A two-story addition was tacked onto the top. The rear of the building was extended along Griswold Street to Grand River. The new skin left the original structure completely unrecognizable, a radical form of architectural plastic surgery. The alarm came in at a. Firefighters "were saluted by a dense cloud of smoke. Simultaneously, a bright flame shot up, and seemed almost instantly to possess the building," the Free Press reported the following morning. Great tongues of flame shot out in every direction, illuminating the heavens with meteoric brilliancy.
The wooden structure housed inside a masonry and stone exterior was something like a wood-burning stove. Everything inside was burned to a crisp, leaving only the scorched shell standing.
Water used to battle the blaze froze in the frigid temperatures, forming icicles on the windowpanes and along the cooked cornice. Gawkers gathered all day to take in the "picturesque appearance of the ice-covered ruins. The fire marshal wasn't sure how the blaze started, but said it was almost certainly the work of a "firebug," the Free Press said.
Or maybe there was an even more sinister motive. Many people felt the building-inside-a-building construction made the school a fire trap and poorly ventilated. Capitol High's 1, students and 36 teachers took temporary refuge in the old Biddle House hotel downtown until Detroit built a replacement school.
But on a wintry Jan. No matter the cause, the kids were thrilled to get an extra day off school. The remains of the old Capitol High were demolished in Those who stayed quickly renamed the area "Lansing Township" in honor of their home village in New York.
The sleepy settlement of fewer than 20 people would remain dormant until the winter of , when the state constitution required that the capital be moved from Detroit to a more centralized and safer location in the interior of the state. Many were concerned about Detroit's close proximity to British-controlled Canada, which had captured Detroit in the War of The United States had recaptured the city in , but these events led to the dire need to have the center of government relocated away from hostile British Territory.
In addition, there was also concern with Detroit's strong influence over Michigan politics, being the largest city in the state as well as the capital city. During the multi-day session to determine a new location for the state capital, many cities, including Ann Arbor, Marshall and Jackson, lobbied hard to win this designation.
Unable to publicly reach a consensus due to constant political wrangling, the Michigan House of Representatives privately chose the Township of Lansing out of frustration. When announced, many present openly laughed that such an insignificant settlement was now the capital city of Michigan.
Two months later, Governor William L. Greenly signed into law the act of the legislature, officially making Lansing Township the state capital. With the announcement that Lansing Township had been made the capital, the small village quickly transformed into the seat of state government.
The legislature gave the settlement the temporary name of the "Town of Michigan. It was home to the first house built in Lansing in by pioneer James Seymour and his family. This village's focal point was the Benton House, a 4-story hotel which opened in It was the first brick building in Lansing and was later razed in The post office was relocated to the village in This area would grow to become larger than the other two villages up and down river.
For a brief time, the combined villages were referred to as "Michigan" but was officially named Lansing in These boundaries would remain unchanged until Lansing began to grow steadily over the next two decades, with the completion of the railroads through the city, a plank road and the completion of the current State Capitol in Most of what is known as Lansing today is the direct result of the city becoming an industrial powerhouse, which began with the founding of Olds Motor Vehicle Company in August, The company went through many changes, including a buyout, between its founding and when founder Ransom E.
Olds would be joined by the less successful Clarkmobile around Over the next decades, the city would see itself transformed into a major American industrial center for the manufacturing of automobiles and automobile parts, among other industries. The city continued to grow in area. Today, the city's economy is now diversified among government service, health care, manufacturing, insurance, banking and education.
Discover the signs that explore the area's automotive history. From the origins of R. Olds and…. Travel Responsibly. Visit Meet.
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