What was your favorite era living in Detroit?

[night-timer]

Well, the title kinda says it all.

Some of the forum-ers here are elderly and have seen more of Detroit than the rest of us.

The rest may be seeing a resurgence in Downtown and its surrounds, never any real sisterly/brotherly 'connection' with Windsor/Ontario, an outdated view or reputation of Detroit by outsiders, slow progress on the Book Tower or the MCS building and the Packard plant.

But that's all been said before.

So, aside from all that, when was your fave era/time in the D? And why?

[dtowncitylover]

I grew up in the area during the 90s and 00s, so I can't say I have a favorite era because of how naive I was of the region around me.

There is one specific year I wish I could plop myself down in for a beautiful day or week: 1948. Near Detroit's population zenith, the booming growth of the city towards the limits, and still hustle and bustle of the major thoroughfares, no freeways except the Davison, streetcars, no malls and all 3 department stores were intact, relative good public safety and education, and it would've been neat to see Black Bottom and the "countryside" that was the Oakland County lakes region where my great-grandparents had a cottage. And the fashion.

[Ray1936]

I've got to agree with dtowncitylover totally. The post-war era was a time of optimism and excitement for the years ahead. It was so until shortly after 1960 in my recollection, and it seemed like it all kind of fell apart around the time of Kennedy's assassination. That was followed by the mini riot of 1966 on Kerchival and the big one in 1967. Anyway, post war were good years, and I couldn't agree more about the Oakland County lakes. Fortunately, they're still clean and full of largemouth bass.

[Meddle]

Not that I had much choice of when I grew up there, but we made frequent trips downtown for all sorts of things. It was what we did then, early/mid 60s.

I worked downtown in the early 90s and made sure I was out of the area before dark.

[EastsideAl]

I can't say that I really had one of those, since from the time I was born at the tail end of the '50s until very recently all I saw around here was a long decline. There were some bright spots, some moments when things looked up for a year or two, but mostly it was just down and down. And, of course, all one heard from one's older relatives was all of the stuff that used to be here and all of the things you used to be able to do in the city.

If I had to pick an era that I enjoyed the most in the city, it would probably be the early- to mid-70s, but that was mostly because it was my teen years when I was first coming into freedom and a view of the world beyond my neighborhood. When possibilities seemed limitless.

I rode the buses all over the city a lot in those days, and spent time in a still-active [[but clearly declining) downtown nearly every weekday. I was getting into all kinds of big city adventures [[including some particularly memorable ones that I'm sure would not have met with adult approval), working mostly easy jobs, spending my money on concerts and ballgames, meeting girls, meeting other interesting characters, getting a bit wasted every now and again, reading, listening, watching, and learning life. Soon enough, I was driving around in the crappy ol' pickup truck I bought, and then the real adventures started...

But the city itself was mostly getting worse instead of better. And soon, it would get a lot worse. So, if you ask me what my favorite era for actually living in Detroit was, I'd have to say right now.

[daddeeo]

I'd say the early 1960's with the Cavanagh years. Everything seemed possible even with looming problems of deficits, race and booming suburbs.

[313WX]

I would like to be a fly on the wall during 1970s and 1980s Detroit.

It was an era where the overall environment in the city was really gritty and there were signs of distress, yet the extent of the decline hadn't really hit everyone yet and it still seemed healthy and vibrant on the surface.

The below videos capture what I mean perfectly.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=bzEoyXTf22o

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9YseT7mwQhM

[401don]

Hudson's kind of typified Detroit in the late '70s, early '80s. The store was shrinking as the floors closed one at a time. They floors themselves were waxed hardwood that creaked when you walked on them. The elevator operators were almost as old as the elevators themselves. There was a very odd mix of clothing marketed to whites and blacks side-by-side. Yet, if you walked in on the right day on the ground floor everything looked busy and fine as it ever was.

[Pat001]

Before I was born - pre-WW II through the 1950s. My parents were born during the 1920s and they would often reminisce about going downtown to night clubs, movie theaters, enjoying Boston Coolers and hot fudge sundaes at Sanders, shopping at Hudson’s and other downtown stores. My parents said they could go anywhere in the city on streetcars for a nickel, and the sidewalks were so crowded with people that it was hard to walk around. I wish I could have seen it.

Slightly off-topic but my mother was raised in Highland Park. According to her, when she attended the Highland Park schools, they were the best in the state. She said educators from other countries came to tour the Highland Park school system.

[Former_Detroiter]

To this day 1964 was my most memorable year. There were others but this was the year I could drive, work, and go somewhere besides school and church. I was born in the late 40's on the lower Eastside also known as Jeff-Chalmers. My father bought our house in 1946 when he was discharged from the army. I didn't move until 1966 when I graduated and moved to Ann Arbor to attend U of M. My first job high school job was Downtown on Library right behind J.L. Hudson Co. Of course there was Crowley's and Kern's within a short walking distance from Hudson's but Hudson's was it. Before that I never went downtown that much because everything you needed was on Jefferson: grocery stores, numerous apparel, appliance, and jewelry stores, and movie theaters, etc. So a trip downtown meant there was something special happening like the Motown Revue, Thanksgiving Day Parade, school trips to Ford Auditorium to hear the Detroit Symphony, etc. So for me getting my first job downtown was huge. Even though I had a driver's license I had nothing to drive so I took the bus everywhere day or night. It never occurred to me then that something might happen to me on the long walk from Jefferson almost to the River. Anyone who's ever lived on the Eastside knows how long those blocks are. In 1972 after graduation I accepted a job in San Francisco. In 1998 I moved back to Detroit to care for my parents. Just like most things Detroit had changed a great deal. And most of what I remembered about Jeff-Chalmers and my beloved street was not how I remembered it. In 2012 I moved to Santa Fe, New Mexico. I still have so many wonderful memories about growing up in Detroit I smile whenever I think about them. On my last trip in 2017 I was impressed with many of the improvements going on. My old neighborhood has changed a great deal over the years unfortunately not for the better. However, I am hopeful that will change in the very near future.

[K-slice]

In terms of seeing positive change, there has been no time like the present in the last 50 years. I predict we will see the population increase for the first time in 2020 as Millennial begin to gain financial stability. There will be a new tallest building in the city soon, along with developments that would have been unheard of in previous decades. The auto industry will transform into the "mobility industry" and draw tech talent on par with Silicon Valley. Neighborhoods will see an influx of young new residents and commercial corridors will revitalize at the expense of shopping malls.

I say with all confidence that unless you were around to see the boom of the first half of the 20th century [[which certainly would have been something to see) there is no time like right now to be experiencing Detroit.

[SammyS]

^^ I’m totally with ya on all that