University Club go buh bye.

**mikefmich** · November-05-13, 01:03 PM

What's to say? I've been speechless for years anyhow. :/
http://detroit.curbed.com/archives/2...-right-now.php

**Detroitnerd** · November-05-13, 01:22 PM

Oh, whatever. It's going to be a really good party store. Nice big parking lot out front, lots of light, good deals on three-buck chuck. Trust me. It's better this way.

**TKshreve** · November-05-13, 01:32 PM

Maybe a sky bridge to the other party store. Slap in some Three Card Monty and some dog fighting out back ----- Bam! Could be the cornerstone of our next brightest entertainment district.

**EastsideAl** · November-05-13, 01:52 PM

A sad and totally preventable waste. But then that's pretty much the whole story of historic buildings in Detroit, isn't it?

**jt1** · November-05-13, 02:11 PM

Originally Posted by mikefmich

What's to say? I've been speechless for years anyhow. :/
http://detroit.curbed.com/archives/2...-right-now.php

So there will be no investigation of arson by the current owner. Only in Detroit can someone ask to tear down a building, get told no, torch it then get rewarded.

Pathetic. I hope someone torches the liquor store owners house [[in whatever suburb he lives in)

**bailey** · November-05-13, 02:18 PM

Originally Posted by EastsideAl

A sad and totally preventable waste. But then that's pretty much the whole story of historic buildings in Detroit, isn't it?

Sad.. yes. Preventable? How? What realistic option was there for this place once the U club went bust 20 yrs ago? or after the YWCA ran it further into the ground? It was purpose built building for a purpose that could not be supported.

Offices? lofts? retail? How much would need to be invested into it and what was the likelihood of a return on that investment? If the city should have stepped in and saved it...how many millions should it have invested to stabilize and maintain it?

This white elephant was heading for this end since the 1970s.

**EastsideAl** · November-05-13, 03:37 PM

First of all, the building should have been landmarked. Then it should have been carefully mothballed and sealed from trespass, and either held while proposals were undertaken for potential reuses of the building, or until there was again enough demand to make the building useful and viable for potential tenants. That's what's done with buildings of this distinction in pretty much every other major city in the world other than Detroit.

What shouldn't have been done was to sell it to liquor store owner who would leave it open to trespass and stripping - which was ignored by the police and other city authorities despite calls from many people and despite happening in plain view right in one of the busiest parts of the city. And then to allow him to torch it and destroy it completely, without penalty, when it became convenient for him to do so.

**bailey** · November-05-13, 03:52 PM

Originally Posted by EastsideAl

First of all, the building should have been landmarked. Then it should have been carefully mothballed and sealed from trespass, and either held while proposals were undertaken for potential reuses of the building, or until there was again enough demand to make the building useful and viable for potential tenants. That's what's done with buildings of this distinction in pretty much every other major city in the world other than Detroit.

What shouldn't have been done was to sell it to liquor store owner who would leave it open to trespass and stripping - which was ignored by the police and other city authorities despite calls from many people, despite happening right in one of the busiest parts of the city. And then to allow him to torch it and destroy it completely, without penalty, when it became convenient for him to do so.

All true. equally true is the fact that if my aunt had balls, she'd be my uncle.

look, you missed the part where I said "realistic".

**EastsideAl** · November-05-13, 04:02 PM

The only thing that makes it unrealistic is the incompetence of our local authorities, their breathtaking retrograde wrong-headedness in urban planning matters, their corruption, and their unwillingness to enforce the law or do a damn thing.

**A2Mike** · November-05-13, 08:07 PM

Originally Posted by bailey

Sad.. yes. Preventable? How? What realistic option was there for this place once the U club went bust 20 yrs ago? or after the YWCA ran it further into the ground? It was purpose built building for a purpose that could not be supported.

Offices? lofts? retail? How much would need to be invested into it and what was the likelihood of a return on that investment? If the city should have stepped in and saved it...how many millions should it have invested to stabilize and maintain it?

This white elephant was heading for this end since the 1970s.

The club should have donated the premises to the city/county/state as a meeting, discussion and entertainment facility for high level government officials. The place would now resemble Downton Abbey.

**WaCoTS** · November-05-13, 11:20 PM

glad to hear that they have decided to conduct the deconstruction of the blg so as to salvage and sell/reuse as much historic material as possible! oh wait, theyre not doing that at all.

looks like demolition has been conducted according to the letter of the Detroit Demolition Handbook. ie, start crushing the most architecturally salient sections first, so that building-huggers have no time to stage a legal challenge.

they don't have security on site, so i would encourage people to go loot as many reusable pieces as possible--after all, why not? the owner clearly gives 0.0 shits about the value of the place. i saw some nice leaded glass windows that were intact, and some carved stone archways. someone should grab them up, heck sell them and make a buck. i have zero scruples about looting from demolition sites like this.

