Kalamazoo, MI
| Kalamazoo, Michigan | ||
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| Nickname(s): The Mall City, K'zoo, K-zoo, The Zoo | ||
 Location of Kalamazoo within Kalamazoo County, Michigan |
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 Kalamazoo, Michigan
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| Coordinates: 42°17′24″N 85°35′9″W / 42.29000°N 85.58583°WCoordinates: 42°17′24″N 85°35′9″W / 42.29000°N 85.58583°W | ||
| Country |  United States |
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| State |
 Michigan
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| County | Kalamazoo | |
| Settled | 1829 | |
| Incorporated (village) | 1843 | |
| Incorporated (city) | 1884 | |
| Government | ||
| • Type | Commission-Manager | |
| • Mayor | Bobby J. Hopewell | |
| • Vice Mayor | Donald Cooney | |
| • City Manager | James Ritsema | |
| Area | ||
| • City | 25.11 sq mi (65.03 km2) | |
| • Land | 24.68 sq mi (63.92 km2) | |
| • Water | 0.43 sq mi (1.11 km2) | |
| Elevation | 784 ft (239 m) | |
| Population (2010) | ||
| • City | 74,262 | |
| • Estimate (2015) | 76,041 | |
| • Density | 3,009.0/sq mi (1,161.8/km2) | |
| • Urban | 187,961 | |
| • Metro | 335,340 | |
| • CSA | 530,672 (US: 85th) | |
| Demonym(s) | Kalamazooan | |
| Time zone | Eastern (UTC-5) | |
| • Summer (DST) | Eastern (UTC-4) | |
| ZIP Code | 49001, 49003, 49004, 49005, 49006, 49007, 49008, 49009, 49019, 49048 | |
| Area code(s) | 269,616 | |
| FIPS code | 26-42160 | |
| GNIS feature ID | 0629439 | |
| Website | www.kalamazoocity.org | |
Kalamazoo /ˌkæləməˈzuː/ is a city in the southwest region of the U.S. state of Michigan. It is the county seat of Kalamazoo County. As of the 2010 census, Kalamazoo had a total population of 74,262. Kalamazoo is the major city of the Kalamazoo-Portage Metropolitan Statistical Area, which has a population of 335,340 as of 2015. Kalamazoo is equidistant from the major American cities of Chicago and Detroit, each fewer than 150 miles away.
One of Kalamazoo's most notable features is the Kalamazoo Mall, an outdoor pedestrian shopping mall. The city created the mall in 1959 by closing part of Burdick Street to auto traffic, although two of the mall's four blocks have been reopened to auto traffic since 1999. Kalamazoo is home to Western Michigan University, a large public university, Kalamazoo College, a liberal arts school, and Kalamazoo Valley Community College, a two-year community college.
Originally known as Bronson (after founder Titus Bronson) in the township of Arcadia, the names of both the city and the township were changed to "Kalamazoo" in 1836 and 1837, respectively. The Kalamazoo name comes from a Potawatomi word, first found in a British report in 1772. However, the Kalamazoo River, which passes through the modern city of Kalamazoo, was located on the route between Detroit and Fort Saint-Joseph (nowadays Niles, Michigan). French-Canadian traders, missionaries, and military personnel were quite familiar with this area during the French era and thereafter. The name for the Kalamazoo River was then known by Canadians and French as La rivière Kikanamaso. The name "Kikanamaso" was also recorded by Father Pierre Potier, a Jesuit missionary for the Huron-Wendats at the Assumption mission (south shore of Detroit), while en route to Fort Saint-Joseph during the fall of 1760. Legend has it that "Ki-ka-ma-sung," meaning "boiling water," referring to a footrace held each fall by local Native Americans, who had to run to the river and back before the pot boiled. Still another theory is that it means "the mirage or reflecting river." Another legend is that the image of "boiling water" referred to fog on the river as seen from the hills above the current downtown. The name was also given to the river that flows almost all the way across the state.
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