 
Resurget_cineribus
Member
Username: Resurget_cineribus
Post Number: 13
Registered: 10-2006
| | Posted on Sunday, October 21, 2007 - 8:43 pm: |    |
Just thinking if you had to classify 7 things in Detroit as wonders or things of great beauty or masterful engineering what would they be?
Here's my list.
1. The Fox Theater Interior
2. View from Coach Insignia
3. The Detroit Institute of Arts
4. Ingenuity of Detroit's Water and Sewage System
5. Michigan Grand Central Station
6. Scott's Fountain
7. The Fisher Building |
Bussey
Member
Username: Bussey
Post Number: 606
Registered: 12-2003
| | Posted on Sunday, October 21, 2007 - 8:54 pm: | |
Lobby of Guardian Building. |
Irish_mafia
Member
Username: Irish_mafia
Post Number: 1075
Registered: 10-2003
| | Posted on Sunday, October 21, 2007 - 9:12 pm: | |
Start with the things that are firsts:
1. The oldest yachting organization in the Americas: THe Detroit Boat Club
2. The oldest rowing club in the world: The Detroit Boat Club Crew
3. The oldest freshwater aquarium in the United States: The Belle Isle Aquarium
4. The oldest motor sports race in the world: The Detroit Gold Cup Races
It goes on and on guys...don't get bogged down in the image of the moment of you want to speak of the "wonders" of Detroit. |
Ghetto_butterfly
Member
Username: Ghetto_butterfly
Post Number: 767
Registered: 09-2004
| | Posted on Sunday, October 21, 2007 - 9:21 pm: | |
The cobblestone part of West Canfield |
Dodgemain
Member
Username: Dodgemain
Post Number: 178
Registered: 04-2005
| | Posted on Sunday, October 21, 2007 - 9:24 pm: | |
Stevie "Wonder" |
Smogboy
Member
Username: Smogboy
Post Number: 6165
Registered: 11-2004
| | Posted on Sunday, October 21, 2007 - 9:34 pm: | |
Great Beauty being criteria?
Hmmm.... right off the top of my head (in no particular order and obviously more than seven) are:
Fox Theater lobby
Guardian Building lobby
Detroit Institute of Arts' Diego Rivera mural
The grounds at Cranbrook
The sunset from Belle Isle
Campus Martius during Winter Blast
The Josephine Ford Sculpture Garden at CCS
The skies over the Detroit River for the fireworks
The view of Detroit from Windsor |
Carptrash
Member
Username: Carptrash
Post Number: 1470
Registered: 10-2003
| | Posted on Sunday, October 21, 2007 - 10:12 pm: | |
Guardian Building - inside and out
Ambassador Bridge
Tiger Stadium (get it while you can)
Masonic Temple
Civil War Monument
Shrine of the Little Flower (are we talking greater Detroit - if not then sub St. Al)
Diego Rivera murals
They are placed in psychological order. |
Lilpup
Member
Username: Lilpup
Post Number: 2969
Registered: 06-2004
| | Posted on Sunday, October 21, 2007 - 10:12 pm: | |
wonders OR of great beauty OR masterful engineering
The DIA, esp. the frescos
The Detroit-Windsor Tunnel
The Ambassador Bridge (world's longest suspension at the time it opened)
Music Hall (acoustics second only to Orchestra Hall (not counting UA) and great sight lines)
The current Renaissance Center as seen from the Riverwalk (the Wintergarden makes it)
Belle Isle
The river and all it entails |
Dannyv
Member
Username: Dannyv
Post Number: 29
Registered: 08-2007
| | Posted on Sunday, October 21, 2007 - 10:43 pm: | |
Right on carptrash |
Crystal
Member
Username: Crystal
Post Number: 42
Registered: 05-2007
| | Posted on Sunday, October 21, 2007 - 10:44 pm: | |
Historic Fort Wayne, especially the fort walls and the limestone barracks |
Ptero
Member
Username: Ptero
Post Number: 141
Registered: 12-2005
| | Posted on Monday, October 22, 2007 - 2:00 am: | |
Ghetto_butterfly wrote:
The cobblestone part of West Canfield.
Tongue in cheek? Canfield was a plain old paved street until they installed the cobblestone in the 1980's... after the city finally padlocked the hooker bars around the corner on Third. There was a wonder: Anderson's Gardens. |
Lifeinmontage
Member
Username: Lifeinmontage
Post Number: 8
Registered: 10-2007
| | Posted on Monday, October 22, 2007 - 3:10 am: | |
Detroit Athletic Club, anyone? |
Resurget_cineribus
Member
Username: Resurget_cineribus
Post Number: 14
Registered: 10-2006
| | Posted on Monday, October 22, 2007 - 7:15 am: | |
Lifeinmontage, the D.A.C. is a good choice. Walking thru the halls sort of reminds me of the White House. |
Mallory
Member
Username: Mallory
Post Number: 205
Registered: 05-2006
| | Posted on Monday, October 22, 2007 - 9:50 am: | |
Despite the bad rep viewed by the rest of the world, the pride of the people that call it their hometown. |
Karl_jr
Member
Username: Karl_jr
Post Number: 139
Registered: 06-2007
| | Posted on Monday, October 22, 2007 - 11:16 am: | |
I miss andersons gardens |
Spacemonkey
Member
Username: Spacemonkey
Post Number: 242
Registered: 03-2006
| | Posted on Monday, October 22, 2007 - 11:19 am: | |
City Club |
Rb336
Member
Username: Rb336
Post Number: 3058
Registered: 02-2007
| | Posted on Monday, October 22, 2007 - 11:38 am: | |
what was Anderson's Gardens? |
Rb336
Member
Username: Rb336
Post Number: 3059
Registered: 02-2007
| | Posted on Monday, October 22, 2007 - 11:39 am: | |
as hideous and ugly as it is -- the rouge complex certainly counts as a wonder |
Ptero
Member
Username: Ptero
Post Number: 142
Registered: 12-2005
| | Posted on Monday, October 22, 2007 - 12:13 pm: | |
Anderson's was a hooker bar on Third just South of Canfield. The city finally closed it partly due to community pressure from the Canfield Historic Association (that's probably not quite the proper name for them) which was (is?) made up of the homeowners along that block. |
Skamour14
Member
Username: Skamour14
Post Number: 106
Registered: 03-2005
| | Posted on Monday, October 22, 2007 - 1:18 pm: | |
my only question is... how did/do you know it used to be a hooker bar?? Did you ever tag up the hookers??? For someone to know these things, you seemed very interested in the hooker. I live on marlboro and chalmers, come visit the block and well hook(er) you up!•• |
Plymouthres
Member
Username: Plymouthres
Post Number: 230
Registered: 02-2007
| | Posted on Monday, October 22, 2007 - 1:26 pm: | |
Not to threadjack, but Anderson's was one of the more famous "hooker" bars in the day. Vice would raid that place just about every other day, and I remember when I first started working for EMS (late 70's) that place was also a great place to get first aid practice as it seemed we were always being called in and around there to fix someone up!!
