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Jerome81
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Username: Jerome81

Post Number: 1167
Registered: 11-2003
Posted on Sunday, November 05, 2006 - 12:39 am:   Edit PostDelete Post   Move Post (Moderator/Admin Only)

Been in town since last weekend, and today I was able to make it down to the tplex tour on Piquette. Apparently I made a goof, as it is usually not open in November because it gets too cold, but there was a tour group in town, so they had it open. I'm a bit of a car nut, a car history nut, and I was treated to a wonderful one on one tour of the place. A man by the name of John started showing me the original location of Ford's office, and the old Cadillac and Flanders on the floor. I was later admiring the beautiful curved dash olds and the pre T models when Jerry (I hope I'm remembering his name correctly) came back with John and the three of us took the complex tour. I believe I have it correct that Jerry was the man who really put the push to save the facility by getting it designated. He may also be the current owner of Henry Ford's old house on Boston Blvd, but again, I may have gotten some things mixed up. Anyway, he and John were a pleasure to speak with and were incredibly generous to spend part of their Saturday with me.

Just a wonderful wonderful experience. The place is nearly untouched for the longest of times. Nearly everything is original. And the sense of awe to stand in that corner on the 3rd floor where the T was developed was truly amazing. To stand where the world changed is a feeling almost hard to describe. I thank Jerry and John for everything today. Wonderful people on a wonderful mission.

Other than that, couple weird Metro Detroit questions.

1) Driving on 696 west of 75, what are on top of the huge "tunnels" you pass through? They seem too big/long to be just overpasses for roadways.

2) What is the point of the piece of M5 freeway from Middlebelt up to 275/96/696 junction? Seems like a freeway to/from nowhere in particular. What is its purpose?

3) When did they block off McNichols and make you drive around the airport to connect to the other side? I think my map may have been old as dirt. The poletown plant looked all wrong on the map (jos campau is shown as connecting with Grand Blvd) and it shows a Chrysler plant in Highland Park next to 75 (I assume the old HQ).

4) Never been to Hamtramck before. Drove through today. Kinda neat little place. I would like to spend some more time wandering sometime soon. Is it a fairly healthy little town? Seems to be doing pretty well but surrounded by some kinda depressing Detroit. Is the town fairly diverse? Is this city still very Polish? Why has it been able to remain fairly healthy amid problems in the neighboring Detroit neighborhoods?

5) Drove all the way downtown on Grand River from 696/275/96 junction for the first time. Rosedale Park area seemed quite pleasant. Having family in GP, I see more of the east side of the city. The west side seems to be overall healthier, is this a correct observation?

6) What is the fastest route to downtown from the 275/696/96 junction? 696 to the Lodge or 96 the whole way? I have a feeling it is a wash, but which is preferred and why?

I guess that's it for now :-) Long post, but some things I suppose I want to get out there. Bottom line, check out that tplex. Just amazing. Had a great week in the area, including the snow....
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Neilr
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Username: Neilr

Post Number: 379
Registered: 06-2005
Posted on Sunday, November 05, 2006 - 9:59 am:   Edit PostDelete Post   Move Post (Moderator/Admin Only)

Welcome back, Jerome81. You're correct. Jerry does live in the Henry Ford House and it is in the Boston/Edison Historic District; but it's on Edison rather than Boston Blvd.
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Kathleen
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Username: Kathleen

Post Number: 1676
Registered: 10-2003
Posted on Sunday, November 05, 2006 - 10:23 am:   Edit PostDelete Post   Move Post (Moderator/Admin Only)

Hi Jerome! Welcome to the D! Glad you were able to see T-Plex; it is a fascinating place to visit...walking where Henry Ford once walked!!!

Re: Question #1: Above those tunnels on I-696 are park areas and roads and walkways that enable the local Jewish community to walk to their temples on the Sabbath. This webpage gives more details: http://www.ciatrans.net/Commun ity_Impact_Mitigation/CIM_MI1. html. To see what the area looks like, check out one of the satellite image mapping services and search for "Ten Mile and Greenfield, Oak Park, Michigan".
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Detroitstar
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Username: Detroitstar

Post Number: 305
Registered: 01-2006
Posted on Sunday, November 05, 2006 - 10:41 am:   Edit PostDelete Post   Move Post (Moderator/Admin Only)

I think freeway capping like that would be great for connecting the city to Downtown Detroit, especially along 75 and 375.
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Charlottepaul
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Username: Charlottepaul

Post Number: 17
Registered: 10-2006
Posted on Sunday, November 05, 2006 - 1:28 pm:   Edit PostDelete Post   Move Post (Moderator/Admin Only)

2) Before the Jefferies Freeway (I-96) was built, Grand River was the main route out of town to the northwest--it goes all of the way to Lansing and beyond. At some point along that route they basically decided that it should become a freeway to get people out of Detroit more quickly. So M-5 was built as a bypass around downtown Farmington...
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Lowell
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Username: Lowell

Post Number: 3232
Registered: 10-2003
Posted on Sunday, November 05, 2006 - 4:56 pm:   Edit PostDelete Post   Move Post (Moderator/Admin Only)

That is Jerald Mitchell, the force behind the Ford Piquette Plant Preservation Project who indeed lives in the Edison Street Henry Ford Mansion. The man and his organization deserves a medal.

