  6nois Member Username: 6nois Post Number: 643 Registered: 11-2006 |
Its nice to see downtown so vibrant on a cold and semi snowy weekend in Feb. Between Winter Blast, the National Gay and Lesbian Task Forces Creating Change Conference, a Red Wings game, and some other smaller events like concerts in the downtown area things sure have seemed really nice and vibrant this last few days. It really bears witness to what downtown can be in the future when its like that everyday. On a side note has anyone else been working the Creating Change Conference? It has been a really great event and I have heard nothing but good things from attendees. | ||
Livernoisyard Member Username: Livernoisyard Post Number: 5099 Registered: 10-2004 |
So, downtown Detroit's could be like Ferndale! Is that the message that somebody is trying to make? Last year at about the same time, I attended the market launch of Microsoft Vista and Office. [Was nice of them to lure me to Cobo that February 15 or so... Got free unrestricted copies of Vista Ultimate, Microsoft Groove, and Microsoft Office Professional 2007 (and several other CD-ROMs of software at no charge) for simply attending their day-long seminars. Even fed us breakfast and lunch.] I arrived at Cobo at 7:30 AM on that Tuesday or Wednesday via the Vernor 49 bus. Walking those few blocks was a snap because there was a nearly complete absence of any vehicular traffic impeding any "rush-hour" pedestrians downtown. Paid absolutely no attention to the stop-and-go lights because there wasn't any opposing traffic at any of those gated intersections between the bus stop and Cobo--three/four blocks? Leaving at around 4 PM was the same--practically no traffic then either... Vibrant, indeed! | ||
Burnsie Member Username: Burnsie Post Number: 1281 Registered: 11-2003 |
Ah, Livernoisyard, always the bearer of good cheer. | ||
6nois Member Username: 6nois Post Number: 644 Registered: 11-2006 |
LY its obvious that you haven't been down their this week, that was last year that is seemed pretty desolate, and I am not talking about that, I am talking about this year. If you have been and you didn't see the groups of people walking about, even late at night about 2am on Friday, and how nice it has been, then don't comment. And how I would love for downtown to be more like Ferndale that is hardly the point its just nice to see people, and have a great culmination of events on a weekend in Feb. (Message edited by 6nois on February 09, 2008) | ||
Citylife313 Member Username: Citylife313 Post Number: 1 Registered: 02-2008 |
Hi there Im new to this site and just wanted to add my 2 cents....I was among the crowd today downtown at the winter blast & downtown was indeed very vibrant! | ||
Livernoisyard Member Username: Livernoisyard Post Number: 5102 Registered: 10-2004 |
The vibrancy at a small to middle-sized college town is more than Detroit's. Anybody considering Detroit being vibrant really needs to get out more and derive a realistic baseline for vibrancy... | ||
Alan55 Member Username: Alan55 Post Number: 1229 Registered: 09-2005 |
"...Even fed us [free] breakfast and lunch." Isn't there a saying about someone would still be pissed off after a free lunch? | ||
Detourdetroit Member Username: Detourdetroit Post Number: 374 Registered: 10-2003 |
At least we're w/in the top 500 cities! http://www.mongabay.com/cities _pop_01.htm While Livernois may be right about Detroit on a general basis, it's a shame there isn't more positivity about the relative steps downtown is taking. | ||
Jt1 Member Username: Jt1 Post Number: 11323 Registered: 10-2003 |
Just for LY: http://www.wisn.com/news/15260 397/detail.htm 11 People Shot In 90 Minutes In Milwaukee (Message edited by jt1 on February 10, 2008) | ||
6nois Member Username: 6nois Post Number: 645 Registered: 11-2006 |
LY Where you there? If not how could you say? Detroit is alot of things and one of those is vibrant, now that may not be a constant but nothing is. And honestly this weekend downtown and Detroit was shining brightly. I normally feel a pity for native Detroiters because they don't see what they have, so all they do is complain. Luckily the transplants are here to counter a city and region of Debbie Downers. | ||
Livernoisyard Member Username: Livernoisyard Post Number: 5103 Registered: 10-2004 |
quote: The former DY frequent-flying poster--Milwaukee-- would continually state how safe Milwaukee is/was. He even attended the very same high school (Marquette University HS) as I. But having lived there before and visiting it since, I know otherwise. Jt1: Thanks for the Milwaukee dope. I listen to streaming of two Milwaukee major AM stations there. Milwaukee is indeed far more dangerous in its ghetto than in Detroit. Much of that is due to decades-long laziness there of its black-male population dating back when Milwaukee was the premier welfare magnet of the entire US and its unemployment rate outside of that demographic was usually among the lowest in the country. Milwaukee's 18-35 yo minimum black-male unemployment rate has been steady at well over 40% for fully four decades already. That outrageous rate is due to life style choices enabled by relatively high welfare benefits up until 1997--when welfare was abolished, cold turkey style. Old habits (living off of welfare instead of having an alarm clock and a job) are hard to break. Time magazine devoted a major story to that statistic some thirty years ago where it mentioned that the second-place US city (Baltimore???) had a black-unemployment rate of less than half that of Milwaukee's. So much for the benefits of welfare... The neighborhood where I was brought up was a typical ultra-safe area when Milwaukee's juvenile delinquency rate throughout the entire city was only 2%, and door locks were often then considered "optional." But, Milwaukee's expanding inner city is essentially a jungle today. Somebody was recently gunned down in broad daylight literally where my grandparent's old farm house (and small truck farm there)--where I lived while going to school--once stood. (Message edited by LivernoisYard on February 10, 2008) | ||
