On this Date in Detroit History - DetroitYES 25th Anniversary Flashbacks

[stromberg2]

Sad to hear that, Kathleen. Jjaba was a hall of famer for sure.

Stromberg2

[Lowell]

Sad to report that Arnold "Arnie" Panitch [aka Jjaba] died just a couple months ago.
https://obits.oregonlive.com/us/obit...ry?id=53620805

Damn. I am greatly saddened to learn this. I had kept in touch with jjaba, IRL Arnie, across the years. I took him on a tour of Detroit July 6, 2005 along with Rock and a friend of Rock's, whose name I do not recall. In Sept. of 2018, he returned the favor by taking my wife and I on a streetcar tour of Portland, when I passed through there following my Peace Corps reunion in Northern California.

I last heard from him this past October 29, when he emailed one his jokes but there was no mention of any health issues. Beside adding levity and Detroit history to this forum he was indispensable in providing information on Detroit Jewish history and culture when I was creating the Lost Synagogues of Detroit site.

Jjaba with the Rock [left] at the site of the Studebaker Plant on Piquette. on July 6, 2005. The abandoned plant had burned down earlier that year. Jjaba took a brick home as a memento.

Addendum: The Studebaker site is today, and has been for about ten years, the site of a large four-story affordable residence for veterans.

[Danny]

Happy Anniversary Fabulous Ruins of Detroit.

[sarge]

Happy Anniversary, Lowell! Thanks for keeping the place up for the last 25 years! I don't think I go back to 99, but I am pretty sure I go back to around 2001. Time flies when you're having fun.

[Lowell]

Happy Anniversary, Lowell! Thanks for keeping the place up for the last 25 years! I don't think I go back to 99, but I am pretty sure I go back to around 2001. Time flies when you're having fun.

Thanks Sarge, and I can see that you are a "Niner". In March 2009, when the Discusware forum software was no longer supported, we migrated to vBulletin. As you likely recall we were unable to migrate the accounts and their passwords requiring everyone to rejoin. I can see from the join date in the upper right of your post that was March 2009 for you. Almost all Niners were on the old forums.

I had found a vestige of the 1999 forum with 1999 dates but cannot relocate it a the moment. It used a very inadequate Microsoft Front Page forum package and the following year we migrated to Discusware.

Click/tap here to see the earliest vestige I currently can find from 2000.

Note this is an image, which I didn't place here as it would stretch the page immensely. One can't click what appear to be links and see the posts but the usernames are visible and reveal some recognizable ones like gistok, Detroit Stylin, and jjaba.

[Lowell]

Today's flashback, January 15, 2004, takes us into the snows of January in the Dequindre Cut, a long abandoned railroad route that by then had become the haunt of graffiti artists and the homeless. Since then it has been beautifully transformed into pedestrian railway that connects Detroit's Riverfront with Eastern market and continues to be developed northwards.

[JenniferL]

Happy Anniversary, Fabulous Ruins of Detroit! And thank you, Lowell, for the past 25 years!

I don't remember exactly when I first posted here, but it was fairly early, like in 1999 or 2000. I don't spend as much time in the city now as I did back then, but I do pop in here from time to time to see what's going on.

[Detroit Stylin]

Lowell is there anyone else here besides Detroit_Stylin and myself that goes back in the the late 1990s? There are so many old timers that have been lost due to passing. And some have moved away... still miss Jjaba...

Back in the early days we invoked "Skipper's Rule" a lot, because so many development dreams were never to be [although that hasn't changed]. And back then there were a LOT of true Ruins of Detroit.

Sad that in those days we lamented the loss of Hudson's and the Statler. And back then nobody ever dreamed that the MCS would ever rise again.

And back then Peter Karmanos was the über developer to be talked about on the forums although since the Kwame "stink" and the fortunes of Compuware are nowhere what they once were, he's nowhere on the map for city development.

Back then nobody dreamed that Dan Gilbert would one day be Detroit's knight of redevelpment. Downtown would still be a hit and miss of major developments.

And then there's the Ilitches... I think that after Comerica Park opened up, and the Ilitches started their "Macedonian Parking Cartel", with little other development [while they waxed poetically about saving the Fox]. During the entire history of DYes... the Ilitches have never found a large following on this forum. That is except for Ilitch apologist MSU_Steve on DYes [he left the forum once he found out he was wrong], who thought that they would finally mend their ways with Little Caesars Arena... yeah right. In fact if there's one constant theme on DYes... it is that "will the Ilitches every come thru with more than just pretty pictures on their commitment to downtown"?

So many other tales to tell... with less financially endowed developers to talk about...

That is a good question. I havent seen Jjaba in YEARS.

[Detroit Stylin]

Sad to report that Arnold "Arnie" Panitch [[aka Jjaba) died just a couple months ago.
https://obits.oregonlive.com/us/obit...ry?id=53620805

His DYes handle Jjaba was derived from the first initials of the names of his three children, his wife, and himself: Joel, Jason, Adam, Barbara, Arnold.

Back in 2007, he honored me with a selection of postcards in honor of my 2000th DYes post. Just weeks later I sent him a prize honoring his 5000th DYes post.

Thats tragic. That answers my question. I used to love his wit and humor.

[Gistok]

Thats tragic. That answers my question. I used to love his wit and humor.

