Detroit, Race, and Woodward Dream Cruise

[Jerome10]

Wow...it has been an awful awful long time since I've been here, but I often follow this linked site and came across an editorial I though some here may enjoy reading.

http://www.thetruthaboutcars.com/det...-dream-cruise/

Don't really have much to say about it, just hope maybe it might be nice to read for a few of you.

[jjw]

Is Detroit stuck in the past? Yes. The article reaffirms that.

[fryar]

I read the blog post linked to by the OP, and the article in the NYT that it complains about. In my opinion, the NYT article is using the Dream Cruise as a vehicle through which to sketch out a story about a fault line, oft-discussed on this forum, that seems to fall simultaneously along 8-Mile, and along simplistic racial lines, which I think is legitimate.

I thought the blog post added some valuable insight into why the Dream Cruise does not go into Detroit, namely because teenagers back in the 50's would cruise along Woodward only in the suburbs, which was apparently due to there being a median that really did not extend into Detroit proper; apparently, you need to be able to make Michigan lefts in order to cruise properly.

I don't think the Times piece made the Dream Cruisers out to be racists at all, it just focused on certain aspects to tell a story. For example, they were apparently able to find plenty of Detroiters who said that Detroiters were not comfortable going north of 8-Mile. As either the article or the blog mentioned, kudos to the Dream Cruise for addressing some of this backdrop and setting up an associated downtown car show, even if is not fair for the Dream Cruisers to be made to bear the burden of working through all of this history.
In between this blog post and the earlier "obligatory" thread, I gather the Dream Cruisers take some potshots every year as being backward-looking, or part of "the problem" or something.

[gazhekwe]

Back in the 50s and 60s, the neighborhoods along Woodward including in Highland Park had mostly white occupants. You can't apply today's attitudes to yesterday's demographics.

[pffft]

Back in the 50s and 60s, the neighborhoods along Woodward including in Highland Park had mostly white occupants. You can't apply today's attitudes to yesterday's demographics.

Excellent point. I knew guys who lived well south of 8 Mile, white guys who lived just below 7, they would hop in their cars and cruise north, go up and down 8 Mile, which had drive-in restaurants, or north of 8 Mile to the Totem Pole.

The scene was drive-in restaurant driven, and in the '50s and early '60s, drive-ins were a suburban concept, especially the kind where you sat in your car and were served. The fast food drive-thrus came much later.

[Detroitej72]

This Chapman character seems to be an outsider trying, rather desperately, to inflame the 8 Mile racial divide that is a tired, played out story.

Fortunately, in recent years, the suburbs are becoming increasingly diverse, much to race baiter's chagrin. Unfortunately, it is coming at the expense of Detroit, which is rapidly loosing it's middle class blacks for the same reasons many whites left.

[shovelhead]

My .02 worth. Ms. Chapman obviously is looking at this in her own inexperienced NYC [[assuming) way.

By inexperienced, I'm speaking as a participant "back in the day" from 1967 through the early 70's on both Telegraph [[mainly) and Woodward [[lesser). As a participant in the impromptu Contest of Speed, as drag racing tickets were wrote back then.[[Statute of limitations is over now)

First thing, with the density of population, businesses and associated traffic, why would anyone race on Woodward south of about Ten Mile? The chance of a collision with another motorist is a lot greater, along with jaywalkers. Along with short distance between lights, a participant could probably not even get out of second gear. Similar situation along Telegraph from, say Warren to Michigan Avenue. More congestion, higher traffic volumes.and population density. Actually, one of the "hot spots" on Telegraph was north of Five Mile to just south of Grand River on the north bound side, wide open acceleration, multiple lanes, little business density and side street intersections at a minimum. And where was that, DETROIT city limits, with a little Redford on the side.Telway Hamburgers on Grand River and Telegraph, along with Geiger's Hi-Burger on Grand River that later became Klett Cadillac's used car lot was another hot spot.

Woodward, north of Square Lake in Bloomfield Hills was good too. Very "desolate" and in the sticks compared to say Eleven Mile and Woodward.

Detroit Police back then patrolled Telegraph and Woodward, their presence also kept street racing at a minimum. They didn't have much of a sense of humor in it, not a "American Graffiti" minute for them. Where our cops [[Farmington Township) had a sense of humor on those things, Detroit took it more seriously. I witnessed a oft-rumored acceleration contest one night late on the old leg of I-96, now M-5 from Freedom Road between a Farmington City and a Farmington Township police car. The Township easily whipped the City car, found out later the City cars were only two barrel 383 Dodges while the Towship ran four barrels in their Dodges. Probably the only reason the race was run it that they could not see me as I had burned the headlight on my motorcycle and was taking Freedom home to avoid the City cops on my way to the west side of the Township.

And, at least on Telegraph, the real "money spot" for racing was Northline Road, out by Metro Airport.Dead end street, at one point the racing was pretty organized out there. Until the pavement was broken up and the road abandoned sometime about 1969 to 1970 IIRC. I was a poor kid, could not afford to run like the big guys.

[shovelhead]

Just remembered a couple of other hot spots for cruising/hanging out back then. The Daly's drive in at Joy and Greenfield, and to a lesser degree the Big Boy's at Grand River at Greenfield.