 
Lmr
Member
Username: Lmr
Post Number: 2
Registered: 03-2007
| | Posted on Friday, March 23, 2007 - 10:04 am: |    |
The Fort George Drive-In was south of Eureka, more
towards Pennsylvania Road, near the old Shopper's
Fair store. There are several car dealers in that
area now. There was also the Southgate Theater,
which was an indoor theater nearby but it was newer
than the Fort George. I would guess that the
Southgate Theater was built about 1970. |
Cushkid
Member
Username: Cushkid
Post Number: 73
Registered: 08-2005
| | Posted on Friday, March 23, 2007 - 10:32 am: | |
The fort george was were the meijer is now. The Southgate theater was built in the mid 90's in the overflow parking lot for the southgate shopping center. |
Lmr
Member
Username: Lmr
Post Number: 3
Registered: 03-2007
| | Posted on Friday, March 23, 2007 - 11:40 am: | |
Cushkid
There was a Southgate Theater on Fort Street near the Fort George. It was kind of a yellow-ish (brick?) building. I moved away from Wyandotte in
1983 and both theaters were still operating at that time. I think the Meijer store is on the site of both theaters. I lived in Wyandotte from 1958 to 1983. The Southgate Theater near the Fort George wasn't there during my earlier years, it would have been at least 1968 or so when the indoor Southgate Theater was built, so it was quite a bit newer than Fort George. I saw the new Southgate Theater over by the shopping center when I was last in Wyandotte last fall. |
Cushkid
Member
Username: Cushkid
Post Number: 74
Registered: 08-2005
| | Posted on Friday, March 23, 2007 - 12:36 pm: | |
Sorry about the confusion, Im showing my age. |
Lmr
Member
Username: Lmr
Post Number: 4
Registered: 03-2007
| | Posted on Friday, March 23, 2007 - 1:27 pm: | |
Cushkid - no problem - thanks for informing me that it's Meijer that's on the site of the old theaters! I forgot that Meijer was even there, that is long
after I moved away. |
Roomseller
Member
Username: Roomseller
Post Number: 23
Registered: 03-2007
| | Posted on Monday, March 26, 2007 - 9:16 am: | |
Nothing to update just wanted to make a post to move Downriver back to the top of forum list. Melvindale High Class of 77 will be having a 30 year reunion, July 18. I have info hit me up at roomseller@yahoo.com |
Lmr
Member
Username: Lmr
Post Number: 5
Registered: 03-2007
| | Posted on Monday, March 26, 2007 - 11:04 am: | |
I missed my 30 year class reunion last year, Gabriel Richard class of 1976.
Downriver always looks so nice whenever I'm back there. My mother grew up in southwest Detroit near Woodmere cemetery and her old neighborhoods now are incredibly worse than they were even in the 1960's when I remember them as a kid. There is really not much left. It makes me feel good that Wyandotte still looks nice. I stop by our old house on 18th in Wyandotte and it looks as good as ever. |
Saintme
Member
Username: Saintme
Post Number: 35
Registered: 08-2006
| | Posted on Monday, March 26, 2007 - 12:26 pm: | |
Waxx - I believe the street you are referring to near Bishop Park is Van Alstyne.
Jqls - It's unfortunate to hear about your neighbors, but idiot neighbors certainly aren't a problem singular to Wyandotte. Just curious, but where about in Wyandotte is your rental property located, if you don't mind my asking? |
Roomseller
Member
Username: Roomseller
Post Number: 25
Registered: 03-2007
| | Posted on Monday, March 26, 2007 - 2:16 pm: | |
LMR, same, born in Delray but moved to Melvindale in 63 or 64 or so...before i was even in school. What a wonderful place it must have been back in my parent's day, post WWII through the 50s. Now most of Dearborn Ave. lookin' like Baghdad. Crying shame. Curious what you're comparing Downriver to when you stated "...always looks so nice..." Start at Dix and Oakwood and take Dix south through Lincoln Park, looks like it did back in the 60s, kind of tacky then kind of tacky now. KInd of comforting in a way though...Dix Coney Island still there cloggin' arteries since the 60s ! |
Lmr
Member
Username: Lmr
Post Number: 6
Registered: 03-2007
| | Posted on Monday, March 26, 2007 - 4:17 pm: | |
I'm mostly looking at my old neighborhood in Wyandotte (18th south of Eureka), and around my old schools, St. Joseph's in Wyandotte (now Wyandotte Catholic Consolidated) and Gabriel Richard in Riverview, and those places look about the same as I remember them growing up. Although the area on Pennsylvania Rd. is so much more built up, I remember when Pennsylvania and Allen Rd. was mostly small farms. No, the whole area was never a luxury spot by any means but it was livable and a lot of people kept their homes nice and it seems many still do.
