  Neilr Member Username: Neilr Post Number: 635 Registered: 06-2005 |
Civilprotectionunit4346, have you looked in the Canfield Historic District? | ||
French777 Member Username: French777 Post Number: 306 Registered: 10-2006 |
One benefit of living in Detroit is... Mostly Democrats!••• Rochester has too many snobs! | ||
Civilprotectionunit4346 Member Username: Civilprotectionunit4346 Post Number: 609 Registered: 06-2007 |
Never looked into the Canfield Historic District. Can you post a link here? Speaking of Victorian homes. My girl took me by the Town of St Louis here in MI. She told me about the whole story about how the factory there messed up the lake/river there & about how the chemicals from the plant got mixed into the cattle feed(yeah they did cattle feed at the same plant they made a fire retardent chemical). Ive also been to Romeo & saw the homes out there. | ||
Neilr Member Username: Neilr Post Number: 636 Registered: 06-2005 |
Civilprotectionunit4346, the West Canfield Historic District is the cobble-stoned block of Canfield between 2nd and 3rd, just west of the Traffic Jam. It's Detroit's first historic district. The first link (not my picture) shows the first house on the south side of the street. IIRC, this house has an early link to the Kresge family. For many years it was restored and lived in by Buelah Groen, whom many consider the founder of the preservation movement here in Detroit. http://picasaweb.google.com/an gelariel65/AroundTheD/photo#51 40283923470147314 http://www.detroit1701.org/Wes t%20Canfield_Hist.htm | ||
Crumbled_pavement Member Username: Crumbled_pavement Post Number: 108 Registered: 08-2007 |
321brian said: "If Detroit put out a good product i.e. safe neighborhoods, cleanliness, good schools, reasonable taxes,...... then maybe people would have more of a reason to move back other than hope. If you make it better more people will move in than move out. There is no reason residents of Detroit can't even pick up after themselves. At least make a little effort to make your home look better." So are you saying NO DETROITERS pick up after themselves or keep their homes? This was the reason for my initial post. People on my block do take care of their homes and even help to take care of some vacant homes as well. The problem is that you didn't suggest to French777 to also look at other areas and not just Detroit, but you made it seem as if Detroit was the worst place in the world he could possibly live. What's wrong with bringing another home owner to Detroit that will take care of their home, VOTE, and set a positive example? I don't really care if French777 moves to Detroit or Birmingham. The point of my rant is if he said he was moving to Birmingham I wouldn't have jumped online to post a rant about how horrible it is there. Let the man live where he wants. Detroit needs more productive, talented, educated, hard-working people and I would never try to dissuade them from moving here. P.S.: People live their lives too "black and white" and think that if you're not constantly bashing Detroit and saying it's a shithole then you're saying it's a paradise. There is something in between a shithole and a paradise...just thought I'd let you know | ||
Cub Member Username: Cub Post Number: 110 Registered: 02-2007 |
Thanks for educating me Swingline. I was really hoping i was wrong. | ||
Boshna Member Username: Boshna Post Number: 195 Registered: 01-2005 |
321 don't be so quick to judge. one of the critical components of the eventual turnaround of Detroit will be the influx of young people, many of whom find the city to be the only place in this region that truly has the culture and character to make staying in southeast Michigan worth it. Perhaps my story of growing up in suburbia and moving to the city will elucidate this for you. I'm 21. I grew up in Rochester and attended school there. It's a beautiful town. There really wasn't much to do though, except go to the bowling alley, wander around the beautiful city parks, or do drugs. For high school, my parents and I decided that U of D High in the city would be the best place for me. Many of my (and my parents') friends said that this would be a dangerous decision. Putting a kid at such risk was foolish, they said. One of my friends bade me farewell from middle school with a wry "good luck not getting shot." I was terrified of the city in my first months at U of D. I never ventured outside of the school grounds. Thanks to upperclassmen, I began to discover the great food, art, theatre, architecture, music and history that the city has to offer. I began to feel the city calling me, inviting me to get to know her. After school, I would spend hours driving around the west side neighborhoods and felt more and more intrigued