And you've onoly touched a few good things about Detroit. I'll just leave these right here too Detroit Institute of Arts. Most people don't even know that it has some of the most prized works of art and is one of the most respected art collections in the entire world: http://www.dia.org/ Self explanitory: http://www.fancymag.com/images/coneyisland01.jpg A wonderful culture that continues to clean up the west side: http://www.mexicantown.com/ Chrysler and GM still build cars in Detroit's city limits: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Jefferson_North_Assembly http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Detroit/Hamtramck_Assembly
As far as Detroit being a larger land area than most US cities...look at this. http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_United_States_cities_by_area I visited Detroit a few times in the last 15 years and saw the ruins and also the nice stuff. It seems that every US industrial city has situations similar to Detroit.They are looking like huge versions of the Gold rush boom towns of 150 years ago.
Racism was rampant all over the country in the 40s, 50s, and 60s. Not just Detroit... I remember the 70s. I remember people abandoning their houses to move somewhere "safer". I remember Dad working down there back in the day. He got his job at Chrysler uring the hiring boom of the 60s. The auto industry was hiring so many people that they couldn't keep people. People would quit saying the work was too hard for the pay. These same people have told me that quitting back then was the biggest mistake they ever made. What I'm trying to say is that the fall of Packard was not the fall of the industry. I've read the history on those comapnies and it had nothing to do with foriegn competition, but poor management and domestic (GM, Ford, Chrysler) competition. Read the book "How Detroit Became the Automotive Capital" and it will show how mnay of these "abandoned factories" were actually car companies that operated and failed within two to four years of existance in the 20s and 30s already. Don't forget the empty banks-come-churches that were all banks that failed during the Great Depression. What I'm saying is that you can't blame all of Detroit's problems on the auto industry. Specially a few smaller car companies that couldn't compete when the economy was good (not including the recession of 1959).
You're right. I'll just leave this right here: http://www.google.com/hostednews/ap...db0-YA?docId=781dca25389f4e4a80f5aa68bfa05c9f
I'm officially done defending Detroit on this thread. Come see for yourself and for dogsake read as much as you can about the history of Detroit's last 100 years before you talk smack about what you "know why Detroit failed".
But according to your post it wasnt white on black it was black on white........ So what was it? I remember from the 2000s people abandoning their houses to move somewhere safer, when the black population left the city for towns like Redford, Westland, Oak Park, Roseville and previously lily white Warren. Did the crime go up in these areas overnight or did fear cause these people to toss the keys on the counter and move west? Detroit is a region where we can talk to the other ethnicities but we damn sure dont want to live by them.
shit like this? http://www.clickondetroit.com/news/28133896/detail.html anyone with a little insight could feel threatned living or visiting areas such as this, how could you know if you would be in the wrong place at the wrong time? Especially with the law of averages of this happining in this City are so high
What he said. We should all go see Detroit and judge for ourselves--and blast The Stooges in the rental car while we do it. Seriously, I LOVE Ruin Porn, or whatever you guys are calling it right now, but it's also really nice to see that long list of buildings in Detroit which have been remodeled or restored. This is one American city that really needs a comeback. Thanks to everyone who has helped make this a serious discussion. Detroit is on my short list of American cities I have to visit, to see the "before" and the "after."
That's interesting. I wish I knew where I had read the article I was referring to...the claims were in direct contrast to that. It's also interesting that I found an actually .gov site which ranked Detroit a lot higher on that list than the wiki site, although still not in the top 30. Maybe it had to do with incorporated v. non-incorporated areas? But it doesn't change the point. The population has been way too small relative to the actually size of the city for quite some time. It's too spread out for the city's resources.
Detroit is an extremely violent city. So is St. Louis. So is Philly. So is Baltimore. So is NY. So is Memphis. Come to think of it, you should probably just stay in the country.
