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A familiar sight ... sort of
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As the decades passed and the city changed around it, the Arcade has remained a quiet sanctuary from the hubbub of State Street where one could stroll and shop in an atmosphere of Jazz Age elegance. (Ivory Photo Collection, Bentley Historical Library.)
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Before the Arcade
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Before the First World War, stores near the corner of State Street and North University Avenue served customers’ needs for everyday practicalities such as groceries and dry goods. One of the merchants was John H. Nickels. He owned a meat market and other properties along the west side of State. (Ivory Photo Collection, Bentley Historical Library.)
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Bank on it
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John Nickels willed his property to his children. One son, Tom E. Nickels, wanted Ann Arbor to grow, and he developed a vision of a glass-roofed arcade of shops selling specialty and luxury goods. He bought his siblings’ lots, razed the old meat market, and hired the architect Hermann Pipp to design a glass-covered shopping arcade in a style popular in Italy and France. Construction of the steel-and-brick structure began in 1915, with Farmers and Mechanics Bank slated to be the first tenant. (Sam Sturgis Collection, Bentley Historical Library.)
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Big news
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In the fall of 1915, The Michigan Daily reported that 3,500 townspeople and students turned out for the opening, though only the bank’s quarters were ready for business. Construction all the way through to Maynard Street was completed in 1918. Tom Nickels kept a close eye on progress from his nearby home at 513 E. William St. (See a larger image with article text.)
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Passing through
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When it was complete, the Arcade measured 265 feet in length. There were 18 shops in all. (Ivory Photo collection, Bentley Historical Library.)
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Read all about it!
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The State Street entrance, with its Beaux-Arts Classic façade, has always been a busy pedestrian intersection between academic Ann Arbor and retail Ann Arbor. Here a newsboy of the 1930s hawks headlines of a crime spree in Detroit. (Ivory Photo Collection, Bentley Historical Library.)
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Fashion forward
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Van Boven is one of only two retailers that have remained in the Arcade since the 1920s, selling clothes and shoes to both men and women. During World War II, Van Boven stocked clothes and accessories for officers undergoing training on campus. (Ivory Photo Collection, Bentley Historical Library.)
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The Caravan Shop
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The other hardy survivor from the early retail lineup is the Caravan Shop, a spot where generations of browsers have found gifts and curios from artisans around the world — and puzzled over its eerie “Vanity” and “Gossip” prints. The store recently changed locations, filling the space occupied for 80 years by a U.S. Post Office branch that closed in 1998. (Ivory Photo Collection, Bentley Historical Library.)
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Blue Bird Beauty Shoppe, looking east
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A view toward State Street shows several of the many Arcade retailers that have come and gone through the years, including the Blue Bird Beauty Shoppe, the Roy Hoyer Studio of Dance, Kessel’s Campus Shop, and the Betsy Ross candy store and diner. (Ivory Photo Collection, Bentley Historical Library.)
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Changes
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The Arcade has remained a fixture on that well-traveled section of State Street, even as nearby storefronts changed their faces again and again. Today’s students would not recognize stores that were near neighbors of the Arcade even as recently as the 1980s, such as Follett’s Book Store. (Peter Yates Collection, Bentley Historical Library.)
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Timeless appeal
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The Arcade seems especially warm and lovely on winter nights, even in modern times. (Photo by Geoffrey George.)
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Irresistible
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Nickels Arcade was named to the National Register of Historic Places in 1987, when it underwent a stem-to-stern refurbishing for the sake of further generations of strollers, shoppers, and lovers. (Photo by Nicole Haley, Nicole Haley Photography.)
