Growing up in the Northwest Side....

[SaintMe]

. . . and the rest of Palmer Park Apts. became homosexual/drug infested mess.

For what it's worth it's a heterosexual/drug infested mess now so you're safe to move back anytime, sweetheart.

[eno]

For what it's worth it's a heterosexual/drug infested mess now so you're safe to move back anytime, sweetheart.

good answer

[thomprod]

I lived in one of the duplex apartments on the east side of Greenfield south of 7 Mile from 1964 to 1968. I went to Winship Elementary School on Curtis. We often bought milk and bread at the little store on the SW corner of Greenfield and Curtis. Milk was .52/half gallon back then. We had a real milk chute in that duplex. Went to Petersen Park a lot in the summer. Mom rode the DSR bus to work downtown. She caught the Imperial Express at 7 Mile and Greenfield and the fare was 35 cents. We had an alley in the back of our house where we burned trash. Those were the days. Unfortunately, when my dad saw the tanks roll down Greenfield from the Light Guard Armory, we made plans to leave Detroit. We moved to Oak Park in December 1968.

[Aviator_cew]

I lived at 16156 Washburn. We moved there in 63 when I was 8 yrs old. I attended Fitzgreald, Post Jr. High and Cooley High. What a great place to growup as an 8 yrs old. Beautiful neighborhood all the flowers and insects clean streets, even the alleyways where clean. On Saturdays we could hear the church bell at Marygrove College ringing. Still somewhat of a Jewish neighborhood so many of my little friend where Jewish, so first time I learned about different holidays and customs which I found interesting. In the summer we would ride our bikes throughout the neighborhood, walk through the alleys looking for stuff people had throw away [[toys , bike parts, etc) , collecting insects, slot car racing [[on 6 mile ), burning leaves in the fall, not a care in the world. I miss those days, that neighborhood and what ever happen to all those little kids that I use to play with.

[river rat]

NW Detroit was a prosperous and wonderful place to grow up. Living on Rutherford near Fenkell, the block had dozens of kids and we had impromptu baseball games, street hockey, etc. every day. No refs and no organized stuff. If there was a despute on a call, it was 'take it over'. It is inconceivaable to those in the city now, but we never thought of crime. Bikes were left out all times, never locked your doors, knew all the neighbors, took care of your property, on and on. What the hell happened?

[fratman]

For Danny & Aviator_cew: I also grew up on the NW side. Our house was 15322 Ward Ave-2 houses N. of Fenkell btwn Schaeffer&Meyers. I went Guest Elementary & Cooley[[01/61). My parents belonged
to Temple Israel & I went to hebrew school, temple high & was bar mitzvahed & confirmed there. It
was a nice neighborhood back in the mid-50' & early 60's. Our theater was the Carlton[[later the
Surf Cinema). Also took dates to the Mercury & the Royal. Saw To Kill A Mockingbird@ the
Mercury & West Side Story@ the Royal. Butzel Pool was a short bike ride. Stayed many times after
to watch the baseball games at Butzel Field & occasionaly was able to get a baseball or bat from
the teams. By the 67 riots I was already in the Navy so my folks mailed me copies of the News. The neighborhood Catholic church was St Francis De Salles[[Precious Blood was about a mile away).

[G-DDT]

North Rosedale Park. Integrated, mostly liberal, and we had quite some celebreties-former boxers and a tycoon with a huge car collection. Grew up on a dead-end street on the edge of the subdivision. The "Clubhouse" was the center of activity: June Day parade and festivities, stage performances [[one musical in the spring, a drama in the fall), Christmas pancake breakfast with Santa [[even a child's craft table function prior), soccer, folk performances by Ron Coden [[of the Hot Fudge Show) or Josh White etc.

If we didn't go out to Shield's, Sila's, or Tally hall, there were places like Bob's pizza, Red Devil Pizza, Maria's, this odd Harlequin-ish style placehttp://www.detroityes.com/mb/showthr...t-early-1960-s, Northland and Fairlane Mall, the Grand-Fenkell shopping area with a Great Scott, Foodland, an A & P [[the best), a Hallmark, Kresges, and a Cunningham's Pharmacy [[where they distributed foul tasting syrup).

