  Miketoronto Member Username: Miketoronto Post Number: 758 Registered: 07-2004 |
My sister is a film producer and she is going to be working on a film in Highland Park, following the renewal of a vacant school into a community centre. Anyway I am going to be going with her this week to Detroit to look for filming locations, etc. I was just wondering if any of you have some interesting facts on Highland Park or know of interesting spots in that suburb both good and bad to take my sister to??? Any info would be great. (Message edited by miketoronto on March 10, 2009) | ||
Pgn421 Member Username: Pgn421 Post Number: 999 Registered: 02-2005 |
Red Hot Coney Island on Victor east of Woodward . Good coneys! | ||
Kathleen Member Username: Kathleen Post Number: 2210 Registered: 10-2003 |
Got make a stop at the Ford Highland Park plant to see where Ford put the world on wheels!! There's a historic marker in front. As for eats, just outside of Highland Park to the north, there's La Dolce Vita on Woodward a few blocks north of McNichols, and The Dakota Inn Rathskeller on John R. north of McNichols. Both are recommended, but if I had to choose, I'd go to the Dakota Inn on a singalong night! | ||
Carman Member Username: Carman Post Number: 16 Registered: 08-2008 |
The southeast corner of Davison and Oakland is the former Engineering, Styling and World Headquarters of the Chrysler Corporation. I think most of the buildings are gone, but a Historic Marker may be there. Within the complex was a building that was the original assembly line for Maxwell or Packard. I can't remember exactly which one. Say what you will about the current state of the auto industry and in particular, Chrysler. But back in the day when times were good, Highland Park was vibrant. | ||
Lugotown Member Username: Lugotown Post Number: 70 Registered: 02-2008 |
what vacant school was renewed into a community center? there are quite a few people on dyes that either grew up or currently live in hp. what exactly are you and your sister looking for? recommend that you read the 2001 highland park master plan, has great history and information in it. | ||
Ruxy17 Member Username: Ruxy17 Post Number: 105 Registered: 08-2007 |
not sure if this counts as an "interesting spot," but i was cruising around a few months ago and saw a swing set (missing all of the swings) with a noose hanging from the middle of it. I slammed on my brakes when I saw it and could do nothing but stare for a few minutes. Imagery I've never really seen in public, in person. I believe it was in a small park on the east side of Rosa Parks, a few blocks north of clairmount. | ||
Bearinabox Member Username: Bearinabox Post Number: 1295 Registered: 04-2006 |
quote:I don't know if that counts as an "interesting spot" either, but I'm pretty sure it doesn't count as Highland Park. Did you read the thread title? | ||
Sumas Member Username: Sumas Post Number: 794 Registered: 01-2008 |
Miketoronto, If you are interested in some fascinating and little known history of Highland Park I can hook you up with the president of the Village of Fairview Historical Society. He is a very knowledgeable and dynamic individual. List your email or send me an email,sueview2@sbcglobal.net and I'll give you his name and number. He is a very worthwhile contact. | ||
Detroitnerd Member Username: Detroitnerd Post Number: 3620 Registered: 07-2004 |
Model T Plaza is a wonderful example of urban redevelopment. Instead of those ugly storefronts, they wiped it clean and built a massive parking lot and a Farmer Jack. Although the Farmer Jack closed, and a lot of the retail spaces sit empty, that just means that much more parking is available. And that parking lot is beautiful. Nothing like acres of blacktop right next to the historic Model T plant. SATIRE  SATIRE SATIRE SATIRE | ||
Eastsideal Member Username: Eastsideal Post Number: 391 Registered: 10-2007 |