My mother was a kid in southwest Detroit in the 1920's and 1930's. She was born on Dragoon St. but lived most of her youth on Navy and Pearl Sts. She said many times that both Fort St. and Vernor were so safe that she walked alone to the stores as a child, and she was a very petite little person. When I was a kid in the 1960's she would take me down there to visit people she knew and see her parents and grandparents graves at Woodmere. The place was kind of run down but not bad. I drove down Fort St. near Woodmere in 2001 and my jaw hit the ground, I couldn't believe what I saw. If you asked me which looked better, that or Baghdad, I'm not sure I could answer. I'll admit I don't go into Lincoln Park/Melvindale a whole lot so I don't know what those places are like as much now. |
Danny
Member
Username: Danny
Post Number: 5663
Registered: 02-2004
| | Posted on Tuesday, March 27, 2007 - 7:02 am: | |
Lmr,
The neighborhoods of Wyandotte is 10 times more prettier than Dearborn and Allen Park combined. Their alleys are so clean that you can ride your bike or jog there. |
Roomseller
Member
Username: Roomseller
Post Number: 30
Registered: 03-2007
| | Posted on Tuesday, March 27, 2007 - 12:52 pm: | |
LMR there is actually some new construction in Melvidale, it's awesome. the 800 or so Ford workers from the Norfolk assembly plant moving to the area will be quite pleased. $200K in Norfolk/VA Beach will literally buy you NOTHING. The condos along Greenfield Road are actually quite nice...I believe starting at $165 or so?
I always liked Wyandotte, heading south on Jefferson around Elizabeth park seem like they were always great neighborhoods. My previous entries mention I might have to return "home", I get up to Melvindale every other month...I have no idea where to settle...Anywayz if I move back gonna have a BIG PARTY y'all invited. |
Ndavies
Member
Username: Ndavies
Post Number: 2499
Registered: 10-2003
| | Posted on Tuesday, March 27, 2007 - 1:03 pm: | |
The area around Elizabeth park is actually Trenton not Wyandotte. Wyandotte is 2 cities and a few miles away. I believe Wyandotte ends at Pennsylvania, Riverview runs through to King RD. Trenton is south of King. |
Cushkid
Member
Username: Cushkid
Post Number: 75
Registered: 08-2005
| | Posted on Tuesday, March 27, 2007 - 1:24 pm: | |
You are correct Ndavies I live half a block away from Elizabeth park. Being that i still live at home it was my back yard during my younger years. If anyone is looking to buy a house the market in Wyandotte is really nice. Putting my offer in tomorrow. |
Tammypio
Member
Username: Tammypio
Post Number: 105
Registered: 04-2005
| | Posted on Tuesday, March 27, 2007 - 2:50 pm: | |
I live on the south end of Lincoln Park and absolutely love my neighborhood. It is the area bordered by Southgate and Allen Park. The house that we purchased about 18 months ago would have cost a lot more in any other area....and I like having more house for my money.
Granted, there are some seedy areas of Lincoln Park and Dix could look a lot better with higher end retailers. However, if one would drive into some of the areas of Lincoln Park, you would find good working people who take pride in their homes and keep them up very well. I feel very safe here and am pleased with with my neighbors...and I can't beat the easy access to the freeway. I work in Detroit and it takes me about 20 minutes to get to my school (even with dodging the Lodge!). I realize that Lincoln Park schools may not be the most desireable, but since my son is attending the school I teach at and, hopefully, U of D for high school, schools are not an issue. |
Roomseller
Member
Username: Roomseller
Post Number: 32
Registered: 03-2007
| | Posted on Saturday, April 07, 2007 - 10:41 am: | |
ALL: I been out for a while.
hey tammy i hope you didn't take my "tacky" comment on Dix through Lincoln Park as a dissss. Actually it's quite positive to see the business open, last time up i don't remember seeing a vacant building along dix. I grew up in melvindale and i used to ride my bike to the dragstrip (is it even still there?) and make a few bucks sweeping under the bleachers. at the time i could tell you each and every shop along the way...something comforting about seeing the old neighborhood still looking the same. |
Tammypio
Member
Username: Tammypio
Post Number: 110
Registered: 04-2005
| | Posted on Saturday, April 07, 2007 - 10:56 am: | |
Nah...not just that comment Roomseller. It was kind of a response to many people who diss Downriver in general (many whom have never spent any real time here!). Being that you're "homegrown", I'm sure you know we don't really deserve the reputation.
Dix does need some upkeep. They just tore down the old Jelly Donut and Ponderosa buildings on Emmons and Dix. I am hoping some nice looking business will build there.
