Stamped!

Home of the Wolverines

University of Michigan

Detroit architect Albert Kahn shaped Michigan's Central Campus, designing Hill Auditorium, Angell Hall, the Clements Library and Burton Memorial Tower.

  • 5Buildings
  • 4Traditions
  • 1854Oldest · Detroit Observatory
  • 1936Newest · Burton Memorial Tower

Planning the visit

  • Fly intoDetroit Metropolitan Wayne County Airport (DTW)

    Detroit Metro is about a half-hour drive east of Ann Arbor and is the main airport for the region.

  • Getting aroundWalking / U-M Blue Buses

    Central Campus is walkable. The university's free Blue Buses link Central, North and medical campuses.

  • Colors and teams

    The school colors are maize and blue, and the teams are the Wolverines.

5 buildings to stamp

  1. Burton Memorial Tower

    230 N Ingalls St, Ann Arbor, MI 48109

    Albert Kahn's 1936 clock tower blends Art Deco and Art Moderne in a reinforced concrete shell faced with limestone. It holds a grand carillon of 53 bells weighing 43 tons, among the heaviest in the world.

    Built
    1936
    Architect
    Albert Kahn
    Style
    Art Deco
    Height
    59 m (194 ft)
    Today
    Carillon and Clock Tower
  2. William L. Clements Library
    Photo: Nick Amoscato, CC BY 2.0, via Wikimedia Commons

    William L. Clements Library

    South University Ave, Ann Arbor, MI 48109

    Albert Kahn modeled this 1923 rare book library in the Italian Renaissance style on Vignola's casino at the Villa Farnese. It guards a remarkable collection of early American books, maps and manuscripts.

    Built
    1923
    Architect
    Albert Kahn
    Style
    Italian Renaissance Revival
    Today
    Rare Book Library
  3. Detroit Observatory
    Photo: w_lemay, CC BY-SA 2.0, via Wikimedia Commons

    Detroit Observatory

    Observatory St and Ann St, Ann Arbor, MI 48109

    Completed in 1854 on a hill above the Huron River, this was the university's first scientific research building and one of the oldest observatories of its kind in the nation. Its dome once held the third-largest refracting telescope in the world.

    Built
    1854
    Architect
    Richard Harrison Bull
    Style
    Greek Revival / Italianate
    Today
    Museum and Historic Observatory
  4. Martha Cook Building
    Photo: w_lemay, CC BY-SA 2.0, via Wikimedia Commons

    Martha Cook Building

    906 S University Ave, Ann Arbor, MI 48109

    York and Sawyer designed this Collegiate Gothic residence, opened in 1915 as the first dormitory for women on campus. A statue of Shakespeare's Portia by Furio Piccirilli watches over the entrance.

    Built
    1915
    Architect
    York and Sawyer
    Style
    Collegiate Gothic
    Today
    Women's Residence Hall
  5. University of Michigan Museum of Art
    Photo: Chris Rycroft, CC BY 2.0, via Wikimedia Commons

    University of Michigan Museum of Art

    South State St, Ann Arbor, MI 48109

    The museum lives in Alumni Memorial Hall, a neoclassical war memorial completed in 1910, joined since 2009 by a new wing from Brad Cloepfil's Allied Works that more than doubled its size.

    Built
    1910
    Architect
    Donaldson and Meier; Allied Works Architecture (2009 wing)
    Style
    Neoclassical
    Today
    Art Museum

4 traditions to check off

Stamped! keeps these as a checklist, so you can tick each one off on the visit.

  • The Block M on the Diag

    Superstition says stepping on the bronze M in the Diag before your first exam means you'll fail it, so students walk around it. Visitors can find the M at the centre of the Diag and take a photo beside it.

  • Engineering Arch

    Legend says a couple who kiss under the West Hall engineering arch at midnight will eventually marry. Visitors can walk through the arch at the southeast corner of the Diag.

  • The Cube

    Endover, a 15-foot steel cube balanced on one corner in Regents' Plaza, is mounted so that it spins with a push. Visitors can give it a spin.

  • The Rock

    A large boulder at Hill Street and Washtenaw Avenue has been painted over and over since the 1950s by students and the public. Visitors can stop to see its latest coat of paint.

Know University of Michigan well?

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