Highland Park had one of the most beautiful libraries in the Detroit area. The McGregor Library sits shuttered on the east side of Woodward. Apparently the books and all of the valuables (the place had large beautiful golden doors) are stored safely somewhere. Someone here scored a tour of the place a while back. It fared better than HP's police headquarters, which was simply abandoned to the elements with much of its furniture and records inside. You will see pictures of it on various Detroit building exploration sites. Parts of Highland Park have some of the nicest old housing stock in the Detroit area. Much of it is, unfortunately, in pretty rough shape with a fair amount of abandonment. But a drive around several HP residential streets will reveal many well-kept examples of housing styles that are otherwise rare in the Detroit area, like the classic craftsman bungalow. Of course, no history of HP would be truly complete without mention of it once having been the Detroit area's porno strip, with several theaters, bookstores, and strip clubs along Woodward. The Uptown bookstore just south of Six Mile (aka McNichols) is one of the last remnants of those days. It had a "legit" side and an "adult" side, and I used to buy comic books in there on the legit side when I was a kid and my uncle lived around the corner. Very interesting... | ||
Lowell Moderator Username: Lowell Post Number: 2244 Registered: 09-2003 |
My former house at 45 Colorado, where I resided from 72-99, is in an area of lovely 1910-14 built arts and crafts style houses. Just a block from the library this SE section and NE Highland Park [E of Woodward starting around Pilgrim] are National Historic home areas and the best kept areas of the city. On the sad side, the former city center on Gerald off Woodward has the beautiful and abandoned former police station, fire station, city hall and courthouse. | ||
Jgavrile Member Username: Jgavrile Post Number: 224 Registered: 09-2005 |
Don't forget that the Davison freeway is the first freeway in the United States. Building of it shown pretty good in pictures on the Wayne State University series of pictures about Detroit (Virtual Detroit) . The land Southeast of Oakland and Davison was indeed the home of Chrysler Corp. and before that it was the home of Maxwell and Chalmers automobiles. Where the Ford plant is now, use to be a hotel and horse racing track. Also if interest is that at the Northern end of Highland Park at Woodward and six mile .next to Palmer Park is the first mile of paved concrete highway in the world.There is a marker there telling about it. Another , is that at Hamilton and Oakman is the current Helm Publishing. This use to be the home of the Excello Corp. who built a great deal of machinery and tooling for WW II. It is also the parent company of Pure-Pac which tooled the machinery to make the paper milk carton ,used all over the world. I am sure there is more , but that is about all I can think of right now. Funny, that at one time two of the worlds largest automobile corporations ,home ,was only 1/4 mile from each other. One other fact is that Highland Park has its own water system and treatment facility. It does not use any water from the city of Detroit and ws the first comunity in the United States to chlorinate its water. The resevoir and treatment center is in Detroit off of Davison East of I-75 Gets the water from Lake St. Clair. As to celebrities. it was the home town of Bill Haley singer, Jackie Wilson singer, Ruth Busey comedian,Billy Pierce baseball player,Bobby Joe Hill basketball player. | ||
Lugotown Member Username: Lugotown Post Number: 71 Registered: 02-2008 |
i just did some research for a project. you can find a list of national registered historical places for HP: http://www.nr.nps.gov/iwisapi/ explorer.dll?IWS_SCHEMA=NRIS1& IWS_LOGIN=1&IWS_REPORT=1000000 39 Michigan has additional ones for HP: http://www.mcgi.state.mi.us/hs o/advancematch.asp?ctype=any&c name=Highland+Park&cnty=Wayne wish i could've seen this area when it was pristine. it saddens me to look at all of these homes being vandalized and torn up. seems to be getting worse and worse as more people move out. you just can't build homes like these anymore. the ones that have been kept up are just absolutely beautiful. | ||
Terryh Member Username: Terryh Post Number: 1154 Registered: 11-2006 |
Victor Bakery. | ||
Navi Member Username: Navi Post Number: 54 Registered: 09-2005 |
I still don`t know how to quote using this forum, but I will put up cash money that the noose was installed by some artfag and not someone who actually used it for its purpose. | ||
Iseries840 Member Username: Iseries840 Post Number: 1018 Registered: 08-2005 |
Highland Park is also the hometown of Reggie McKenzie and me. | ||
Miketoronto Member Username: Miketoronto Post Number: 759 Registered: 07-2004 |
Thanks for the info. | ||
Renf Member Username: Renf Post Number: 45 Registered: 11-2003 |