Hey old timer... Remember how Jjaba used to talk in the 3rd person about himself... it was one of the things that made him such a colorful character! As I mentioned to Kathleen... Jjaba used to reminisce going to Tiger games with his girlfriend... where "he kissed her on the strikes, and she kissed him on the balls"!!

[Zacha341]

Thank you Lowell! As I mentioned in another thread Detroityes is a great reference point for historical information for Detroit! Happy New Year!

[gnome]

I was a long time lurker but joined after ItsJeff passed. There was a radio story on Craig Fahlie’s show about the funeral and it spurred me to join.

Thank you Lowell.

there are so many I miss: Gannon, Django, Ravine … an honor to know them. All of them.

[gnome]

Sad to report that Arnold "Arnie" Panitch [[aka Jjaba) died just a couple months ago.
https://obits.oregonlive.com/us/obit...ry?id=53620805

His DYes handle Jjaba was derived from the first initials of the names of his three children, his wife, and himself: Joel, Jason, Adam, Barbara, Arnold.

Back in 2007, he honored me with a selection of postcards in honor of my 2000th DYes post. Just weeks later I sent him a prize honoring his 5000th DYes post.

I realize it it has been a minute since Jjaba passed, but I think we should all take the opportunity and write something on the memorial page displayed above.

[Lowell]

Today's flashback takes us back to this date on January 23, 2008 and an ice-choked Straits of Detroit between Windsor and Detroit as seen from the western tip of Belle Isle.


I was joined on a winter drive-about by my late friend Lonnie Butler as we next visited the recently built and buttoned-up-for-winter Rivard Plaza of the Detroit Riverwalk. The weather reminded us of many days spent in similar weather delivering appliances together as Sears delivery drivers.


Rivard Plaza is also the location of the paver commemorating famed DetroitYES member ItsJeff [Colby] whose untimely passing motivated members of the forum to donate for this memorial along with a memorial bench on Belle Isle.

[Lowell]

February 1, 2012, the rays of the day's dying sun paints the abandoned and dying Book Tower in Downtown Detroit and illuminates its empty interior.

Since those seemingly hopeless days the Book Tower and adjacent Book Building have been magnificently restored to their former glory, as has been followed across those years by the members of the DetroitYES forum.

[Ray1936]

The Book Tower, to me, was always the signpost of downtown Detroit. As I always lived very close to Grand River, it was the horizon marker that I stared at for years and years. Yup.

[Kathleen]

Fond times working in the Book Tower during the early days of my Gale career! Our offices were on several floors of the building. Lunches were often picked up at the Kwikee...soup of the day was my fave! And donuts for breakfast!! Parked in a 25-cent lot off Grand River near I-75. Watched the Trolley Plaza being built...and obscuring our northern view looking towards Grand Circus. Hoping to see the renovated building soon!!

Hi Ray!!

[Lowell]

You're in for a treat Kathleen, particularly in the now-spectacular Book Building Atrium.

[msamslex]

Happy Anniversary Detroit Yes! I rarely post, but drop in from time to time. I was reading all the replies to Lowell’s post with some members mentioning when they joined the forum. I couldn’t remember exactly, so I had to check my profile which says I joined in 2009. Say What??!! Windows 98 days? Old desk top, keyboard, & tower! All long gone! Now I just use my phone. Oh my!! How ancient!! I am old!!

I remember reading an article that was in the Freep, I think it was about ItsJeff & Detroit Yes, so I thought this was a great way to learn more about the in’s and out’s, good times & bad, new developments, opinions, etc, about our beloved home.
Thank you Lowell!

[401don]

I couldn’t remember exactly, so I had to check my profile which says I joined in 2009.

There was a system changeover in 2009 so everybody who was a member at that time shows a join date of 2009.You probably started before that.

[msamslex]

There was a system changeover in 2009 so everybody who was a member at that time shows a join date of 2009.You probably started before that.

Thank you 401don. Thats right. I’d forgotten all about that now that you mention it. I don’t remember exactly when I joined then. Still a long time ago though.

[Lowell]

February 4, 2024 a visit to the Gordie Howe Bridge. Slated to completion later this year the arms of the new bridge reach out to each other across the Straits of Detroit. The handshake moment between the two countries of our international metropolis is approaching.





Looking to the east the Ambassador Bridge, currently the only above water crossing between the border cities, frames Downtown Detroit where one can see the rising Hudson Site Building whose height will rival the twin towers of the bridge.


Memo to self and others, for best lighting arrive in the morning so the bridge is illuminated from behind you, as seen in this view from the west along the Zug Island road.

[Henry Whalley]

Thank you very much, Lowell, for maintaining this interesting and
valuable site for a quarter century. Congratulations on your
achievement!

Ditto

[missn]

Is no one going to mention ItsJeff, Jeff Colby? We became e-mail pals off of the forum.

[Sandhouse]

I think I discovered this site in the early 2000's. It led me to the engineers who designed the plan for demolishing the J.L. Hudson Company, who sold me a couple of mementos of the building where my dad worked for 30 years and I had my first summer job. I still have dreams about the store. DetroitYes has been my source of information on the old Detroit and the birth of something new. I'm glad I was able to contribute a few insights and only a little trolling. I have never met any of the other participants, but maybe I will someday, if we can all check in to the MC Depot hotel. Best wishes to everyone, and thanks to Lowell.