Remembering White Tower....and Detroit

[A2Mike]

Detoiters nostalgic for White Castle "sliders" may remember a rival chain, called White Tower. Since there was a Tower less than a block from home in the W. Vernor/Springwells neighborhood, that got most of my patronage. I attended WSU in the sixties and worked late in a downtown bank. After hanging out with friends at the Alcove or Verne's I'd board a Woodward bus and connect with the Baker in Cadillac Square, often about 2 AM - around midnight on work nights. After a 25 minute ride home I'd stop for some burgers at the White Tower. I loved the friendly waitress, the smells of the coffee brewing and the burgers and onions on the grill, the tang of the condiments, and the quiet of the night. After many years in California I retired last year to Ann Arbor, and I recently went to a White Castle, remembering those little burgers of so long ago. Of course it wasn't the same. I guess my real nostalgia was for a Detroit where I rode around town late at night on buses, got home safely, and tucked myself in, those little burgers fortifying me until morning.