It was black on white after the riots. Read more carefully... [/QUOTE]I remember from the 2000s people abandoning their houses to move somewhere safer, when the black population left the city for towns like Redford, Westland, Oak Park, Roseville and previously lily white Warren. Did the crime go up in these areas overnight or did fear cause these people to toss the keys on the counter and move west?[/QUOTE] It sounds like your knowledge of Detroit doesn't go much beyond your age... [/QUOTE]Detroit is a region where we can talk to the other ethnicities but we damn sure dont want to live by them.[/QUOTE] Absolutely not true. I live in a very diversely ethnic are now, but in a much safer place for my kids. Try living one block from 8 Mile while trying to raise two children. I have. I could tell you MANY stories of how we were chased out of the neighborhood from crime. Oh yeah... My black neighbors abandoned their house too and were moving "somewhere where there ain't so many black people". Her quote to me btw. The mixed racial family on the other side of us? After dealing with a home invasion through theor infant daughter's bedroom, they brokee lease and moved far away. It's not a race thing any more. The older generations want to keep it a raceial issue, but my generation and younger know it's no longer that. Stop trying to pick apart my facts and read more for yourself. You have not posted any hard facts from anything yeat, but you seem to have an argument for everything I say. It's easy to grow up in the suburbs and think you know what's wrong woth Detroit and how it got there.
Right again! You know what's up (hehe) Props to living in the Clem. I have a big family history there too.
You're right. The only difference between Detroit and New York's garment district? Property values...
You guys who live in the Detroit area and or still frequent the city have my prayers and best wishes. It takes guts man-and I completely understand defending your home. After reading this entire thread word for word, I can honestly say I see there are more than one or two reasons for it's current state. And I thank you for taking the time to explain your opinions. Good luck and stay safe-we'll all be watching.
Yep, yer right, on all accounts Im not trying to come off like im on a beat down of Detroit, because thats not the case, but the facts speak volumns to me. I was born and raised in the Metro Detroit area, been here my entire life(now live a bit further south), worked there , lived there This was once A very proud city, and rightfully so. sure wish it could rise from the asshes of its once former self. But I'm not holding my breath
Thanks to all who have contributed on here. I 'm probably 3 hrs so. of Detroit so thru the years have went there for alot of things or on thru to the old Silverdome. The comments in here have been very informative to say the least.
I will always love Saint Andrew's Hall... That's where I played a show (with BIG SITCK) for arguably the most enthusiastic music fans in all of America... Detroit my have plenty of ruins in a sorry state of decay, but it also has more heart than a lot of other places on the map... "The Doc" (Celebrity Drag Racing Authority & Visionary)...
I remember from the 2000s people abandoning their houses to move somewhere safer, when the black population left the city for towns like Redford, Westland, Oak Park, Roseville and previously lily white Warren. Did the crime go up in these areas overnight or did fear cause these people to toss the keys on the counter and move west?[/QUOTE] Your town may be diverse but the rest of the Metro Detroit area was the most segregated area in the US. Only recently, with the migration of blacks out of the city has it dropped to 4th. http://detnews.com/article/20110329/METRO/103290372/Metro-Detroit-no-longer-most-segregated
I lived in a notorious black section of a large city for many years, and became close friends with most of our neighbors. Raised my family there. Shared meals and good times with folks in the summertime. A lot of fond memories. Only time I ever had any trouble was when I was rolled for some cash I mistakenly flashed at a local convenience store on Christmas eve... by a gang of white kids.
Please more details about this. I'm very interested to learn if my '30 coupe may have been partially built in my hometown. I read recently that the building in Detroit where Model As were built is still standing, but abandoned and dilapidated. A goal I have for my car is to drive it up there and get a picture of it in front of the building which gave it life so many decades ago. I'd known of the hardships in Detroit, but underestimated it significantly. And as I looked through this thread I began to wonder if making a trip up there would be wise. I'm glad I kept reading and I'm glad you all posted more info about Detroit to show us there are certainly some bright spots in the city. That's great to hear. I will absolutely continue with my plan to drive my hot rod up north once it's done. I only hope that we can bring manufacturing back to the States before even more great cities begin to crumble. Our cities and our country are too great to allow this to happen. RuFFDaWG, thanks for starting this thread.
