Discover 20 hidden attractions, cool sights, and unusual things to do in Lansing (United States). Don't miss out on these must-see attractions: Potter Park Zoo, Michigan State Capitol, and Jackson Field. Also, be sure to include Lansing City Market in your itinerary.
Below, you can find the list of the most amazing places you should visit in Lansing (Michigan).
Table of Contents
Potter Park Zoo
Intimate zoo for endangered animals. The Potter Park Zoo is a 102-acre zoo located in Lansing, Michigan, within Lansing's Potter Park. Its mission is to Inspire people to conserve animals in the natural world. Potter Park Zoo is the oldest public zoo in Michigan and is currently home to over 160 species of animals. The zoo is owned by the City of Lansing, and operated by Ingham County. The zoo participates in the Association of Zoos and Aquariums Species Survival Plan designed to manage and conserve threatened or endangered animals. The Michigan State University College of Veterinary Medicine partners with the zoo to provide medical care for its animals.[1]
Address: 1301 S Pennsylvania Ave, 48912 Lansing (Southside)
Michigan State Capitol
State capitol with an ornate domed roof. The Michigan State Capitol is the building that houses the legislative branch of the government of the U.S. state of Michigan. It is in the portion of the state capital of Lansing which lies in Ingham County. The present structure, at the intersection of Capitol and Michigan Avenues, is a National Historic Landmark that houses the chambers and offices of the Michigan Legislature as well as the ceremonial offices of the Governor of Michigan and Lieutenant Governor. Historically, this is the third building to house the Michigan government.
The first state capitol was in Detroit, the original capital of Michigan, and was relocated to Lansing in 1847, due to the need to develop the state's western portion and for better defense from British troops stationed in Windsor, Ontario.[2]
Address: Capitol Avenue at Michigan Avenue, 48906 Lansing (Westside)
Jackson Field
Stadium in Lansing, Michigan. Jackson Field is a baseball stadium in Lansing, Michigan, home field of the Lansing Lugnuts minor league baseball team. The Michigan State Spartans college baseball team also plays select home games at Jackson Field. The stadium is situated in downtown Lansing in the Stadium District on a relatively narrow strip of land between and below Larch and Cedar streets.
It is primarily used for baseball, though it has also hosted an ice skating rink, an outdoor movie theater, a haunted house, and served as a concert venue for the annual Common Ground Music Festival. Due to the dimensions of the city block in which the stadium was constructed, the right and left field fences 'notch' sharply into distances of 305 feet (93 m) at each foul pole.[3]
Address: E Michigan Ave, 48912 Lansing (Eastside)
Lansing City Market
The Lansing City Market was an urban city market located in downtown Lansing, Michigan. The market is located along the Grand River and Lansing River Trail, and is west of Cooley Law School Stadium. The current $1.6 million structure opened in January 2010. Merchant space ranges from 80 square feet to over 800 square feet.[4]
Address: 325 City Market Drive, Lansing (Eastside)
Impression 5 Science Center
Museum in Lansing, Michigan. The Impression 5 Science Center, is a science museum located in downtown Lansing, Michigan. Formerly known as the Impression 5 Museum, the center is located in a historic wagon works factory on the Grand River. The name, Impression 5, refers to the five senses. The Impression 5 Science Center has ~3,000 Visitors per week.[5]
Address: 200 Museum Dr, 48933-1914 Lansing (Eastside)
R.E. Olds Transportation Museum
Museum in Lansing, Michigan. The R.E. Olds Transportation Museum is named for Ransom E. Olds, founder of Oldsmobile and REO, and is located in Lansing, Michigan. It is one of the top-rated automotive museums in the United States.
It houses a diverse collection of Oldsmobiles dating from 1897 to 2004. The 1897 Olds, one of four built that year, is on loan from the Smithsonian Institution. There is also a replica of the 1893 steam carriage built by Ransom E. Olds on display, prior to the founding of the Olds Motor Works, which was the official name of Oldsmobile until the 1940s.
This museum also houses automobilia covering nearly a century, including a nearly complete collection of Michigan license plates, early traffic signs and a working 1950s-era traffic signal. A bicycle collection shows the connection between early automakers and cycle makers who had the tools, know-how and creativity to successfully produce an automobile.
It also houses a collection of REO vehicles from the company that Ransom E. Olds created after he resigned from Oldsmobile. A well-known vehicle from that company is the REO Speed Wagon, from which a major musical band got its name. Another well-known truck that was made by a successor of that company is the Diamond REO.
Another significant part of this museum's collection are items from the Ransom E. Olds household.
The final Oldsmobile, a dark cherry metallic "Final 500 Collector's Edition" (#500 of 500) Alero sedan, was on display in the museum, but the GM Heritage Center took it back where it is now located.[6]
Address: 240 Museum Dr, 48933-1905 Lansing (Westside)
Boji Tower
Building in Lansing, Michigan. The Boji Tower, also known as the Michigan National Bank Building, is a historic 23-story building located at 124 Allegan Street, in Lansing, Michigan. It has been the tallest building in Lansing since its completion in 1931. On December 6, 2005, the building was added to the National Register of Historic Places as the Capital Bank Tower.[7]
Address: 124 W Allegan St, Lansing (Westside)
Dodge Mansion
Museum. The Dodge Mansion, also known as Turner-Dodge House, is a historic house in Lansing, Michigan that was built in 1855. It was listed on the National Register of Historic Places in 1972 as Dodge Mansion.
