Discuss Detroit » Archives - July 2008 » MCS 95th Birthday this week « Previous Next »
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Busterwmu
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Username: Busterwmu

Post Number: 436
Registered: 09-2004
Posted on Sunday, December 14, 2008 - 3:33 pm:   Edit PostDelete Post   Move Post (Moderator/Admin Only)

From Sunday's Free Press:

THIS WEEK IN MICHIGAN HISTORY
Michigan Central Depot opens doors
December 14, 2008

The Michigan Central Depot in Detroit, once the tallest railroad station on Earth, opened Dec. 16, 1913.

When it debuted, Detroit was a bustling city that needed a grand terminal to shuttle throngs of travelers to Chicago, Canada and destinations throughout the state. The beaux arts station at Vernor Highway and Michigan Avenue in Corktown featured marble floors, a sweeping concourse and gold-plated chandeliers.

Since Amtrak closed it in 1988, the once-majestic depot has become a favorite hangout for homeless people and troublemakers. In the interim years, redevelopment plans for the 17-story building have failed, most recently then-Mayor Kwame Kilpatrick's proposal in 2004 to make it into the new Detroit Police Department headquarters.

The rundown building has made cameo appearances in the films "The Island" in 2005, "Crossover" in 2006 and "Transformers" in 2007.

By Zlati Meyer

...the Free Press title was only slightly misleading...
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Rhymeswithrawk
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Username: Rhymeswithrawk

Post Number: 1568
Registered: 11-2005
Posted on Sunday, December 14, 2008 - 4:55 pm:   Edit PostDelete Post   Move Post (Moderator/Admin Only)

Well, it does say "This week in Michigan history..." so it wasn't misleading.

But the Free Press is wrong. MCS opened on Dec. 26, 1913. A fire at the old Michigan Central Railroad Depot the day after Christmas forced MCS into service early.

History of MCS here: www.buildingsofdetroit.com/pla ces/mcs

History of its predecessor here:
www.buildingsofdetroit.com/pla ces/mcrr
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Ventura67
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Username: Ventura67

Post Number: 171
Registered: 12-2003
Posted on Tuesday, December 16, 2008 - 12:00 am:   Edit PostDelete Post   Move Post (Moderator/Admin Only)

Happy birthday to my favorite architectural muse.
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Glowblue
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Username: Glowblue

Post Number: 70
Registered: 09-2008
Posted on Tuesday, December 16, 2008 - 12:20 am:   Edit PostDelete Post   Move Post (Moderator/Admin Only)

I really wish the railroad built the station closer to downtown than they did. That would have increased the likelihood that it would be redevloped today (on the other hand, that would also increase the likelihood that it would be torn down).
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Rhymeswithrawk
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Username: Rhymeswithrawk

Post Number: 1579
Registered: 11-2005
Posted on Tuesday, December 16, 2008 - 6:34 pm:   Edit PostDelete Post   Move Post (Moderator/Admin Only)

Free Press ran a correction on the incorrect date of the MCS opening.
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Pgn421
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Username: Pgn421

Post Number: 971
Registered: 02-2005
Posted on Tuesday, December 16, 2008 - 8:15 pm:   Edit PostDelete Post   Move Post (Moderator/Admin Only)

maybe Matty Morun is having a birthday party at MC
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Lmichigan
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Username: Lmichigan

Post Number: 3917
Registered: 10-2003
Posted on Tuesday, December 16, 2008 - 9:09 pm:   Edit PostDelete Post   Move Post (Moderator/Admin Only)

Yeah, and maybe God invited Satan back into heaven.
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Daddeeo
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Username: Daddeeo

Post Number: 354
Registered: 09-2008
Posted on Wednesday, December 17, 2008 - 9:37 pm:   Edit PostDelete Post   Move Post (Moderator/Admin Only)

How about a necktie party.
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Detroitej72
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Username: Detroitej72

Post Number: 958
Registered: 05-2006
Posted on Wednesday, December 17, 2008 - 9:46 pm:   Edit PostDelete Post   Move Post (Moderator/Admin Only)

I actually heard someone once say how pro-Detroit Matty is because he brought Hollywood to town to film movies in the MC Depot.

