The Unofficial Corktown Neighborhood Thread (Detroit: to live, design, stadium)

[detwahDJ]

Hastings Street was a vibrant entertainment/residential district near downtown - bulldozed in the '50s for the fwy. Had it been preserved it may have become a historical drawing card for the city.
I had an idea to bring it back - Hastings Street reborn! What would it take - refurbish some buildings, get entrepreneurs involved. How about in or near Corktown? Recreate its atmosphere - not overly gentrified.
It would draw tourists, conventioners, locals. This area has musical talent all over the place, the musical scene is fragmented. This would centralize it, it would be a "district" like the others. National acts do play in smaller venues because of love for their art. It would give visitors more options, not to mention better PR for the city. Traveling acts would love to play Hastings Street in Detroit!
Are there people of vision & energy who think this is a good idea for Corktown? Do you have any old historic buildings which could be saved? Am I nuts?

[Retroit]

Well, of course you're nuts, but what does that prove other than you are fully qualified to make major development decisions in Detroit.

Can it be replicated? I suppose, but I think you'll have difficulty finding a street with a continuous line of usable (key word) buildings to replicate the feel, like you can find in Greektown or Beale Street in Memphis. And in this economy, building from scratch would be unlikely. How about a modern version? What about the buildings that were going to be "The Asian Village" (or whatever the name was), near the RenCen? You'd have the additional draw from the Riverwalk.

[ForStarters]

Originally Posted by detwahDJ

Hastings Street was a vibrant entertainment/residential district near downtown - bulldozed in the '50s for the fwy. Had it been preserved it may have become a historical drawing card for the city.
I had an idea to bring it back - Hastings Street reborn! What would it take - refurbish some buildings, get entrepreneurs involved. How about in or near Corktown? Recreate its atmosphere - not overly gentrified.
It would draw tourists, conventioners, locals. This area has musical talent all over the place, the musical scene is fragmented. This would centralize it, it would be a "district" like the others. National acts do play in smaller venues because of love for their art. It would give visitors more options, not to mention better PR for the city. Traveling acts would love to play Hastings Street in Detroit!
Are there people of vision & energy who think this is a good idea for Corktown? Do you have any old historic buildings which could be saved? Am I nuts?

I definitely don't think you're nuts. People are already doing similar things in Corktown and having pretty good success. I don't remember Hastings Street or know much about it, but a similar area that saw the same fate for very little reason was Rivertown on E. Jefferson, which was completely disassembled and demolished during the Archer administration for new condo developments, which never panned out. My dad used to hang out in Rivertown years agoa at some of the famous blues bars there. If you drive through there now, it is really depressing and just looks abandoned even though it so close to the RenCen. Archer seized all of the property through eminent domain, but I don't know who owns it today. If you wanted to revive a part of the city and attract musical talent, I couldn't think of a better location. I'm not sure on the condition of buildings- it probably varies.

[detwahDJ]

Rivertown blues club? This was also known as the "warehouse district"?
The blues club was the Soup Kitchen - I went there many times. They had a jam session at one point and I knew many blues musicians. A restaurant was the Woodbridge Tavern - a former speakeasy in the '30s(?). A movie was shot there "The Rosary Murders" with Donald Sutherland. There was a popular disco-type club later on which I know little about. I supposed it changed somewhat by now?
I'm somewhat familiar with corktown but I didn't know it extended to the MC Depot. I once checked out an apt above some business there but I don't remember the street - it was just off Michigan down from the stadium as I recall.
Does any of this ring a bell with you?

[ForStarters]

Originally Posted by detwahDJ

Rivertown blues club? This was also known as the "warehouse district"?
The blues club was the Soup Kitchen - I went there many times. They had a jam session at one point and I knew many blues musicians. A restaurant was the Woodbridge Tavern - a former speakeasy in the '30s(?). A movie was shot there "The Rosary Murders" with David Sutherland. There was a popular disco-type club later on which I know little about. I supposed it changed somewhat by now?
I'm somewhat familiar with corktown but I didn't know it extended to the MC Depot. I once checked out an apt above some business there but I don't remember the street - it was just off Michigan down from the stadium as I recall.
Does any of this ring a bell with you?

Yeah, the blues club was called the Soup Kitchen, but "changed" isn't really the right choice of words to describe what happened to Rivertown- the whole area where all those bars once were no longer exists. There's nothing there anymore except decaying structures. The only improvement the city made was knocking down those giant silos that were a heinous aberration on the Detroit skyline.

I'm not able to pinpoint the place in Corktown you speak of, but there are plenty of lofts there now. MCS has basically become the centerpiece of Corktown at the top of Roosevelt Park. If you keep going west down Balgey, you get into an area a lot of people refer to as Mexican Village (not to be confused w/ Mexicantown), but only because of the restuarant that's there.

[DebLT]

[quote=ForStarters;16557303]There's enough positive news coming out of Corktown these days to justify a thread dedicated to discussing new developments. I don't live in Corktown, so my hope is that people who do will update us as time goes on with all of the little things that make the neighborhood so great!

There are also a few new restaurants opening in Corktown. The Mercury Burger Bar is opening in the spring, across the street from Slows. Otto Via, an upscale Italian restaurant and pizzeria, is set to open shortly after at Michigan and Eighth.

[detwahDJ]

So Slow's is in Corktown? The Detroit-187 actors are talking about it - as well as Lou's Deli and a place caller Miller's. Are these in the area also?

[ForStarters]

Originally Posted by detwahDJ

So Slow's is in Corktown? The Detroit-187 actors are talking about it - as well as Lou's Deli and a place caller Miller's. Are these in the area also?

Slow's is in Corktown off Michigan Ave. Lou's is far from Corktown, on McNichols by University of Detroit Mercy. Miller's Bar is a famous burger joint in Dearborn, also on Michigan Ave, but nowheres near Corktown.

[detwahDJ]

Folks, please don't let this thread die! I'm interested in Corktown. Maybe post some pix. Things pretty slow in the wintertime?
If you don't blink you can see the Mercury bar in the latest ep of Detroit 187 with Della Reese.

[ForStarters]

Restaurateurs see growing Corktown population as solid base for business - Crain's Detroit Business - Detroit News and Information

The only way to describe Corktown's continued progress is..... Wow .

Not only is demand for housing outstripping available supply, but the wave of new businesses opening is astonishing. It's like a shining beacon of success in our region. That neighborhood is only going to continue to improve and prosper. The people at the helm are ambitious, creative, entrepreneurial, and determined. I don't even know how many different kinds of savvy those Corktowners must be, but whatever it is, they are going to reap the reward of all that effort as their businesses rise in profit and their homes continue to climb in value. They are making something out of nothing. It's the Spirit of Detroit.