I was driving around the Edison Neighborhood the other day and saw creepy, but cool pieces of art that looked like eyes everywhere. But why?  I found the answer.

The Edison Neighborhood has the Kalamazoo River as a border to the North and the Milwood Neighborhood to the South. There is a Kalamazoo neighborhood map below if you're unfamiliar with Kalamazoo neighborhoods.

Kalamazoo city neighborhood map
Photo courtesy of KalamazooCity.org
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I first saw a giant eye painted in black, white, and purple on the building where the Fiddle Leaf Cafe resides on Fulford Street.

Eyez on Edison - Kalamazoo, Michigan
Photo courtesy of Dana Marshall
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I saw another one painted in white and pink on the back side of the Town & Country Supermarket on Lay Blvd.

Eyez on Edison - Kalamazoo, Michigan
Photo courtesy of Dana Marshall
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You can see much smaller ones on several utility poles in between the supermarket and cafe.

Eyez on Edison - Kalamazoo, Michigan
Photos courtesy of Dana Marshall
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The most recent Google car that drove through the Edison Neighborhood was in August of 2023, and the eyes were not present.  That means this is a fairly recent situation.  I asked around and was surprised to find that nobody that I knew had any idea what the eye art was all about.

I did a little more digging and found the Edison Neighborhood webpage.  And that's when I found out about Eyes on Edison,

Eyes on Edison is a public arts project that puts eyes on local talent, artists and arts venues in the Edison neighborhood of Kalamazoo. These eyes are intended to bring attention to the cool arts happenings in our community, foster conversations, and increase connections and opportunities for local visual artists while beautifying our experience here in Kalamazoo.

This installation includes an eye bike trail.  Get more info by tapping here.  You can also get more info on events in Kalamazoo's Edison neighborhood from their official Facebook page by tapping here.

Speaking of the Edison Neighborhood.  What is the deal with the roundabouts?  Click the button below to learn more.

18 Stores That Were On The Original Downtown Kalamazoo Mall

The Burdick Street Mall, in downtown Kalamazoo, was the first pedestrian mall constructed in the United States. It was designed by Victor Gruen and Associates of Detroit and local merchants paid the $60,000 bill for construction costs. The Jimmy Dorsey Orchestra provided live music for the opening day celebration. The historic mall was removed and reopened to limited automobile traffic in 2000.
Below are photographs of stores that once bustled with shoppers, only a couple of the businesses still remain in their original locations. A few quotes, from the Facebook group, Vanished Kalamazoo, are mixed among the memories.

Downtown Kalamazoo Districts

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