Kind of like saying Kwame was pro-Detroit because his soap-opera took the spotlight off the Big Three's ills.
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Burnsie
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Username: Burnsie

Post Number: 1162
Registered: 11-2003
Posted on Wednesday, December 17, 2008 - 11:24 pm:   Edit PostDelete Post   Move Post (Moderator/Admin Only)

Glowblue-- The MC built the station away from downtown because that's where the approach to the RR tunnel to Windsor is. At the time, passenger trains from Chicago to New York City passed through Detroit. If a station had been built downtown, they would have had to make time-consuming backup moves from the tunnel mouth to the old downtown station (roughly where Joe Louis Arena is now).
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Glowblue
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Username: Glowblue

Post Number: 74
Registered: 09-2008
Posted on Thursday, December 18, 2008 - 2:30 am:   Edit PostDelete Post   Move Post (Moderator/Admin Only)

quote:

Glowblue-- The MC built the station away from downtown because that's where the approach to the RR tunnel to Windsor is. At the time, passenger trains from Chicago to New York City passed through Detroit. If a station had been built downtown, they would have had to make time-consuming backup moves from the tunnel mouth to the old downtown station (roughly where Joe Louis Arena is now).



I always thought the Michigan Central built its new station out where they did because they were speculating that Detroit's commercial district would develop westward (it developed northward instead).
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Lmichigan
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Username: Lmichigan

Post Number: 3930
Registered: 10-2003
Posted on Thursday, December 18, 2008 - 3:39 am:   Edit PostDelete Post   Move Post (Moderator/Admin Only)

That may have been why they built such a large office building for the station, but the actual station was, indeed, constructed where it was because of the rail tunnel completed in 1910. The old downtown passenger station actually sat on a railroad spur, and they wanted to move it so that the passenger station would sit on the actual line.
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Big_baby_jebus
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Username: Big_baby_jebus

Post Number: 22
Registered: 09-2008
Posted on Thursday, December 18, 2008 - 11:49 am:   Edit PostDelete Post   Move Post (Moderator/Admin Only)

Take a tour through the tunnels and lobby of the old train station at http://onlyndetroit.com/html/d ecay/ond-0008hallowed%20halls. htm
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Bob
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Username: Bob

Post Number: 1231
Registered: 11-2003
Posted on Thursday, December 18, 2008 - 11:54 am:   Edit PostDelete Post   Move Post (Moderator/Admin Only)

Maybe they are planning to celebrate the 100th birthday with implosion?
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Gravitymachine
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Username: Gravitymachine

Post Number: 1645
Registered: 05-2005
Posted on Thursday, December 18, 2008 - 12:30 pm:   Edit PostDelete Post   Move Post (Moderator/Admin Only)

someone should make a nice "happy 95th birthday!" banner, scurry under the fence, and hang it from one of the top floors
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Russix
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Username: Russix

Post Number: 160
Registered: 11-2006
Posted on Thursday, December 18, 2008 - 2:02 pm:   Edit PostDelete Post   Move Post (Moderator/Admin Only)

Detroit was also growing at very fast rate when it opened. The idea was that this station was going to be downtown as the urban density was increasing around it. Today a shuttle bus, Michigan Ave Light rail station, a 200 or 37 route change to loop into the huge park would easily connect it with downtown. The new administration is going to try to materialize some of the high-speed rail plans that have been around for awhile now. I would like to see this station as the midpoint or transfer station between a Toronto/Chicago highspeed rail network. I believe the administration will most likely not be willing to pay for the renovation of this building though.
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Burnsie
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Username: Burnsie

Post Number: 1163
Registered: 11-2003
Posted on Thursday, December 18, 2008 - 2:33 pm:   Edit PostDelete Post   Move Post (Moderator/Admin Only)

"I believe the administration will most likely not be willing to pay for the renovation of this building though."

