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Old 01-30-2015, 10:09 PM
 
2,990 posts, read 5,251,232 times
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What are a few of your favorite Detroit memories growing up? Here are a few of mine:

1. Watching our team play MLK high in football; we were always about even.

2. Seeing shows at Music Hall

3. Hanging out at the Kronk

4. Going to all the cultural institutions and sporting events

5. Seeing all the great architecture in Indian Village, Boston Edison and beyond

6. Seeing all the places my Mom, Grandma, Grandpa and other family members lived
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Old 01-31-2015, 04:08 AM
 
Location: Detroit
3,671 posts, read 5,854,911 times
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I can think of a few right now:
1. Skating at Northland Skating Rink
2. Chilling at Fairlane mall, most of us dudes were there just for the girls
3. Belle Isle BBQ's, family reunions, ect.
4. Packed, and I mean PACKED high school parties
5. How could I not put food in the top 5? Deserves to be higher actually, but oh well
6. WJLB (97.9), I used to love CoCo, Foolish, and Mr. Chase in the morning. Hop Hip Hop Detroit (now on 107.5) now Foolish is on this station's morning show now. There was/is nothing like riding around the city listening to these stations, especially when they are doing mixes. If the gas prices keep falling, those days may be coming back lol. My dad used to be a DJ and would always get his new stuff from here as well.
7. Seeing random events on the streets, I guess you can say I kind of like the action, very entertaining, without all the damn shootings and sh*t of course.
8. Going to events such as the ones downtown or block parties or church events, ect.

I'll stop here for now.

Back when I was little, I felt like Detroit was the center of the universe, all I wanted to do when I grew up was build my empire in the city and give everybody opportunities. What I wouldn't give to have that feeling back.
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Old 01-31-2015, 06:22 PM
 
Location: Las Vegas area
263 posts, read 436,110 times
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From my childhood (late '60s/early '70s, living in Grosse Pointe):

Going to the Detroit Boat Club with my family on the Summer weekends.

While headed to/from the Detroit Boat Club, seeing all the black families on Belle Isle wearing
matching family reunion t-shirts.

Touring the Vernor's plant on Woodward Ave

Seeing steam rising from the sewers grates on W Jefferson Ave.

Seeing all the wig shops, with crazy colored wigs & afros.

Driving down ?? (Woodward?) & giggling at all the go-go bars we'd pass.

My parents pointing out the houses they grew-up in during the 1940s & 50s until they
went away to college & their parents did the standard white-flight move to the suburbs. We stopped going by the houses once they were really looking bad...

Spending an afternoon with the elementary school class my mom taught & feeling a boy's afro as he felt my boring white-boy hair -- mutual curiosity & amazement in a day & city where older people had racial tensions.

Visiting the ArtTrain at Michigan Central Terminal


From my teens (late 70s/early 1980s, living in Birmingham):

Wondering what Mayor Coleman Young would say or do next.

Driving down Woodward Avenue on a weekend night & looking at all the hookers.

Getting to go on a 'ride-along with a DPD 3rd Precinct Patrol Vehicle (albeit assigned to school safety detail, for my own safety) because my family knew the Precinct Commander & getting a full, up-close & personal tour of the old, very creepy right-out of a horror movie Wayne County Morgue & briefly being locked in the small walk-in freezer between two bodies, with the light turned off, getting to drive the cruiser briefly, and after being dispatched to a school where a vial of some strange substance was found on a student, matter of factly explaining to the officers & principal what "Spanish Fly" was & that it probably wasn't really illegal.

Late night drives to Dutch Girl Donuts & eating 5 of the donuts within the first 30 minutes.

Taking the Amtrak Train from the Birmingham station to the downtown Detroit station, walking to the nearby Renaissance Center & playing games in the video arcade there, having lunch at Burger King or Olga's Cafe, wandering around the RenCen getting into trouble, then catching the train back to Birmingham around 5PM.

Driving to Detroit with friends to buy beer out of the (correct) belief that my marginal fake ID would work better at some Chaldean-owned party store in Detroit vs the suburbs.


From my college days (early/mid 1980s at EMU then UofM)
:

Wondering what Mayor Coleman Young, "Ayatollah of Detroit' would say or do next & memorizing some of his infamous lines from the "The Quotations of Mayor Coleman A Young" book that I happily bought.

Dorm parties listening to The Electrifying Mojo coming from Detroit's WJLB.

Going to 'Clubland' -- a nightclub inside Detroit's Fox Theater before it was fully restored -- with college friends, then heading to Mexicantown or at least American/Lafayette Coney Island & having fun watching the plainclothes DPD officers, drunk college kids, & Detroiters all minding their own business (unless my friends were too afraid to spend more time in Detroit).


From 1997-2002, when I lived at Riverfront Towers apartments, along the Detroit River, next to Joe Louis Arena):

Revisiting the Michigan Central Terminal building, where I'd last been in the late 1970s to see the ArtTrain with my mom, and observing how severely some things can change over the years.

