The Sunday morning was bright and getting warmer by the minute when we decided to make the trip down into Detroit to the Avalon International Bread Company on Willis. We'd eaten a couple of their vegan cookies purchased from Whole Foods in Troy and decided it would be worth a trip to the source.
The first leg was down Greenfield to the Lodge. Haven't been on the Lodge for ages and right away it became a game of anamnesis as we recalled locations along the way that once were landmarks to us.
We crossed Greenfield to the entrance ramp onto the freeway and there on the right was where Boesky's Deli was once ensconced. One of the best in Detroit and certainly well known around the country. You may remember Ivan Boesky who sullied the family name and upon whom, at least in part, the character Gordon Gekko was based. "Greed is good!"
Once on the freeway, a familiar feeling of claustrophobia came creeping back as we threaded our way through the towering vertical concrete walls, a signature feature of the Lodge. Always wondered how one might escape should a flash flood suddenly wash through these arterial canyons.
Exiting onto Grand Boulevard, we stopped for the light next to Henry Ford Hospital, the mother ship facility for the Henry Ford Health System. This complex is probably least known as my birthplace, though today the only vestige of that event is the original façade. I recall seeing 8mm movies of my mother holding me on the front steps of that entrance many decades ago (though I won’t reveal how many).
Diagonally across the Grand Boulevard intersection is the building that housed a motel back in the Sixties. That building has always held a certain fascination because the motel was a parapet for a sniper during the 12th Street Riot in 1967. It gave him a vantage point from which to shoot at cars passing on the freeway.
Further east on Grand Boulevard stands the Fisher Building, one of Detroit’s grandest architectural landmarks. Architect Joseph French of Albert Kahn Associates started out to build a three-building complex. Two 30-story buildings would have flanked a 60-story structure on this block had it not been for the Great Depression. What remains is one of the flanking 30-story buildings. Given its wonderful art deco design the Fisher Building is an outstanding tribute to French.
Across the street we pass the building that once housed Topinka’s Restaurant, for many years a very hip hangout for Detroit’s media and advertising creatives. A block further and we are dwarfed by the former General Motors building, now called Cadillac Center. The Center is another Albert Kahn masterwork and an outstanding example of Neo-Classical architecture. With nearly 1.4 million square feet, the building is now a National Historic Landmark.
Waiting to turn south on Cass Avenue, we noted that the St. Regis Hotel is still there, which brought to mind the Mona Loa, a South Seas restaurant that has come and gone next door.
When Filmcraft Film Lab was located on Willis many years ago, getting from the car to their front door forced you to run a gauntlet of panhandlers. Turning onto Willis now is a much different and certainly more relaxing experience. Avalon International Breads occupies a venerable and charming commercial building from early in the last century. The shaded tables out front were occupied with a variety of folks enjoying their Sunday coffee and brunch.
Inside, the place was bustling. People were lined up to buy bread, sandwiches and drinks. Behind the counter, the staff was happily busy taking care of business. The ovens and stacks of flour sacks were in plain sight and the place had a comfortable neighborhood feel about it. And the sandwiches we ate outside under an umbrella were delicious.
From the Avalon, we decided to drive down to Corktown. Along Trumbull, we found ourselves driving through blocks of open land with few if any buildings. Lots of tall grass and a few trees here and there. Sidewalks and streets remain to remind that this area was once densely populated urban neighborhoods.
Another reminder at one intersection was an enclave of small crudely constructed shelters with a few souls sitting in the shade of some brushwood. Across the street, a man was prostrate on the sidewalk in the sweltering sun. As he moved ever so slightly, a brown paper bag poked out from beneath his shoulder.
The difference with this urban tableau and a similar one ten or twenty years ago was the expanse of open land that surrounded these folks. This was no narrow skid row street any more. The city buildings were blocks away.
As we approached Michigan Avenue, some kids played baseball in the middle of a huge vacant lot. It didn’t register at first, but this landscape once contained Briggs Stadium, more recently known as Tiger Stadium. Now, it’s like it never was.
The old railroad depot is still standing though. Once a symbol of Detroit’s lofty position within the national commerce and transportation milieu, the crumbling building has become a derelict icon of Detroit’s downfall in more recent years. Still, as you drive past, it demands a modicum of respect for its towering faded grandeur.
Corktown has spruced up considerably. Still home to some authentic Mexican restaurants, Mexican Village in particular caught our attention. It was the destination for our first date. Around the eateries and eastward toward downtown, the aging neighborhoods show a great deal of caring attention with lots of fresh paint and lovely gardens. It’s apparent these residents are enjoying their lives within walking distance of the downtown business district.
Our trip ultimately took us along Jefferson passing the void where Ford Auditorium once stood. At least Old Mariners Church still crouches in the shadow of the new GM Building, formerly known as the Renaissance Center or more sardonically “Deuce’s erection.”
Of course the Penobscot Building still commands the downtown skyline. Once the powers-that-be tried to rename it but after years of Detroiters continuing to call it the Penobscot Building, they gave up and reinstated its original name.
A quick slide down the entrance ramp onto I75, past the new stadiums and north toward home. The trip has been an eye opener for us as metro-ites. We’ve woven some threads of first-hand familiarity that tie us back to the city. We’ve enjoyed our tour back in time, but have also brought ourselves back to the present. We’ll be back again for another visit.
No comments:
Post a Comment