I went to the school and church behind that Federal's/Wards/Kingsway set-up. It was Holy Cross Lutheran. It was down the way from the Norwest [[saw Popeye, Beverly Hills Cop, and Ghostbusters there) and the Hansel and Gretel shoestore with the cold Brannock devices. We had to carpool with a clown car cramped full of kids [[being the smallest, I was the one always giving the ugh-"lapdance"). The school was staffed by daffy, sadistic broads with witchy glasses, clonky high-heels, and ChurchLady hairstyles [[and manner, to boot) who loved to paddle kids [[the "horror" stories from the Catholic kids didn't even come close to the evil these ladies performed). We had no cafeteria lunch program [[and the old broads never understood when I said I was "allergic to milk" and would try to force me to drink it) or band, and the recess lot was a tiny strip of crumbled pavement with a Jungle Gym [[where I sorely developed my fear of heights), a slide, and a giant concrete cylinder. I learned about death from a Pastor who died, the mother of a friend [[the Principal's son) who died of cancer, and the shooting of the brother of a black girl in my class I had a crush on [[her name was Jannette). I miss the cool 70's style frosted glass winter-motif painted cylinder Christmas candles we had to sell. We had amazing Christmas pageantshttps://www.youtube.com/watch?v=vNLZnBXVYI8. All the kids would get a basket of fruit with a marshmallow Santa and a candied popcorn ball. Sadly, the church was involved with a major case of embezzlement when the church secretary made off with over $300,000 [[yeah!).

When I came home, I was alone for many hours as a latch-key kid with lots of T.V., Atari, or my thoughts; my parents both worked [[one at GM photographic). Mom worked at a neighborhood photo developing store that converted to carry the new fad of video tapes. She got to meet guys like Gil Hill, the boxers, and homicide detective, Jimmy Harris. I got tutored in algebra by a Cranbrook teacher once in the back rooms [[how that was pulled of, I don't know, but I got all straight A's in math afterwards, and was never asked to take more than one class in high school because of it.). My mom got to take home a free tape everynight. We eventually ended up with an entire video store in our back den when the owner was under investigation by the police and things turned up missing [[I was very popular that summer, I tells ya').

My parents saved their marriage from the brink of divorce [[though I severely wished otherwise) by attending counseling at the "Washer Dryer Buildings" https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Parklane_Towersin Dearborn. Many things in our life would gravitate towards Dearborn. I really hated going to Greenfield Village, and despised that my dad selfishly thought he was spending quality time with me having me inhale musket powder or horse apples stewing on a hot cobblestone road.

What little friends I had would move away. Knew some Catholic kids who went to Christ the King, but many of them wanted to play perverted games or beat folks with anything that resembled an "implement", so they were not really my friends. When we weren't playing Ghostbusters or Dungeons and Dragons or sending G.I.Joe up in the air with a bottlerocket, I learned about starting fires, shoplifting, and porn from them. I had some black friends, but many of them were told by their parents not to play with dingy white kids or that "my ancestors enslaved their ancestors" [[had to bust my thinksprings as a kid to come up with a three point argument to prove that wrong). There were no girls my age there. By the time puberty kicked in, all the white-flighters pulled their daughters away [[didn't want them coming home with one of "those") from attending blacker schools. We then, mostly had very aging white couples or very young black couples starting off. Very frustrating for me.

Summers were wild. I remember the wind through the old, dense trees. I remember how boring Saturday afternoons were [[no cable for us in the early 80's), as I had no friends, and I would sit in a chair fascinated with how the rolling clouds would alter the lighting scheme of the living room of our colonial. I remember the smell of Bar-be-que in the summer. Of hearing basketballs constantly being dribbled and players hooting. Dogs always were barking, because there were at least five families on our block alone that had Dobermans [[they were the dog of choice back then. "For protection", of course, obviously not for their love and companionship, otherwise those dogs would be inside the house at least sometimes-nope. always outside ralphing away the hours.), and at least three times a day one would get loose and run rampantly around terrorizing everyone [[especially me). Halloweens are another story for another thread. We only had bike thieves to fear.