SCUBA diving in the Detroit River just off shore from a longtime park, & finding a Coke bottle dating back to 1931 resting just a couple feet off shore -- my grandparents could have tossed that in the river on their first date...

Being bothered that I --and so many others-- would have such a wonderful time driving around touring the ruins of Detroit.

Seeing the bleachers at Tiger Stadium, from my 23rd floor apartment living room window.

Getting some of my suburban friends to come down & visit me & for them to be surprised that they could have a fun, relatively safe time in both the touristy and non-tourist areas of Detroit -- PeopleMover to GreekTown, walk thru Hart Plaza back to my place, drive thru Heidelberg Project & other ghettos, onto & around Belle Isle (*not* on a Summer weekend night though!).

Meeting Rosa Parks while out walking my dogs in my apartment complex. She clearly had Alzheimer's, but I hugged her & thanked her anyway.

Seeing more than one dead body in the Detroit River from my living room window.

Looking down out my living room window and seeing a USCG helicopter go by over the Detroit River. On a few other occasions, US Navy frigates would pass by (Great Lakes PR cruises), maybe 600' away from me.

Shooting paintballs out my living room window at the damned Diamond Jack Detroit River cruise boats that would go by what they knew was a large apartment complex after midnight, blaring rap music on I guess what were party charters. -- if you're close enough for my paintballs to hit, you're way too close to go by with the music up so loud, muthafukas!

Seeing all the efforts to hide the blight in the downtown area (sprucing-up a few long-abandoned buildings to make them look they there were active) starting in 2001/2002 so that visitors in Detroit during the 2006 Super Bowl would have a better (but false) impression of the city, and hearing city leadership talking about the 2006 Super Bowl in Detroit as-if it was going to magically save the city from the acute, chronic woes.

Walking around in some 'sketchy' areas, operating with the belief that "the best defense is a strong offense," so when I'd see some punks sizing me up, I'd throw them off their gain by deliberately walking towards them with a grin on my face, making them think I was either a heavily armed cop on decoy duty, or I was heavily crazy but in either case, they left me alone.
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Old 01-31-2015, 06:56 PM
 
1,636 posts, read 2,129,254 times
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Boblo!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
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Old 01-31-2015, 07:22 PM
 
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Definitely Boblo boat and park.

Also, the Belle Isle Aquarium, Greenhouse, pony carts, trails and seeing the deer, the Boat Club, and the hydroplane races.

Hiking and riding around Palmer Park.

Neighborhood parks and corner stores.

Ice skating at the parks and schools where they had it.

The downtown library.

The Wonder Bread and Vernor's factory tours.

And from a bit outside of town:

Greenfield Village and Kensington Park.
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Old 01-31-2015, 08:44 PM
 
10,105 posts, read 19,329,811 times
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Lots of good childhood memories, too numerous to mention!

But,as time went on, that feeling in my gut, that constant knot, that I was not safe. Call it what you want, racism, white flight, whatever........

having someone watch you if you went out to your car at night.

having family wait for you when you came home from work

constantly looking at my watch to get home before dark

avoiding entertainment options in downtown area

going the long way to work to avoid dangerous areas

not going out after dark for anything! If we ran out of TP, cat food, whatever, we toughed it out

my father carrying a gun to work

me varying my routines just so someone didn't have a handle on my schedule

I moved from Detroit to Texas, and immediately felt better. Of course, crime happens here, we lock our doors, have ADT, keep a loaded gun.....but I've lost that knot of constant, low-grade fear
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Old 02-02-2015, 08:29 PM
 
2,990 posts, read 5,251,232 times
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Quote:
Originally Posted by Republic of Michigan View Post
Boblo!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
Too bad about Boblo. A few years ago the papers did a story on where the boats are now. I can't remember but at least one if them was still around.
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Old 02-04-2015, 02:58 PM
 
2,331 posts, read 2,906,639 times
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Quote:
Originally Posted by jonnynonos View Post
Too bad about Boblo. A few years ago the papers did a story on where the boats are now. I can't remember but at least one if them was still around.
Wikipedia says the park is in Canada??? What caused its demise?

The boat terminal is in a terrible shape these days but it provides some fascinating pictures. The boats don't look too good either.
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Old 02-04-2015, 04:48 PM
 
Location: Grand Rapids Metro
8,882 posts, read 19,793,803 times
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Going to the Detroit Zoo and riding the fast train as a kid

Going to Greenfield Village and Henry Ford on field trips as a kid

Going over to Canada to go to the strip clubs while in college (could drink at 18).

Seeing concerts at St Andrews Hall

Going to house parties near my brother's off campus housing while he was at UofD

That girl I dated in college who went to Regina in Warren, all girls Catholic School.
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Old 02-04-2015, 05:28 PM
 
Location: North of Canada, but not the Arctic
21,018 posts, read 19,475,265 times
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Info on Bob-lp and many other attractions: Bob-Lo Island - Amherstburg ON
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