**Hamtragedy** · November-06-13, 12:19 AM

Yup, straight by the city of Detroit Handbook alright. Not a barrier in place, nothing to keep anyone out, [[kids walking home from school), scrappers, scavengers, or keep anyone from being injured. Just another frivolous lawsuit in the making, thanks COD.

**bailey** · November-06-13, 06:23 AM

Originally Posted by Hamtragedy

Yup, straight by the city of Detroit Handbook alright. Not a barrier in place, nothing to keep anyone out, [[kids walking home from school), scrappers, scavengers, or keep anyone from being injured. Just another frivolous lawsuit in the making, thanks COD.

Why would the city be liable for a private party's negligence? The city isn't doing this..The party store guy is.

**Honky Tonk** · November-06-13, 07:40 AM

Originally Posted by bailey

Why would the city be liable for a private party's negligence? The city isn't doing this..The party store guy is.

Maybe it's up to the City to enforce ordinances? I'm sure there's something somewhere on the books about "party store guys" safely tearing down historic landmarks.

**finster** · November-06-13, 09:48 AM

Too bad that another architectural gem in the city has to bite the dust. Perhaps if the city was in better shape this building wouldn't have fallen on hard times in the first place.

I guess we'll have to be thankful for the buildings that are being brought back from the dead and hope a resurgent city can generate more of that kind of interest.

**GRdetfan** · November-06-13, 09:53 AM

That was a nice building. Reminds me of the Northwestern University B-School and Law campus in downtown Chicago. The building was a architechual gem. Destroyed not be the wrecker but years of neglect, scrapping and disinterest.

**NoHeartAnthony** · November-06-13, 10:07 AM

Tear that schitt down

**motz** · November-06-13, 10:40 AM

Originally Posted by NoHeartAnthony

Tear that schitt down

You mean the liquor store, right?

**ronaldj** · November-06-13, 02:11 PM

Who got the big-game trophies from the dining room? Too late to loot?

**mikefmich** · November-06-13, 02:11 PM

Originally Posted by EastsideAl

First of all, the building should have been landmarked. Then it should have been carefully mothballed and sealed from trespass, and either held while proposals were undertaken for potential reuses of the building, or until there was again enough demand to make the building useful and viable for potential tenants. That's what's done with buildings of this distinction in pretty much every other major city in the world other than Detroit.

.

Spot on Al.

Wonder if this will bold, I'm not overtly techy with forums.

**GPCharles** · November-06-13, 02:19 PM

The building is/was full of asbestos. I am SURE they followed the required asbestos abatement procedures.

**Honky Tonk** · November-06-13, 02:21 PM

Originally Posted by GPCharles

The building is/was full of asbestos. I am SURE they followed the required asbestos abatement procedures.

.......And I'm sure the City Inspectors were right there with a watchful eye.......

**Detroitman32** · November-06-13, 04:08 PM

Ugh, so the bastard finally got his liquor and party store. Do we have a name for this guy? What a way to herald in the new mayoralty.

**bailey** · November-06-13, 04:11 PM

Originally Posted by Detroitman32

Ugh, so the bastard finally got his liquor and party store. Do we have a name for this guy? What a way to herald in the new mayoralty.

Albert Ammori.

**WaCoTS** · November-18-13, 06:46 PM

very interesting; apparently you too can now own a piece of legit, honest to god University Club memorabilia...just go downtown and visit good ole Mr John K King's bookstore:

http://www.rarebooklink.com/cgi-bin/...s/98-6784.html

THE LINCOLN HIGHWAY The Story of a Crusade that Made Transportation History. [signed and inscribed by Henry Bourne Joy].

Dodd, Mead & Co.: NY 1935 37 b&w illustr [[including frontis, 8.25 x 5.75, blindstamped brown cloth, 315 pp. Ex-lib [[University Club of Detroit) with minimal markings, covers rubbed, dust soiling to lower page edges, bookplate of and ink gift inscription of Henry Bourne Joy, front inner hinge cracked and cover loose, text block cracked, occasional light soiling else good. Henry Bourne Joy, while president of Packard, became one of the principal organizers of the Lincoln Highway Association as well as its president. The Lincoln Highway which became the first transcontinental road [[NY to San Francisco) was the brainchild of Carl Graham Fisher, an automobile enthusiast and one of the major investors in the Indianapolis Motor Speedway. The Lincoln Highway Association formed on July 1, 1913, the highway itself was dedicated on October 31, 1913. Prior to the highway's construction there was only the railroad that went coast to coast. Local roads were unreliable and infrequently repaired. A paved road that crossed through 14 states was a great idea, especially for the automotive companies. The University Club of Detroit of which Henry B. Joy was a founding member, was a fraternal organization for college and university graduates only. Inscription reads "TO DETROIT UNIVERSITY CLUB WITH COMPLIMENTS OF HENRY B. JOY A FOUNDER." Scarce. FIRST EDITION.

Book Id: 98-6784

Price: $250.00

...signed by Henry B Joy himself!?