  Viziondetroit Member Username: Viziondetroit Post Number: 1918 Registered: 11-2003 |
After reading the amusement park thread I was going back over the winterwonderland.com site topic on Edgewater Park. I never see old site plans or maps of this place. I've been looking at pics trying to determine the size of the place. Did the park go from 7 to 8 mile bound by Telegraph and Berg? If it went all the way to 8 mile, when was Bonnie Brook established? Let me know if there was a property break somewhere in that section. Who own's the chunk of land around K-Mart over there? I saw this interesting article. http://tinyurl.com/5bmnbz So they got approval and at the most we 2 had Kmarts in Detroit @ one time. The one turned into Home Depot, what happened to the other ones? (Message edited by viziondetroit on July 31, 2008) | ||
Smogboy Member Username: Smogboy Post Number: 8487 Registered: 11-2004 |
Edgewater Park never made it past the top of Vassar if memory serves me correctly. It had the Rouge River running along its northern and eastern edges (not Berg Road) with Seven Mile to the South and Shiawassee to the west. | ||
56packman Member Username: 56packman Post Number: 2389 Registered: 12-2005 |
The land K-Mart was built on was formerly part of Bonnie Brook | ||
Viziondetroit Member Username: Viziondetroit Post Number: 1919 Registered: 11-2003 |
Are there any plans for that unused portion of Bonnie Brook? | ||
Dannyv Member Username: Dannyv Post Number: 309 Registered: 08-2007 |
There was a boy who drowned last Easter break on the former Bonnie Brook property you are talking about. He fell through thin ice. It was always considered and used as a floodplain and probably still is. | ||
Craig Member Username: Craig Post Number: 919 Registered: 02-2007 |
Edgewater went under in '80 and then sat vacant for what, 20 years? The word at the time of the closing was that a senior citizens' community was to take the land. In a round about way I guess that is what happened. DPOA used to have family picnics at Edgewater: last day of the season. If you ever wanted to see 1000 simultaneously drunk POs this was the place. | ||
Gnome Member Username: Gnome Post Number: 1534 Registered: 08-2007 |
1949 Aerial photo of the Edgewater/Bonnybrook area. Running arcoss the top part of the pic is 8 mile ... it is the divided white colored road. On the left and running down on an angle is Grand River. Telegraph is in the center. You can see 7 Mile as it cuts across the middle of the page; follow that to the right or east till you find Edgewater at the corner of Berg and 7 mile. Note that on the NE corner of 7 and telegraph is some sort of farm and across telegraph is Topinka's Country House. http://techtools.culma.wayne.e du/media/wayne/1949/ha-17-40.p df | ||
Jcole Member Username: Jcole Post Number: 2780 Registered: 04-2005 |
OMG, I loved Topinka's Country House. And the one downtown across from the Fisher. Craig, that was an annual cop event. The guys got drunk and the kids rode the roller coaster. I don't remember what the moms did. | ||
Craig Member Username: Craig Post Number: 922 Registered: 02-2007 |
quote: Kept an eye on all of the "children" and then did the driving on the way home. | ||
Jcole Member Username: Jcole Post Number: 2781 Registered: 04-2005 |
You're more than likely correct. What precinct(s) was your dad at? | ||
Craig Member Username: Craig Post Number: 923 Registered: 02-2007 |
13, then TMU/TSS. A bunch of other assignments, too. Embarrassing stuff to get pulled over and then asked "what would your father say?" | ||
Jcole Member Username: Jcole Post Number: 2782 Registered: 04-2005 |
Was Edgewater on the north side of 7 Mile, between Shiawassee and Berg, kitty corner from what is now Rogell Golf Course? Where the gigantic church is now? | ||
Jcole Member Username: Jcole Post Number: 2783 Registered: 04-2005 |
Craig, tell me about it. I had a lifetime of 'Jim, guess where we found your kid parked' | ||
Craig Member Username: Craig Post Number: 924 Registered: 02-2007 |
^That's the place. | ||
Craig Member Username: Craig Post Number: 925 Registered: 02-2007 |
If you're "west side" then "parked" was Eliza Howell, Berg, Ridge Park, or Grand Lawn. Where'd the old man work? | ||
Jcole Member Username: Jcole Post Number: 2784 Registered: 04-2005 |
He was at several. When I was around it was 15(Conner/Gratiot), City/County Bldg, 5(Jefferson/St. Jean), and Number One downtown. We were eastside, and parking was Balduck, Heilmann, Chandler Park. Also, we moved to Almont and he was chief here, so I got busted on all the dirt roads in SouthEastern Lapeer County. | ||
Jcole Member Username: Jcole Post Number: 2785 Registered: 04-2005 |
You know, we thought that Edgewater was such a big deal when we were kids, and we had a great time there, but when you look at the area it took, I don't think the whole park was the size that one big roller coaster at Cedar Point is today. | ||
Craig Member Username: Craig Post Number: 927 Registered: 02-2007 |
Chief of Almont until recently? He's the guy who got jammed up over the patrolman who shook down the motorist? We always had a blast at Edgewater. Small is relative, and for a kid who's only other experience was the slide at Stoepel Edgewater was huge. | ||
Jcole Member Username: Jcole Post Number: 2786 Registered: 04-2005 |
No, dad died in 1975. He'd be 95 if he was still alive. Our PD here has had its share of issues over the years. | ||
