Portrait of a Working-Class College

In 1956 the University of Michigan entered into a partnership with the Flint Board of Education to establish a distribution outlet in Flint. The purpose of this cultural service station—the Flint College of the University of Michigan—is to provide undergraduate instruction for juniors and seniors (chiefly graduates of Flint Junior College) leading to a BA from the University.

It’s not wholly facetious to describe Flint as a cultural service station. The architecture imitates ...