Development of State Fairgrounds site

[Baselinepunk]

"I guess those designations are meaningless if they can't provide any protection from "development"".

National register means no Federal dollars can be used for demo.

But, as we saw with Ford Auditorium, the fair City of Detroit will do what they want then decide what slush fund the money came from.

George Jackson, Stage Right for your entrance ...

[gnome]

How about we turn it into a center for Urban Agriculture, a hands-on, real-world, bootstrapped buzzword noun as a separate field of study at Michigan State University.

Once a year we could host a big party and bring like-minded people who grow things in from all over the State to share information and compete for prizes. Since there is a stage there, maybe some local singers could show up and sing and stuff.

It sounds neat. Who's with me?

[Hermod]

But let us not forget that while a general, U.S. Grant ordered the deportation of all Jews from America. Lincoln countermanded the order, but Grant still issued it.

Not from America, just from the zone in which his army was operating.

[jcole]

But aren't most Michanders around Detroit? This corner of Michigan eats the most i.e. pays the most farmers - would make sense that the trade show is here as well.

Yes, but is Detroit an agricultural center? The people who own the livestock and raise the crops have to travel across more than half the state hauling their product to participate. It seems to me that it would be more equitable for all concerned to centralize the fair like many other states do.
Illinois state fair is in Springfield, not Chicago. Iowa's is in Des Moines which is in the center of the state.
It's just my opinion.

[DetroitPlanner]

Yes, but is Detroit an agricultural center? The people who own the livestock and raise the crops have to travel across more than half the state hauling their product to participate. It seems to me that it would be more equitable for all concerned to centralize the fair like many other states do.
Illinois state fair is in Springfield, not Chicago. Iowa's is in Des Moines which is in the center of the state.
It's just my opinion.

The same could be said about the location of Michigan's other official State Fair. Escanaba is about as remote as you can get and still be in the State. It might as well be in Wisconsin!

[jcole]

The same could be said about the location of Michigan's other official State Fair. Escanaba is about as remote as you can get and still be in the State. It might as well be in Wisconsin!

Exactly. More than half the agriculture in this state is up in the thumb or over on the west side of the state from St. Joe north.
Midland would be ideal, or maybe the Lansing area.

[MikeyinBrooklyn]

But let us not forget that while a general, U.S. Grant ordered the deportation of all Jews from America. Lincoln countermanded the order, but Grant still issued it.

This is sadly true. But I would keep a few things in mind about it: most non-Jews in the world at the time, inlcuding ones from rural Ohio who had never met a Jew, were anti-semitic. And, he was mortified by the order for the rest of his life. Two specific businessmen- who happened to be Jewish- were caught ripping off the Army in providing supplies. Grant foolishly thought based on that Jews were harming the Union cause [[as it was, 2 specific people, who happened to be Jewish) were harming the Union cause. And slight correction, Grant had ordered Jews deported from the military's Department of the West, of which he was commander, not from all of America. Thankfully the order was never carried out.

[Rolfsy]

Yes, but is Detroit an agricultural center? The people who own the livestock and raise the crops have to travel across more than half the state hauling their product to participate. It seems to me that it would be more equitable for all concerned to centralize the fair like many other states do.
Illinois state fair is in Springfield, not Chicago. Iowa's is in Des Moines which is in the center of the state.
It's just my opinion.

Springfield IL is a good comparison. But Des Moines is also the most populous city in IA, so it's hard to say which came first on that one.

Then there's the largest state fair:
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/State_Fair_of_Texas
And the second largest:
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Minnesota_State_Fair
Both of which seem to be near population centers vice geographic centers.

Either way, I know I'm wailing in the woods on this. If the center of LP Michigan [[Wexford Co., 5 mi. NNW of Cadillac) made more sense we should have rebooted the SF there in 2010 [[or 2012, with signs of recovery everywhere). Of all the things this state has etch-a-sketched in my lifetime, I'm surprised that this one seems to be going without a fight.

[Khartoum]

Fort Wayne would be nice, but as long as the crooks are in charge of Detroit, you can't really trust leaving anything nice there. I'd much rather see Ulysses' house at GV.