The tour highlighted buildings like the East Lansing Public Library and residential homes built after World War II, which tour guide Adrianna Jordan said were influenced by modern architecture giants such as Mies van der Rohe, Adolf Loos and Walter Gropius.

“Modern architecture originated at the turn of the century as … a reaction to the overly ornate Victorian architecture,” Jordan said. “Most of the structures (seen during the tour) in East Lansing were built in the 1940s and 1950s at the height of the popularity of modern architecture.”

The buildings explored during the tour were selected by MSU art history professor Susan Bandes and the students in her “Michigan Modern” course. Most of the buildings included very intriguing features that Ron Springer, longtime East Lansing resident and tour guide said were representative samples of the architecture of that time.

“The modern movement, the one we covered all throughout the tour, had vertical emphasis like what we saw at the library, the MEA (Michigan Education Association), the Michigan State Medical Society,” said Springer. “They feature a flat roof, expansive glass; those were all representative samples.”
Gabriel Zawadzki, a Lansing resident and longtime bicyclist, said he has no background in architecture but his appreciation for the style and structure of modern buildings and interest in learning more about the city brought him out on the tour.

“I’ve always loved the Frank Lloyd Wright style of buildings, which we’ve seen a lot of in the buildings on the tour,” said Zawadzki. “So this was something I really found interesting.”