How about doing a "Fabulous Ruins of Downriver Tour?"

[Downriver Gal]

Does anyone remember the Pandora movie theater on Telegraph in Taylor, next to the old Red Barn restaurant? It was an extremely shabby 2nd run theater in the mid-80s. I think it's now a medical center.

[Danny]

If you all want to see more Downriver Ruins, go to Downtown Lincoln Park.

[Danny]

I've taken pictures in a lot of the cities listed. Ecorse especially interests me. Its downtown is depressed but has some excellent buildings.

When Ecorse city broke away from its township phase since 1941, it didn't have a downtown. There were no proposed Downtown Ecorse to this day, only a two floor 1970-esque City Hall complex.

[Danny]

How about the building at Fort Street and Sibley in Riverview. It use to have a Farmer Jacks, Dunhams, some hair salon, the Golden China Restaurant and a pet store. All have closed but the Dunham's. When I was growing up, the Farmer Jack's building was a Yankee's Department Store. I'll tell ya, I still miss Farmer Jack's! And The Golden China had the best Szeuchuen Chicken, but the owners have apparently retired and now it's gone too.

Look at the bright side most dowriver cities still have the old fashioned A&W Car Hop restaurants. You not going to see any moye A&W Car Hops at the rest of the Metro-Detroit Area. Sonic Car Hop Restuarants are popping up all over the Tri-County Area competing against McDonald's Burger King, White Castle and A&W.

[Downriver Gal]

And The Golden China had the best Szeuchuen Chicken, but the owners have apparently retired and now it's gone too.

The Cathay House on Dix in LP has been there forever; is it any good? Loung Hing in Taylor used to have wonderful almond chicken; unfortunately they went downhill years ago. Just finding good old school Chinese downriver is difficult nowadays.

[Danny]

My wife still has her Korvette's charge card. We purchased our Super8 movie camera, projector and screen there in 1972. We are still using the dining room table and chairs my mother bought there in the 60's from there.
I remember the opening of the Southgate Shopping Center in 1958. I got my first helicopter ride in front of the Federal's. In the early 70's I worked a summer at Montgomery Ward. There was also a Woolworth store in the center.

Ward's gone since 1999, Parts of the corner of Southgate Shopping Area was demolished. Federal's Dept. Store Closed went through a series of Dept. Stores like Korvette's Until it become Service Mechandise. Later the building was demolished.

[Danny]

BTW, there is definitely a good reason why that strip mall at Eureka and Dix is vacant. The rest of the area is virtually 100% occupied, so it's no coincidence that all of those storefronts remain vacant. I've never heard of a development going in there, but I really hope they don't build a Walmart. Hell, I think it would be interesting if they built a cheesy lifestyle center or some kind of walkable development. It would be nice to turn that intersection into a sort of "downtown" for Southgate.

There used to be a Home Improvement Warehouse call Home Quarters HQ at the Eureka and Dix shopping district. It suffered extreme banruptcy reorganization and close its location. It combined with Builder's Square then went bankrupt again. This time for good. There also used to be a Best Buy electronics store. It closed when HQ closed. Now open in its new location at Southland Mall. That area will the new home of proposed Wal-Mart after the folks of Lincoln Park fought to keep Wal-Mart from buying the Old Sears Plaza with Sears Anchor Dept Store.

[lalynch]

There used to be a Home Improvement Warehouse call Home Quarters HQ at the Eureka and Dix shopping district. It suffered extreme banruptcy reorganization and close its location. It combined with Builder's Square then went bankrupt again. This time for good. There also used to be a Best Buy electronics store. It closed when HQ closed. Now open in its new location at Southland Mall. That area will the new home of proposed Wal-Mart after the folks of Lincoln Park fought to keep Wal-Mart from buying the Old Sears Plaza with Sears Anchor Dept Store.

Actually it was a small group called No Downriver Wal-Mart that fought to keep Wal-Mart from coming to Lincoln Park. However, I had heard that the reason they didn't come to Lincoln Park had more to do with the fact that they could not get an easement from the City of Allen Park. They would of needed to use the old Farmer Jack's land, in back, which is in Allen Park. But if you ask City of Lincoln Park they will tell you that no one ever called them directly from Wal-Mart.

[hhockey]

I do believe that the Wal Mart is going in at Southfield and Dix, not Eureka and Dix.

[Danny]

I do believe that the Wal Mart is going in at Southfield and Dix, not Eureka and Dix.

No, its going to Dix and Eureka. Folks in Lincoln Park and Allen Park don't want an EVIL Wal-Mart in their area.

[lalynch]

I do believe that the Wal Mart is going in at Southfield and Dix, not Eureka and Dix.

Nope, its coming to Eureka and Dix [[Southgate) not Southfield and Dix [[Lincoln Park) and the News Herald announced it last October.

http://www.thenewsherald.com/article...9532496445.txt

[hhockey]

Sorry i was misinformed. The Dix shopping center is nearly empty and that leases would not be renewed.. They apparently wrongly told me that Wal mart decision was reconsidered.

[hudkina]

The sad thing is that while the rest of the commercial space at that intersection is virtually 100% occupied, once the Walmart is built I guarantee those businesses will begin dropping like flies. We'll go from having one vacant big box strip mall surrounded by several dozen small and medium-sized viable businesses to one massive congestion-inducing big box store surrounded by dozens of empty retail outlets...

[lalynch]

Sorry i was misinformed. The Dix shopping center is nearly empty and that leases would not be renewed.. They apparently wrongly told me that Wal mart decision was reconsidered.