Spaceboykelly Member Username: Spaceboykelly Post Number: 276 Registered: 04-2005 |
I don't see how anyone could argue about downtown Detroit's vibrancy the past few days. I've been downtown every day for the past week and it has been great. Every bar has been packed, the streets are full of people, the Ren Cen is bustling, and the Winter Blast is well attended. It would be nice to constantly have several events downtown. | ||
Livernoisyard Member Username: Livernoisyard Post Number: 5104 Registered: 10-2004 |
A vibrant city or town doesn't require any special events in order to make it so. What I would consider being vibrant is a standard condition where an abundance of people is expected. Anybody viewing the videos and such of downtown Detroit from film and such decades ago clearly show Detroit in routine everyday fashion back then--one where the streets and sidewalks were very busy. That isn't evident in Detroit today except when a show at the Fox or a sporting event is starting or ending. Foot traffic on a college campus is expected, but that happens on practically any college campus. In Detroit, Greektown seems to be the only location where there is a small amount of action. The rest of Detroit, however, is terribly unbusy. Those off-peak times when I take the DDOT or SMART buses downtown are typically not very busy and only a very few get on at Capitol Park. Buses usually comprise the bulk of Detroit traffic today. Yet, the buses come by today far less frequently than when streetcars were used because, seriously, there's not much of any reason to have them have any shorter headtimes due to a general shortage of passengers. | ||
Mind_field Member Username: Mind_field Post Number: 857 Registered: 10-2003 |
Borders in Compuware was the busiest i have ever seen it. Of course, the Borders in Novi is like that on a regular basis  Downtown Detroit's vibrancy issue is that it continues to be event driven. While there has been a general uptick in downtown's pedestrian activity over the years, it's still nowhere near where it should be for a city of this size. | ||
Gnome Member Username: Gnome Post Number: 699 Registered: 08-2007 |
mrs. gnome and I gave a tour of downtown to some friends, had a nice time with the Winter Blast but didn't know about the gay convention. A gay convention in Detroit in Feb...what? was Key West booked? | ||
Jrvass Member Username: Jrvass Post Number: 479 Registered: 01-2007 |
No... Detroit was vibrating and Ferndale was booked!  | ||
Gnome Member Username: Gnome Post Number: 700 Registered: 08-2007 |
Before I piss off all of the PC crowd, I didn't know the Creating Change conference was not the kind of crowd that visits Key WEst. After googling up PrideSource.com I learned the Creating Change Conference was on a more spiritual plane than "nasty Week" at MardiGras. http://www.pridesource.com/article.shtml?article=29040 Sorry if I jumped to conclusions. ----- The real point of the thread was the energy that was downtown ... it was great. Mrs Gnome and I had friends from Walled Laked that had never been in the Guardian Building and didn't know about the G.A.R. These are people that have RedWings season tickets. Thankfully the Guardian was open, as was the Rowland Cafe and we sat and chatted and we told them stories about the Pewabic tiles the metal work, etc. They really liked what was going on downtown and were looking forward to another tour in the summer. The energy downtown gave a very positive vibe. (Message edited by gnome on February 10, 2008) (Message edited by gnome on February 10, 2008) | ||
Detroitrise Member Username: Detroitrise Post Number: 1549 Registered: 09-2007 |
I have a good guess why our downtown isn't vibrant. -You only have 80,000 workers (namely in the former financial district, federal and judicial districts) who park their automobiles so close to the front door it's crazy and just sit inside their buildings all day until they get in their car to go to the coney island or restaurants on the outskirts of the CBD for lunch, and that's only if there's no place to eat inside their office. -Only 6,000 residents who can't find anything downtown to do unless they choose to eat out all day and night and they also must park their cars so close to the front door in order to make the long trips out to Costco's or Meijer. -No type of mass transit system that carries millions of people down there everyday every second. -Downtown's "vibrancy" is in the suburban office parks and shopping malls. I think you get the point. I bet the people who would go downtown from the 50s-70s would consider the Winter Blast crowd too quiet of a night. (Message edited by detroitrise on February 10, 2008) | ||
Sknutson Member Username: Sknutson Post Number: 1059 Registered: 03-2004 |
Face it 6nois - LY is a sour conservative curmudgeonly suburbanite who loves to bash the big bad city. And vibrancy that includes the NGLTF....egads! | ||
Jasoncw Member Username: Jasoncw Post Number: 486 Registered: 07-2005 |
Suburb of which city. | ||
Otter Member Username: Otter Post Number: 8 Registered: 12-2007 |
Downtown Detroit may be vibrant compared to the same place 10 years ago, but not by many external standards. My mother came to visit me this summer and we had lunch at Vicente's on a beautiful Monday afternoon in August, and driving through downtown at 1:00 my mother remarked on how deserted it seemed. And this was with the lunchtime entertainment in Campus martius. As much as I love Detroit, I can't disagree with her, as is evident whenever I am in Chicago or even in midtown or (even) downtown Atlanta. It's still got a long way to go towards long-term health. |