I transferred to two different Lutheran schools until I said I had it, and my last graduating year at Borgess was beautiful beyond compare [[like how a David Lynch film can be hell, hell, hell, with a tiny slice of heaven at the end), and I made so many friends [[whereas I had none at the fascist Lutheran one I was at for three years). I had more friends from Divine Child, St. Agatha's, R.U. High [[heh-heh), Renaissance [[was a scandal there where a girl was found on her knees in the boy's lockeroom with about four guys with their pants down-all the schools heard of it. Poor girl gotten beaten by her enraged mom right in front of the staff.), and the nearby Grandmont area.

We all belonged to the roughest, smoking Catholic Youth Group [[our leader was a mother of a kid in it. She'd lend us smokes and whup our butts in billiards.). Show up to ring the bell for admittance, and some church staff looks at us and apathetically says "N.A. is upstairs." "Nope, we're with the Youth group." There was a function at the Renaissance Center for all Michigan Catholic Youth groups called "Rainbow" [[which meant something completely different to society back then). We were the scruffiest rough-around-the-edges types compared to all those ambitious creampuffs. We had advocates for our group enforce our right to smoke. Geez.

Whether it was loitering in cemeteries, going to band practice, or getting pop and smokes [[or Snapple) from the party store, we kept our heads down and never started stuff or acted rude or yelled junk out the windows at random folks the way suburban kids do. The fear kept us humble and respectful. Anyone can react poorly to the wrong thing. Before I graduated the 7th grade I remember when a kid named Robert survived a bullet in the shoulder walking down two doors from his house on Edinborough one night by a mentally ill man roosting in the second story window of his house.

More and more sounds of cars peeling off, shouts, sirens, gunshots, more dogs barking started to appear. One night a suspicious thing occurred when I was 14, where someone [[from South Rosedale) deliberately dropped me off after a party a ways from my house, and some white creep in a blue corvette tried to abduct me. The only party I ever threw [[graduation-parents went down to Baton Rouge for the weekend) got ruined when a carload of strange kids pulled up, accused me off "fliping them off" [[never happened) and then pummeled me purple. I later found it was a set-up by a disgruntled, former band member. That same summer we also got violently chased out of a park near Lahser and 7 mile. As I saw more graffiti howling for the blood of Malice Green's killers [[this being after the Rodney King incidents), I wanted to be far away from my hood, and I just felt downtown Detroit was safer.

So much more I can go into-for I have a tremendous memory for things, but I can't help but reminisce. I still miss that area, and when I go back, all the doors are barred. They still have the Farmer's Markets, and as much as I want them to fix up the "Clubhouse", I hate the new design. One thing gets me: you wave at folks in Dearborn, and they just gawk at you with a sneer, but without a hesitation someone from Detroit always manages to wave back.

[byromania]

The best years of my life were spent living on the northwest side of Detroit. My family lived on Prevost, between Pembroke and St. Martins. I just can't adequately describe what an amazing childhood I had while living on that block. I would ride my bike for hours or hang out with friends from the neighborhood. I went to Bow Elementary School for two years before transferring to IHM [[Immaculate Heart of Mary) in the fall of 1973. I vividly recall going to the movies at The Americana Theater near Northland and watching Airport '75, Jaws, Star Wars, Logan's Run, and Rooster Cogburn with John Wayne. My grandmother once came to visit us from Los Angeles and she took me shopping at Northland Mall and bought me my first set of Hardy Boy Books. I read them from cover to cover when I was a kid. I remember our neighbors the Hahns, and the Marciniaks. I especially remember the Andersons because they were Canadian transplants from Toronto. My family is originally from LA and so in early 1977, mom and dad decided that they'd had enough of the brutal Midwestern winters and chose to return to LA in March of 1978. I still miss Detroit and my classmates and friends to this day!! I only wish the best for Detroit and its residents. The city has a long way to go, but I am definitely hoping for the best.

