1980 GOP Convention - Detroit

**dtowncitylover** · August-27-12, 10:41 PM

First thing first, this thread is NOT turn into a political discussion/argument/debate. Please, please, please don't turn it into that.

Moving on, I wanted to know more about the 1980 Republican National Convention in Detroit. Did it have a big effect on Detroit? I wasn't born yet, so I really don't know. I know that in 1980, Downtown Detroit was still alive, but turning fast. Hudson's was still down there. So did people have a good experience coming here even though it was [[still is) a very strong base for the Democratic Party? Why was Detroit chosen? Does anyone have any memories to share? Did anyone attend as a delegate or even media personnel?

And even more intriguing, do you think Detroit should try to bid seriously for another convention, perhaps a Democratic one? I mean we are coming back aren't we?

**Zacha341** · August-27-12, 11:02 PM

It was well attended if not a superbowl game size. Those not so inclined just did not go. I was working downtown in the Book building as Trolley Plaza was being built at the time and noticed the traffic congestion.

**DetroitPlanner** · August-28-12, 07:44 AM

Detroit was a hopping town back then. Hudson's was still open and Joe Louis as well as Hart Plaza were brand new. There was no Trappers Alley yet, it was still... get this... an alley!

The Convention was the first thing held in the new arena. Cobo back then was half the size that it is now. Big parties were held in places like Jim's Garage and the Post Bar adopted the elephant and had elephant tracks painted all over downtown that led to its bar.

I hear when GM bought the RenCen they discovered pasty-faced, GOP conventioneers still wandering the halls lost so they spent $100's of millions to make it easier to navigate.

**401don** · August-28-12, 08:02 AM

While I wasn't in Detroit at the time, I remember it for 2 things - The city using the famous red awnings to cover up abandoned buildings, a good intention idea that backfired and Reagan's speech, convincing the average American that he wasn't a warmonger and leading to his election victory.

**krapug1** · August-28-12, 09:13 AM

Originally Posted by 401don

While I wasn't in Detroit at the time, I remember it for 2 things - The city using the famous red awnings to cover up abandoned buildings, a good intention idea that backfired and Reagan's speech, convincing the average American that he wasn't a warmonger and leading to his election victory.

Yes, I remember the red awnings well, and the national media had a field day reporting it. The Statler Hotel being the poster child for downtown buildings empty at that time.

The Book Cadillac, or what ever it was being called then, [[Detroit Cadillac, I think) almost went under just before the convention, but was saved by some last minute financing and grants.

The retail scene still had Hudson's, and Hudson's featured a number of convention related parties in it's 12th floor restaurant complex. That was easy to do for at that point in time, only the Riverview Room was open to the public.
The Ren Center complex still had some tony stores at that point as well.

The convention being in Detroit played into the GOP's focus that it would help the average person get back to work [[unemployment was high through most of 79 and 80), and draw more of what were called Reagan Democrats.

Ken

**artds** · August-28-12, 09:43 AM

I think Ronald Reagan may have been in attendance

**iheartthed** · August-28-12, 09:47 AM

Originally Posted by dtowncitylover

So did people have a good experience coming here even though it was [[still is) a very strong base for the Democratic Party? Why was Detroit chosen?

The work of Democratic pollster Stan Greenberg is a classic study of Reagan Democrats. Greenberg analyzed white ethnic voters [[largely unionized auto workers) in Macomb County, Michigan, just north of Detroit. The county voted 63 percent for John F. Kennedyin 1960, but 66 percent for Reagan in 1980. He concluded that "Reagan Democrats" no longer saw Democrats as champions of their working class aspirations...

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Reagan_Democrat

**DetroitPlanner** · August-28-12, 01:07 PM

Ronald Regan was not only in attendance. Old Prune Face was nominated and accepted in Detroit!

I was going to mention the awnings in my previous entry. I recall them being put on the Heritage and Tuller Hotels which were empty at the time. I was unsure of whether this was the first time this was done as the awning trick was trotted out several years later when the International Auto Show was started and the people mover opened.

