship with nature -- embody Dow's philosophy of architecture, a vision he applied throughout his fifty-year career. Alden B. Dow received national attention for his architecture from his very early career through to his late period, partly because he was closely associated with Frank Lloyd Wright and also because his designs are closely allied with European Modernism. His churches, schools, business complexes, art and civic centers can be seen throughout Midland and Michigan. Mr. Dow designed his home and studio, now a National Historic Landmark, in the late 1930s and it continues to delight, entertain and surprise even after repeated visits.
A self-guided, drive-by Midland Architecture Tour includes the works of the late Alden B. Dow, Michigan's architect laureate, and other significant Midland architecture. A map and audio tape are available at the Midland Center for the Arts.
Hours: Public Tours available Friday at 10:00 AM and 2:00 PM
Saturday at 10:00 AM. Reservations required.
Group tours available during the week by reservation only.
Visitors must be at least 10 years old. Admission Charge
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Dow Gardens |
1809 Eastman Avenue
Midland, Michigan
Phone: 989-631-2677
Fax: 989-631-0675
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Winner of the Governor's Embassy Award, the gardens feature over 100 acres of flowers, shrubs, ponds and trees in a relaxing pastoral setting. Curving paths meander past a waterfall, beside a winding brook and over bright red bridges. One path leads to the Conservatory with lush tropical orchids and seasonal displays. Spring blooms with an array of 20,000 tulips, rhododendrons, and flowering trees. Throughout the summer, the roses, annuals and perennials are splendid. Autumn offers a time to enjoy the magnificent colors of the season. And winter brings a tranquil, snow-covered landscape. A Sensory Trail introduces the gardens to people with disabilities. In the hands-on children's garden the young and young-at-heart can explore a tree house and goldfish pond plus have fun learning about wildflowers, vegetables, and aquatic plants. A favorite are the Jumping Jewels -- small openings in the walkway that intermittently squirt up a tall shot of water!
Hours: Open all year 10:00 AM. until dusk, except major holidays. Admission Charge
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Midland Center For The Arts |
1801 West St. Andrews
Midland, Michigan
Phone: 989-631-5930
Box Office 989-631-8250
Fax: 989-631-7890
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Unique among the landscape of arts and cultural centers that exist in America, Midland Center for the Arts embraces the idea that you can create as well as appreciate. "The Center helps to satisfy the creative drives that exist in all of us," noted Alden B. Dow at the dedication of the Center building more than three decades ago.
In keeping with the original vision, Midland Center for the Arts represents community-based programs, professional programs, presentations and tours, exhibits, lectures, fairs, and films that focus on the arts, humanities and science through the innovative offerings and exciting work of our diverse resident groups: MATRIX:MIDLAND Festival,Music Society, Midland Symphony Orchestra, Theatre Guild, Alden B. Dow Museum of Science and Art, and Midland County Historical Society. Through their offerings, we are home for nearly 2,000 volunteers and tens of thousands of visitors from across mid-Michigan every year.
Click here for hours and directions
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Creative Spirit Center |
1517 Bayliss Street
Midland, Michigan
Phone: 989-837-1885
Fax: 989-837-1817
Visit Web Site
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Creative Spirit Center is a great place to try something new. We offer programs that are creative and fun and give the child in each of us the opportunity to explore and grow. As a center dedicated to facilitating and supporting the creative process, we prove to be unique. Our classes are designed to expand your imagination, satisfy your curiosity, relax your mind and rejuvenate your body. Stop in and see our colorful and inspiring facility, which is home to on-going art exhibits and several out-of-the-ordinary works of art donated by area artists. Our building was designed by Midland architect Alden B. Dow and offers a remarkable ambiance, perfect for holding business meetings, conferences, recitals and receptions.
Hours: Monday-Friday: 9:00 AM to 5:00 PM
(call ahead for weekend and evening gallery hours)
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Chippewa Nature Center |
400 South Badour Road
Midland, Michigan
Phone: 989-631-0830
Fax: 989-631-7070
Visit Web Site
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Visitors to the Nature Center's interactive Ecosystem Gallery can explore the many habitats at the Center and experience how people interact with their natural environment. A breathtaking River Overlook gives visitors a close-up view of the Pine and Chippewa Rivers, above which the Center is perched. Outside, over ten miles of hiking trails offer glimpses of the abundant wildlife among the Center's forests, fields, ponds, wetlands and rivers. A wheelchair accessible hiking trail allows people of all abilities to enjoy the facilities. Interpreters demonstrate a variety of traditional crafts and skills at the 1870s Homestead Farm, open every Sunday afternoon from Memorial Day through Labor Day. Rural life, complete with three restored log buildings, herb and heirloom vegetable gardens, farm animals and barns are all part of the complex. Other attractions include an arboretum, a wildflower walkway, classrooms, an auditorium, natural/cultural history library and a wildlife viewing area. Field guides,
natural history books, nature study equipment and gifts for children can be found in the Nature Center Store.
Hours: Monday-Friday 8:00 AM - 5:00 PM, Saturday 9:00 AM - 5:00 PM, Sunday & Holidays 1:00 PM - 5:00 PM, tours by appointment.
Trails open dawn till dark.
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Pere Marquette Rail Trail |
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A fun, educational and healthy way to explore the Midland area is to follow the Pere Marquette Rail Trail. A project of the Midland Foundation, the trail is a 22-mile long, 14-foot wide ribbon of asphalt tracing a former railroad right of way. The handicap-accessible trail is for non-motorizd activities, including walking, jogging, in-line skating, bicycling and cross-country skiing. As you travel toward Sanford and on to Coleman, you'll discover hundreds of wildflowers, plants and trees. A resident herd of deer is often seen, along with wild turkeys, birds, insects and small animals. Benches, restrooms and eateries are available along the route. Parking is available next to the trail in the downtown areas of Midland, Sanford and Coleman.
Access the Rail Trail at the foot of Ashman St near the Tridge.
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The Tridge |
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"The Tridge" is the formal name of a three-way footbridge located above the joining of the Chippewa River and Tittabawassee River near downtown Midland, Michigan, in the Tri-Cities. The bridge was constructed in 1981 at a cost of $732,000 and took 6,400 hours of labor [1]. The site also marks the starting point of the Pere Marquette Rail Trail. The bridge has geographical coordinates of [show location on an interactive map] 43.611052° N 84.248689° W. Although being mainly a footbridge, bicycles, skateboards and rollerblades are also allowed on the bridge. Fishing is generally not permitted from the bridge.
The Tridge, located beside the Midland farmers market, has become an icon of the city in the past two decades, and is the most famous landmark of the downtown area. Each year on Labor Day, the Tridge mimics the Mackinac Bridge to the north, in hosting a "Labor Day walk". In addition, St. Charles Park, which surrounds the Tridge, is host to many public and private events. Around the holiday time, the Tridge is beautifully lighted.
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Trilogy Skate Park |
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Located in Chippewassee Park, just over the Tridge in downtown Midland you can find Trilogy Skate Park. This 15,000-square-foot facility offers the latest in outdoor fun for both skateboards and in-line skates. Helmets and other safety gear are strongly suggested. The park is lighted for evening skating.
Sorry... for safety reasons, bikes are not allowed inside the skate park.
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