General Kosciuszko

I saw these two pictures of General Thaddeus Kosciuszko on Michigan Avenue downtown that I took downtown back in April of this year, and decided to find out more about him. There's a biography about him at the Polish American Center website. The site says that he was born in Poland in 1746, and was in America for the Revolutionary War. He also helped Poland gain their independence in the late 1700s. He passed away in Poland in 1817, and there is currently a house named for him in Philadelphia.. This statue was erected in downtown Detroit in August 1978, and this sign is written in both Polish and English. One of Gen. Kosciuszko's fellow countrymen, Gen. Casimir Pulaski, also has a statue dedicated to him on Washington Boulevard, which was dedicated 12 years earlier in 1966. There are many historic and cultural statues downtown. You just have to know where to look.

News Points

Lots of news here in Detroit today.Here are a couple of the stories that stood out for me.
The Tigers put Joel Zumaya (pictured on the left) on the disabled list after an elbow injury that he sustained during last night's game against the Twins. He will miss the rest of this season, and I hope that he'll be all better and ready to go by next season. This picture was taken on June 3 at the Tigers game against Cleveland.
The Mayor and City Council agreed to keep over 75 parks open and functioning. They were going to close a number of parks, including the popular Palmer Park on the northwest side, and Fort Wayne on the Southwest side, so that the city could save some money in their budget. Many people were upset and angry about this, because they wondered where people would come to relax on a nice day, and how the young people would spend their time during the summer if their parks were closed.

Broderick Views

Here are three different pictures of the Broderick Tower here in Detroit The picture of the whales was painted on there by the artist Wyland in the late 1990s. There have been various ads covering this picture, the most recent being for Verizon's Droid phones. In the second picture, this is the view of the tower from Comerica Park (it's the building with the ad on it, the only one with the ad on it). There have been ads for Jeep there in years past, as well. The building used to house a radio station (WJLB from what my mom has told me) and a restaurant (the former Flaming Embers). It now houses only a bar that's usually open on game days for the Tigers, Lions and Red Wings. The small building between the Broderick Tower and the Opera House used to house the Madison Theatre, which has been converted to Angelina Italian restaurant.
Doing some research around the internet, I read on Wikipedia that the building was originaly called the Eaton Tower until 1945, when David Broderick bought the building. The website Buildings of Detroit has many good pictures and some info, as well, so check them out, as well.

Broderick Views

Here are three different pictures of the Broderick Tower here in Detroit The picture of the whales was painted on there by the artist Wyland in the late 1990s. There have been various ads covering this picture, the most recent being for Verizon's Droid phones. In the second picture, this is the view of the tower from Comerica Park (it's the building with the ad on it, the only one with the ad on it). There have been ads for Jeep there in years past, as well. The building used to house a radio station (WJLB from what my mom has told me) and a restaurant (the former Flaming Embers). It now houses only a bar that's usually open on game days for the Tigers, Lions and Red Wings. The small building between the Broderick Tower and the Opera House used to house the Madison Theatre, which has been converted to Angelina Italian restaurant.
Doing some research around the internet, I read on Wikipedia that the building was originaly called the Eaton Tower until 1945, when David Broderick bought the building. The website Buildings of Detroit has many good pictures and some info, as well, so check them out, as well.

Two Signs for Social Issues

The US Social Forum was here in Detroit this past week. Many people came here to talk about their views for the world. These two signs were taken yesterday. there were many conferences and ralliesaround the city and downtown, as well. Looking at that "Shame on Arizona" sign, it makes me think about when there was a protest about their immigration law at Comerica Park a few weeks ago when the Tigers were playing the Arizona Diamondbacks. There were many protests around the country about this law, especially in the southwest.
This sign echoes the sentiments of many on the the Immigration law in Arizona. I don't agree with the AZ Immigration law, because it's just racism against people who are of Central and South American descent, and all forms of racism are wrong.

YouTube Friday: Jimmy Johns Falling Super Happy Fun Seal

I was scanning YouTube, and saw this add for Jimmy John's. This is one of my favorite Jimmy John's Commercials, so I decided to post it here today for YouTube Friday on TWaSbL. There are more ads where this one came from, and even a new one on Jimmy John's YouTube channel, so check 'em out!

iPhone 4 Debut day

Today was the big release of the new Apple iPhone 4. They say that this iPhone has better features and new functions, as well. From what I was reading in USA Today, there were people waiting in line for it at the Apple Store in New York, as well as around the US and other parts of the world. Here in the Detroit area, people waited in line at Metro Detroit Apple stores for the new release. It's a hot commodity, and if I were to get one, I'd wait until all the hype died down to get one. They had advertising for the iPhone 4 at the AT&T store at the mall I frequent. If you have a new iPhone, how is it working out so far for you?

TWaSbL Congrats!

Just wanted to offer my Congratulations to Dino Ciccarelli and Red Wings Senior Vice President Jim Devellano for the call to the Hockey Hall of Fame. It was announced yesterday, June 22, that they and three others will be in the Hall of Fame Congrats!!

