Fairy Doors of Ann Arbor

Red Shoes fairy door

The Fairy Doors of Ann Arbor are a series of small doors that are a type of installation art found in the city of Ann Arbor in the U.S. state of Michigan. The first one appeared in the baseboards of the home of Jonathan and Kathleen Wright in 1993. Subsequently, several others were discovered in their home: in the fireplace surround and two in the kitchen. On April 7, 2005 the first was seen in public on the exterior of Sweetwaters Coffee and Tea. Since then, ten more have shown up around Ann Arbor (as well as a "goblin door" parody), and seven of the original "public" doors still exist.[1][2]

History

The first public fairy door appeared outside Sweetwaters Coffee and Tea on April 7, 2005.[3] installed by Jonathan B. Wright, a teacher of graphic design technologies. The next was installed outside of the Ann Arbor gift store Peaceable Kingdom and appeared on April 17, 2005. The third door was found on May 11, 2005 outside of the Selo-Shevel Gallery art gallery. On June 9, 2005, Jefferson Market received a fairy door, but the store closed in October 2007. The Ann Arbor Framing Co. discovered the next door on August 17, 2005, but the company closed in the summer of 2008 and the fairy door vanished. The concert hall The Ark hosted the next door when it appeared August 25, 2005. The furniture and gift store Red Shoes was next, where one appeared on November 17, 2005.

On April 11, 2006 a fairy door appeared at the boutique Voilà. When Voilà closed on November 15, 2006 the fairy door disappeared as well. The ninth door was installed in the back of Nicola's Books on September 8, 2006 and was built into a bookcase and books at the Ann Arbor District Library on November 4, 2006.

In 2010 a rural fairy door appeared in a not-for profit preschool and dependent older adult day care in Dexter, Mighigan called Generations Together. It is said to have a portal that can be found in Gordon Field which is in front of Gordon Hall a historic landmark in Dexter. They are so new they have not been pictured and described in detail anywhere but on the urban-fairies.com website.

At one time a few establishments kept guest books which visitors could sign or ask pertinent questions or draw pictures.[4] This led Wright to release the children's book Who's Behind the Fairy Doors?

Locations and descriptions

Of the original ten public Ann Arbor fairy doors, seven still exist in and around the downtown area.[1]

Other newer fairy doors are appearing around Ann Arbor:

Local response

The fairy doors have taken on a cult following in Ann Arbor and surrounding small towns such as Dexter where the first rural fairy door and its portal can be found. The local children leave gifts in the hopes that real fairies will receive them. Some presents left at the doors include pennies and nickels, drawings, tiny packages, candies, and shiny rocks. Some of the doors, like the one found in Sweetwaters, have guestbooks nearby for visitors to write reflections, stories, draw fairies, and ask questions. Sometimes a "fairy" will answer the questions in the journals. The general attitude toward the fairy doors is that of mysticism and childlike adoration.

The Ann Arbor Chamber of Commerce and some of the businesses with fairy doors hand out maps and sell copies of Jonathan B. Wright's Who's Behind the Fairy Doors? and posters with pictures of each door and its location. Many articles, including local and national, have been published regarding the doors. The Michigan Daily, the University of Michigan's student newspaper published an article titled "Are Real Life Fairies A2's Busiest Carpenters?"[7] on October 12, 2010. The Washington Post published an article on April 23, 2006 titled "Ann Arbor Proudly Presents: The Doors."[4]

Other doors

The fairy doors have made appearances in the neighboring towns as well. An Ypsilanti woman found a fairy door in the base of a tree on her front lawn.[8] Saline, to the southwest, held a "Fairy Door Treasure Hunt"[9] event in the spring of 2010. Nearby Dexter held a fairy door art exhibition and contest around the same time and plans to hold it annually.[10]

The goblin door is a "sinister" version of the fairy doors and is a little taller than them. It is in Ann Arbor between The Ark and Seyfried Jewelers on South Main St. As of July 2012, downtown Ann Arbor locksmith Vogel's has arranged a mass of keys to form the word "Fairy Door," hinting that there may be a new fairy door to come. As of 29 May 2014, the Ypsilanti neighborhood of Normal Park had 14 doors in resident yards.

References

  1. 1 2 "These Tiny Doors Are Hidden All Around This Town. But The Reason Why They Were Built? It's Brilliant". The Meta Picture. 2013-12-02. Retrieved 2014-12-08.
  2. ↑ Urban Fairies Locations-Sweetwaters
  3. ↑ McKee, Jenn. "Opening the secrets behind fairy doors in Ann Arbor", Detroit News, May 31, 2015
  4. 1 2 Sachs, Andrea. The Washington Post. April 23, 2006
  5. 1 2 Szumko, Stefan. "Walking tour hits the fairy doors of Ann Arbor", Ann Arbor News, March 30, 2011
  6. ↑ "First Fairy Door at Michigan Appears in CSE". www.eecs.umich.edu. Retrieved 2015-11-24.
  7. ↑ Steinberger, Carly. Michigan Daily. October 12, 2010
  8. ↑ Tsai, Janis. "Fairies Migrate East". iSpy. September 2010. Page 16
  9. ↑ A chance to hunt fairy doors in Saline - AnnArbor.com
  10. ↑ Ann Arbor Events Calendar | Fairy Doors of Dexter – Contest and Exhibition
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