Remember Cobo Hall Christmas display?

**MustangMan** · October-21-09, 04:28 PM

Hey does anyone remember the Big Christmas display that Cobo Hall had every year, I seem to remember seeing Santa there? Any Pic's of this around?

**EastsideAl** · October-21-09, 04:45 PM

The city had a whole Christmas Carnival at Cobo. We went pretty much every year when I was a kid.

**eriedearie** · October-21-09, 07:02 PM

Yeah - I forgot about that. We took the kids there in the 70s - sorry no pictures.

**One Shot** · October-21-09, 07:11 PM

I do! Dad took me and my sis a couple years. It was in the ballroom on the river? They had a bunch of Christmas trees decorated and what not. Didn't they have rides too? Maybe in the hall or the arena?

**eriedearie** · October-21-09, 07:24 PM

Originally Posted by One Shot

I do! Dad took me and my sis a couple years. It was in the ballroom on the river? They had a bunch of Christmas trees decorated and what not. Didn't they have rides too? Maybe in the hall or the arena?

Right! There were rides. I remember our boys having a ball on them. They also had a huge slide there that they kept going on. I remember the slide the most. Gosh, my memory is fading into the sunset. Good thing we have this forum to help shake out the cobwebs every now and again. I had forgotten all about the Cobo Hall Christmas display.

**lalynch** · October-21-09, 08:11 PM

Originally Posted by One Shot

I do! Dad took me and my sis a couple years. It was in the ballroom on the river? They had a bunch of Christmas trees decorated and what not. Didn't they have rides too? Maybe in the hall or the arena?

That was the Festival of Tree's. Then they moved it to Dearborn at Ford's Conference and Event Center. Last year it was in Allen Park.

**Alfie1a** · October-21-09, 08:47 PM

They had a couple of really big model train displays and a huge snowman with a slide in it.

**Hornwrecker** · October-21-09, 09:58 PM

There's 15 images from the 1970s Cobo Hall Christmas Carnival at WSU's Virtual Motor City:

http://dlxs.lib.wayne.edu/cgi/i/imag...view=thumbnail

**kryptonite** · October-22-09, 07:51 AM

I remember going in the early 1980's. The event would finish with Christmas songs in Cobo Arena. It was a great event,.

**DetroitPlanner** · October-22-09, 08:42 AM

This event got stopped because of the Autoshow. Each year the displays were getting more complex and took months to put together. It would be a great thing to have today. With the Lion's game and the parade, a family could make a full and varied day downtown on Thanksgiving.

**MustangMan** · October-22-09, 08:44 AM

Thank's for the pic's Hornwrecker, I remember it from 1967-1973. I remember playing in that tube thing...

**ggores** · October-22-09, 09:07 AM

Originally Posted by eriedearie

memory is fading into the sunset.

All these are true. But think about it, why take pictures at the time when it seemed this thing would always be there? We had two fifty foot pines in our front yard and had them chopped down by the City and hauled to Cobo for this event, I think it was 1972.

**Olaim1** · October-22-09, 09:16 AM

My best memory of the carnival was in 1970, I was in 3rd grade at Edgar Guest Elementary [[Fenkell and Meyers). Our entire class went down on a field trip to Cobo. It was a huge Winter Wonderland and just amazing for a little fella to take in. So at some point they lined us up to see Santa. How exciting! I was still believing in the Jolly Ole St. Nick was coming to Pinehurst, down the chimney and the whole 9 yards. I didn't notice at the time but their were 2 lines both very long and as I was just about to walk in. A lady, who I did not know started to make a fuss over me. She was trying to grab me out of line! What the hell, I'm thinking leave me alone -- I waited my turn. My teacher got involved and I was able to proceed into meeting Santa. So I go in and receive the shock of a 8 year old lifetime. Santa was an Aftrican American?? What the hell episode of Twilight Zone am I on? So I do my thing give him my wish list and walk out. The lady causing the fuss is know grabbing me by the hand and walking me into see the White Santa giving me some crazy story about black children have a black Santa and that I was in the wrong line. No harm or damage to my well being. Just found out Detroit has 2 Santa's.

**OriginalG313** · October-22-09, 09:31 AM

My mom would take me every year. One year I got a pair of white Go-Go boots for Christmas. I wore them to the carnival. And, scuffed them sliding down the Snowman slide. Ah, the memories.

**SMRJim** · October-22-09, 09:55 AM

Originally Posted by MustangMan

Hey does anyone remember the Big Christmas display that Cobo Hall had every year, I seem to remember seeing Santa there? Any Pic's of this around?