with each mile. I decided that I could give Detroit, a place alive with change and culture, a fair shot. After years of consideration, I bought a vacant two story brick colonial in east english village. I got it for pennies on the dollar. I put some money into renovations and love the way my home looks and feels. Just under a year has gone by and I can admit I've had a few troubles. Dealing with the water department has not always been easy. A 70 year old storm door was stolen off the front of my house one summer evening. The day I moved in, my neighbor's car had its wheels stolen. I've heard gunshots three times. The dogs across the street bark in the morning. A possum has taken up residence in my garage. Beyond this, I have had the best experience I could have hoped for. My neighbors have welcomed me with friendly, open arms. My block is filled with clean, well-maintained two story colonials. I have the only lawn on my side of the street that doesn't always have a crisp grass edge along the sidewalk. It gives me great pride to spend summer Saturday mornings out in the yard and see most of my neighbors hard at work on their properties. Nobody on my block is rich. Some of my neighbors work in postal administration; others are bankers. The best-maintained homes are owned by a musician, a postal employee and a retired UAW factory worker. The neighborhood association meetings are crowded with passionate, active people who take great pride in this community. I can't really relate to all of the complaining about lack of retail on this forum. I can walk to a good, full service Spartan grocery store on Harper. I can easily bike to my bank, an independent hardware store, an old-time family grocer on Mack and several moderately-well-maintained city parks. I know all of the waitresses and have met several neighbors at Louie's on Harper. It's awesome to be able to walk down the street and have three fast food restaurants, bars, a post office, a clean, safe Rite-Aid and a 1950's hamburger joint within footsteps. A world-class market, Eastern Market, offering more variety than anything in Rochester, sits a mere 8 minutes from my driveway. When I do need to go to a mall, Eastland is 5 minutes away and Partridge Creek is 20 minutes away. This is no less convenient than shopping in Rochester. My trash is collected on time. During my house renovations, I was able to take up to 1/2 ton per day to the city dump down by the incinerator. The city repaved my street last summer. The city cut down all of the dead ash trees on my block. In partnership with Greening of Detroit, the city has replaced many of the trees removed with a high-quality, diverse stock of trees. The city lowered my taxes by about a third through the NEZ. I have seen uniformed DPD officers walking the beat on Harper and on my block at least ten times. For three dollars, I can spend all day at a beautiful new wave pool and water park in Chandler Park. Minutes away from my house are the gems of the Detroit cultural center, the nightlife around Wayne State and downtown, and the beautiful Campus Martius and Riverwalk parks. The Detroit Public Library contains several books I've needed which the University of Michigan library system has not had. After a night of great fun and music at Baker's or at one of the clubs downtown, I can take a cab for a quick and relatively cheap ride home. Frankly, I came into Detroit as a naive high school freshman, pumped full of hype and fear of the city. As I have grown, I've come to know the city for what it is: culturally vibrant, walkable, diverse, dangerous, depressed, brimming with history, corrupt, mysterious. I stare in awe as I discover a new enclave of historical homes along the river. I spend nights out of town trying to quell a slight nagging fear of home burglary. Detroit is an enigmatic paradox of good and bad. But I love this city. The bad is certainly bad. And it could get worse; who knows? Nonetheless, I was right about the good. The best part: With each day, with every new discovery I make here, I feel more and more right. | ||
Raggedclaws Member Username: Raggedclaws Post Number: 118 Registered: 08-2006 |
How does a family with school-age children wishing to relocate to Detroit-without having to send their children to Waldorf or some other private school-do just that ? Or are all you "hopefuls" advocating for Detroit Public Schools ? Can't change what you don't acknowledge, hopefuls. | ||
El_jimbo Member Username: El_jimbo Post Number: 506 Registered: 12-2006 |
Raggedclaws, DPS is a mixed bag. There are a lot of bad schools, but there are also some VERY good schools. | ||
Gazhekwe Member Username: Gazhekwe Post Number: 1310 Registered: 08-2007 |
Great post, Boshna! Thanks so much.  | ||
