KPL Videos: kalamazoo — Kalamazoo Public Library

OHOW: What Style Is It? (Italianate)

OHOW (Old House Owners Workshop) is a program of the City of Kalamazoo’s Historic Preservation Commission. OHOW seeks to create educational programs that help old house owners understand their buildings—how and when…

Recorded 03/12/2021

Categories: Entertainment; Family; Information; Instructional

Tags: architecture; kalamazoo; Preservation

OHOW: What Style Is It? (Gothic Revival)

OHOW (Old House Owners Workshop) is a program of the City of Kalamazoo’s Historic Preservation Commission. OHOW seeks to create educational programs that help old house owners understand their buildings—how and when…

Recorded 02/11/2021

Categories: Entertainment; Family; Information; Instructional; Kalamazoo History

Tags: architecture; history; kalamazoo; Preservation

Preservation on the Frontline - Track 4 Adaptive Reuse is Alive and Well in Downtown Kalamazoo

Shared with permission from The Historic Preservation Commission. Adaptive reuse projects are among the most exciting in the preservation field, and tonight we see three Kalamazoo successes. Tour the Renaissance-inspired1926…

Recorded 09/19/2020

Categories: Kalamazoo History; Michigan History

Tags: architecture; history; kalamazoo; michigan

Art Deco in Kalamazoo

The Art Deco and later, Streamline Moderne styles that were popular during the 1920s and 1930s, influenced the design of just about everything including fashion, furniture, household goods and primarily…

Recorded 01/28/2020

Categories: Kalamazoo History

Tags: architecture; history; kalamazoo

John E. Fetzer and the Quest for the New Age

The author of John E. Fetzer and the Quest for the New Age, Brian C. Wilson PhD. presents the remarkable story of lifetime Michigan resident, radio and TV pioneer, and…

Recorded 09/12/2019

Categories: Authors @ KPL; Kalamazoo History; Michigan History

Tags: culture; history; kalamazoo; michigan

Great Grown-Up Spelling Bee

Each year, Kalamazoo Public Library hosts the Great Grown-up Spelling Bee to benefit Ready to Read, our early childhood literacy program. 100% of the proceeds from this wild and wacky…

Recorded 08/07/2019

Categories: Timely Topics

Tags: education; kalamazoo

“Bright Kalamazoo” (1854)

The poem “Bright Kalamazoo” was written by English adventurer William Henry Woodhams and set to music in 1854 by James Maurice Hubbard, who later became a professor of music at…

Recorded 07/25/2019

Categories: Archival Films & Video; Entertainment; Kalamazoo History; Music & Concerts

Tags: history; kalamazoo; michigan; music; poetry

Celebration of the Life & Legacy of Alma Harrod Powell

In 1978, 11 years after the passing of Alma H. Powell, staff and friends of the Alma Powell Branch designated a week in June to be known as “Alma Harrod…

Recorded 07/22/2019

Categories: Archival Films & Video; Kalamazoo History

Tags: black history; kalamazoo

Historic Preservation 101

Historic preservation has been at work in Kalamazoo for over 50 years. Learn more about how keeping our Kalamazoo heritage has benefited the city and debunk a few myths. Presented…

Recorded 05/08/2019

Categories: Information; Instructional; Kalamazoo History

Tags: architecture; history; kalamazoo

The Kalamazoo Corset Workers Strike

The Kalamazoo Corset Company was one of Kalamazoo’s largest employer in the early decades of the 20th century. The overwhelming majority of its 1000-strong workforce were women. In 1911, the…

Recorded 04/18/2019

Categories: Kalamazoo History; Michigan History

Tags: history; kalamazoo; michigan

Cooking with Beer! w/ Chef Cory Barrett

Chef Cory Barrett, culinary instructor at Kalamazoo Valley Community College, and Brewery Operations Manager/Brewer Jeff Sobolewski, demonstrate cooking with… beer of course. We will prepare and taste different fun and…

Recorded 02/09/2019

Categories: Instructional

Tags: beer; culture; food; kalamazoo; overdue brew

Overdue Brew 2018

Highlights of Overdue Brew 2018. Overdue Brew is a fun and fascinating series of programs presented each year by Kalamazoo Public Library to highlight Kalamazoo’s vibrant brewing culture.