Boblo Island Blog

Here's a picture taken June 19, 2010 of the old Detroit Dock to Boblo Island, which was a former amusement park in Amherstburg, Ontario. The boats stopped running in 1991, and the amusement park closed in 1993, and is now home to many luxury houses and condos. An interesting page about the boats and the Island is Boblo Steamers. It has a lot of cool pictures and info about the island. I have very few memories of going over to the island as a youngster in the late 1980s with my Mom and my friends on the boat. The last time I saw one of the Boblo Boats was back in June 2007 when one of the steamers was on display during River Days. Many people who grew up in Detroit from the 1930s-1980s have fond memories of riding the boat to the island for a day of fun with family and friends, and also of the Moonlight cruises on the river. The building is currently abandoned now. I don't know if anyone has any ideas for the building or not. This would be good for offices, lofts, or something of a shipping nature, considering it's right on the river. I'd try to keep the sign that says "Boblo Island Detroit Dock" and use it for historical purposes.

More River Days pictures

Here are some more of my pictures from River Days. This picture was taken from the USCGC Bristol Bay. These sailboats were just cruising at river speed so the people on shore could see them as they cruised along. I liked seeing these saiboats, because it's rare that I see this many sailboats on the river. There are mainly shipping boats, and pleasure boats and yachts out on the river most days, but
There was a carnival area at River Days, with these elephants being one of the rides. There were also games and other attractions in the carnival area that you'd expect from a state or county fair. Everyone looked like they were having a great time on the rides , playing games, and relaxing with family and friends on a nice Saturday afternoon.
This is one of my favorite pictures. These are the International Sister Cities of Windsor, Ontario, Canada on the left, and Detroit, Michigan, USA on the right. The Detroit river runs right down the center. This view, taken from the Diamond Queen cruise boat, is one of my favorite shots of the Sister Cities.Many people like to take pictures of the Detroit skyline from the Windsor riverfront because of the skyline.

River Days and Tugboat Races

I went to River Days on the Detroit Riverfront yesterday, and had a good time. This festival has been going on for the past few years now. There are rides, concerts, water activites, and more. The festival ends tomorrow, June 21, with the Freedom Festival Fireworks on the river. Windsor has a festival on their side of the river as well. One of my favorite things to see at the festival is the Tugboat races, shown here . The tugs race around and toot their horns at each other as they go by. Here's a 30-second clip of the festivities that I posted on YouTube I'll post some more pics in the coming days.
Lauren

YouTube Friday-Detroit People Mover Remix

For YouTube Friday, I saw this video posted by mikeydbn of the People Mover. The People Mover now goes in a Clockwise direction. I like the music here, and it is a pretty good video to see. Follow the People Mover on Twitter at @detpeoplemover (twitter.com/detpeoplemover)

Stadium Site Ideas

Just reading the paper today, and I saw that the city is looking for ideas for the site of Tiger Stadium. I think that the city should keep the field for recreation/travel baseball and softball teams, and add a community area to the site for people to find out about the Corktown neighborhood. These pictures were taken back in March of this year. What are your ideas for the site?

Historic and Modern sights

Just decided to post a few pictures today with some history and insight This is the side of the old Park Avenue Building downtown. It was built in the Beaux Arts style (via Wikipedia) and Albert Kahn was the architect (via Emporis.com)
This was on an abandoned building downtown These cats, along with other characters designed like this, are scattered about downtown. I like this "Noe" cat. It reminds me of the Lolcat style that was really popular at one time.
These ads are downtown on Gratiot. These ads change every so often. The MGM ad sometimes has an ad for Greektown or Motor City Casino as well. The two Droid ads on the David Broderick Tower and on the Billboard on Gratiot tout that Droid does what other phones can't. Metro PCS has a number of ads around town with the "$40 on the Nose", "Sweet Holy Moly" and other sayings of the sort. W

Flag Day Blog

It's Flag day here in the USA. I did some research on the history of Flag Day, and according to USFlag.org, the day traces its orgins to the 1880s as a day to honor the American Flag. Many people raise their flags on holidays such as this, as well as Memorial Day, Veterans Day, Independence Day and other holidays. I've also seen flags lowered to half mast on the anniversary of the September 11 attacks to honor all who passed on that day in 2001.
As seen in these two pictures, the flag flies prominently at the Renaissance Center and at Comerica Park, respectively. The flags at the RenCen were at Half Mast for Memorial Day, to honor all veterans who gave the ultimate sacrifice for the USA. The flag at Comerica Park was taken during the Tigers Home Opener festivities in April of this year.

