"We are in Indianapolis at 6:30 AM air conditioned in the train.". That is what the back of this postcard says, It was postmarked from Indianapolis in 1949, and mailed to someone on what looks like Fritos Street in Detroit. I know it is not Fritos Street, but the handwriting on these cards is something else, so that is my best guess, and not a very good one.
It is a linen-style postcard published by Curteich. The caption on the back says: "Washington Boulevardd is a fine parkway lined with wonderful shops -- and at night one of the most brilliantly lighted thoroughfares to be found in any city.
Below is what I am pretty sure is the same area in modern Detroit, from Google Street View
Well, it looks a lot bleaker. It's no sort of parkwayDetroit gets emptier and bleaker over time. Mayor Bing has a plan to save what is left: by demolishing the ruined areas and consolidating:
"n the middle, miles of vacant lots and broken-down homes -- so empty that pheasants are moving in. Basic services are too costly to keep up. Detroit is dying. "
reads a story from ABC World News. Perhaps they can go medieval and let peasants move in, too.
Mayor Bing appears to be sincere and dedicated to his job, and wanting to make some hard choices. "I am unveiling a plan to demolish 3,000 dangerous residential structures this year," he said. Detroit never recovered from the riots, and the ensuing decades of ruinous rule by Mayor Coleman A. Young. The main thing I remember about Mayor Young is someone I knew in college who had a very nice stereo system. It was given to him by the City of Detroit government in return for a campaign contribution he had made to Mayor Young.
6 comments:
I wonder how much success Mayor Bing has had since March? I seem to recall that Bing has backed off a bit. I am curious if anyone has a progress report? Anyway, the courts have dealt with some of the corruption by jailing Kwame, Monica and Sam. I hope that Detroit can survive but...
That postcard is lovely. And actually the google shot is rather nice too, although yeah, very different.
Love the 2 different views.
I was just talking to someone today about Washington Boulevard today. I left Detroit last year and will never return. I don't really believe in that town because of my personal and very negative experiences there. I was followed once in my car around Wayne State University for shaking my head at someone in the car for littering. Littering and Detroit being treated as a dump overall is a major problem. I mean it has the country's largest incinerator that is owned by a major cigarette company (although ownership may have changed recently). As well as being in an attempted car jacking and witnessing a shooting. There are other things but I thought I would mention the highlights of my time in Detroit. I have a friend who lives in the urban core and struggles with that town. To me Detroit feels like it is stuck in time in many ways and it is not moving.
Nice juxtaposition! Sad though.
Leo: He has a hard and thankless job. He could be another Dennis Archer, who wasn't a fiend like Coleman Young, but his main legacy is the destruction of the Hudson's store.
Laura: Thanks!
Aimee: Thanks also!
Anish: Interesting to read from someone who has lived there. I've only visited a whole bunch of times.
One thing I do remember from my first visit was all the trash on the ground and blowing in the air. I'd never seen anything like that before. It was like in this music video. Thanks for coming by!
And thanks also for your visit, Pamela.
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