Detroit's Historic Washington Blvd. Renamed John Conyers Blvd.

[SWMAP]

Well, I don't think I said that they all three meet in one place. They meet, one with another. It was a plan.

[Detroitnerd]

btw...CAY airport was enacted by the Detroit City Council. Record to be found in the City Clerks office...and Conyers Blvd will be a blue-signed designation

Thanks, ZW. I always wondered about that. Do you remember if it was posthumous?

[jcole]

Well, I don't think I said that they all three meet in one place. They meet, one with another. It was a plan.

Well, I could see it being some sort of plan even if they all met each other in one spot or another but, as I said, Lafayette never meets Jefferson. And it's not even a metaphor for who met who in real life because Lafayette and Tom were friends.

[SWMAP]

For heaven's sake! George Washington also knew General Lafayette:

"In the letters written by General Lafayette, 21 known people are recognized. Out of these people George Washington, Nathanael Greene, John Adams, John Jay, Abraham Gallatin seem to have the closest ties to General Lafayette."

[jcole]

For heaven's sake! George Washington also knew General Lafayette:

"In the letters written by General Lafayette, 21 known people are recognized. Out of these people George Washington, Nathanael Greene, John Adams, John Jay, Abraham Gallatin seem to have the closest ties to General Lafayette."

Did I say he didn't?? Look at what I wrote. I indicated that the streets Jefferson and Lafayette never met and that they were friends. I was speaking of metaphor.If it were metaphorically intended, then Jefferson should have met Lafayette because in real life they were friends. I nowhere indicated that Washington and Lafayette nor Washington and Jefferson were not friends or at least acquaintances.
My point is that all three do not meet, nor do all three pairs meet.

[Zulu Warrior]

It was named for him in 2003, posthumously.

[Detroitnerd]

It was named for him in 2003, posthumously.

Thanks, ZW.

I'm sure it comforted all the families who had to move their dead to expand that airport over the years. Bet the ol' MF is laughing up there.

[townonenorth]

Well, I don't think I said that they all three meet in one place. They meet, one with another. It was a plan.

Or a simple cooincidence of patriotic fervor.

[EastsideAl]

Honorary designation - not a big deal.

I could see a number of things being named after him for real though after he retires or dies, after all he has represented this city in Congress longer than anyone in its history.

[goirish1966]

[QUOTE=poobert;303607]I love how Grand Boulevard was named General Motors Boulevard...in honor of the company that flattened the neighborhood there...

The old General Motors actually did quite a bit to revitalize this New Center area. My memory is starting to fail me on the time frame, but in the late 1970s or early 1980s, the company purchased nearly all the residences on Pallister, Delaware & Bethune [[between Woodward & Second Ave.). They were stripped to the studs and completely renovated each one including new garages. This did spur some conversion of some rowhousing into condominiums and construction of new condominium units on both sides of Second Ave. GM was attempting to lure employees into the area. it had hoped that this would spread up through Seward & Virginia Park, but it never happened.

The old GM did a lot more for the area in which it was located than most other businesses within the city

[EastsideAl]

The area you're talking about is called New Center Commons, and it is very nice.

Further east, the area they flattened was called Poletown. It's now mostly a prairie and a giant wind-swept parking lot with an auto plant in the middle of it, which has never employed anywhere near as many people as they promised it would back when they were convincing the city to do their dirty work for them at the taxpayers' expense.

[Gistok]

[QUOTE=goirish1966;303938]

I love how Grand Boulevard was named General Motors Boulevard...in honor of the company that flattened the neighborhood there...

The old General Motors actually did quite a bit to revitalize this New Center area. My memory is starting to fail me on the time frame, but in the late 1970s or early 1980s, the company purchased nearly all the residences on Pallister, Delaware & Bethune [[between Woodward & Second Ave.). They were stripped to the studs and completely renovated each one including new garages. This did spur some conversion of some rowhousing into condominiums and construction of new condominium units on both sides of Second Ave. GM was attempting to lure employees into the area. it had hoped that this would spread up through Seward & Virginia Park, but it never happened.

The old GM did a lot more for the area in which it was located than most other businesses within the city

General Motors did do a lot of renovations and new residential building in the area around their former HQ in New Center... "New Center Commons" was one such area that they revitalized.

Now granted that the North Poletown site was razed for the Poletown plant, and I won't deny that folks were forced from their homes... but the neighborhood was pretty much half de-populated by then anyway. Had it survived it would likely today look like the South Poletown area around the now closed St. Stanislaw Church on the south side of I-94.... the neighborhood is a no-mans land that is nearly de-populated of inhabitants.

It was however the Eminent Domain taking of the North Poletown land that got the State Supreme Court [[and later ballot initiative) to end Eminent Domain for any private use. So now a new car plant or other large land user [[such as a new Hockey Arena) become extremely expensive, since the only way to obtain large tracts of land is to pay whatever the seller demands. Ditto for the stalled Aerotropolis commercial park that was planned for next to Metro Airport.

The only way now to decimate a neighborhood [[via Eminent Domain) like they did North Poletown, is if it is for a real public use.... such as the on-again-off-again public DRIC bridge downriver of the Ambassador.Bridge.

I will admit that I don't know how the level of depopulation of the 2 neighborhoods compare to each other.

[Wesley Mouch]

i want functional government/services.. street names are of tertiary concern..

Symbolism does matter -- although I agree with your priorities.

Symbolism speaks to the soul of what makes our city tick. It tells us, and others what is important to us. George out, and John in? Bad message. Bad symbol.

Two rules:

1) You should only rename numbered, generic streets -- such as 12th to Rosa Parks. You might rename a street called 'Joe' when its next to 'Ed'. But you should almost never rename a street that already honors someone or some event.

2) NEVER rename anything after someone until they're dead. After death, they can do less to embarrass you.

There's little doubt that George Washington did more for us than John Conyers. Even if you admire the man -- and I don't.