Fnemecek Member Username: Fnemecek Post Number: 2699 Registered: 12-2004 |
Amen! Excellent post, Boshna. | ||
Charlottepaul Member Username: Charlottepaul Post Number: 2229 Registered: 10-2006 |
Boshna, I think that that is the best post that I have ever seen on DetroitYES since I joined! Perfect. | ||
Craig Member Username: Craig Post Number: 629 Registered: 02-2007 |
Bosh & Ragged are both correct: pockets of happiness and liveability can be found, and woe to the children of pioneers who are entrusted to DPS. It's safe to say that the safety and education of children outweigh a deal on a historic home or cool loft, so pioneering must be a short-term phenomenon (if I'm wrong I'd expect to see clouds of little white kids in CBD... children of the yuppie influx of recent years). | ||
Charlottepaul Member Username: Charlottepaul Post Number: 2231 Registered: 10-2006 |
Well Craig, the DPS has a lot more to offer than your general, overall type impression. Sure there are some not so great schools, but it is a large system. If one were confined to a suburb, then he is essentially limited to one or maybe two high schools from which to. However as in the DPS there are dozens. There are so many that some of the high schools specialize in a given activity--e.g. magnet schools as in arts school, Cass Tech, etc. So in that regard, it can be said that the DPS does actually have more to offer. | ||
Mackcreative Member Username: Mackcreative Post Number: 164 Registered: 08-2006 |
The school thing is tough if you have kids, no doubt. Our daughter is getting a first rate (private) education but I still gnash my teeth as I write the checks. So why raise children in the city? Because we're not "pioneering," we choose to live in a diverse community to the benefit of our children's development as global citizens, we choose proximity to cultural attractions, a moderately walkable lifestyle, a superb neighborhood atmosphere, positive opportunities and experiences we did not have as children. There's no such thing as a free lunch (figuratively,) including in the city of Detroit. The resale on lofts isn't so hot, historic homes can be a boat-load of work (first-hand knowledge!••••• or super-expensive to heat. On the flip-side: I was successful in appealing our tax assessment last year, was not able to get it lowered down to the purchase price/appraised value, but not too far off and now locked in until 2022 thanks to the NEZ consideration. | ||
Urbanoutdoors Member Username: Urbanoutdoors Post Number: 702 Registered: 11-2005 |
1606 Chicago MLS27209775, $49,900 TREASURE HOMES, INC Office (248)399-8700 this was my great grandfathers house when he moved his family from Streator, Illinois I believe they sold it in the 1980s after about 50 years of ownership. I saw someone looking at this house on Friday it is still in decent shape but the garage needs work. I believe it my have been stripped of many of its original fixtures by looters though. My Great Grandfather on my moms side's house in B-E was kept up much better after it was sold in the 1980s both beautiful homes. 2046 W. Boston MLS26138210, $365,000 Keller Williams Farmington Hills Office (248)553-0400 | ||
Craig Member Username: Craig Post Number: 630 Registered: 02-2007 |
Magnet schools are great, but what if you cannot get your children enrolled? I'm a partial product of DPS -neighborhood schools- and I'd sooner put a kid in front of a TV than subject him to the combination of violence, incompetence and general toxicity that I observed. Mack - I take it that you didn't grow up in the City. If I'm correct, then I'll say that we are alike in one way: we both want for our children what was lacking in our own childhood. Having done the City-thing I feel that the only responsible course for me is to keep children far, far away from the rampant crime & violence of a faded city. I recognize that perceptions vary, but the diversity, culture, walkability, etc. of our suburban community exceeds what I felt that I had in Detroit. Aside: I don't mean "pioneer" to be a slur. Just looking for a term to characterize one who would embrace what I've rejected. Better than us terming each other "blind" or "short-sighted," I hope. | ||
Iheartthed Member Username: Iheartthed Post Number: 2519 Registered: 04-2006 |
quote: People aren't leaving Detroit to go to Royal Oak or Birmingham. | ||
Mackcreative Member Username: Mackcreative Post Number: 165 Registered: 08-2006 |
I appreciate your tone Craig, so often the dialogues around here digress to name calling and hysterics. You are right, I didn't grow up in the city, heck even the state. That makes it easier without the collective baggage; in fact, the first time Detroit entered my consciousness was in a class titled "History of the Civil Rights Movement," in the mid-90's. I hated Michigan the first few years here, living in Allen Park, working in Southfield; I first felt community here going to Eastern Market on a Saturday morning. | ||