Are there particular parts of Detroit that have these rundown buildings, I'm really not familiar with the city at all.
Sadly;a lot of the city looks like that. Not only the plants,but the multitude of small "job" shops(tool-and-die,etc.) that filled the city and surrounding suburbs are also closed. Proof that the plants AND their workforce built the communities. When Corporate greed(NOT Union greed-the Companies used to know that their workforce also bought the products they made because of good wages) and NAFTA/GATT/WTO became the prevalent ideology,well,we see what happens. Like FlatheadPete,I'm a virtual life-long resident of Flint,MI. It's sad-no,it's beyond effin' sad what's become of this once incredibly proud community. I also have over 34 years with GM,and am amazed by the managerial decisions that cost incredible amounts of money within the plants I've worked in.
I have a lot of good memories of the motor city. I grew up at 10 mile and woodward near the Detroit Zoo and later we moved out to troy which was country at the time.We would regularly attend the tigers games downtown and catch the 4th of july fireworks on the detroit river. Later when I reached driving age we would cruise woodward . I go back occasionally but I have good memories of the place I would not want to live there.
I was up there this past weekend as a vendor at sins of steel. A local friend from the Road Devils took me to the Packard plant. It was very interesting. I got some real neat photos in there. I can't believe how sad of shape it is in, along with nearby buildings. You can't get an understanding of how large the building is until you start walking around the different levels. It was really cool.
It's sad what has happened to this country, it is alomst impossible to find American made products, even from American companies. We need to buy American or we will end up being a third world country, you can't ship your jobs and money elsewhere and expect to survive. Make the effort to buy American products.
A couple of demographic things to keep in mind: 50 years ago, 1.7 million people lived in Detroit and less than 1 million lived in the surrounding three counties. Today, Detroit has a population of about 700,000 but the surrounding three counties have a population of about 5 million so yes the city has shrunk to less than half it's population, but the Detroit Metropolitan Region in total has doubled over the last 50 years. So we're still here, it's just that less people live inside the city limits...and one of those counties, Oakland County is consistently ranked as one of the top-5 richest counties in the U.S. in terms of income and wealth. Bloomfield Hills, Birmingham, anyone? Tony neighborhoods all...but yet still 'Detroit'. This area, this Detroit Metropolitan Region also has amongst the highest per capita density of Phds and Master degree holders...a lot of smart folks live and work here...third only to the Silicon Valley and Boston regions so the tired old mantra of 'those that could leave Detroit already have' is not quite true...yes, many moved out of the city, but not left the region...in fact the region has grown over the last 50 years and still filled with automotive R&D jobs, engineering, design etc...filled...car companies that don't even sell cars in the U.S. have R&D facilities here because of the inate automotive brainpower here. In 1950, 90% of the world's total production of automobiles were built within the city limits of Detroit. Today less than 3% of the world's output is built in Detroit. A large part of that moving out of Detroit was done by the domestic OEMs as they saw a need for regional manufacturing...Atlanta, St Louis, Oshawa, Janesville, Kansas City, Fremont, Lordstown, Spring Hill, Bowling Green, Chicago, Lima, San Jose (closed) Shreveport, and many more...all plants that did not exist before WW2. So when times were booming, the domestic OEMs opened new plants where they saw fit, and as sales and market share began to shrink, many programs got moved to the newer plants and not to the older plants in Detroit...for example, large parts of the Viper plant still has brick paved floors from 1916-now that's an old plant. So as final assembly moved out of 'old' Detroit to the newer plants and the city kept losing more and more of it's final asembly plants, the Tier One, Tier Two and various other smaller manufacturing followed as well so while it's a shame that more cars are no longer built here in Detroit, it's understandable how the assembly plants are now dispersed throughout the countryside and no longer here. I doth quoth Metallica " Sad But True"...
Yup. You CAN still find quality stuff: http://watchtheprettylight.tumblr.com/post/6044806557/dont-buy-american-made
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