Gibbs on Gratiot demolished

**Gistok** · November-28-11, 04:07 PM

Originally Posted by EastsideAl

Sad to see it go. Despite Danny's usual spurious nonsense, Gibb's was an extremely classy store whose knowledgeable staff helped introduce many an eastsider to the world of good wine, etc. Tim McCarthy, who later opened Cost Plus over by the Eastern Market, got his start there.

They held on there on Gratiot much longer than most of the surrounding businesses, and for a long time they sponsored sports teams, etc. for kids from the surrounding neighborhood. I well remember going in there with my father on many a Saturday afternoon and having a long palaver with Tim over which wines were both a good drink and a good buy. When I was a younger kid we would also stop in across the street at Alexander & Hourning to pick up some of the German-style meats that my mother loved so much.

So, that's another whole piece of my youth gone, but, really more importantly, as pointed out elsewhere here another part of the real street-level urban fabric of our city gone forever.

Boy you really hit the "nostalgia button on the head" for me EastsideAl.... is Tim still at the Cost Plus location, or has he retired and let others [[his son?)... run the place?

As for Gibbs, they still are located in Detroit... at the Pointe Plaza location on Moross. I just talked to the owner last week.

I too used to go to Alexander & Hornung's with my parents every Saturday for German meats many years ago. Also used to go to Montgomery Ward's up near 7 Mile & Gratiot, I can still remember the building and its' 1 story annex. And across Gratiot was Old Country Imports where the old German lady [[Lucy Evans), who always had alcohol on her breath, always wanted a kiss on the cheek from the kids. Also remember Robert Hall clothiers a block over.

I too liked that yellow facade to Gibbs. So it was porcellain... it almost looked like Vitrolite to me...

And then there was the Ramona Theatre, and the City Barber College.

**HazenPingree** · November-28-11, 04:43 PM

Originally Posted by bartock

You seem to get my point, though you disagree with it.

I'd much rather have my kid walking past a parking lot or empty, leveled areas as opposed to some aesthetically depressing, structurally dangerous building harboring God knows what inside of it for the sake of some sort of preservation efforts by those who don't live in that same neighborhood.

Not that it will necessarily make a difference to you, but I know plenty of people "in the neighborhood" who wanted the Mark Twain Branch preserved.

bartock · November-28-11, 05:36 PM

Originally Posted by HazenPingree

Not that it will necessarily make a difference to you, but I know plenty of people "in the neighborhood" who wanted the Mark Twain Branch preserved.

It does make a difference. However, as you have attempted to quote me, my statements are being taken out of context. I said I wasn't sure if the Mark Twain was salvagable. I mentioned other structures with respect to the "preservation" comment as well, and I stated my opinion as to what I would do if I were a parent there. It has been suggested or stated that the Mark Twain situation was avoidable. Sounds like, at the very least, it could have been properly mothballed, and wasn't. There are plenty of other buildings in the relative nearby vicinity that are far more dangerous structurally and perhaps otherwise on Gratiot [[and Mack, for that matter). So perhaps Mark Twain was the exception to the general rule that if I were a parent in those neighborhoods that I would be glad some of those structures are coming down, even if there is nostalgia attached.

**ordinary** · November-28-11, 05:42 PM

Originally Posted by EastsideAl

Sad to see it go. Despite Danny's usual spurious nonsense, Gibb's was an extremely classy store whose knowledgeable staff helped introduce many an eastsider to the world of good wine, etc. Tim McCarthy, who later opened Cost Plus over by the Eastern Market, got his start there.

They held on there on Gratiot much longer than most of the surrounding businesses, and for a long time they sponsored sports teams, etc. for kids from the surrounding neighborhood. I well remember going in there with my father on many a Saturday afternoon and having a long palaver with Tim over which wines were both a good drink and a good buy. When I was a younger kid we would also stop in across the street at Alexander & Hourning to pick up some of the German-style meats that my mother loved so much.

So, that's another whole piece of my youth gone, but, really more importantly, as pointed out elsewhere here another part of the real street-level urban fabric of our city gone forever.

I agree. My dad would take me and my brothers down there on Saturdays also. When the place was hit by a car a few years back, the owner searched far and wide to find some of those ceramic coated tiles to make it look right. I think he found them by contacting the people who build White Castle restaurants.

**DetroitZack** · November-29-11, 06:46 PM

A couple shots right before demolition....

Detroit, MI by Zack Blackerby, on Flickr

**1953** · November-30-11, 09:28 AM

I think a point that needs to be made here is that a vacant lot is as dangerous in a city as an abandoned building, because it reduces street life vitality, which is itself a key safety mechanism in a dense city.

Since demolition of historic buildings for a vacant lot reduces the stock of diverse buildings [[age, style) and does not improve safety, this practice can be seen as reducing the potential of a neighborhood, not improving it.