Mack Avenue History

[Packman41]

MikeG provided this link and the photo is attached below:
http://dlxs.lib.wayne.edu/cgi/i/imag...-28903%5D28903

The Cunninghams Drug store was on the northwest corner of Mack and Chalmers - looking west down Mack Ave. I should know I walked past that corner for 3 years while attending Jackson Junior High 1959 - 1962.

It used to be a very vibrant area and now the area is descibed as an "urban prairie." That corner is now a vacant lot.

And it did not have to be this way.

[scbaker]

I lived on Mack Ave. & Barham from 1951 - 1955 and attended Clark Elementary school. I lived on Eastlawn St. from 1955- 1962 and attended Jackson Jr. Hi and Southeastern. I graduated from S.E. in 1961.

The neighborhood was vibrant and bustling with activity. Every home seemed to be occupied and were very well maintained. I worked part time at the Kresge store on Mack at Chalmers when I was a teenager. My best friend and I would stop at Cunningham's after school [[Jackson) and order a 5 cent coke at the soda fountain. If we had the money we would grab a 5 or 10 cent bag of potato chips. As we got older we spent a lot of time at Chalmers Lunch sitting in the booth, sipping cokes and playing the table jukebox. The Uptown theatre was located on the NE corner of Mack & Chalmers. There was a Red Robin dress store, Chevrolet dealership, a couple of shoe stores, a jewelry store, a bank and various other stores that I cannot remember. There was a church on the NW corner of Mack & Eastlawn and the A&P was on the NE corner.


Johnny's Mobil station was on the corner of Newport St. & Mack Ave. My dad bought all of his gas there and I did the same when I started driving in 1959. Johnny was a great guy and delighted in teasing me about one thing or another. Tragically he was robbed & murdered at his station in 1983. Here is an article about Johnny & 2 others who were murdered at their gas stations in the same week in 1983:
http://crimeindetroit.com/Documents/...s%20Deaths.pdf

[Detroitdave]

MikeG provided this link and the photo is attached below:
http://dlxs.lib.wayne.edu/cgi/i/imag...-28903%5D28903

The Cunninghams Drug store was on the northwest corner of Mack and Chalmers - looking west down Mack Ave. I should know I walked past that corner for 3 years while attending Jackson Junior High 1959 - 1962.

It used to be a very vibrant area and now the area is descibed as an "urban prairie." That corner is now a vacant lot.

And it did not have to be this way.

That's shocking,sad, and depressing. No wonder so many people from "back in the day" are so down on Detroit.
When I saw those pictures side by side I got a sinking feeling in my gut.
Their childhood memories have been literally wiped away. I can see why it tugs at their heart strings. such a beautiful area resorted to that ! truly sad.
And that was just one neighborhood of MANY !
A once beautiful city reduced to shambles, trying to regain her footing.
So much was lost, but some glimmers of her past beauty remains.
Hoping for the best .

[Jungaleer]

The Uptown Movie Theater and Polar Bear Ice Cream were near Chalmers on Mack. My mom and I would walk there from our home on Wayburn to see the movies. We also went to the Aloma on Charlevoix.

[Hermod]

The Uptown Movie Theater and Polar Bear Ice Cream were near Chalmers on Mack. My mom and I would walk there from our home on Wayburn to see the movies. We also went to the Aloma on Charlevoix.

There was also a Polar Bear ice Cream on the corner of Wayburn and Whittier.