Charlottepaul Member Username: Charlottepaul Post Number: 2233 Registered: 10-2006 |
"I recognize that perceptions vary, but the diversity, culture, walkability, etc. of our suburban community exceeds what I felt that I had in Detroit." Ha. lol. Not sure what to say... | ||
Craig Member Username: Craig Post Number: 632 Registered: 02-2007 |
Let's see: -Detroit 'hood 95%+ mono-ethnic, suburban 'hood not (diversity, check) -Detroit: bars on windows; suburb: "let's go to the bar and talk about the future of organized labor" (culture, check) -Detroit: "I can hear the neighbors' pitbulls barking": suburb: "summer concerts in the park this year will include..." (more culture, check) -Detroit: there's nothing but party stores on the old commercial strip; suburb: "I am walking to [our main drag] to get a haircut, pick up a prescription, get a washer for the leaking faucet, and then have a sandwich at the place with outdoor seating" (walkability, check). None of this is an exaggeration. My quality of life went 180 for the better. If today's City dweller can find what I had to leave to find then you're fortunate; enjoy it, because my experience tells me that most others can only dream of this kind of life. | ||
Mackcreative Member Username: Mackcreative Post Number: 166 Registered: 08-2006 |
Can (and do) walk to grocery store, post office, excellent restaurants (eat outside weather permitting,) world-class museums, libraries, music venues; buy a warm loaf of bread, greet neighbors I know by name, interact with people of various race and economic status, see interesting things, experience art. There are dogs on my block barking, a neighbor raises Bichon Frisees (not exactly pitbulls though,) no bars on the windows either. | ||
Mackcreative Member Username: Mackcreative Post Number: 167 Registered: 08-2006 |
Point being, perceptions vary. | ||
Crumbled_pavement Member Username: Crumbled_pavement Post Number: 109 Registered: 08-2007 |
This is off topic but I just realized how wierd I am. I don't like ham sandwiches. That's not why I'm wierd though, since lots of people don't like ham sandwiches. What makes me wierd though is because I don't like ham sandwiches I tend not to order them. However, a normal sane person who doesn't like ham sandwiches would order one everyday for lunch and take a bite out of it and then with a scrunched up face spit it out and talk about how horrible it tasted. Me being the retard that I am, I just order something I enjoy eating. Go figure? (Message edited by Crumbled_pavement on January 15, 2008) | ||
Craig Member Username: Craig Post Number: 634 Registered: 02-2007 |
I agree, Mack. That little walk through my Detroit and my suburbia was for the guy chuckling in Charlotte. | ||
Iheartthed Member Username: Iheartthed Post Number: 2522 Registered: 04-2006 |
quote: In which suburb do you reside? | ||
Mackcreative Member Username: Mackcreative Post Number: 168 Registered: 08-2006 |
Just read my post again, oh my god so yuppie, (vomit taste in my mouth,) just wanted to illustrate a point though. | ||
Pete Member Username: Pete Post Number: 105 Registered: 10-2003 |
god, i can't believe that ragged brings up the dps argument again. LISTEN! most of DPS schools suck. some are good, and some are excellent. yes, you can move from the suburbs and send your kid to a DPS school and feel good about it, because DPS has school of choice within the system. if you don't feel comfortable sending your kid to a DPS school, then there are plenty of other options beside Waldorf, which is ridiculously expensive. once again, it comes down to perspective and values. there are a lot of prejudices implied in ragged's post, but his biggest implication is that many thousands of kids go to DPS simply because their parents can't get them out to go somewhere else, which isn't true. plenty are there because their parents have decided to put them in a good school, and feel perfectly safe and happy about it. (Message edited by pete on January 15, 2008) | ||
Raggedclaws Member Username: Raggedclaws Post Number: 121 Registered: 08-2006 |
Be careful, Pete. I asked a simple and straight-forward question regarding public education in Detroit. Is YOUR implication that I'm a racist ? Had you read all of the posts carefully you'd know I wasn't the first to mention public education in Detroit on this thread. | ||
Charlottepaul Member Username: Charlottepaul Post Number: 2235 Registered: 10-2006 |
Alright some things might be debateable, but there is no way that any suburb carries more culture than the city of Detroit. |
