Traverse City, Michigan
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Traverse City is a city in the U.S. state of Michigan. (For regional information, see the article on Northern Michigan.} As of the 2000 census, the city had a total population of 14,532. It is the county seat of Grand Traverse County6. Tourism is a leading industry. It is the self-proclaimed Cherry Capital of the World. Besides cherries, the surrounding countryside produces grapes, being one of the centers of wine production in the state.
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Geography
MIMap-doton-TraverseCity.PNG
Location of Traverse City, Michigan
The city sits at the head of Grand Traverse Bay, a long protected water of Lake Michigan. The city sits at the base of the Leelanau and Old Mission Peninsulas. The Boardman River forms Boardman Lake in the city before draining into the Bay.
According to the United States Census Bureau, the city has a total area of 22.5 km² (8.7 mi²). 21.8 km² (8.4 mi²) of it is land and 0.8 km² (0.3 mi²) of it is water. The total area is 3.45% water.
Demographics
As of the census2 of 2000, there are 14,532 people, 6,443 households, and 3,485 families residing in the city. The population density is 667.2/km² (1,728.7/mi²). There are 6,842 housing units at an average density of 314.1/km² (813.9/mi²). The racial makeup of the city is 96.00% White, 0.65% African American, 0.98% Native American, 0.50% Asian, 0.03% Pacific Islander, 0.48% from other races, and 1.36% from two or more races. 1.67% of the population are Hispanic or Latino of any race.
There are 6,443 households out of which 24.5% have children under the age of 18 living with them, 39.7% are married couples living together, 11.2% have a female householder with no husband present, and 45.9% are non-families. 35.9% of all households are made up of individuals and 13.7% have someone living alone who is 65 years of age or older. The average household size is 2.15 and the average family size is 2.82.
In the city the population is spread out with 20.3% under the age of 18, 10.8% from 18 to 24, 29.6% from 25 to 44, 24.1% from 45 to 64, and 15.2% who are 65 years of age or older. The median age is 38 years. For every 100 females there are 90.5 males. For every 100 females age 18 and over, there are 87.2 males.
The median income for a household in the city is $37,330, and the median income for a family is $46,912. Males have a median income of $31,587 versus $22,512 for females. The per capita income for the city is $22,247. 8.4% of the population and 4.8% of families are below the poverty line. Out of the total population, 7.2% of those under the age of 18 and 7.9% of those 65 and older are living below the poverty line.
Government
Traverse City is a home rule charter city, incorporated on May 18, 1895. The city is governed by six commissioners and a mayor, elected at large. Together they comprise a seven-member legislative body. An appointed city manager serves as chief executive for city operations.
Media
Newspapers
The Traverse City Record-Eagle[1] (http://www.record-eagle.com) is a daily morning newspaper circulated in 13 counties in northwest lower Michigan. It is the only newspaper in northern Michigan to produce a Sunday edition. It is owned by Ottaway Newspapers Inc., the community newspaper subsidiary of Dow Jones & Co.
Daily editions of the Detroit Free Press, Detroit News, and Grand Rapids Press also are available on newsstands throughout the region.
Television
Broadcast television programming is provided by:
- CBS (WWTV-9), Cadillac
- NBC (WPBN-7), Traverse City
- ABC (WGTU-29), Traverse City
- FOX (WFQX-33), Cadillac
- PBS (WCMV-27), Mt. Pleasant
Cable television service is provided within Traverse City and many outlying communities by Charter Communications Inc. Public access programming is provided on channel 2.
Tourism
The National Cherry Festival, held around July 4 every year is the main tourist draw to Traverse City. The festival features parades, fireworks, live music, and, of course, cherries.
Traverse City is also a popular destination for boating, sailing, wine and tourists wishing to see spectacular fall colors in bus-driven "color tours."
In the Leelanau Peninsula region, one attraction is the Leelanau Sands Casino in Leland. The Leelanau peninsula is the little finger of the mitten-shaped southern portion of Michigan.
Health
Munson Medical Center is a regional referral center, serving patients from 32 counties in northern Michigan and the Upper Peninsula. It has 368 inpatient beds, and nearly 350 physicians representing 40 specialties. Twenty-four-hour emergency care is available on site, and its North Flight EMS provides helicopter, fixed-wing aircraft and ground ambulance services throughout northern Michigan.
Munson Medical Center is repeatedly ranked among the Top 100 Hospitals by Solucient, which maintains the nation's largest health care database.
Transportation
With a new terminal completed in 2004, Cherry Capital Airport, provides regularly scheduled passenger airline service to Chicago and Detroit, as well as smaller Michigan destinations to the north.
Adjacent to the airport is a United States Coast Guard air station (CGAS), responsible for both maritime and land-based search and rescue operations in the northern Great Lakes region.
The city is a junction point for several highways:
- U.S. Highway 31 cuts west across the base of the Leelanau peninsula to Benzonia before continuing south to Manistee and other points on the Lake Michigan shore. Northwards, it continues along the east shore of Grand Traverse Bay to Charlevoix and Petoskey, ending just before reaching Mackinaw City and the Mackinac Bridge.
- Michigan State Highway 37 runs almost due south through the Manistee National Forest to Grand Rapids. It continues north up Old Mission Peninsula to end at Old Mission Point in the middle of Grand Traverse Bay.
- Michigan State Highway 72 runs east-west, connecting with Empire and the Sleeping Bear Dunes National Lakeshore 22 mile west and with U.S. Highway 131, 25 mile east.
- Michigan State Highway 22 follows the Lake Michigan shoreline around the Leelanau Peninsula, providing a pleasant, scenic drive.
Schools and Colleges
- Community Colleges
- Technical Centers
- High Schools
- Central High School
- West Senior High
- Traverse City High School (alternative high school)
- Saint Francis High School (non-public Catholic)
Trivia
Birthplace of:
- Dan Majerle (1965), basketball player, NBA Phoenix Suns
- Kenny Oleson (1971), guitarist for Pop artist Kid Rock
- William G. Milliken (1922), Republican Governor of Michigan (1969-1983)
- Martha Teichner (????), CBS News correspondent
- Barry Watson (1974), actor, 7th Heaven
- David Wayne (1914-1995), Hollywood and Broadway actor
Pop singer, Jewel, performed in local coffeehouses while attending high school at the nearby Interlochen Center for the Arts.
External links
- City of Traverse City official website (http://www.ci.traverse-city.mi.us/)
- National Cherry Festival (http://www.cherryfestival.org/)
- Traverse City Convention and Visitors Bureau (http://www.mytraversecity.com/)
- Grand Traverse Herald (http://www.gtherald.com/), weekly newspaper
- Northern Express (http://www.northernexpress.com/), alternative weekly newspaper