Kalamazoo Street Signs Reveal The City’s Hidden Districts

Ever wandered past those street signs in Downtown Kalamazoo? They’re more than just letters; they tell the story of our neighborhoods.

If you're ever enjoying a meal at the Blue Dolphin in Downtown Kalamazoo, you may notice the letter 'K' above the Burdick Street sign and the letter 'S' over the Cedar Street sign.  I'm not sure how I've never noticed this before.  Driving around, I found a street sign with the letter 'B' on top.  We can safely rule out North, South, East, and West.  So, what's going on here?  It turns out the letters indicate which Kalamazoo district you're in.

Downtown Kalamazoo is divided into these six districts:

• Arcadia
• Bronson Park
• East End
• Haymarket
• Kalamazoo Mall
• South Town

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When you see letters at the top of street signs in Kalamazoo like the ones below, you'll know what they stand for.

Arcadia District

The letter 'A' represents the Arcadia District.

Bronson Park District

Haymarket District

Kalamazoo Mall District

The letter 'K' represents the Kalamazoo Mall District.

Kalamazoo Mall / Southtown Districts

Southtown District

I knew about the many Kalamazoo neighborhoods like Vine and Milwood.  However, I did not know about the different districts of Downtown Kalamazoo.  Is this common knowledge, and I just missed that day in Kalamazoo History?  Also, why did the downtown area divide into districts and not publish a map showing them?  We may never know.