Here he is [left] at the "nativity scene" - the NE corner of the third floor where the first Model T was designed.
nativity

As noted above, the the interior of the plant is amazing for its originality right down to the sliding firewall doors with the No Smoking signs on them which can be seen in archival images.

Piquett Plant sliding door

interior

Ford House on Edison.
Ford House on Edison
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Detroitplanner
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Username: Detroitplanner

Post Number: 328
Registered: 04-2006
Posted on Sunday, November 05, 2006 - 9:04 pm:   Edit PostDelete Post   Move Post (Moderator/Admin Only)

1) Driving on 696 west of 75, what are on top of the huge "tunnels" you pass through? They seem too big/long to be just overpasses for roadways.

ANSWER: It was given above. This section was the last section of I-696 to open and the one that was most questioned.

2) What is the point of the piece of M5 freeway from Middlebelt up to 275/96/696 junction? Seems like a freeway to/from nowhere in particular. What is its purpose?

ANSWER: My mom calls that the "Grand River Expressway" It was used as a by-pass around Downtown Farmington back in the Day. I also use it sometimes on my trips home from Up North. It is the most direct route (though not always the fastest), to NW Detroit.

3) When did they block off McNichols and make you drive around the airport to connect to the other side? I think my map may have been old as dirt. The poletown plant looked all wrong on the map (jos campau is shown as connecting with Grand Blvd) and it shows a Chrysler plant in Highland Park next to 75 (I assume the old HQ).

That was done in the mid to late 80's as a mitigation measure for allowing SW Airlines to land larger jets at Detroit Airport. The City received federal funds to put in a tunnel there, but it was never enough to actually complete the job. What happened to those dollars? They went towards the Riverwalk, Rep Kilpatrick had to change the law to allow it to happen.

4) Never been to Hamtramck before. Drove through today. Kinda neat little place. I would like to spend some more time wandering sometime soon. Is it a fairly healthy little town? Seems to be doing pretty well but surrounded by some kinda depressing Detroit. Is the town fairly diverse? Is this city still very Polish? Why has it been able to remain fairly healthy amid problems in the neighboring Detroit neighborhoods?

ANSWER: Hamtramack is now very diverse. Yes there are still poles there but not nearly as many as there used to be. Not all of the neighborhoods surrounding Hamtramck are depopulated. To the NE is a huge Bengali community residing in Detroit.

5) Drove all the way downtown on Grand River from 696/275/96 junction for the first time. Rosedale Park area seemed quite pleasant. Having family in GP, I see more of the east side of the city. The west side seems to be overall healthier, is this a correct observation?

ANSWER: Grand River, while the retail strip is no where near what it was, still has viable housing in the neighborhoods leading to Grand River. These can be seen in Old Redford, Rosedale Park, North Rosedale, Grandmont neighborhoods. Make no mistake, the West Side has Brightmoor, as well as Hemann Gardens, and Warren Ave E of Dearborn which are major areas of concern.

6) What is the fastest route to downtown from the 275/696/96 junction? 696 to the Lodge or 96 the whole way? I have a feeling it is a wash, but which is preferred and why?

ANSWER: The Lodge is shorter, but the speeds are slower.
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Bob_cosgrove
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Username: Bob_cosgrove

Post Number: 402
Registered: 03-2005
Posted on Sunday, November 05, 2006 - 11:03 pm:   Edit PostDelete Post   Move Post (Moderator/Admin Only)

In the photo of Gerry Mithcell, isn;t that Bill Chapin grandson or Roy Chapin on the right?

Bob Cosgrove
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Bearinabox
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Username: Bearinabox

Post Number: 65
Registered: 04-2006
Posted on Sunday, November 05, 2006 - 11:07 pm:   Edit PostDelete Post   Move Post (Moderator/Admin Only)

2) That section of M-5 is the original routing of I-96. As originally planned, I-96 would have paralleled Grand River all the way to the 696/275 interchange rather than veering west at Schoolcraft and heading north via 275.
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Jenay
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Username: Jenay

Post Number: 164
Registered: 06-2005
Posted on Sunday, November 05, 2006 - 11:11 pm:   Edit PostDelete Post   Move Post (Moderator/Admin Only)

I went on the Automotive Heritage tour with Preservation Wayne late summer. We visited the T-Plex too and absolutely loved it.
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Lowell
Board Administrator
Username: Lowell

Post Number: 3233
Registered: 10-2003
Posted on Sunday, November 05, 2006 - 11:19 pm:   Edit PostDelete Post   Move Post (Moderator/Admin Only)

Indeed it is Bob. I couldn't remember his first name so I left it off. Glad you spotted it. He told me a great story about Roy driving to NYC in 1901. I found the following account of it:

quote:

Olds commissioned a young associate, Roy D. Chapin, to drive a Curved Dash Olds to New York for an appearance at the New York Auto Show.