[citygurl]

Grew up on Rutherford St off West Chicago, near Greenfield Rd. Grand River and Greenfield was great shopping..they had big Kmart on Plymouth Rd and Southfield service drive. Went to the Atlas theater on Plymouth nearly every Saturday..for Godzilla and a cartoon fest. Our Lady Gate of Heaven was big catholic school on Chicago, that was across street from junior high named [[at that time) named Brooks Junior High. Cody High was big Public school and an all girl Catholic school was Rosary High on Greenfield. Played alot at Stopel Park next to Brooks. Big thing to remember there was that they had a Flintstones playground with a dinosaur slide...and Fred Flintstones car...boy,that was cool for us. Great fun...many memories.

[G-DDT]

Byromania, I think it's funny how some of our best memories involve some consumerist or pop culture aspect [[guilty here). There is a lot to be said about Northland Mall http://www.detroityes.com/mb/showthr...to-Close/page6, and yes, I do intend to add the photos I snapped of the mall-after I get them appropriately developed-as it started on it's last days.

Did you get the Hardy Boys books from the first floor track lighting lit book alcove near the front of Hudson's or was it one of the stores in the mall? When out in Cali, did you ever make it up to San Jose and check out the Eastridge Centerhttp://www.greatamericaparks.com/eastridge.html, which is cut from similar Taubman cloth that Fairlane Towncenter http://mallsofamerica.blogspot.com/2...wn-center.htmlhere is.

I remember seeing Raiders of the Lost Ark, and pretty much every film that came out in 1984 at the Americana near Northland [[Starman, Gremlins, Star Trek 3, Ghostbusters, Indiana Jones & the Temple of Doom).

[G-DDT]

My brother drew my attention to this book that illustrated the account of the Holy Cross Lutheran embezzlement. https://books.google.com/books?id=2h...german&f=falseTurns out it was well over $300,000. Yet, the author has the timeframe wrong, as this clearly went down in the 80's, while our family was still there.

[daddeeo]

I was on the scene from 1951 to 1978. Went to St. Mary of Redford but knew folks from Cooley, Redford, Cody, CC and U of D.
Graduated in 1969 and stayed until I got a full time job and house in Royal Oak. It was great to walk to work and didn't have to worry about crime all the time anymore.
Loved growing up along Grand River and Greenfield. Worked at Wrigleys as a packer making 1.65 an hour in 1965.
Looking for photos of the area for a possible book. I'm at paulmcall@comast.net of you have any to share. Thanks.

[daddeeo]

Paulmcall@comcast.net

I was on the scene from 1951 to 1978. Went to St. Mary of Redford but knew folks from Cooley, Redford, Cody, CC and U of D.
Graduated in 1969 and stayed until I got a full time job and house in Royal Oak. It was great to walk to work and didn't have to worry about crime all the time anymore.
Loved growing up along Grand River and Greenfield. Worked at Wrigleys as a packer making 1.65 an hour in 1965.
Looking for photos of the area for a possible book. I'm at paulmcall@comast.net of you have any to share. Thanks.

[byromania]

Great memory! Yes, the books were purchased from Hudson's in an area under one of the escalators. It was a small space with an entire collection of Hardy Boys and Nancy Drew books. I still have my Hardy Boys books and I wouldn't part with them for anything. This was just one of many fantastic memories I have of Detroit in the '70s. I've never been to San Jose, but I'll have to visit Eastridge Center one day to see how it compares to Fairlane. Speaking of Fairlane, are those elevated people-movers still in operation?

