The other day my job led me to a place I’d never been before - the alley right next to the State Theater entrance. Some graffiti on the wall there announced a free concert at another alley in Ann Arbor, an alley with a name: Tripper’s Alley.
Tripper’s Alley is supposedly named for the longtime presence of brightly colored graffiti adorning almost every surface there and the habit psychotropic drug users may or may not actually have of walking around there while under the influence. It also echoes the name of Detroit’s famous Trapper’s Alley.
According to WikiTravel’s Ann Arbor entry:
The alley mural began as a one-man project in the 1980s and became a popular spot for graffiti artists. The city took the spot over in 1999 by hiring artist Katherine Tombeau Cost to paint over the original mural and graffiti with a new 5,000-square-foot mural. The graffiti artists haven’t entirely relinquished their claim to it, meaning that Cost’s mural has been partially defaced…be sure to seek out the “trippers’” bubble gum wall toward the back.
Here’s what my friendly acquaintance and one-time poker competitor Josh had to say over at AnnArborIsOverrated:
…The mural alley was much, much cooler when it was graffiti murals instead of the commissioned bullshit that replaced it. Over the years, what had started as one guy’s graf had turned into a collaborative gallery, with no one painting over each other’s stuff- instead, they’d extend it further and further, like an exquisite corpse made of spray paint. To turn it into cartoon fun land really took a lot of the art out of it.
Anyway, I don’t really want to get too far into the merits of the current mural at that particular alley. What interests me is the general embracing of alleys as distinct places, or what it takes for alleys to have names.
What are some other alleys with names? Or what names should be given to other notable alleys in Ann Arbor? Off the top of my head, I can think of a few possible candidates: the Borders alley, with all those cover-less magazines to be found in the dumpsters and the big ant murals on the Maynard side; that alley - I can’t remember where exactly - with the horse stable mural painted over the garage door; the alley with the entrance to the 8 Ball; etc etc. Anyone care to chime in?
While you’re thinking, watch this video of someone doing fire poi in Tripper’s Alley:
3 responses so far ↓
1 vinh! // Dec 7, 2007 at 10:47 pm
I’m a bit surprised, Tim, that you had never visited that alley. This is the alley with the side door to the State Theater, no? The door which, by the way, leads to a small, dark, empty, dirty, grimy room. Hop the fence, take a look around, it was unlocked a few years back.
Horse Stable Alley, I believe, is on Fourth Ave, somewhere between Washington and Catherine, on the east side of the street. I miss that mural.
One of my favorite “alleys” is the little, lost corner between Zanzibar’s, that one guy’s studio, and the Women’s Studies Building. Of course, that was just about home for me… (check out the free outlet back in the corner!)
Ahh, yes, the alley that leads to the back door of, what I knew as, the Underground Gallery. I’m not sure what’s there now, but it’s the shop two doors down from the Subway on Liberty, next to that jeweler, I think. Walk around the corner, down the major north/south alley and take a right at the first turn. Around the corner used to be a chair to sit upon and stair at bats at night. If you’re really adventurous, behind you, facing east, is a ladder to the roof of that building. On that small little roof is a bench. Shit, I never told you about that one did I? That really is a great place to watch bats at night.
And the last one I can think of right now is the alley between Old Town and, um, new Bab’s (??). If memory serves correct, it was fenced shut last time I was in town.
I think the saddest part of writing this short response is recognizing the lack of alleys in Portland, OR. For some reason very few alleys exist. It’s rather unsettling.
2 Ypsiskippy // Dec 12, 2007 at 2:07 pm
The alley next to the State Theater that runs back to the MLB. That’s a pretty secret alley.
3 timothy // Dec 12, 2007 at 4:15 pm
I was talking about the alley just SOUTH of the Theater. The double doors are usually locked now.
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