WESTLAND, Mich. – Local 4 News is getting out of the studio and hitting the road to be In Your Neighborhood! We’re live on Local 4 News at 5:30 p.m. every day from Nov. 6-10 in a different city to showcase what makes our communities great!
Westland is a vibrant community of almost 85,000 people. It is the 13th-largest city in Michigan despite being just 57 years old.
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Well before the city of Westland was established, the Wayne County Poorhouse stood on its land. From its creation in 1839, the complex went through many changes and took on different names. It is most commonly known today as “Eloise Asylum,” made famous for supposed paranormal activity. At the peak of its existence, the psychiatric hospital of Eloise was a fully functioning community, with a police and fire department, a bakery, dairy and pig farms and a school. It shuttered in 1984, leaving behind only a few intact buildings and a cemetery with over thousands of unidentified graves. Now, paranormal tours are offered through the remaining buildings. In January, the city and its contracting partner pledged $4 million to renovate the remaining structures into a hotel, restaurant and haunted attraction.
Watch: Scared Jason Colthorp, Local 4 Insider walk through haunted Eloise Asylum attraction
If you’re not interested in the goosebumps from a haunted house, the art in Westland can impress you. Westland’s City Hall has an art gallery, showcasing the works of local artists. At the Gallery, visitors can enjoy art without having to pay a penny.
Read more: Nearly 300 countdown crosswalk signals are coming to Westland
The city also boasts “Inspire Theatre,” a community theatre run by local artists. Their next show will be “Cabaret,” showing in January. The city also offers opportunities to learn about history in the Westland Historic Village Park. There, visitors can see old houses, barns, well, a windmill and learn more about the history of Eloise Hospital in the Eloise Hospital Museum.
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