The Turner-Dodge House is now a museum dedicated to Lansing's early pioneers. The museum sits in the Classical Revival-styled Turner-Dodge Mansion, built in 1858 for James and Marion Turner, and later expanded by their daughter and her husband.[8]
Address: 100 E North St, 48906-4333 Lansing (Northwestside)
Library of Michigan
Art institute in Lansing, Michigan. The Library of Michigan is a state-run library and historical center located in Lansing, Michigan that was created to provide one perpetual state institution to collect and preserve Michigan publications, conduct reference and research, and support libraries statewide. Previously under the Michigan Department of History, Arts and Libraries state agency and, as of 2009, under the Michigan Department of Education, the library is Michigan’s official state library agency. A notable side-project of the Library of Michigan is the Michigan eLibrary, one of the first online libraries on the Internet. MeL provides full-text articles, books, Michigan history materials, and evaluated web sites to residents of the state of Michigan. In 2003, the Library of Michigan Board of Trustees elected as chair Elaine Didier, dean of Oakland University's Kresge Library and professor at Oakland University.[9]
Address: 717 W Allegan St, Lansing (Westside)
Lansing Center
Civic center in Lansing, Michigan. Lansing Center, officially the Lansing Convention Center, is the primary and largest convention center in Lansing, Michigan. The center is located along Michigan Avenue, with its western facade fronting the Grand River. The center's location includes a riverfront plaza that has been home to outdoor events. It is also directly connected to the Lansing Radisson Hotel by an enclosed, climate-controlled skybridge spanning the Grand River. Since 1996, Lansing Center has been managed by the non-profit Lansing Entertainment & Public Facilities Authority.
The center has a total square footage of 124,118 (11,531 m²), of which 71,760 ft² (6,667 m²) is column-free exhibit space.
Designed by Hellmuth, Obata & Kassabaum (HOK), the center was opened in 1987, and renovated and expanded in 1995 with Hobbs + Black Associates as the renovation architects. The center currently holds 270,000 square feet (25,000 m2) of space, including a main exhibition hall, meeting rooms, conference centers, banquet facilities, a restaurants and lounge, a full kitchen, and a 500-space underground parking garage.
The center underwent its first extensive renovation since the 1995 addition in 2007 and 2008. The renovation included cosmetic upgrades, as well as structural upgrades.[10]
Address: 333 E Michigan Ave, 48933-1499 Lansing (Eastside)
Central Methodist Episcopal Church
The Central Methodist Episcopal Church is a historic church located at 215 North Capitol Avenue in Lansing, Michigan. It was listed on the National Register of Historic Places in 1980.[11]
Address: 215 N Capitol Ave, 48933-1372 Lansing (Westside)
St. Mary Cathedral
Cathedral in Lansing, Michigan. St. Mary Cathedral is a cathedral of the Roman Catholic Church in Lansing, Michigan one block north of the Michigan State Capitol. It is the seat of the bishop of the Roman Catholic Diocese of Lansing.[12]
Address: 219 Seymour Ave, 48933-1113 Lansing (Westside)
Red Cedar River
Tributary in Michigan. The Red Cedar River is a tributary of the Grand River in central Michigan in the United States. The river is approximately 51.1 miles long and drains a watershed of approximately 461 square miles in the Lansing–East Lansing metropolitan area and suburban and rural areas to the east.[13]
Strand Theatre and Arcade
The Strand Theatre and Arcade, also known as the Michigan Theatre and Arcade, is a former theatre building located at 211–219 South Washington Avenue in Lansing, Michigan. It was listed on the National Register of Historic Places in 1980.[14]
Michigan Hall of Justice
Court buildings. The Michigan Hall of Justice, also known as the Michigan Supreme Court Building is a six-story structure at 925 Ottawa Street in Lansing, Michigan. It is constructed in the postmodern style and faced with over 14,000 limestone panels. The building was designed by Spillis Candella and Albert Kahn Associates, Inc.
The building contains a total of 280,000 sq ft (26,000 m2) houses the Michigan Supreme Court, state court administrative offices and a 3,800 sq ft (350 m2) learning center. The Michigan Hall of Justice is situated at the west end of the mall facing the Michigan State Capitol and consists of a central entry framed by Doric columns and two curved wings. Above the entry is a three-sided bay that is capped by a glass dome. One-story colonnades extend from the two curved wings providing a covered area for pedestrians and helping to link the building visually to the Capitol.[15]
Elliott-Larsen Building
Building in Lansing, Michigan. The Elliott-Larsen Building is a state government office in downtown Lansing, Michigan, named after Democratic State Representative Daisy Elliott and Republican State Representative Melvin Larsen, primary sponsors of the Elliott-Larsen Civil Rights Act. It was formerly known as the Lewis Cass Building, named after territorial governor Lewis Cass. It is the Michigan state government's oldest standing office building. The building was added to the National Register of Historic Places as "State Office Building" in 1984.[16]
Address: 316 South Walnut Street, Lansing (Westside)
Charles E. Chamberlain Federal Building & Post Office
The Charles E. Chamberlain Federal Building & Post Office is a government building located at 315 West Allegan Street in Lansing, Michigan. It was listed on the National Register of Historic Places in 1980 as Federal Building.[17]
Reutter Park
Park, Relax in park
Address: Kalamazoo St, 48933 Lansing (Westside)
Michigan Millers Mutual Fire Insurance Company Building
The Michigan Millers Mutual Fire Insurance Company Building is a historic office block located at 120-122 West Ottawa Street in Lansing, Michigan. It was listed on the National Register of Historic Places in 1980.[18]
Forest Akers Golf Courses @ Michigan State University
Golf, Outdoor activities, Field, Universities and schools
Address: 3535 Forest Rd, 48910 Lansing (Southside)