It was stated at a Lincoln Park city council meeting in 2009 that the shopping center went into bankruptcy and that the bank was anxious to fill those spaces. Someone on the city council had talked to someone affiliated with the shopping center. However, I did hear from someone, earlier in the year, wanting to lease in the shopping center that the broker told them that the owners were not letting him fill the spaces because they were anticipating Wal-Mart wanting to come in there. This person was unaware of Wal-Mart coming to Southgate or the News Herald story announcing it.

[Cushkid]

The Cathay House on Dix in LP has been there forever; is it any good? Loung Hing in Taylor used to have wonderful almond chicken; unfortunately they went downhill years ago. Just finding good old school Chinese downriver is difficult nowadays.

Shong Hey, In Trenton is a good old school place to eat. The decor hasn't changed for the 20 years I've been going there.

[lpg]

If you all want to see more Downriver Ruins, go to Downtown Lincoln Park.

I remember shopping with my mom in the early 50's in downtown Lincoln Park. A lot of nice stores to choose from, Fishers, Sims, Truans, Grinnells, Halligans etc. The median parking helped keep it going.

[lpg]

Another sad part of Lincoln Park is the Lincoln Park Plaza. The parking lot looks like a war was fought in it. Potholes that look like bomb craters. I watched it being built. The ACO store was a C.F. Smith grocery in the beginning. I believe the old CVS store was a Packers grocery. It opened around 1955. Another great selection of stores. Lerners, Winklemans, Saunders, Good Housekeeping Shops, Kresge, Shifrin Jewelers, Cunningham-Kinsels Drug store, People's Outfitting [[Later Hudson's Budget Store), etc. A side note to the building of the LP Plaza. While under construction, the building contractor asked my mother if he could use our water to mix mortar, plaster etc. When the water bill arrived, she took it to the construction trailer and asked for the money. He told her not to bother him. She walked back to our house, shut the water off and threw the hose over the fence. He came running over screaming he needed the water and tried to come in our yard. Mom told him she would call the cops if he set foot on our property. He left and returned with the money for the water bill. After that the bill was paid right away.

[jackie5275]

Well Chirelli's closed market in Lincoln Park may be a ruin. I saw on another thread that Clemente's is due to close this summer. That can be another too if it does indeed close.

[The Dude]

Another sad part of Lincoln Park is the Lincoln Park Plaza. The parking lot looks like a war was fought in it. Potholes that look like bomb craters. I watched it being built. The ACO store was a C.F. Smith grocery in the beginning. I believe the old CVS store was a Packers grocery. It opened around 1955. Another great selection of stores. Lerners, Winklemans, Saunders, Good Housekeeping Shops, Kresge, Shifrin Jewelers, Cunningham-Kinsels Drug store, People's Outfitting [[Later Hudson's Budget Store), etc. A side note to the building of the LP Plaza. While under construction, the building contractor asked my mother if he could use our water to mix mortar, plaster etc. When the water bill arrived, she took it to the construction trailer and asked for the money. He told her not to bother him. She walked back to our house, shut the water off and threw the hose over the fence. He came running over screaming he needed the water and tried to come in our yard. Mom told him she would call the cops if he set foot on our property. He left and returned with the money for the water bill. After that the bill was paid right away.

lpg, i believe thesupermarket you are talking about was Big Bear first, then Wrigley b4 Packer. I think Great Scott was the last grocery store in there b4 it became Arbor-CVS.

[thewitz]

Does anyone remember the Pandora movie theater on Telegraph in Taylor, next to the old Red Barn restaurant? It was an extremely shabby 2nd run theater in the mid-80s. I think it's now a medical center.

I think this was Originally the Jerry Lewis Theater wasn't it?

[thewitz]

Then there is also the old Kmart on Telegraph over in Flat Rock that is sitting empty.

[mtburb]

lpg, i believe thesupermarket you are talking about was Big Bear first, then Wrigley b4 Packer. I think Great Scott was the last grocery store in there b4 it became Arbor-CVS.

I think this is how it went:

It began as Big Bear,
then became Wrigley,
then became Packer,
then became Great Scott,
then became Arbor Drugs,
then became CVS.

[mtburb]

The sad thing is that while the rest of the commercial space at that intersection is virtually 100% occupied, once the Walmart is built I guarantee those businesses will begin dropping like flies. We'll go from having one vacant big box strip mall surrounded by several dozen small and medium-sized viable businesses to one massive congestion-inducing big box store surrounded by dozens of empty retail outlets...

Another disadvantage, the community will go from countless occupied homes to a ghost town with no occupied buildings except the Walmart.

[lpg]

Well Chirelli's closed market in Lincoln Park may be a ruin. I saw on another thread that Clemente's is due to close this summer. That can be another too if it does indeed close.

I heard from a friend that works for O'Reilly [[Murray's) Auto Parts that they purchased Clemente's property and will put up a warehouse there. Chiarelli's was a sad story. I purchased my meats there for a long time. To see the place slowly die was bad. The front overhang is now starting to fall apart.

[psubliminal]

I lived in Ecorse from 1985-89. I worked at Calder Bros. Dairy making ice cream, and had a Freep motor route which covered much of the city, part of River Rouge and the part of Detroit they called "Dogleg." I used to walk down to eat at Taco Especial all the time [[I lived on 9th off Southfield).

Around 1999-2001 I lived in Lincoln Park, on Dix a couple blocks from Zukin's.