1967: A Look Back at Downtown Kalamazoo 50 Years Ago

Walk back in time with this vintage video of the Kalamazoo pedestrian mall in 1967.

See the reason Kalamazoo is nicknamed "Mall City" in this 1967 YouTube video.

The mall is a very pleasant place to do a bit of shopping or to spend a little time enjoying its beauty.

The Kalamazoo Mall was the first pedestrian mall in the nation when it opened in 1959. "The bold effort to make a downtown street car-free as a spur to urban vitality and a defense against suburbanization drew national attention to Kalamazoo."

In fact, other cities sent officials and planners to investigate and consider copying the idea and bringing it back home as you can see in this YouTube video taken from a larger 30-minute feature about DeKalb, Illinois.

Take a look at downtown Kalamazoo in 1967.

Next Up: Remember Gus Macker in Downtown Kalamazoo?