Gem Theatre Madison Street Frontage

[buckster1986]

Has anyone driven or walked by the Gem Theatre lately? I walked past last night on my way to the Tigers game and noticed that almost all of the trees on the Madison Street side have been removed.

You can clearly see the entire front of the building but it sort of takes away from the neat secluded feel that the front outdoor space had. Wonder why they decided to remove them.

[Gistok]

Were those Locust trees? I've got a 40 footer in the back yard, and they grow very fast. I wonder if they were paying havoc with the paving stones.

There are a lot of Locust trees planted around downtown. With their very small leaves they are a pain... but they grow very fast... just fast enough for the city to chop them down ever so often...

[gnome]

https://maps.google.com/maps?q=gem+t...12,326.84,,0,0

To my eyes the trees appear to be Bradford Pears, an ornamental tree and favorite with folks who like dense shade and fast growth. Like poplar trees they drop their leaves quickly after turning a brilliant red.

I would guess that the trees hide the building facade and made it difficult for people to find the place. Especially if they don't visit the City as often as some folks.

So, I expect certain folks here will say that the tree-cutting was just another capitulation to the ravenous hoards of suburbanites who are planning a hostile takeover.

If trees can be an issue in the suburb vs City fight, here is the Bridge at Concord.

[Gsgeorge]

We've run out of things to knock down in this town, so we're going after trees now.