Recorded 11/16/2018

Categories: Entertainment

Tags: beer; business; culture; food; history; kalamazoo; overdue brew

How FDR Segregated Kalamazoo

A presentation and discussion about the history of redlining, racially restrictive covenants, and segregation in Kalamazoo. Learn how the federal government and the city of Kalamazoo successfully financed white homeownership…

Recorded 10/02/2018

Categories: Kalamazoo History; Timely Topics

Tags: black history; history; kalamazoo; segregation; urban renewal

Red Terror in Kalamazoo

The Shakespeare Company, a leading manufacturer and supplier of fishing equipment and other sporting goods, was founded in Kalamazoo in 1897. Local historian Tom Dietz recounts the surprising story of…

Recorded 05/10/2018

Categories: Kalamazoo History; Michigan History

Tags: business; history; kalamazoo; michigan

Kalamazoo’s Colored School (1861-1871)

Among the many mysteries in Kalamazoo’s history was the existence of a separate school for the community’s African-American children, located on North Street between 1861 and 1871. Lynn Houghton, Regional…

Recorded 02/27/2018

Categories: Authors @ KPL; Kalamazoo History; Timely Topics

Tags: author; black history; education; history; kalamazoo; segregation

I Remember Kalamazoo

Kalamazoo’s Historic Preservation Coordinator, Sharon Ferraro, working with her 95-year-old dad, retired professional photographer, Lance Ferraro, walk us inside Kalamazoo’s historic facades and sites, with remembrances from the 1920s to…

Recorded 02/23/2017

Categories: Kalamazoo History

Tags: culture; history; kalamazoo

The Library Ladies of Kalamazoo

Authors of the new book “The Library Ladies of Kalamazoo: Their Home and History” tell how they collaborated to create a beautifully designed 220-page pictorial guide of the oldest women’s…

Recorded 09/22/2016

Categories: Kalamazoo History

Tags: architecture; culture; history; kalamazoo; women

The Library Ladies of Kalamazoo

Authors of the new book The Library Ladies of Kalamazoo: Their Home and History tell how they collaborated to create a beautifully designed 220-page pictorial guide of the oldest women’s…

Recorded 09/22/2016

Categories: Kalamazoo History

Tags: culture; education; history; kalamazoo

Mas Que Nada: Latin Jazz @ KPL

Mas Que Nada, Western Michigan University’s award winning Latin Jazz ensemble, represents a decade-long project created by its director, Tom Knific, to celebrate and perform the music of Brazil and…

Recorded 04/20/2016

Categories: Music & Concerts

Tags: culture; kalamazoo; music

Found Family: A Defining Documentary

A film by Laura Barrett, produced by Karen Trout, Farrell Howe, and Kalamazoo Public Library for Reading Together 2016. Inspired by the 2016 Reading Together selection, Orphan Train by Christina Baker…

Recorded 03/21/2016

Categories: Information; Timely Topics

Tags: culture; education; film; kalamazoo; reading together

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NOTICE: A construction project to improve the Oshtemo Branch Library Parking Lot will begin on Monday, 10/10/22. Please follow the signage directing you to available parking areas during construction.

NOTICE: Central Library will close at 4 pm on Friday, October 7, and will reopen at 5 pm for our 150th Anniversary celebration. Please note library services will NOT be available after 4 pm.

KPL TV

#kalamazoo Videos

OHOW: What Style Is It? (Italianate)

OHOW: What Style Is It? (Gothic Revival)

Preservation on the Frontline - Track 4 Adaptive Reuse is Alive and Well in Downtown Kalamazoo

Art Deco in Kalamazoo

John E. Fetzer and the Quest for the New Age

Great Grown-Up Spelling Bee

“Bright Kalamazoo” (1854)

Celebration of the Life & Legacy of Alma Harrod Powell

Historic Preservation 101

The Kalamazoo Corset Workers Strike

Cooking with Beer! w/ Chef Cory Barrett

Overdue Brew 2018

How FDR Segregated Kalamazoo

Red Terror in Kalamazoo

Kalamazoo’s Colored School (1861-1871)

I Remember Kalamazoo

The Library Ladies of Kalamazoo

The Library Ladies of Kalamazoo

Mas Que Nada: Latin Jazz @ KPL

Found Family: A Defining Documentary