Highland Park is a fascinating city. I could spent almost a full day giving a tour of the place. Among the places to see: The two historically designated neighborhoods: Highland Heights-Stevens and Medbury-Grove Lawn The Ford plant The site of the former Chrysler headquarters McGregor Library Davison Expressway Unsuccessful new housing developed along Ferris and parallel streets More successful new shopping centers on Woodward The historical churches on or near Woodward: First United Methodist Grace Evangelical Lutheran Highland Park Presbyterian St. Benedict's Catholic Trinity United Methodist | ||
Topflight Member Username: Topflight Post Number: 71 Registered: 04-2008 |
An almost forgotten fact, Vincent Chin was murdered in Highland Park by two autoworkers in 1982, at the height of anti-Japanese sentiments. Asian Americans around the country galvanized to form a real community movement. American Citizens for Justice Asian Pacific Americans for Progress Association of Chinese Americans New Detroit, Inc presents Vincent Who? a film written and produced by Curtis Chin and Tony Lam and directed by Tony Lam Saturday April 4th 7PM Association of Chinese Americans Chinese Community Center 32585 Concord Dr Madison Hgts 48071 248.585.9343 Suggested Donation $10 The film will be followed by a brief discussion with filmmaker Curtis Chin and Executive Producer Michael P. Lee | ||
Danny Member Username: Danny Post Number: 4556 Registered: 02-2004 |
After 1910, Highland Park was called becuase it was once a part of small Scottish farmland and GREENFIELD community when it was once part of Greenfield TWP. Highland Park as a the " Scottish Highlands" a metaphor for a proposed neighborhood uptown development. It pervented annexation from Detroit due to property provisions agreement from Grosse Pointe. (It's amazing that a small 2x2 mile city with a 99% black community with 80% low-income families would have to water from the Snobbyville bourgeoisies). The Ford Highland Park Plant and Chrysler Plants make neighborhood boom possible. Then by the late 1950s Black families from Detroit's west side, who followed the Jews, brought some of the homes starting from Hamilton and Webb Streets. By the 1960s The black population in Highland Park reached whopping 40% buying up more homes on the south end of Highland Park up to its both west and east side. Downtown. Lot's the white folks don't want to mingle with them so they move on the suburbs. The Ford Highland Park Plant closed after WWII leaving it into storage facility with vacant office structure. By 1970s to 1990s They were more blacks living in Highland Park than, white folks. Black obtained the last northern historic neighborhoods west of Woodward Ave. South of 6 Mile Rd.(Mc Nichols) and the rest of the upper east side corners east of Woodward and 6 Mile Rd. Things are starting to go downhill in Highland Park.It's city council was in receivership, it's police force reduce to Wayne County sherriff deputies. Its downtown reduced to ghetto like status. Half the buildings in Downtown inclunding the Sears Dept. Store Building were demolished to build upcoming retail strips. New low rent righ rises and subusidized homes were being built for low-income families. Vincent Chin was Shot on the corner of Woodward Ave and Manchester St in 1980 The Chrsyler Plant closed and The parts of the building Ford Historic Highland Park assembly plant was demolish to build the strip mall with a supermarket. Then we some arsonists building down vacant buildings every where. Things are looking up for Highland Park and it never will be in a 100 years. | ||
Sumas Member Username: Sumas Post Number: 804 Registered: 01-2008 |
The Davison Freeway was a good suggestion for historical background. I used it a lot as a crossover from I 75 to M 10. I love the quaintness of bus stops on that short strip. It was built with a technique called water cured cement. That cement stayed in very good shape "visually" until quite recently. It got repaved not because of potholes or deterioration but because the cement surface lasted so long it became smooth as glass so there was no friction between road and tire. | ||
Hamtragedy Member Username: Hamtragedy Post Number: 390 Registered: 10-2007 |
Not to mention that 12' 9" sign on the John R bridge over the Davison caused truck drivers to slam on their brakes in the middle lane (from 60 MPH) to avoid striking the concrete bridge, often to the horror of approaching motorists who were doing 80 not realizing the traffic was coming to a complete halt mere yards ahead of them, with no shoulders to run up. Back to the thread, drive west on Estes from Woodward. | ||