**Danny** · August-28-12, 01:25 PM

Why do want to put a Good Ole' Party Convention in such a mostly black liberal city? Coleman Young at the time was mayor. He was not that keen to have his liberal friends sided with the Republicans.

**cman710** · August-28-12, 02:17 PM

This is only slightly on topic, but check out this advertisement from 1985 touting Detroit's Westin Hotel at the Renaissance Center.

In the message from Mayor Young, he notes "Of course, the 1980 Republican convention was made succesful by Detroit's warm, friendly, and helpful citizens."

**9606 Prest** · August-28-12, 02:22 PM

I remember waiting outside in line at the Hellas Cafe in Greektown when George H. W. Bush [[ and his group) came along an shook hands with everyone in the line. Bush was later selected to be the V.P. candidate at the convention at Joe Louis Arena.

Shollin · August-28-12, 05:30 PM

Michigan historically has been a swing state. It makes sense to have a convention in a swing state like the republicans are doing this year in Tampa and the Democrats did last time in Denver. The republicans had there's last time in St Paul, and the Twin Cities are pretty solidly liberal. Detroit in 1980 wasn't quite as black and poor as it is now.

**KJ5** · August-28-12, 07:04 PM

Remember the red awnings still being up on the Statler Hilton just prior to its demo in the early 2000's, looking all hideously ratty? Probably not what folks had in mind when they put them up for the 1980 GOP Convention...

**Kathleen** · August-28-12, 08:38 PM

As a student in the Library Science program at Wayne State and an employee of Gale Research, I was fortunate to be selected to work in the Information Center set up in Cobo Hall. A small library was created, and a Lexis/Nexis terminal was installed, so that we had a ready reference collection at our fingertips. Our task was to provide whatever information was needed by the media in attendance. I remember one question I fielded was about the old factory buildings and how they were constructed with reinforced concrete columns. As a perk for volunteering, I was allowed to visit the convention center in Joe Louis Arena, where we ran into Sam Donaldson. Also ran into John Chancellor in Cobo Arena. Plus I received copies of speeches and press releases and the souvenirs of the 1980 Republican Convention. It was a fun and interesting experience!!

**p69rrh51** · August-28-12, 09:02 PM

A good friend's sister was the "babysitter" for the Arkansas delegation. I got a chance to chat with quite a few at a party hosted at the Grosse Pointe War Memorial. I did not realize it at the time but I was chatting with many of what would become Reagan democrats. Also heard the Razorback call for the first time. One other point it was the start of the religious right moving into the republican party as many were disgruntled with how the democrats had dismissed them. My friends sister did such a good job that she was asked to join the staff at the White House.

**EastsideAl** · August-28-12, 10:11 PM

Originally Posted by 9606 Prest

I remember waiting outside in line at the Hellas Cafe in Greektown when George H. W. Bush [[ and his group) came along an shook hands with everyone in the line. Bush was later selected to be the V.P. candidate at the convention at Joe Louis Arena.

He was all over the city glad-handing people, it seems. I was crossing Jefferson Ave. on my way into the then brand new Hart Plaza, ironically to videotape some jazz musician friends of mine who were participating in a drum circle with the ostensible purpose of levitating all of the Republicans back out of town, when I got stuck by the light on the island in the middle of the avenue with a bunch of men wearing dark suits. Just before the light turned, one of these men mysteriously turned to me and said "Young man, it's a pleasure to meet you, I'm George Bush", shook my hand, and strode off in the direction of Joe Louis Arena. Just a few minutes later he was nominated to be the GOP vice-presidential candidate.

I remember the GOP convention well because I spent much of that summer making a sort of a documentary with the primitive portable video equipment of that time, on Detroit's dubious "renaissance." That summer was one of the times when it appeared to some, for just a brief moment, that the long decline might be turning around and Detroit might be "coming back."

The "turnaround" was certainly being trumpeted in the media. The Ren Cen was still new, and still had some of its stores left. Hart Plaza was just opening, filling land that had sat vacant for a couple of decades. Downtown retail was dying, and Hudson's was just a fatally declining shell of its former self, but there was still enough commercial activity left that one could somehow believe that it might be saved. Several hotels had closed, but the Book Cadillac had been rescued, and the Ren Cen hotel was finally full. After losing the Lions and the Pistons, the Red Wings had been kept in Detroit with the opening of JLA. A new modern high-speed transit system was even being planned, with the first loop to be built downtown! And then came the news that the auto industry was going to make a comeback in Detroit too, through a plan hatched by the mayor and GM to replace the shuttered Dodge Main with a huge new plant that would employ many thousands of people.

