A Brief History of the Legendary Folk Venue
The Ark was established in 1965 as an outreach ministry—a coffeehouse—by four local churches: Northside Presbyterian Church, First Presbyterian Church, Calvary Presbyterian Church, and Campus Chapel. Though the Ark began as a partnership between religious organizations, the purpose of the Ark was not evangelism. Rather, the Ark founders wanted to provide university students with a safe, substance-free space where music, discussion, and artistic expression could thrive, and a respite from the turbulent campus climate of the mid 1960s.
The Ark has offered a distinctive folk music experience in three locations in Ann Arbor (Ark 1, 1965-1984; Ark 2, 1984 to 1996; and The Ark on Main Street, 1996 to present). Read this article from the Ann Arbor Observer (1990) about the early history of The Ark.
Below are a select samples of the over 1,600 shows recorded by Dave Siglin at all three locations of “The Ark” between 1969 to 2007. We hope these samples invoke memories or appreciation for the folk music heritage present at The Ark for over 60 years. The goal of the Siglin Music Preservation Fund is to bring many more shows to you through online streaming.
Rye Whiskey
Railroading on the Great Divide
Brandy Leave Me Alone
How to Help
To date, eighty-five generous people have donated over $100,000 to support the digitization and cataloging of the complete collection of 1,350 reel and cassette tapes, created by Dave Siglin of live performances at The Ark between 1969 and 2007. Click here to see a list of donors to the Siglin Music Preservation Fund.
The Siglin Music Preservation Fund is a 501 (c) (3) non-profit organization formed to support the preservation of and access to the Dave Siglin tape recordings from The Ark. Your contributions are entirely tax deductible. 100% of donations made by Check go to the Siglin Music Preservation Fund.
Donations by Check are preferred as 100% of your contributions goes to SMPF
Please make payable to: Siglin Music Preservation Fund
and mail to: Siglin Music Preservation Fund
c/o David Siglin, President
925 Sunnyside Blvd
Ann Arbor, MI 48103