A blast from my past: East Lansing, Michigan and the "Habitrail" parking garage...

This is an article done by a local resident of East Lansing, Michigan from a blog recently started about goings-on in that city. It is a retrospective look at what is known as the "Habitrail" parking garage in the downtown area. The downtown area runs along the north side of the Michigan State University campus. I encourage you to look at the images from a Google search of the structure.

I worked at the city of East Lansing from 1986 to 1989 and was part of the team responsible for this parking garage. It is an unmistakable landmark on the city's comparatively low skyline. As you read the article, you will see that the city faced a parking challenge some 30 years ago and decided this was the way to address the issue. The aesthetics were left to others to decide, but there was a conscious effort on the part of city leaders at the time to make an artistic statement through a large, utilitarian structure. It's been there almost 30 years now and is in many ways a testament to a city taking chances and not taking the "safe" or "expected" route. It's still a topic of discussion today.