Chapin left Detroit on Tuesday, Oct. 29, 1901. The New York show opened the following Saturday, Nov. 2. He went through Ontario to Niagara Falls, covering 278 miles on Wednesday, an amazing performance.

He crossed into the United States on Thursday, then on Friday he encountered heavy rains between Syracuse and Albany. Wagon drivers warned him that the muddy roads were impassable.

Chapin pondered his situation. He reasoned that barges, pulled by mules, moved along the Erie Canal in any kind of weather. The towpath used by the mules was level and finished well.

On inquiring about using the towpath, he was told it was federal property and that he would be jailed if he used it. Fifteen minutes later, he pulled the little Olds onto the all-weather road that stretched along the canal to the horizon. Roy D. Chapin

By evening, he was within 200 miles of his goal, the Waldorf-Astoria Hotel in New York City. Saturday he stopped to replace a bent axle, but still covered 120 miles. He planned to reach the hotel on Sunday.

But after 50 uneventful miles, his transmission developed trouble and had to be rebuilt, which took all day Monday. He started out early Tuesday and on Fifth Avenue, only blocks from the Waldorf-Astoria, he swerved to avoid hitting a man who stepped in front of the Olds. The car hit the curb and deformed a wheel. Chapin bent it back as best he could and drove on.

Roy Chapin, who would later head the Hudson Motor Car Co.


Full Article
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Ramcharger
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Username: Ramcharger

Post Number: 105
Registered: 05-2006
Posted on Monday, November 06, 2006 - 7:52 am:   Edit PostDelete Post   Move Post (Moderator/Admin Only)

Detroitplanner, what is the basis of your concerns about Hermann Gardens, the dust storms or the huge crop of tumble weeds? The "Gardens" were leveled years ago. But I'm sure you know that.

(Message edited by Ramcharger on November 06, 2006)
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Detroitplanner
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Username: Detroitplanner

Post Number: 330
Registered: 04-2006
Posted on Monday, November 06, 2006 - 8:45 am:   Edit PostDelete Post   Move Post (Moderator/Admin Only)

My reference to Hermann Gardens is not so much to the housing project itself, but to the areas N and E of it.
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Ramcharger
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Username: Ramcharger

Post Number: 108
Registered: 05-2006
Posted on Monday, November 06, 2006 - 9:26 am:   Edit PostDelete Post   Move Post (Moderator/Admin Only)

Thanks for the clarification. Speaking of the area East of HG, on a odd side note, I’ve long wondered why the Ford Motor Company or the Ford family hasn’t ever moved the bodies of old Henry and Clara from the church yard on Joy Rd. to someplace in Dearborn. Either Greenfield Village or the Fairlane Estate would be more than suitable.
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Charlottepaul
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Username: Charlottepaul

Post Number: 20
Registered: 10-2006
Posted on Monday, November 06, 2006 - 1:46 pm:   Edit PostDelete Post   Move Post (Moderator/Admin Only)

More suitable?? Thousands of bodies are moved out to the suburbs a year by their families.

"It is not only living people who are leaving Detroit; the dead are leaving too. Every year, 500 graves move from the City of Detroit to the suburbs."--Dan Pitera

http://www.designcorps.org/pan el_iv.htm

Not to get too off topic, but how often is it suitable to move a dead person? Just for the sake of not having to cross into a different jurisdiction from where you live?
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Ramcharger
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Username: Ramcharger

Post Number: 109
Registered: 05-2006
Posted on Monday, November 06, 2006 - 3:27 pm:   Edit PostDelete Post   Move Post (Moderator/Admin Only)

Technically, it’s not that far off topic since this thread started with a discussion of a tour of Ford’s Piquette Ave. plant.

So, while the decline of the neighborhood where the cemetery in which Mr. Ford is buried is somewhat of a factor, I find it is far more interesting that no one in the company, the family, or any state historical organization seems to care that one of the most (if not the most) significant figures in the history of the state rests in relative obscurity. Few people know where Henry Ford is buried and almost no one visits the grave site. This would not be the case if he were interred at Greenfield Village, for example.
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Pam
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Username: Pam

Post Number: 624
Registered: 11-2005
Posted on Monday, November 06, 2006 - 8:03 pm:   Edit PostDelete Post   Move Post (Moderator/Admin Only)


quote:

Few people know where Henry Ford is buried




It is easy enough to find out:

http://www.findagrave.com/cgi- bin/fg.cgi?page=gr&GRid=352

Maybe the family prefers he has a quiet resting place.
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Hysteria
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Username: Hysteria

Post Number: 1618
Registered: 02-2006
Posted on Monday, November 06, 2006 - 8:13 pm:   Edit PostDelete Post   Move Post (Moderator/Admin Only)

https://www.detroityes.com/webisode s/2002/west/07.htm

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