Ah Detroit! Being born and raised in the Motor City I too lamented not seeing it in it's heyday. It must have been a grand city. I spent 15 yrs in in the downtown area. Just went back in May to visit my pop. (Retired FoMoCo) I frankly was delighted and amazed to see all the new construction and renovation going on in my old stomping grounds. (Fort and Brush area.) Some great old neighborhoods being repopulated and fixed up. Some of those great victorian homes being fixed up. The new ball parks look great. The neighborhood behind my old art school (Warren, John R and Kirby area) looks great with a new park and nice houses. This is an area that was abandoned where we literally found a human pelvis. No other parts just a pelvis. Nice. Didnt even recognize Greek Town. I was happy to see some improvement.
So much sad but true in this post. So much hope too. I'm recalling the altered wheelbase F/C stories shared by the original owner, how important Motown was to that car's history. Garlits had to be in Detroit to grow his gig. There's so much more that relates to the boards main topics. Yet most of you are lamenting and pontificating the "whys and hows". Everything changes. History is important and should be preserved. It only gets preserved when it's worthwhile for an organization or individual to do so. That can go a couple different ways but someone's got to be paid to do it. What's the rate of return? Think big corporate and there's your answers. Philanthropic ventures are quickly disappearing. Some of the biggest I've known and still know just don't do it. The Packard plant is getting scrapped and sold overseas. It's a double your money proposition, probably way more than that. What would you do? You have a couple million to invest looking for the highest rate of return. No local interest, tax breaks, or reasonable expectations of success in saving it. Is that really a problem? Ask yourself how you'd feel if you could double your money in less than 1 year. But then again, do you really have to ask? I have more fondness for the personal histories from our area vs the "Big 3", and yet a good amount of them are big 3 related. Kool mix. I think of Dick Mitchell, Setto Pastoian, John Rhiberger, (those last 2 spellings?), Jim White, Chuck Mountain, Joy Fair, and on and on. Can't forget Kallita, still hard at it. To me, THAT is Motown at it's finest, most determined, raw, un-cluttered, and most of all, real. Just like a traditional rod, you know it when you see it, or in this case, live it. What are YOU prepared to do to keep the spirit alive? Sometimes just comments on a board like this are enough, not always, but sometimes.
The sad part about this back when Detriot drag strip was here we had national events. The motor city without a drag strip is a sad statement. Those national events bring money in to the areas that sponser them.
So true! I played out there for many years..was a cool place to run whatchabrung..test and tune nights, and when they ran events ..it was like a little home town track with alot of history..I only lived like 5 or so miles from it when i was a kid. Sucked to see it go.
Yes, lots of history in the area. I've lived in SE mich nearly all my life. Remembering the old M59 Speedway out by Pontiac, and even when NASCAR did some racing at the State Fairground on 8 Mile Rd. Going into the military & processing thru those cold and drafty buildings at old Fort Wayne in our skivvies in December , staying in either the Tuller Hotel or the Pickfort Shelby. Boblo Island and even when Formula One was racing thru the streets downtown. Recently one of the sactioning bodies (I think it was ARCA) wanted to bring racing back to Detroit at the Fairgrounds, the idea went down in flames by the locals . But how about the Woodward Dream Cruise every August! And what about the Henry Ford (museum and village) in Dearborn? Go out to Ypsilanti and see the only (from what I've heard) Packard dealership that's still in business (they do restorations and sell used Packard parts). And the GM Proving Grounds out near Milford? I think they still do tours, and I think the Ford Rouge plant does too. Definitely must-see stuff for anyone who likes cars and the old Motor City/Motown history. Don't let the doom&gloomers keep you away! Detroit has same issues as do most urban areas these days, but if you're watchful and careful there's a lot to see.
We ain't dead. Yet. Economy is rough but there will be more. Just got to get some folks to wake up. Why can't we continue to be a center for manufacturing excellence? With all of the knowledge, we should be the best place to make it work. It may not be for the cars we think of today but it could be anything. I envy Lucky77 with his time spent in Detroit exploring. I used to go downtown with my buddy's band in college and I ended up in some scary places surrounded by some scary people and had a blast! I'd love to have explored more but didn't know enough of the 'right' folks to do it. Either Scott was born 10 years to late, or I 10 years to early.
