Michigan Avenue
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Michigan Avenue refers to remnants of Old U.S. Highway 12 that ran from downtown Detroit to Chicago. It was replaced by Interstate 94 in 1952, and the state of Michigan re-routed the U.S. 12 designation to the former route of U.S. Highway 112. In Chicago, stretches of Michigan Avenue form the Magnificent Mile, an upscale shopping district.
In Detroit, Michigan Avenue is one of five major avenues (along with Woodward, Grand River, Gratiot and Jefferson) 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 U.S. 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 U.S. 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.
See also: Michigan Avenue, a movie by James Benning