I'm not originally from Downriver (grew up in Hamtramck) but when I moved down to Flat Rock about 15 years ago, I discovered that downriver was a pretty cool area to live in and decided to stay here.
Making the move to Lincoln Park was our choice to be closer to work and worship (I go to St. Matt's on the east side) and it is a choice I doubt I will ever regret.
I love Detroit..which is why I come to this forum. Just a bit tired of people generally dissing the whole area...and what better thread to express my feelings than a "downriver forum". |
Plymouthres
Member
Username: Plymouthres
Post Number: 48
Registered: 02-2007
| | Posted on Saturday, April 07, 2007 - 12:08 pm: | |
Tammypio-
You are correct to "defend" your turf. However, Roomseller is correct, too. Read back through ALL of these replies, from start to finish. All of us that grew up in the area point out the good and bad-don't take it so hard!!! Honesty is a way to healing.....
If you had lived around there in it's heyday(70's and 80's), you would know what we were talking about when we say there is some desolation ocurring in the Lincoln Park, Melvindale and even the Allen Park area. What was once a thriving area when we were kids is now going through a tough time. Oakwood in Melvindale is a great example of what I mean. The Johnston Company building (heating and air cond place), the former Mcdonalds, and the Farmer Jacks building are examples of what I mean there. At the end of Oakwood, at the Schafer intersection, Swansons, a resturant that existed there for years, closed down and will never be again. Allen Road thru AP proper and Southfield from Sears north to Allen Road has been trying to re-invent itself for a few years. It is slowly making a comeback. Fort and Southfield area has a way to go yet, and going further, after Johnny's Nursery closed down on Dix a few years ago, the only bright spot there was the Atlantis Lounge(just kidding!!)
The new bright spots are the four-corner development in Melvindale, the condos on Greenfield, the new school that was built behind Strong, the football field where Dasher once stood, the church that has been built in the former KMart on OD and the High School baseball field are all examples of shiny new directions Melvindale is going in, just to name a few.
AP is re-developing the business that have left and is filling those holes back up as Seanharper and Tayshaun have said.Look at the new shopping mall and stores at the corner of OD and Southfield. This is another great example of positive reuse! In a BIG way!!
Lp is going to make a comeback, too!! The depressive economy will go away eventually, and these areas provide affordable housing and a comfortable place to raise your kids at slightly lower prices than the other neighboring cities.
Your "love" of Detroit and it's environs will be one of the reasons that these areas will come back. It is the people, not the cities or their governments, that will bring it back. You have made a start by being positive about your city. THAT is where it all begins, with just one person. I personally know many who think like you, so together you can and will make a difference. Sing loudly about the good and that will help drown out the bad, guaranteed!! I wish you all the luck in the world!!! The Downriver area needs more people like you who care about where they live and are willing to do something about it!! |
Roomseller
Member
Username: Roomseller
Post Number: 34
Registered: 03-2007
| | Posted on Tuesday, April 10, 2007 - 8:40 am: | |
Hey I left work early yesterday because the Tigers - Orioles game was on TV here. (Virginia Beach). How homey is that??? |
Danny
Member
Username: Danny
Post Number: 5776
Registered: 02-2004
| | Posted on Tuesday, April 10, 2007 - 8:54 am: | |
Roomseller,
There are some vacant businesses on Dix road from Southgate border to Melvindale, but not abandon buildings. The Sears Dept. store building are eventually gobbled up most of mom and pop stores there. Businesses on the Melvindale side of Dix road are worst than ever.Other business on Dix road from Southfield Rd. to I-75 is called Lincoln Park's RESTAURANT ROW. Where you see more fast food restaurants each block. |
Roomseller
Member
Username: Roomseller
Post Number: 36
Registered: 03-2007
| | Posted on Tuesday, April 10, 2007 - 9:28 am: | |
Danny I seen the vacant buildings, sometimes it seems that one business just moves to another building, the more things change, the more things stay the same. I always try to be optimistic. I've stated it before, if it wasn't for the lousy winters and crumbling roads I'd move back today. Maybe I'll live long enough to see the climate change make Michigan winters more like here in Virginia Beach... |
Roomseller
Member
Username: Roomseller
Post Number: 37
Registered: 03-2007
| | Posted on Friday, April 13, 2007 - 7:51 pm: | |
not much to post, mom is probably in rehab another 4 weeks, so i'm up in may sometime...WILL catch a ballgame, hockey game, and lose my limit at MGM. Eat my fill of some coney islands, check out some downtown lofts too. (ain't buying just looking...) |
Plymouthres
Member
Username: Plymouthres
Post Number: 96
Registered: 02-2007
| | Posted on Friday, April 13, 2007 - 9:24 pm: | |
Roomseller-
I graduated Melvindale in '78! You chased the girls in my grade, huh?!!! No wonder we could never get near them!! As I went to the last reunion, I could catch you up on what I know of what happened to most of them! I apologize for not having said hello before this.