Well said Raceron, although one of the hotels you mentioned (Tuller) is long gone the Fort Shelby is now owned by the Double Tree corporation and is scheduled to reopen in a few months on New Year's eve. This is on the heels of the fabulous restoration of the Book Cadillac (Now Westin Book Cadillac) once the crown jewel of Detroit it's sat abandoned since the early eighties. I've seen some photos of the grand ballroom, condos, etc and they are simply beautiful. The BC is also working with MLB, NFL, and other professional sports to have visiting teams stay with them while in Detroit. Like you said, it's not all gloom and doom. Hey Dan, I think I was born a little more than a decade too late.
Yeah, seen a lot of that stuff. The hotels I mentioned were where I stayed in the late 60s, compliments of Uncle Sam, I figured they're gone now cuz they were pretty dumpy even then - I think they rented rooms by the hour . . . I work in Warren, we go downtown once in awhile for lunch to Hard Rock or Hockeytown, or over to Eastern Market, or Evie's in Mexican Village. It ain't like it used to was but there's still a lot of live in the area. And HOW 'bout them Lions!
I spent the first 18 years of my life in Dearborn and have many fine memories of the Detroit area. My Dad used to sponsor some class A baseball and we would have the awards banquet at the Book Cadillac Hotel. I took the beautiful girl next door to the Fox theater in my brother's new 1956 Ford convertible. We saw the Royal Joker's in their Zoot suits. All that expense and she still wouldn't let me touch anything. My Mom would take me to Hudsons and I would be left in the model train section and I stayed there till she came and got me. I remember seeing the first Corvette in Dearborn when I snuck just inside the garage area before they introduced it to the public. Blue color and six cylinders. I remember the guard house in the woods that went to Fairlane, you could barely see it from the highway. Fairlane was way back into the woods and we used to skate by it on the frozen Rouge River until the guards caught us and taught us how to swear. I remember Mr Sheldon, of Sheldon Oldsmobile, driving a brand new, fire engine red, 1953 Olds Fiesta home. He lived 6 doors down from us. I remember losing our lumber yard because they needed to widen Telegraph road. Where our yard was is in the southbound lane of Telegraph now. I still go back for the Autorama but I really got caught in some weather this last March and I sure won't be there unless I have a couple of clear days to make it through. I was there for the first Autorama, and the ones at the Armory and I was in one at the fairgrounds. I was there for the show at the Rotundra in 1953. Great memories, and God I am getting old.
Check out Jim Donnelly's column on page 43 of November issue of Hemming's Classic Car titled "City of Hope." .
Funny you should mention the Book Cadillac. I recently came across this penny postcard tucked in the pages of a 49 Motor Age flat rate and service manual that came with my 49 Hudson.
DTDHooligan said, "Detroit will not mount a comeback until it is safe for young families to move in and send their children to public schools. No sports venue, casino, theatre, or museum will accomplish this." A city is no greater than the people who live and work there. Detroit was hit by an almost perfect storm of reasons that made it less and less livable. Until there are enough reasons for people to return the city will continue to shrink. You aren't going to get a healthy community if it is composed of a few fortified, wealthy enclaves surrounded by a failed infrastructure, and impoverished, crime-ridden neighborhoods with few services and lousy schools. Detroit has for various reasons, some of them willful and deliberate, not adapted to the rapid changes of economics. How is it that Chicago, with similar climate and access to natural and human resources as well as facing the same basic problems that all polyglot cities face continues to thrive and move from strength to strength?
Ramblur, check out the cost for an evening out with your sweetie. $1.20 a head. And that was the classiest place in town.
I moved from Oakland, CA to the Detroit area to work in the automotive industry. I would like to stay and try to find a place in the City, but my wife can't find work in MI, so we have to move. It sure would be nice if people started manufacturing stuff in America again.