Karl_jr shows his age here!•• |
Ptero
Member
Username: Ptero
Post Number: 143
Registered: 12-2005
| | Posted on Monday, October 22, 2007 - 1:39 pm: | |
har. I never inhaled!
I lived on Canfield while at Wayne - mid 70's. We used to go into Anderson's to play the shuffleboard table and people watch. "No thanks, I'm not looking for a date."
When an undercover cop was shot there (not killed) the heat was on and we didn't go back. I was home when that happened and the police cars and copters were all over trying to find the bad guy who was loose in the neighborhood.
I also saw a lot of "couples" walking up and down Canfield... |
Lansingfire
Member
Username: Lansingfire
Post Number: 40
Registered: 07-2007
| | Posted on Monday, October 22, 2007 - 2:48 pm: | |
1. The people. Have never meet a group of people more proud of their city.
2. Woodward Ave.
3. The fact that people are trying to save the old buildings instead of tearing them down.
4. Eastern Market
5. Worlds Largest Tire.
6. Unmistakable skyline (no others like it)
7. The fact that King Kwame still isn't in jail. |
Jjw
Member
Username: Jjw
Post Number: 491
Registered: 10-2005
| | Posted on Monday, October 22, 2007 - 4:09 pm: | |
1. The Ford Assembly Line and all that it entails.
2. The Diego Rivera mural at the DIA.
3. Belle Isle (regardless of the pad).
4. The original Hudsons on Woodward.
5. The Guardian Building details.
6. That big dumb tire on the freeway.
7. Berry Gordy and the Motown Sound's rise and historic breakthrough.
While I thought about this, I am sure that there are or were many industrial facilities that created "firsts" for Detroit. I just couldn't think of any. |
Softailrider
Member
Username: Softailrider
Post Number: 76
Registered: 02-2007
| | Posted on Monday, October 22, 2007 - 8:31 pm: | |
When you mention Andersons Garden you really should also bring up the Willis Show Bar . They kind of went hand in hand . |
Ptero
Member
Username: Ptero
Post Number: 146
Registered: 12-2005
| | Posted on Monday, October 22, 2007 - 8:37 pm: | |
Ahhh that was it. Thanks Softailrider. I knew there was a second one but could not come up with the name. Quite a pair. |
Gazhekwe
Member
Username: Gazhekwe
Post Number: 845
Registered: 08-2007
| | Posted on Monday, October 22, 2007 - 8:43 pm: | |
And the Gold Dollar.
Let's see, seven wonders. I agree with many here. My choices in no particular order and all in Detroit proper are:
Belle Isle
Masonic Temple
Penobscot Building's Penobscot art
Eastern Market
DIA
Detroit Symphony
WDET |
Whithorn11446
Member
Username: Whithorn11446
Post Number: 158
Registered: 03-2007
| | Posted on Tuesday, October 23, 2007 - 4:37 am: | |
Also the Roxy Bar.
I guess my choices for the "7 Wonders" of Detroit include:
Masonic Temple
Sweetest Heart of Mary Church
Fisher Building
the departed Olympia Stadium
the departed Stroh Brewery
The Book or Sheraton Cadillac Hotel
The Fisher Mansion on Lenox |
Tponetom
Member
Username: Tponetom
Post Number: 160
Registered: 06-2007
| | Posted on Wednesday, October 24, 2007 - 5:57 pm: | |
My nominee for: 'Wonder.'
1939: "SWEETHEART BAR," Detroit's earliest known lesbian bar, opens on Third Avenue.
Source: Roey Thorpe, "The Changing Face of Lesbian Bars in Detroit, 1938-1965," in Creating a Place for Ourselves: Lesbian, Gay, and Bisexual Community Histories, ed. Brett Beemyn (New York: Routledge, 1997), pp. 165-181.
Do any of you youngsters know if the "Sweetheart" is still operating?
It was the number ONE "Wonder" of the forties in downtown Detroit.
(In those days, Downtown Detroit extended north to Six Mile.)
It had wall to wall, hour after hour music, dancing and just down right outrageous (but always fun) entertainment. Very titilatting.
The clientele was a potpourri of all the Detroiter's.
Slumming was a code word among the 'straights' but it was packed to the gills night after night. |