That being said, when you get up here, let me know and we'll go for some rib-ka-bobs!!! Hope your mom recoups quickly and I look forward to making your acquaintance, but I think we probably do know each other already!! Maybe FredG will grace us with his presence, too!! I could probably point out a few changes to the positive that you would really like and might have missed cause your not always "here".
Also, I have ben involved in restoring some of the structures at Fort Wayne recently and since there is an event planned that weekend there, thought you might be interested in a tour that only those of us on the "inside" could provide. Again, post in the "Connect" section of the board or shoot me an email @ bcjaxson@comcast.net if you would like to hook-up! |
Fredgarvin
Member
Username: Fredgarvin
Post Number: 40
Registered: 02-2007
| | Posted on Saturday, April 14, 2007 - 7:23 pm: | |
Wow! FredGarvin, Roomseller, and Plymouthres in the same place at the same time! Will downriver ever be the same? About the only thing we would be able to talk about would be what type of PC we each have....lol. I'm sure we all know each other, we just don't know it. |
Rfban
Member
Username: Rfban
Post Number: 60
Registered: 02-2004
| | Posted on Friday, April 20, 2007 - 9:27 am: | |
Don't Forget Rfban; Cicotte, Allen Park 1980-1996. Good times. BTW I heard they are going to tear down MEAD my elementary school, is this true? |
Plymouthres
Member
Username: Plymouthres
Post Number: 99
Registered: 02-2007
| | Posted on Saturday, April 21, 2007 - 10:41 pm: | |
Rfban-
You are not forgotten!!-Mead, however, along with Evans and Palmer are now just memories. They have all been torn-down in favor of a brand spanking new multi-elementary school on the baseball field that you formerly knew as O'niel Field (adjacent to and behind Strong). Gotta make way for progress!!! |
Lmr
Member
Username: Lmr
Post Number: 16
Registered: 03-2007
| | Posted on Monday, April 30, 2007 - 12:50 pm: | |
Does anyone know what they are using the old James Madison Elementary School and Lincoln Junior High in Wyandotte for now? I went to Madison for kindergarten. I went past Madison last fall and it
looked pretty quiet on a weekday. I know about 25-30 years ago those schools were being used as training schools for the disabled (after they were discontinued as regular schools), is that still the case? I assume Monroe is still an elementary school? |
Saintme
Member
Username: Saintme
Post Number: 39
Registered: 08-2006
| | Posted on Tuesday, May 01, 2007 - 5:17 pm: | |
Madison/Downriver Trainable Regional Center (Madison Elementary), The Lincoln Center (Lincoln Jr. High), and the Josephine Brighton Work Skills Center are all schools which currently serve those with special needs and learning disabilities.
Monroe is still indeed an elementary school. |
Roomseller
Member
Username: Roomseller
Post Number: 42
Registered: 03-2007
| | Posted on Saturday, May 05, 2007 - 8:31 am: | |
Hey all, as of Wednesday I'm unemployed. "...to seek other opportunities..." haha. Boss pissed me off so I quit. Make a list of your job's Pros and Cons, it's scary. Work is so over-rated. I'll be in Melvindale for a few weeks, starting the 10th. He goes my WhiteCastleConeyIslandLosemyLi mitattheCasinos every two month visit to Detroit...flying this time. Got a free upgrade from Avis. Maybe a Grand Marquis or a Crown Vic. Treat my mom to something nice on Mother's Day instead of the usual card, flowers and a phone call. Maybe a little job hunting thrown in...sell my luxurious 1400 sq. ft. ranch home in Va Beach and move back north. I read the book, it did take very long LOL. (Joke, it was a short book). Mid-life crisis, it's real. |
Stinger4me
Member
Username: Stinger4me
Post Number: 16
Registered: 08-2007
| | Posted on Saturday, August 25, 2007 - 6:52 pm: | |
How many high schools were there in Wyandotte in the 50's? I think there was Our Lady of Mt. Carmel but don't remember any others.
Whatever happened to the Penn Salt Co.?
Was there a bar with entertainment called the Pier 500? |
Roomseller
Member
Username: Roomseller
Post Number: 43
Registered: 03-2007
| | Posted on Friday, September 21, 2007 - 8:38 pm: | |
anyone posting anymore? i been away....back and will be checking daily. |
Pmatylonek
Member
Username: Pmatylonek
Post Number: 2
Registered: 10-2007
| | Posted on Sunday, October 07, 2007 - 12:51 am: | |
Calling Tammy Hughes! |
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