I know this is an old thread but I found this website with recent images of Detroit, an update of sorts to this thread. It's still looking pretty decrepit for some of these sites: http://blogs.denverpost.com/captured/2011/02/07/captured-the-ruins-of-detroit/2672/ Hope they can save a few, especially the trains station, it's my favorite!
Detroit really is a special place... Both for the car industry and the music world too... It's a place that deserves the opportunity to return to its more productive form and stature... So much decay and urban blight has weighed heavily on "Motor City"... Several years ago we made a stop there during a BIG STICK tour-- Performed a show at St. Andrew's Hall-- Oh, and what a great place for music that is-- the fans couldn't be more enthusiastic... Detroit is a place that will always hold a place in the hearts of those who love cars AND guitars... There's a part of our "Video Tour" on YouTube that features a somewhat eerie twilight shot of Detroit at 14.18, I put a link below... "The Doc" (Celebrity Drag Racing Authority & Visionary)... BIG STICK VIDEO TOUR DIARY - Detroit at 14:18... http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=xTFvqwC6E04
"Is it not cruel to let our city die by degrees, stripped of all her proud monuments, until there will be nothing left of all her history and beauty to inspire our children? If they are not inspired by the past of our city, where will they find the strength to fight for her future? Americans care about their past, but for short term gain they ignore it and tear down everything that matters. Maybe… this is the time to take a stand, to reverse the tide, so that we won't all end up in a uniform world of steel and glass boxes." - Jacqueline Kennedy Onassis
I just got back from the Autorama this weekend, and the streak continues... every time I go to Detroit, I have a great time and can't wait to go back. I've lived in close proximity to several cities throughout my life; born in Jersey City, lived my whole life within 40 minutes of New York, I now live 10 minutes from downtown Wilmington, and 20 minutes from Philadelphia. Guess what, they're all dangerous if you wander into the wrong parts. My boss was robbed at gun point in the parking garage in Wilmington, and I truthfully feel less safe there than I do in Philly. Manhattan is a really safe, but if you get lost in the Bronx, watch out. Camden, NJ shuts their traffic lights off at 10 pm because they feel it's safer to blow through an intersection at speed than to stop. Washington, DC is another rough city with a high murder rate and Baltimore is almost as bad. Detroit is no different in that aspect. Detroit has a very different feel than all the others for sure. I noticed that everyone there has clothes on that somehow reference Detroit. A hat with a "D", something about the Red Wings, Tigers, Lions or Pistons. Detroit really is hockey town. I also seem to drink myself stupid every time I'm there because there is so much delicious beer locally brewed. I hope that Detroit goes through a Renaissance the way many of the areas in NJ have in the past, it has a lot to offer. The downtown area is tremendous and whoever came up with the idea for the People Mover deserves a medal. I'm already looking forward to going back
I grew up in Detroit and as I grew older became a phoneman in the southwest end of the city.Started in 69 transfered out in 2002.Worked in many of those buildings you talk about,Clark & Fleetwood plants,the New York Central building,and Great Lakes Steel.Many reasons for the problems but one sticks out in my mind.Coporate America likes to take the profits and does not reinvest.Pretty hard to assemble a cad. body and ship it 7 miles to put it on frame.Two thirds of the the National Steel buildings were obsolete equipment,again no reinvestment.Coporate America will go where ever they get it cheap,don't blame the UAW.Time moves on and you will see the same lack of investment where ever the industry goes.Detroit's problems were coming 20 years ago.
Here is a pic i took in 2008 from the roof of ren cen on a clear day you can see the pontiac silverdome Paul Jug
Until there is a growing financial and other skilled job base in the city of Detroit, few people will be able to move there. Unfortunately, it is an island, as are the suburbs, and until there are more well paid jobs and a regional government structure, perhaps ala Toronto, it is very hard to see a great future for major restoration and population increase. There needs to be more than a few great restaurants and sports venues, that just attract visitors. The auto industry and the families that worked with them, largely moved away from the city in the 50's and it probably started in the 20's - a long process of people moving away but the city structure stayed much the same with a diminishing tax base. Today's remaining auto related jobs are spread out in Michigan and many other states as well as the rest of the world. This will not be a quick fix and likely needs a new vision from people who actually work and want to live near their work in the city.
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