Not when a billionaire slumlord owns it, who would probably turn down restoration grant money even if it had no strings attached.
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Johnlodge
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Username: Johnlodge

Post Number: 9069
Registered: 10-2003
Posted on Thursday, December 18, 2008 - 2:55 pm:   Edit PostDelete Post   Move Post (Moderator/Admin Only)

Finding ways to annoy Maroun should be the new favorite pasttime. Much like the baseball game in his fenced-in "homeland security" zone this summer.
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Busterwmu
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Username: Busterwmu

Post Number: 446
Registered: 09-2004
Posted on Thursday, December 18, 2008 - 6:47 pm:   Edit PostDelete Post   Move Post (Moderator/Admin Only)

I think many people have already read my ideas about how to revive MCS, but in case you haven't, here's the link to a colorful discussion we had last month: https://www.atdetroit.net/forum/mes sages/148145/160984.html

I was debating about sending a 95th Birthday Cake to Matty Moroun's office in Warren. It would actually be for the station, but he's probably about that old, too. Then I remembered that he has plenty of money, and I do not, so I won't be sending that cake.
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Jsmyers
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Username: Jsmyers

Post Number: 705
Registered: 12-2003
Posted on Friday, December 19, 2008 - 12:30 pm:   Edit PostDelete Post   Move Post (Moderator/Admin Only)

Russix:
quote:

I would like to see this station as the midpoint or transfer station between a Toronto/Chicago highspeed rail network. I believe the administration will most likely not be willing to pay for the renovation of this building though.

I going to put an exclamation point on that! Also look at the thread that Busterwmu started.


I honestly think that Michigan and Detroit's best chance for long-term prosperity is through taking advantage of its position between Chicago and Toronto. Too many of our leaders forget that Toronto is only ~230 miles up the road, and has switched from being a little brother to Detroit to the New York (or Shanghai, or Tokyo) of Canada.

Michigan needs to work to bring the VIA Rail "corridor" services into Detroit, and the MCS site is the best chance for that to happen. Then we need to get our buts in gear and make our 3 per day @ ~50 mph average Amtrak route into the 12 per day @ 70+ mph average route. Then we need to get routes to Lansing/Grand Rapids and Cleveland/Pittsburgh up and running.

I think it might make sense to couple a redeveloped station (I'm partially agnostic to the building itself, but I would prefer to see it restored) with a large real estate development oriented towards integrating the economies of the US and Canada ("International Trade Center?")

Also I noticed in Busterwmu's thread some comments about Buffalo's station, and we currently have a thread about similarities between Buffalo and Detroit. Both train stations were built primarily to serve the same trains. New York Central (which controlled Michigan Central at that time) ran trains on 2 routes between New York and Chicago. One past through Detroit and the other through Cleveland. The two routes met in Buffalo. The Cleveland train is now called the "Lake Shore Limited" and is still operated by Amtrak. Amtrak calls the Michigan trains to Detroit "Wolverines." This was the name of the NY-Chi New York Central train that passed through Canada and Detroit.
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Danindc
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Username: Danindc

Post Number: 4065
Registered: 10-2003
Posted on Friday, December 19, 2008 - 1:13 pm:   Edit PostDelete Post   Move Post (Moderator/Admin Only)

quote:

Then we need to get routes to Lansing/Grand Rapids and Cleveland/Pittsburgh up and running.



Ohio has already started the legwork: www.ohiohub.org
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Jsmyers
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Username: Jsmyers

Post Number: 706
Registered: 12-2003
Posted on Friday, December 19, 2008 - 1:20 pm:   Edit PostDelete Post   Move Post (Moderator/Admin Only)

Thanks for the link.

I'm quite aware of their work, but many others might not be.

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