Jcole Member Username: Jcole Post Number: 2787 Registered: 04-2005 |
I'm not knocking Edgewater. It was the be all, end all of amusement parks back in the day. It's just funny that it was so small and we loved it so much, and kids today have to go to some huge-ass place to have fun. Does anyone know if Walled Lake was bigger, smaller or about the same size? | ||
D2dyeah Member Username: D2dyeah Post Number: 117 Registered: 09-2005 |
I think that lot was filled in somewhat, because I remember when you drove into the Edgewater parking lot, you drove down a little hill, that was surrounded by trees and a low white fence that was neon lit with single tubes. This was in the 50's-60's, approaching that place at night was a thrill for us kids. The entrance was right next to the roller coaster and they had those huge scary clown carnival signs. The area, north of the entrance that had the flying aeroplane ride, was a huge lot. Maybe it just seemed big, but I remember when on that ride, the cars flew right over the midway area. That park was great!! | ||
Thoswolfe Member Username: Thoswolfe Post Number: 75 Registered: 11-2007 |
Walled Lake Amusement Park seemed a little smaller than Edgewater. The owners of Edgewater bought Walled Lake Amusement Park, ran it for a short time. It seemed they really bought it to close the competition,that bought them a few more years in Detroit. Hindsight,foresight... Bet an amusement park in Walled Lake would have survived a lot longer, and that city's eventual gentrification did wonders to the property values. | ||
Jcole Member Username: Jcole Post Number: 2796 Registered: 04-2005 |
If you look at the aerial view that Gnome posted, and enlarge it to about 800%, you can see a lot of the rides and the roller coaster along the edge of the parking lot. You can also see the Rouge River where it outlines the area. Then if you look at Google Maps, you can see where the park would sit today amidst the church and parking lots. | ||
Reddog289 Member Username: Reddog289 Post Number: 500 Registered: 08-2007 |
I LOVE THE DTE PHOTOS, I remember Edgewater and Bonnie Brook, looks like Bonnie Brook was bigger at one time,Rogell is near by also, so no wonder BB closed. Can,t belive all the open spaces around them. | ||
N7hn Member Username: N7hn Post Number: 32 Registered: 02-2008 |
I remember all those places. Lived down the street from topinkas and remember when it burned down just before Xmas one year. Sat there covered in ice decorated till it thawed then it just sat there. Edgewater was small. I think it went out in like 77 or so. It did dip down too. I used to have to walk past bonnie brook apts to get to taft Jr hi...(pre middle schools days) That damn bridge was the worst ambush place for a teen, damn rouge river...... | ||
Thoswolfe Member Username: Thoswolfe Post Number: 76 Registered: 11-2007 |
The land where Edgewater was is not large enough for an amusement park and parking for guests, but busses and streetcars were used more when it opened. And it is certainly not large enough for a church that seats a few thousand with only a few hundred parking spaces.(if that many)I wonder if the streets nearby are jammed with cars parked on Sundays now? I have heard from 'old timers' that Bonnie Brook used to be on both sides of Telegraph, before Telegraph was widened and the housing sub on the West side of Tel was built. Rogell did not hurt Bonnie Brook's business. The golf course had a good business. The more lucrative banquet business declined due to a 'Detroit Address'. Bonnie Brook was owned by a school alumni association, Henry Ford Trade School. Their alumni are now all 70+ years old, since the school closed long ago. They tried to sell the club intact, no takers. BTW the KMart developer had promised the neighborhood and city planners that there would still be a golf course on the remaining wetlands. Still waiting..... N7hn: I also lived by Topinka's, on the other side of 7 mile. Was late for school the morning it burnt down, watching the fire. Thought it would not be rebuilt, so I saved a souvenier- one of the fence post ornaments- a lion, maybe? (I didn't save it too long,I guess) | ||
Craig Member Username: Craig Post Number: 928 Registered: 02-2007 |
quote: I visited the still-open park in '80. Anyone else remember the rumor that the Topinka's fire was a torch job? | ||
Thoswolfe Member Username: Thoswolfe Post Number: 77 Registered: 11-2007 |
Most of the hood' by Topinka's thought it might be a torch job. But eventually a replica of the old farmhouse cafe was rebuilt, by the same owner. About 20 years later, he closed the place, and partnered with developers for the strip mall. The empty restaurant sat for a long time until tenants were lined up for the planned strip mall, a fire would have reallly been suspicious if it occurred at that time! | ||
Ray1936 Member Username: Ray1936 Post Number: 3486 Registered: 01-2005 |
Bonnie Brook was a short course, mostly par-3s. It only had one par-5 and that was on the back nine over by the river. Nice ladies course. The second hole was so short (like maybe 80 yards) that you used a wedge on the tee. | ||
Sean_of_detroit Member Username: Sean_of_detroit Post Number: 1306 Registered: 03-2008 |
I wish some of these mega churches and new charities would look into the old Cass Tech Building to move to. |