[G-DDT]

Still trying to dig up NW pics [[thought I had some of Federal's/Kingway or the Great Scott at Grand River & Fenkell, as well as the old Norwest Theater) for daddeeo, here. The best I could do so far was post an album of North Rosedale Park June Days [[two months too early) from the 80's on my profile and this Christmas Holy Cross Lutheran pic along with Pastor Born:

[Dr Jeff]

I grew up on Mark Twain and graduated from Cooley High School. Cooley had the most beautiful auditorium outside of the FOX. I enjoyed playing football and trying to beat Redford, Mackenzie and Ford, which we played each year. Cooley was a magnificent building and the neighborhood around it was really nice. I remember shopping with my late mother on Grand River and how great is was. Now, it looks like a third world country war zone. My father worked for the city of Detroit and talked about what a great place it was to work. He worked closely with the mayor's office [[Roman Gribbs was his favorite) and said that it changed dramatically when Coleman Young came into office. He said that Young was disrespectful and his staff was worse. They talked down to people, criticized long time dedicated employees and put cronies with no experience into positions of authority. He and my mother lived in the house on Mark Twain until 1989, two years after his retirement. I loved that house and have so many wonderful memories of growing up in Detroit, like many who have commented here.

[Cincinnati_Kid]

I grew up on Mark Twain and graduated from Cooley High School. Cooley had the most beautiful auditorium outside of the FOX. I enjoyed playing football and trying to beat Redford, Mackenzie and Ford, which we played each year. Cooley was a magnificent building and the neighborhood around it was really nice. I remember shopping with my late mother on Grand River and how great is was. Now, it looks like a third world country war zone. My father worked for the city of Detroit and talked about what a great place it was to work. He worked closely with the mayor's office [[Roman Gribbs was his favorite) and said that it changed dramatically when Coleman Young came into office. He said that Young was disrespectful and his staff was worse. They talked down to people, criticized long time dedicated employees and put cronies with no experience into positions of authority. He and my mother lived in the house on Mark Twain until 1989, two years after his retirement. I loved that house and have so many wonderful memories of growing up in Detroit, like many who have commented here.

So basically you're saying when CAY became mayor, Detroit started going down the tubes. If I remember correctly, Detroit was changing for the worst, prior to the riots in 67. CAY had his warts, but so did previous mayors as well, like Louis Miriani and Albert Cobo. Young gets a lot of abuse, some undeserving. I grew up in NW Detroit on Strathmoor and 8 Mile. Great area, close to Northland and the Westside Drive In was right across the street. Most of the houses in the neighborhood are still maintained well.

[Wesley Mouch]

So basically you're saying when CAY became mayor, Detroit started going down the tubes. If I remember correctly, Detroit was changing for the worst, prior to the riots in 67. CAY had his warts, but so did previous mayors as well, like Louis Miriani and Albert Cobo. Young gets a lot of abuse, some undeserving. I grew up in NW Detroit on Strathmoor and 8 Mile. Great area, close to Northland and the Westside Drive In was right across the street. Most of the houses in the neighborhood are still maintained well.

Young wasn't a terrible mayor -- but he was unable to transcend his background and bring harmony. Was more interested in settling scores and controlling power.

What did CAY do right? Poletown. Integrate the police department. Chase away white-controlled privileged businesses -- something that today he'd be cheered for by the BDS thinking.

[Vitalis]

I grew up in Grandmont on Longacre at Midfield. The Miller's had a built-in pool directly across the street. Olympic figure skater David Ramsey lived near us on Rutland, the next street east.. Great pickup football and baseball games at Edison School with all of us kids looking like a 60s version of "Our Gang." Earl Morrall [[Lions and later Dolphins QB) had a sporting goods store on Grand River next to Grandmont bowling alley. Then our folks bought a larger home on Rutland at Acacia - one street east and three blocks south so they could stay in St Mary of Redford parish. It was all about the parish back then. The church, the schools, the community. Stevie Wonder appeared at a sock hop in the "old gym." Several of the Red Wings got their haircuts at Max's St Mary's Barber Shop. Getting pie and Cokes at the Rice Bowl restaurant after basketball practice. It was all good. Then the crime came with the nightly police helicopter's overhead, and the realtor's telling the neighborhood that "the blacks were coming," better sell now. Well, we did NOT sell, not right away. And "the blacks" did come, and guess what - they bought homes, and lived their lives just like real people [[Why should that have been a surprise to anyone?) For one beautiful moment their was harmony in Grandmont. But the vagaries of Detroit's economy in the early 70s, coupled with a generation that had raised their families and were ready to move on, and a mobile crime element that had moved out along Grand River, all conspired to change things rather abruptly. So by the mid-70s Dad had had enough, he sold our home [[a fabulous house, and the scene of several raucous Christmas Eve parties) to a Black family, the husband had just been appointed the new head basketball coach at Wayne State, and the folks moved north out of the city, and their brood of six scattered to live their lives. Grandmont was special. St Mary of Redford parish was special. The Grandway Bar was special. The Norwest Theater was special. The White Castle at Fenkell and the Southfield Service Drive was special. St Mary's Bakery was special. Watching the coverage of Neil Armstrong on the moon, and looking up at the moon that July evening from our screened-in porch on Longacre was special. It was a great area to grow up in, circa 1960-1975.