The Republican convention was supposed to be a harbinger of this "new" Detroit - a city that would become attractive to outsiders again, and could host big national events. And, though it may surprise those people today who've bought the historical line of him as some sort of paragon of black racism, absolutely no one was a bigger booster of the GOP convention coming to Detroit than Coleman Young.

But not too far away the cracks were still growing wider. Unemployment was rising, crime was barely falling, abandonment of houses and commercial buildings was increasing, many longtime businesses were shutting down. The city and its people were, in fact, growing poorer.

Within a few years the auto industry would go into a huge slump and unemployment in Detroit and Michigan would explode. Even though a big section of the city was destroyed to build it, the new plant would never employ the promised thousands, or even hundreds. And, with cities now being choked off or ignored by GOP Washington., and the coming of the crack boom, things would get even worse.

**DetroitPlanner** · August-28-12, 10:23 PM

My Dad got drunk with Ronald Reagan and both George Bushes at Dirty Harry's.

**luckycar** · August-29-12, 06:57 AM

There was a huge green/gray sky big old thunderstorm that rolled thru town.Power was out for days in Ann Arbor,so I missed all the convention coverage.I seem to remember it happening on Monday morning.The show went on as planned.

**kenp** · August-29-12, 09:52 AM

Great post by EastsideAl
It was really an interesting time. The big renaissance planned for Detroit never happened and the decline just kept happening.
Also agree that CY was a big supporter of the convention.
The thing I remember the most was an effort to get Gerald Ford to be the VP.
He would have gone from VP to Pres back to VP. Dont think RR liked the idea and they went with Bush at the last minute.

**cman710** · August-29-12, 10:20 AM

EastsideAl,

Do you still have a copy of the "sort of documentary" that you spent the summer making? It would be fascinating to see some video footage from that time period.

**Ray1936** · August-29-12, 11:13 AM

Still have my DPD ident card from that event. Don't really remember that much about it. I was staffing the command post, and busy issuing radios, batteries, getting guys relieved for lunch, etc., and other such sundry items. Seems we worked a lot of overtime.

**Cincinnati_Kid** · August-29-12, 11:52 AM

Originally Posted by Shollin

Michigan historically has been a swing state. It makes sense to have a convention in a swing state like the republicans are doing this year in Tampa and the Democrats did last time in Denver. The republicans had there's last time in St Paul, and the Twin Cities are pretty solidly liberal. Detroit in 1980 wasn't quite as black and poor as it is now.

Detroit was just as black then as it is now, I agree it wasn't as poor though. More people were working.

**Cincinnati_Kid** · August-29-12, 11:55 AM

Originally Posted by Ray1936

Still have my DPD ident card from that event. Don't really remember that much about it. I was staffing the command post, and busy issuing radios, batteries, getting guys relieved for lunch, etc., and other such sundry items. Seems we worked a lot of overtime.

Those were the "good ole days" weren't they Ray?? BTW, nice mugshot

**Crew** · August-29-12, 01:41 PM

I will try to take a picture of it tonight but when I moved into my house, I found a stadium style seat cushion from the convention.

It had a picture of Jimmy Carter with the caption "Sit on my Face" on one side and an elephant and "1980 GOP National Convention - Detroit, Michigan" on the other.

**Hermod** · August-29-12, 03:34 PM

Originally Posted by kenp

Great post by EastsideAl
The thing I remember the most was an effort to get Gerald Ford to be the VP.
He would have gone from VP to Pres back to VP. Dont think RR liked the idea and they went with Bush at the last minute.

They were playing with the idea. The Ford team wanted too much of the presidential power making him sort of a co-president. There was hard bargaining with the Reagan team. Finally Reagan decided it just wasn't worth it in voter attraction and offered the VP to GHWB.