Michigan Avenue
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- "Michigan Avenue" is also the name of a 1973 film by James Benning.
Michigan Avenue refers to remnants of Old US 12 that ran from downtown Detroit to Chicago. It was replaced by I-94 in 1962, and the state of Michigan re-routed the US 12 designation to the former route of US 112.
In Chicago, the northernmost mile of Michigan Avenue (before its terminus at Lake Shore Drive) forms the Magnificent Mile, one of Chicago's most prestigious commercial districts. In 2005, in honor of John H. Johnson, founder of Ebony and Jet (magazine)s, a portion of Michigan Avenue was renamed John H. Johnson Avenue. [1]
In Detroit, Michigan Avenue is one of five major avenues (along with Woodward, Grand River, Gratiot and Fort St.) planned by judge Augustus Woodward in 1805 that extend from downtown Detroit in differing directions. Michigan Avenue extends due west from the city's downtown.
Historically, Michigan Avenue was an old highway that ran through the middle of the major towns and cities of Michigan between Detroit and Chicago. In most place the road is still there, and is named either Michigan Avenue, Old US 12 or the Red Arrow Highway, named after a World War I army division. It is still possible to drive the highway from Belle Isle in Detroit all the way to The Magnificent Mile in Chicago, with only a few places in which one is required to navigate around the interstate highway. The major break in Old US 12 is in the middle of Michigan half way between the village of Parma and the city of Albion. It is at this point that I-94 cuts south to some degree and bisects the old highway, forcing a motorist to navigate north on smaller roads.
The highway is considered an important historic road, in the same vein as Route 66.
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