Reddog289 Member Username: Reddog289 Post Number: 988 Registered: 08-2007 |
Danny,And I always heard that Mr Chin was beaten to death with a baseball bat, good to know he was shot and didn't suffer.One of my friends who started his law enforcement position way back when HP had its own force said it was a "Hell Hole".Highland Park could be used as an example of what happens when the Auto JOBS GO AWAY, and racism takes over. | ||
Robtruth Member Username: Robtruth Post Number: 36 Registered: 03-2006 |
I read in the Detroit Almanac that a hill located where Glendale meets Woodward was the "high" spot amid the swamp between Detroit and Royal Oak. | ||
Mauser765 Member Username: Mauser765 Post Number: 3061 Registered: 01-2004 |
Hostess and Sanders factories, and the Yellow pages Building. | ||
Jman Member Username: Jman Post Number: 243 Registered: 10-2006 |
Mauser765, Two of the three companies were just outside of Highland Park and in Detroit. Sanders was in H.P. (Message edited by Jman on March 22, 2009) | ||
Jgavrile Member Username: Jgavrile Post Number: 225 Registered: 09-2005 |
Jman, I remember my Dad getting some false teeth made ,at a lab on Oakman blvd. across from Sanders factory. Half of the lab was in Highland Park and the other half was in Detroit. Don't remember the name of it? They use to bottle Canada Dry ginger ale on Sears Ave. and 3rd. Also there was Cadilac Plastics Co. on Second ave. near the railroad tracks. New stuff back in the late 40's and early 50's. Plastic was quite a new thing. We use to make custon tailight lenses out of the red stuff. | ||
Alfie1a Member Username: Alfie1a Post Number: 218 Registered: 10-2007 |
Does anyone remember a park somewhere west of Woodward, not too far south of 6 Mile? The place was huge and there were 100's of people there every time i went. Every imaginable type of thing for kids to play on and lots of activities. I went there during the late 60's early 70's. Maybe my memory makes it seem more than it was but it was the biggest park I ever seen, aside from places like Palmer Park and Rouge Park, which are mostly woods. I looked on google earth, couldn't see it. | ||
Jman Member Username: Jman Post Number: 245 Registered: 10-2006 |
Alfie1a, sorry no park just south of 6 Mile unless you mean Ford Field before the new high school was built. It was on the east side of Woodward just north of the viaduct. Jgavrile, My friends and I would occasionally "aquire" a wooden case of empty Canada Dry bottles from under the fence and cash them in for 60 cents. I still have a key chain I made (behind Mr, Schlicker's back) from a piece of red plastic scrap from Cadillac. Remember Renuzit just across the tracks from Cadillac? They made a wallpaper cleaner that was like a cross between Playdough and Silly Putty. | ||
Burnsie Member Username: Burnsie Post Number: 1207 Registered: 11-2003 |
Sumas-- I think that if smoothness of the concrete on the Davison had been the only issue, it could have been milled (scraped down and grooved) to give it texture. I seem to recall that there actually were a lot of cracks and holes, though. Danny-- Those parts of the Ford plant along Woodward actually were actually demolished in 1956. Part of the complex still made tractors until 1973. | ||
Onthe405 Member Username: Onthe405 Post Number: 99 Registered: 11-2007 |
"Don't forget that the Davison Freeway is the first freeway in the United States" Perhaps. This is a local claim based on a highly questionable technicality. The first controlled access roadway in the configuration of what most historians consider a “freeway” was Connecticut’s Merritt Parkway on 6/29/1938. Soon after came the Pennsylvania Turnpike (10/1/1940) and the Pasadena Freeway, originally the Arroyo Seco Parkway, on 12/30/1940. The Davison followed these three, opening on 11/25/1942. Under a broad definition of “controlled access”, some would even argue that several eastern seaboard parkways actually pre-dated these four as “freeways”, one of the main differences being that they were outside the urban environment. While the Davison was the first urban, depressed (below ground level) freeway, these are its primary distinctions from the predecessors. Using that narrow definition, when 94, 75, 696, 96, and 10 emerge as surface highways as they extend outside the city, they would no longer be considered “freeways”. Few people would contend that Houston, Miami, Los Angeles, Atlanta, DC, etc have no freeways because they are largely surface level. |