[G-DDT]

^^^The Norwest was special. DirecTV gave my mom freebies of Starz & Encore, and Popeye was one of the movies shown. It just reminded me of dragging my parents there to go see Robin Williams mutter on screen in that film [[Altman's chaotic style of public gathering commotion catch-a-gag-if-you-can screen action may've not flown well for that children's film, but Nilsson's soundtrack did rock.https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=z3YRcq-8uSA andhttps://www.youtube.com/watch?v=3Ji0...&nohtml5=False.). Too bad spinach really didn't help one beat up the kids who bullied you in your neighborhood.

They've also been playing Cotton Club, which has got Robert Evan's involvement all over it [[and he's implicated with some crazy stuff be it Polanski and missing Tate's ill-fated party like Kosinski did, or John Huston, or the Roy Radin murder.).

[Philip]

Hello. I lived at 19481 Sorrento between Outer Drive and St. Martins. Went to MacDowell Elementary and then Mumford High School. Often went to the Royal Theater on 7 Mile. Detroit was a great place to grow up. Lived there from 1944-1962. Yes, I know a lot has changed but I still remember it fondly. I have a Detroit Red Wings cap and a Mumford tee-shirt and wear them proudly even at my age. My grandfather was on the Detroit Police Force many years ago.

[Danny]

For what it's worth it's a heterosexual/drug infested mess now so you're safe to move back anytime, sweetheart.

No, I'm done with Palmer Park. I havent been there in 35 years. Even though some the apts. are rehabbed thanks to Mike Duggan's urban practices to lure private developers in. Even the Canadian Geeses love to hang out there raising their chicks.

This time no subsidization. No people who live on welfare checks and food stamps. Can't buy property with those fix incomes. No people with bad or no credits. If you have a decent job with over $ 1100 dollars a month and a salary with good credit points over 630, then you get those apts. Slowly all the DEAD [[C) KRAK HEADS, prostitutes and mutants are moving out. And crime is slowing down, Palmer Park is on its way to become gentrified and yuppified in next 30 years.

[daddeeo]

Hope they aren't moving to Grand River- Greenfield area.
Still looking to share stories, photos etc. with anyone from there
[[now or in the past0. Email me at paulmcall@Comcast.net
Store front and streetscapes needed.

[G-DDT]

Hope they aren't moving to Grand River- Greenfield area.
Still looking to share stories, photos etc. with anyone from there
[[now or in the past0. Email me at paulmcall@Comcast.net
Store front and streetscapes needed.

I'm doing my best to dig out old photos. My mom's collection only provided the Holy Cross images above and the June Day pics I put over in my albums in profile. A lot of old photos from the 80's [[shot mostly with Kodak Disc camera-remember those?) were poorly stashed down in some basement closet that suffered water damage after a flood backed up into the rec room back when we were in Detroit.

I was quite sure I had some Grand River picks of Norwest and the Kingsway [[Federals) at that intersection. Right now, I am side tracked with some heavy stuff, so I hope to get this figured out soon. Sorry for the wait, daddeeo.

In the meantime, does anyone, have some pics of that area to share?

[p69rrh51]

Designed by Charles N. Agree. Cunningham's Drug Store 15500 Grand River Avenue built in 1940 Detroit, MI. Includes an article featuring the building from a 1940 issue of the Detroit Free Press.