News Link and Dialogue: Should Parents be jailed for not attending Parent-Teacher Conferences

I'm reading this article in the Detroit news about Wayne County's prosecutor developing a plan, which is still in the works, to make it a crime punishable by a fine or jail time for parents who don't attend Parent-Teacher conferences at their child's school. They say that they want more parent involvement in the schools and in kids education. I don't think that jail time is appropriate for parents who skip out on conferences, because some parents may be too busy to attend, but I do think that there should be some other forms of communication between parents and the schools, such as phone calls, letters home, e-mails, and means of that sort. I think that parents should own up and take responsibility for what their kids are getting into and seeing to it that their children are keeping up academically in school. I remember going to Conferences with my parents when I was in school (my Mom usually went, but my Dad came to conferences with my Mom when I was in Elementary school and the 6th grade), and they both would find out how I was fairing academically from my teachers themselves. THey'd talk to me and help me out if I was lagging in any subject, and find the help necessary for me if they couldn't help me. When I was in High School, Report cards were handed out at Conferences during certain marking periods (they were usually mailed home or handed out in Homeroom, which was rarely used in my school), and the parents could talk with their child's teachers face to face about their child or children's grade. The day after conferences, students whose parents didn't attend conferences had to pick up their report cards at the office, and if they still didn't show up to pick the cards up then, they were mailed home. To all my readers with school aged kids, do you attend Parent-Teacher conferences for your child? What means are helpful to get parents who don't attend to get more involved in their child's education?

Row House

As I was taking my walk yesterday, I passed by the old Workers Row house in Corktown, which is on the Southwest side of town, just outside of downtown. It's the only one of its kind, according to the informational sign nearby. I see the houses, and think about all the people who lived here in the past, and how it must have been for them to walk or take the horse and buggy to and from work, school, houses of Worship, and to other places, since many people lived here long ago. I also wonder what the occupations of many of the tenants here were. I think that it'll be interesting to see what's discovered here in the long run.

YouTube Friday: mySCRIPPSdetroit.DRF: FM Dial Sweep

Just looking at the Detroit Radio Flashbacks page again (I mentioned this site in a previous entry), and I found their YouTube channel. This is one of my favorite videos of theirs. It's of the old Detroit FM Dial. It's a trip back in time for most if not all Detroiters that lived here "Back in the Days". I remember a few of these stations , including WLTI (Soft Rock/Adult Contemporary), WHYT (Pop/Top 40), WJZZ (Jazz), and WLLZ (Rock) The station content and some of the call letters have since changed over the years, but the memories stay alive to all who listen to the Radio

Link of the Day: Detroit Transit History

I'm currently looking through the Detroit Transit History website. It's a site chronicling the history of Public Transit here in Detroit. It has many interesting pictures and info there of old Buses, Streetcars, and other tidbits from the DUR, DSR, DOT and the old Semta and Smart bus systems of yesterday and today.
These Bus Stop signs have come a long way since the old Green and Yellow DOT stops from back in the day that I remember. THere were some old DSR "Board Coach Here" signs from way back when that have since been removed. The Smart bus signs haven't changed that much . I'm currently looking at a page with the old Route Numbers compared to the current route names and numbers. I remember a few of them that are no longer in existence, such as the old CAT-Cultural Attractions Trolley (Route #3), John R. (Route #33), Meyers (Route # Woodrow Wilson (Route #52) and Lahser (Route #99) more vividly.

Detroit Savings Bank facade

Here's the facade of the old Detroit Savings Bank, which is now part of Comerica Bank. According to the Funding Universe page about Comerica Bank, the Detroit Savings Bank was incorporated in 1871, and became the Detroit Bank in 1936. Nineteen years later, in 1955, Detroit Bank became Detroit Bank and Trust,which is what many Detroiters remember it as. In 1973, Detroit Bank and Trust was held by a corporation called DetroitBank, which became Comerica Bank in 1982. The Posters and signs near this doorway are from when the United Way occupied the building around the corner on Griswold. This door is on the State street side near Capitol Park. I like the arched window above the door here.

Lights and Reading Statues

This is one of my favorite pictures of the past week or so. This was taken June 1, 2010 after the Tigers-Indians game at Comerica Park. This was taken from the Grand Circus Park People Mover station. The People Mover was delayed a bit, and I had some time before the train arrived. Woodward avenue runs thru the center, and this is the east side of the park. The lights shining over the trees makes it look pretty cool. By the time I passed here while leaving downtown, the top rows of the light towers were on. These lights make the park and the area around it shine like it was high noon almost.
This is another one of my favorite Pictures from June 1. This is an iconic statue in the Grand Circus Park People Mover station. It's called "Catching Up" The statue has both the Detroit News and the Detroit Free Press with him, and the papers both have 1987 dates on them. The People Mover opened up to riders in July 1987 Many people like to take pictures of and with this statue.

Womens City Club of Detroit Building

Here are some pictures I took on Saturday of the Womens City Club building downtown. It's been designated as a Michigan Historic site since 1980, five years after the club moved out of these quarters. According to the page on the National Park Service website, This building was designed by the husband of Mary Chase Stratton, who founded Pewabic Pottery and member of the club. There were many Pewabic Tiles adorning the building, including the ones pictured here. These tiles remind me of drops of water. . There were also different organizations within the club that had meetings and speakers there. I like the arched doorway at the entrance of the building an always wonder what the club was like back in its heyday in the 1940s and '50s. Here are a few pictures of the tiles in the club in the 1950s from the Wayne State Virtual Motor City Collection (Click on the words to get to the pics). The building is currently abandoned looks like it's about to be rehabilitated in some way, with new windows. I wonder what'll be there in the long run.