Hey MustangMan, just replied to your private message. Yeah, great memories of visiting Cobo at Christmas. My dad would take us down there every year when we were kids. We would take the Grand River bus down there - my dad was from NYC, never learned to drive. He would take us to his office at the Federal Building first [[he was a federal mediator) and we'd talk to his co-workers, then we'd go to Cobo and hang out for a little bit and go down the snowman slide, then it was off to Hudsons to see all the displays in the windows and to visit Santa up on the 12th floor. They had a huge toy department there, and he'd always buy us a small gift there after we saw Santa. I also remember always seeing the giant Christmas tree that was downtown too. That trip was one of the highlights of the year for us back then.

**Ray1936** · October-22-09, 11:06 AM

If memory serves me correct, the Christmas show was a regular fixture at the old Ford Rotunda. When the Rotunda burned down, a whole lot of people got together and decided to carry on the Christmas Show tradition by holding it at Cobo Hall. Prior to the Rotunda fire, there was no Christmas Show at Cobo.

Anybody out there to back me up? I'm 95% sure of my memory, but that 5% has a way of tripping me up. Something like "no lakes in Ohio"..........

**jackie5275** · October-22-09, 12:49 PM

I remember going to this a few times in the 70s. My dad would make a trip of it for us kids. I grew up near Pontiac. He would drive down Woodward from Pontiac to downtown, so we could see all the Christmas lights in B'ham, H Pk, and downtown before going to the carnival. It was great fun. Lincoln Park has something similar to this every year in their bandshell. However, it's on a much smaller scale.

**eriedearie** · October-22-09, 04:12 PM

Originally Posted by Hornwrecker

There's 15 images from the 1970s Cobo Hall Christmas Carnival at WSU's Virtual Motor City:

http://dlxs.lib.wayne.edu/cgi/i/imag...view=thumbnail

Thanks Hornwrecker! That's the slide I remember.

**R8RBOB** · October-22-09, 08:26 PM

OMG, I went to the Christmas Carnival at Cobo back in 1978 when I was in the third grade at Newton Elementary. Damn, I'm old...LOL

**reddog289** · October-22-09, 11:10 PM

I can only remember going once. It was in the early 80's. I was a teen and the biggest memory was eating pizza bread on the riverfront on a chilly dec night.

**KENSINGTONY** · October-23-09, 09:43 AM

I remember going a couple of times in the 1960s.There were several of the floats and some of the large heads from the Thanksgiving Parade there then.

**MCP-001** · October-23-09, 10:26 AM

I think that I'm in one of those pictures.

Now, I gotta dig out the old albums to see.

**Mackenzie68** · October-23-09, 01:17 PM

"With work well under way to make the 1962 Christmas Fantasy the best one ever, tragedy struck. Shortly after 1 p.m. on Friday, November 9, 1962, an employee inside the Rotunda noticed smoke and flames up near the roof. Roof repairmen were up on the roof weatherproofing the geodesic dome panels with a transparent waterproof sealer." http://automotivemileposts.com/autob...rdrotunda.html

Detroit cobbled something together at Cobo Hall quickly so "the kiddies" wouldn't have to do without. I remember going the first year and not being very impressed. I don't think I ever went back, although I'm sure it was improved upon..

**exdetroiter** · October-23-09, 01:30 PM

I use to enjoy the Christmas festival so so so much!!!!!!!!!!

**vetalalumni** · October-23-09, 01:46 PM

Originally Posted by Olaim1

My best memory of the carnival was in 1970, I was in 3rd grade at Edgar Guest Elementary [[Fenkell and Meyers). Our entire class went down on a field trip to Cobo. It was a huge Winter Wonderland and just amazing for a little fella to take in. So at some point they lined us up to see Santa. How exciting! I was still believing in the Jolly Ole St. Nick was coming to Pinehurst, down the chimney and the whole 9 yards. I didn't notice at the time but their were 2 lines both very long and as I was just about to walk in. A lady, who I did not know started to make a fuss over me. She was trying to grab me out of line! What the hell, I'm thinking leave me alone -- I waited my turn. My teacher got involved and I was able to proceed into meeting Santa. So I go in and receive the shock of a 8 year old lifetime. Santa was an Aftrican American?? What the hell episode of Twilight Zone am I on? So I do my thing give him my wish list and walk out. The lady causing the fuss is know grabbing me by the hand and walking me into see the White Santa giving me some crazy story about black children have a black Santa and that I was in the wrong line. No harm or damage to my well being. Just found out Detroit has 2 Santa's.

Carol J Grace's poem "That's just the way it was" comes to mind. Proudly, patriotically, the "good old days" to some.