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Month: November 2008

  • Detroit’s Thanksgiving Day Parade

    He headed downtown this morning for the Detroit Thanksgiving Day Parade.  What fun!

    We parked in the shadow the Masonic Temple and walked the Woodward parade route to Campus Martius, where we met up with friends.

    Feeling the chill, we ducked inside of Foran’s for a Bushmill’s warm up.  It was somewhat sad cheering as Santa’s float passed by from a bar stool.

    On the trek back to the car, we were befriended in the Corridor by a homeless man named James.  He asked if we could buy him a drumstick of chicken to eat, so we stopped into a corner store.  They were out of drumsticks so we bought him a half-dozen wings with hot sauce.

    He was pretty jazzed to begin with but more so with the food in hand.

    Link: Photos from the parade

  • Detroit Tree lighting at Campus Martius

    Karen and I headed Downtown for another fun event: the tree lighting at Campus Martius.

    We started the evening by quickly dropping into D’Mongo’s on Griswold.  It’s a quirky, retro, funky place that’s worth a visit.  They’re only open on Fridays this time of the year, but open on Saturdays during the summer.

    We ventured down to Campus Martius, stood around for some singing and skating performances, then cheered as Mayor Cockrel lit the huge tree.

    Next, worked our way over to Foran’s to split a couple beers and fish & chips.  We jumped next door to Eph’s, which is now open in the evenings – Woo hoo.  We visited with Bil Lusa who was holding his 5-day old son Spencer and John Gannon who gave us the inside scoop on the deli scene.

    On the way back to the car, we chatted with Chuck Gadica and Josh at the Urban Bean.

    It was a cheery evening downtown.

    The Detroit News has coverage of the event as well.

  • Visiting the Birwood Wall in Detroit

    After the presidential election, I enjoyed watching teary-eyed Americans, many of who said they never expected this after struggling decades for civil rights.  What a great milestone.

    A few days after, I biked down to the Birwood wall in Northwest Detroit.

    From the Associated Press, May 17th, 2006:

    The wall was built in the early 1940s when a developer wanted to build homes for middle-class whites but found that the U.S. government would not back mortgages because too many blacks lived in the neighborhood, said Blight Busters founder John George.

    The developer proposed putting up a wall to show that whites and blacks would not be living together, George said. It worked, and federal officials approved the loans.

    I just don’t understand how anyone thought this wall was acceptable.  And it’s also a reminder to temper those glowing stories of how Detroit used to be a paradise.  Walls like this wouldn’t get built in my vision of paradise.

    The wall still stands today.  Parts of it are tagged, while others have been covered in an elaborate mural.

    During my visit I spoke with one of the wall’s neighbors.  He grew up here and recalled how he used to walk along the wall when he was a kid.

    We gave a fist bump to celebrate Obama’s recent victory.

    I hopped back on the bike and headed home.

  • Theatre Bizarre

    On the morning of October 27th, 1953, in a home within the grounds of an abandoned amusement park, a gruesome discovery was made.  The bodies of 47 victims lay desecrated in varying stages of decay…

    Edgar Joseph Torrent… spent years in seclusion toiling away at his macabre obsession.  Edgar was able to evade capture by fleeing through the maze of maintenance tunnels connecting to the carnival’s funhouse.

    He was never found.

    And that is the backstory behind Theatre Bizarre, hidden along the south edge of America’s oldest state fair.

    To get into the party, costumed guests must walk through Edgar’s home and workshop before existing through the same tunnels that aided his escape.  The Theatre Bizarre scenery defies description.  It’s scary retro with incredible detail.  It’s obvious that many put a significant effort into making this one of the most unique events one could ever attend.

    Here’s our documentation: 2008 Theatre Bizarre photos

    For more fun, turn out the lights and watch this…