Kalamazoo, city, seat of Kalamazoo County, southwestern Michigan, on the Kalamazoo River; settled 1829, incorporated as a city 1883. Its many manufactures include paper and paper products, motor vehicle equipment, pharmaceuticals, musical instruments, plastics, and chemicals. Educational facilities include Western Michigan University (1903), Kalamazoo College (1833), Nazareth College (1924), and a community college. The city is home to a symphony orchestra, the Kalamazoo Institute of Arts, a car museum, and an aviation museum. The many paper mills established between 1874 and 1918 spurred the city's growth, attracting numerous allied industries. One of the first permanent pedestrian malls in the U.S. was completed here in 1959. Kalamazoo takes its name (a Native American word meaning “bubbling water”) from the river. Population 79,722 (1980); 80,277 (1990); 77,145 (2000).
