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Today I drove the length of Hamilton Blvd. I must say it was pretty depressing. There was a lot of very old buildings pretty much in ruins with no hope at all for.
This building inparticular at Hamilton and Sturtevant caught my eye.
http://i721.photobucket.com/albums/w...9/100_9908.jpg
http://i721.photobucket.com/albums/w...9/100_9902.jpg
and the building behind it on Sturtevant which I am assuming was a firehouse.
http://i721.photobucket.com/albums/w...9/100_9903.jpg
sometimes i take the road back to downtown from Dakota Inn... i agree Hamilton is one of the most blight ridden strips in the city... very depressing.
It's actually looked pretty much the same for a couple of decades now, it's been a dying street for a long time. Some party stores and gas stations are left operating. I'd have to look hard to see if there's any apartment buildings still around.
That engine house has been gone for a very long time. The entire roof is collapsed and it looks like there are trees or shrubs growing inside. Is that in Detroit of Highland Park?
That would be Highland Park. I ride my bike through there every now and then to get to work from school and let me tell ya, it is very depressing to see those buildings.Quote:
Originally Posted by Meddle
Hamilton and Sturtevant is definitely in Highland Park. The boundary is right near Webb.
Hamilton was quite a hangout for antique seekers in the 60s. Lots of antique and second hand stores and some specialty shops. My parents used to go there most Saturdays and come back with all kinds of eclectic goodies.
The whole strip need to be remodeled. Tear down the remaining buildings and make it an express street for busses and cabs. It could stretch from downtown to palmer park without dealing with traffic. Make it a highway
At Six Mile Hamilton Avenue turns into Pontchartrain. If you continue north on Pontchartrain about a half mile or so you will see what appears to be just the driveway into the Detroit Golf Club. Turn left onto that road and just before the Golf Club entrance Hamilton Road intersects. Turn either to the right or left on Hamilton Road and you'll see one of Detroit's most beautiful neighborhoods. There also used to be a secret entrance off 7 Mile; but that may now be closed.
Yes I know hamilton does end up in a driveway. The express busses could still use that strip and turn off on 7mile then down another street such as woodward. The riders could see Palmer Park as a scenery on route home or to work downtown
There was a Seven Mile entrance, but it has to be close to 40 years since it was open.Quote:
There also used to be a secret entrance off 7 Mile; but that may now be closed.
This photo brings back some memories for me. There were apartments in that building. My friend had one of them in, I think, 1970. I remember that apartment very well. It would have been the one one on the second floor, closest to the fire station.
Thanks for posting this photo.
I agree Hamilton is a pit but at least they put down new pavement on the street....my Focus almost disappeared in a pothole a couple of years ago.
One of the odder sights along Hamilton is this apartment building on Cortland. The side facing Hamilton has completely collapsed, leaving the inside of the building visible from top to bottom. It's been in more or less exactly that condition for several years at least.
Yeah, I just used google maps to check out that nightmare.Quote:
Originally Posted by Bearinabox
It was like that in 2007 [[Most streetview was captured in 07), so it must have been collapsed for a while now.
I recall several operating businesses in the mid-nineties: a gun and ammo shop; an auto repair business; some small markets and a now dilapidated and abandoned 9? story apartment building...when did Hamilton start changing for the worst?Quote:
Originally Posted by gazhekwe
Unfortunately, the Hamilton stretch leading up to McNichols looked the same 15 years ago. At least is that Coney Island still there on the Southeast corner of Ham/McN?
In its day, Hamilton was very tony street with luxury shops. It connected the mansions of Boston-Edison with those of the Detroit Golf Club and Palmer Woods. Only Chene has fallen lower than than this once vibrant strip.
My daughter and I had lunch at that coney a couple months ago... so at least it was operating then.
Nice to hear that the road has been repaved. It was a nightmare driving down that street. The fact that so many businesses are gone only continues the nightmare but in a different way. :[[
I had a lot of experience with the Hamilton/McNichols area when I was a kid. I used to take a
bus from Guest Elementry@Meyers&Fenkell after 3p to 6Mile&Meyers then take a transfer to 6Mile&Hamilton to hebrew school at Temple Israel on Manderson Rd. The temple was a big part of our lives and when I was learning to drive my dad would let me drive the 55 Chrysler Windsor from the house to the temple in the Hamilton Blvd area. When I was a teenager I remember going to a party at one of those big homes on Ponchatrain Blvd. How are they looking these days? If memory serves me right the infamous Krim theater was at the corner of 6Mi&Hamiton [[can you say Deep Throat)?
The Palmer Park Theatre was on Hamilton and 6 Mile. The Krim was on Woodward and Florence.
Hamilton is my daily commute. I've thought many times that a photo essay of the street would be interesting. Some buildings that retain signs of their former lives, painted walls and signs indicating businesses, etc. I missed taking a photo of Chet's Gun Shop before the sign came down last year. There's a guy who makes keg grills out of a pretty sad looking building [[near a BBQ/fish place that opened, closed, re-opened, who knows) and I always like seeing him out there. He's got a dog that would keep me from trespassing.
A firehouse on Hamilton closer to McNichols closed relatively recently...almost looks like it burned. Anyone know? Google left me empty handed.
not proud to tell this story, but a few yrs back just after they resurfaced it i drove hamilton from the cbd to mcnichols after bar time and ran every red light back home. thats how desolate that road is-