HOME
Detroit Since 1950
Motor City Events
DETROIT Sports
The Classic Motown Years 1958-1988
Vernor's Ginger Ale
State of Michigan Symbols
Michigan Travel Pics

Detroit Since 1950

Perhaps the city's best-known outdoor sculpture, this $40,000 bronze statue was created by Marshall Fredericks, commissioned in 1955, and dedicated in 1958. A popular symbol of the City of Detroit, The Spirit of Detroit stands sixteen feet tall beside the City County Building in Detroit. When the building was under construction, the Mayor and City Council expressed a desire for a monument that would depict the spirit and meaning of the activities inside. To meet this challenge, Marshall Fredericks created The Spirit of Detroit, which symbolizes the relationship of God to man. The massive bronze figure represents the universal spirit of man as a reflection of God. The gilded radiant orb in the figure's left hand is Fredericks' conception of The Deity, which has no beginning nor end and is the source of all light and life. The figure's right hand holds The Family of Man representing the most noble of human relationships. Behind The Spirit of Detroit is a marble wall carved with the City of Detroit and County of Wayne seals, each more than ten feet in diameter. This inscription is included: "Now the Lord is that Spirit and where the Spirit of the Lord is, there is Liberty." II Corinthians 3:17


and now............at bit of folklore.....Nain Rouge

From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia.

The Nain Rouge, French for red dwarf or red gnome, is a mythical creature that haunts Detroit, Michigan. Its appearance is said to presage terrible events for the city. The Nain Rouge appears as a small child-like creature with red or black fur. It is also said to have "blazing red eyes and rotten teeth."

The creature is said to have been attacked in 1701 by the first white settler of Detroit, Antoine de la Mothe Cadillac who soon after lost his fortune. The creature is also said to have appeared in 1763 before the Battle of Bloody Run where 59 British soldiers were killed by Chief Pontiac's Indians.

Famous multiple sighting occurred in the days before the 1805 fire which destroyed most of Detroit. Gen William Hull reported a "dwarf attack" in the fog just before his surrender of Detroit in the War of 1812.

A woman claimed to have been attacked in 1884, and described the creature as resembling, "a baboon with a horned head...brilliant restless eyes and a devilish leer on its face." Another attack was reported in 1964.

Other sightings include the day before the 12th Street Riot in 1967 and before a huge snow/ice storm of March 1976, when two utility workers are said to have seen what they thought was a child climbing a utility pole which then jumped from the top of the pole and ran away as they approached.

faygo.gif (8572 bytes)

 

DETROIT'S MAYORS SINCE 1950

#

        Tenure

                      Name

62 1950-1957 Albert E. Cobo (R) 1893-1957
63 1957-1962 Louis Miriani (R) 1897-1987
64 1962-1970 Jerome P. Cavanagh (D) 1928-1979
65 1970-1974 Roman S. Gribbs (D) b. 1925
66 1974-1993

Coleman A. Young (D)

1918-1997
67 1994-2001 Dennis W. Archer( D) b. 1942
68 2002-2008      Kwame M. Kilpatrick (D) b. 1970
69 2008-2009 Kenneth Cockrel, Jr. (D) b. 1965
70 2009-present Dave Bing b. 1943

Detroit Population Trends
detpop.gif (15010 bytes)

The first Kresge store, shown in this undated photo, opened in 1899 on Woodward Avenue in downtown Detroit. Kmart Corporation, which first started as the S.S. Kresge Company, changed it's corporate name in 1972 and the scope of it's retail operations when it closed or sold all of it's remaining Kresge variety stores in 1986. Update: In 2009 the building is being renovated and will serve as a mini-mall featuring boutique type stores.

 

JL Hudsons, Downtown Detroit (circa 1911) 

     
    A low point in Detroit history, rioting in the streets (1967)


If you were a kid growing up in Detroit, Michigan
 in the 1960s to the early 70s then you might
 remember this tune from the Faygo commercial!

"REMEMBER WHEN YOU WERE A KID"
Lyrics were written by Ed Labunski, and sang by Kenny Karen.

Comic books and rubber bands,
Climb into the tree top.
Falling down and holding hands,
Tricycles and Redpop.
Pony rides and Sunday nights,
Roller skates and yo-yos
Fairy tales and snowball fights
Climb in through the window.
Remember when you were a kid?
Well part of you still is,
And that's why we make Faygo.
Faygo remembers.


