Happy 20 Years Detroityes.com!

[Danny]

In 1999 Lowell Boileau took some photos of devastate and blighted historic ruins of vacant and abandon ruins of Detroit and posted on his website called "The Fabulous Ruins of Detroit".

I like what he had done to research the lost synagogues of Detroit to the demise of the Downtown Detroit long ago.

D-YESers send out b-day remarks about Mr. Boileau's masterpiece of his website and community forum.

HAPPY BIRTHDAY DETROITYES!!!

[Scottathew]

Happy 20! Congrats! And THANK YOU for hosting our discussions and debates!

[hybridy]

Began lurking on DYes after stumbling upon the photo tour of Lakeside Trailer Court from 2005. For a farm boy moving to Detroit - it was surreal yet kind of exotic. Even with all the urban spelunking I did, I never saw it in the flesh.

https://www.detroityes.com/webisodes...wFromNorth.htm

[9936Sussex]

Happy 20 years! Lowell, thank you for all the work you do to keep this site running so well. Detroityes.com has been a great source of information for me in all things Detroit and beyond!

[Maof]

Thank you Lowell!

[Ray1936]

Yes, indeed, thank you, sir! I stumbled upon DetroitYes in it's formative days. While I don't really post all that much any more [[having moved far away), I go to the site daily and see what's goin' on. Part of my morning procedure!

[1953]

Those old pics drew me in, too....been reading this site almost daily for a long time. If you told me it was older than 20 years, I would have believed you. Thanks, Lowell!

1953

[mtburb]

Thank you Lowell for providing us this site and the AtDetroit franchise for 20 years! Seeing 1999 Detroit, a lot sure has changed.

[Bobl]

Nice job, Lowell.
A lot of changes, in twenty years.

[DetroitSoldier]

I have been on and off this site for the entire 20 years. I was a teenager when AtDetroit came about. The meet-ups at The Well [[or was it The Baltimore?) and the picnics on Belle Isle were memorable experiences. I'm happy to be part of this community.

[Gistok]

Wow... 20 years on DYES, and nearly 20,000 posts [[in total)... I need to get a life...

[jackie5275]

Happy Anniversary. Thanks Lowell for bringing together a bunch of folks who have given me awesome SE Michigan history lessons.

[Detroit Stylin]

Yeah its wild. I remember accidentally stumbling on this site when i typed in Detroit during my first ever internet search on my first ever pc i bought in 99. I still had three years left on Active Duty an ive been out for 17 years! Wow memories. Cant believe ive been stuck one site for 20 years.

[DetroitGuy423]

I stumbled onto this site back in 2002 after I had been accepted to Wayne State Law. Having grew up in Flint, I wasn't familiar with Detroit and was absolutely astonished at seeing all of the historic and ruined buildings. It was then that I knew I wanted to be a part of the City's rebirth and here I am 17 years later living Downtown and experiencing it's rebirth first-hand.

[Lowell]

Thank you all for the kind remarks--and even more for the education. As I like to say that 90% of what I know about Detroit I have learned from this forum. Best of all, together we have watched the narrative of Detroit move from ruins to rise.

Just a slight adjustment to the OP's post, this is the 20th year of the forum, while the original Fabulous Ruins of Detroit tour dates to 1997. The outpouring caring emotions and concern about Detroit from the thousands of emails that came in response to that site led me to create this forum in 1999 and in Jan. 2001 to register and begin using the domain name DetroitYES.com and ask, "Detroit. What went wrong? How can we heal it? Where are we going?"

[jcole]

Congrats on the anniversary, Lowell; I think I started to lurk around about 2004 and created my login in 2005. I've learned a lot about Detroit, have been able to share my knowledge and indulged in some controversies over the years. Glad to be a part of it all.

[msamslex]

Happy Anniversary! Thank you Lowell!

I discovered DetroitYes after reading an article about itsJeff in the Freep many years ago.

[DeLemur]

Great stuff Lowell. I discovered the site in 2003 and felt very much an insider with it, but probably argued too much with people. I revisited it off and on through the years and take a more mature approach to communication now in 2019.

[Jimaz]

There's some more history at About This Site at the bottom of the main page.

For search purposes, a previous domain name for the forum was atdetroit.net.

There was another domain I've since forgotten but I think it contained the word "be." Can anyone recall the full name for that one?

Edit: Found it at The Story Behind DetroitYES?:

bhere.com

Internet Archive to the rescue!

[Zacha341]

I guess I do too! Thank you Lowell!

Wow... 20 years on DYES, and nearly 20,000 posts [[in total)... I need to get a life...

[detroitsgwenivere]

You've given us so much. Thanks again Lowell and DYes friends!

[p1acebo]

Thank you Lowell! I joined DYES when I first moved downtown from the suburbs and was fascinated with the city. I appreciate being able to continue to connect with Detroit, whether it is simply lurking or actually participating in conversation!

[65memories]

Lowell...thank you.

[Bigb23]

Thanks Lowell and Jimaz for the stunning historical video !

http://www.bhere.com/7sis/sis2.htm

I visit twice a day. Happy 20th.

[EastsideAl]

Thank you Lowell. Back in '99 when you were the chronicler of the sad times and the heartbreaking losses it seemed impossible to see the place where we are today. You, and this community, have remained standing though through all the losses and the changes for the better. Congratulations on this well-deserved anniversary.