Flying kites and funny shoes,
Easter eggs with speckles.
ABC's and counting by twos,
Washing off the freckles.
Kissing a hurt to make it stop,
Startin' school in September.
So many things you almost forgot,
Tryin' to remember.
Remember when you were a kid?
Well part of you still is,
And that's why we make Faygo.
Faygo remembers.

Remember these guys?!?
oldhosts.jpg (39603 bytes)
Some of your favorite hosts for all the kiddie TV shows from the 1950s and early 1960s, they are, from left to right; Poopdeck Paul, Milky the Clown, Captain Jolly, Jingles from Boofland, Johnny Ginger from Curtain Time Theatre and Bozo the Clown.


(click on a numbered link for a description)

  1. Cranbrook Educational Community
  2. Edsel and Eleanor Ford House
  3. Grosse Pointe High School
  4. Ossian H. Sweet House
  5. Pewabic Pottery
  6. Belle Isle
  7. Detroit Naval Armory
  8. Parke-Davis and Company Research Laboratory and Plant
  9. St. Albertus Roman Catholic Church
10. Eastern Market Historic District
11. Mies van der Rohe Residential District
12. Greektown Historic District
13. Second Baptist Church of Detroit
14. Wayne County Courthouse
15. Michigan Soldiers' and Sailors' Monument
16. Mariners Church
17. Guardian Building
18. Fort Street Presbyterian Church
19. Corktown Historic District
20. Tiger Stadium (currently being demolished: July, 2008)
21. Women's City Club
22. Fox Theater
23. Elwood Bar
24. David Whitney House
25. West Canfield Historic District
26. Cathedral Church of St. Paul Complex
27. Cultural Center Historic District
28. Dunbar Hospital
29. Col. Frank J. Hecker House
30. General Motors Building
31. Fisher Building
32. Highland Park Ford Plant
33. Palmer Park Apartment Building Historic District
34. Palmer Woods Historic District
35. Lincoln Motor Company Plant
36. Fair Lane--The Henry Ford Estate
37. Greenfield Village and Henry Ford Museum
38. Ford River Rouge Complex
39. St. Anne Roman Catholic Church Complex

DETROIT WEB LINKS OF INTEREST

 
Harmony House is the quintessential mom & pop success story. Started in Hazel Park in 1947 by Carl Thom, the store expanded to 37 locations in the metro Detroit area (plus one in Toledo). In 2002 Bill Thom, son of the founders, decided to liquidate most of the stores in light of declining profits and fierce competition from discount outlets. Two stores remain, providing excellent service with a knowledgeable staff. No web site found.

Harmony House Records & Tapes Inc                  Harmony House Records & Tapes Inc. (classical music)
29732 Woodward Ave                                              28297 Woodward
Royal Oak, MI 48073                                                 Berkely, MI                       
(248) 398-0422                                                        (248) 544-1700

Within a year after the liquidation of the Harmony House chain, the final two stores were closed forever, ending an era.

     

Bob Lo Boats (A wonderful nostalgia page!)

Buildings of Detroit

Buy Michigan Products

Detroit Funk.com
Detroit and Southeastern Michigan Rock and Roll: 1966-1972
Detroit Pictures - Pix of the Motor City

Detroit Tailgate
Detroit Thunderfest - Gold Cup and Detroit Racing History

Detroit Yes! Forums

Experience Detroit
History of Detroit from 1701 - 2001

Mythic Detroit
Old Detroit
Rearview Mirror - Detroit News Historical Archives Index

Soulful Detroit
The Kowalski Story
The Detroit Line

Quintessential Detroit Food

Willow Run Bomber Plant and 3509th Army Air Force Base

 

DETROIT MEDIA LINKS

62.jpg (3224 bytes)   wwj.jpg (7174 bytes)
detnews.gif (2880 bytes)

 

RADIO AND TV LINKS FROM DETROIT'S PAST

Detroit Kid Show Page

Johnny Ginger
Keener13.com - Remembering the Legend
Morgus Presents! Online
The Classic CKLW Page!

 

Steer me back to the Home Page

 
Copyright 2000-2009 Great Lake Dweller. All Rights Reserved.

FrontPage Website Templates