John R.

[terryh]

While reading the record stores of the past thread, new poster Corvax wrote about riding a bike from 6 and John. R. back in the early seventies. Kind of an interesting area, Dakota Inn is there, several blocks north of six mile, lots of drug action back in late nineties. Long abandoned bars and assorted small businesses, with a smattering of churches here and there. Some resale spots. There appeared to have been much light industry between Goldengate and eight mile.

What are youre memories of the area? Do you remember when it was vibrant? What was the racial makeup of the area and when did it start changing?

[woodwardboy]

well.... Santa says it best.. Ho, Ho, Ho....
those r my memories of John R......

[EastsideAl]

There was an old Scottish bakery on John R. north of Six Mile that my grandmother used to go out of her way to go to. I still remember the taste of their sausage rolls and meat pies. Yum...

The neighborhood between Woodward and John R north of 6 Mile was pretty nice into the '70s and '80s when I spent time around there. Racially mixed for many years, with a strong Chaldean component and a fair number of gay people spilling over from the Palmer Park neighborhood. The housing was a real mixed bag, with some streets with small wood frame or brick veneer housing, and other blocks with very nice larger brick houses and apartment buildings. All of which makes a horror show like Robinwood even more shocking and disheartening.

[Bella]

I did a lot of restoration work on a gorgeous home in Palmer Park a couple of years ago. Of all of the years I have done restoration in the Metro Detroit area, that was one of my favorites to work on.

[Jimg]

In the late 40s John R was known as "The street of music," and with good reason as several clubs were located on and very near John R.
Best known was the Flame Show Bar at Canfield, and the Frolic Show Bar was nearby, as were the Chesterfield, Parrot Lounge, Turntable, Civic Center Ballroom, not to mention the Gotham Hotel. And Freddie Guinyard's "Orchestra Place" was a well known after hours joint which featured great jazz. The Civic Center is the last survivor - the Masons own it but both ballrooms are intact.

[slick]

There was a great dance bar North of 7 mile, south of State Fair, outer drive.
This was back in about 1972, only open for a short while, not sure how long it was open.
House band, cannot remember the name, had 3 horn players, always great!

any one remeber that one.
Thanks

[terryh]

In the late 40s John R was known as "The street of music," and with good reason as several clubs were located on and very near John R.
Best known was the Flame Show Bar at Canfield, and the Frolic Show Bar was nearby, as were the Chesterfield, Parrot Lounge, Turntable, Civic Center Ballroom, not to mention the Gotham Hotel. And Freddie Guinyard's "Orchestra Place" was a well known after hours joint which featured great jazz. The Civic Center is the last survivor - the Masons own it but both ballrooms are intact.

Where is the Civic Center located?

[RYANGUARD]

I grew up in that neighborhood and went to Greenfield Park Elementary at Louisiana and Brush.That neighborhood was decent up until the 70's when a lot of the homes started disappearing,along with all the bars and businesses that lined John R from Mcnichols to 8 mile.Now only 2 out of the 10 or more bars that were there when I lived nearby,the Dakota Inn-Rathskeller and Centerfolds.As with most neighborhoods this one had a delicatessan,dry cleaners,Brickley Dairy,Neisners,The Detroit Bank and Trust at Nevada where I started a bank account with $5 that I cashed from my Savings Bond Stamps,gas stations,candy store at Minnesota,Reds Springs by Longwood,A Bakery,Vincenzos Italian Restaurant at Savannah,The Nevada Grill,Drug store,Churches,Dentist Offices,Etc.Actually it was fairly safe to ride your bicycle around there when I was growing up as you could in most of the city.Times have changed that "hood drastically.Now there are hookers on John R and vacant lots where all of these things used to be.The elementary shool closed in 2007 and was promptly vandalized and scavenged,an open to the elements bldg.remains.Very sad to see now knowing what it used to look like.Open prairies and Pheasants are there now.

[dtowncitylover]

I grew up in that neighborhood and went to Greenfield Park Elementary at Louisiana and Brush.

My mom went there also until 1968 when her family moved to the suburbs. She grew up on the small block of Goldengate just east of the Chrysler Fwy.

[RYANGUARD]

I watched the neighborhood change from Eastern Europeans to African American and Chaldean.As with any 'hood in the city the changes had started in the 50s,escalated in the 60s and 70s and really took off in the 80s and 90s as the auto factories and all the little plants that supported them closed and crack started coming in and devastating the city.Once the houses became vacant they started getting destroyed.I could be speaking of any 'hood in the city but getting to see this firsthand I have memories and remember all of the little things that soon became big things as the 'hood became smaller.

[Jimg]

Terryh, the address is 114 Erskine at the Southwest corner of John R.

[xD_Brklyn]

Lived on Dakota between Woodward and John R in the early 80s. It was still decent at that time though the only viable businesses I recall on John R at that time were the Dakota Inn and a family-run bakery for Syrian Bread. The bakery consisted of one oven in a single-story warehouse, but their bread was always fresh and the family running the business were good to talk to. Crime was a big issue at the neighborhood meetings but it didn't stop me from making numerous trips to the Dakota Inn late in the evening. Also it was a good location to get downtown by bus if needed. Interesting to hear of the other businesses further north on John R in the 60s & 70s. From the early 80s, I only remember the vacant buildings, which are now largely vacant lots. Still John R is one of my favorite streets in the Detroit Metro area because it retains its small business vibe all the way up to 12-mile.

[Jarvo]

I grew up on grixdale. I went to Greenfield park. I had my first bank/saving account as a young kid at the National Bank of Detroit on John R and Nevada... put all my First Communion money in there. I used to spend a lot of nickels and dimes at the Neisners 5&10 right across the street. Used to buy BB gun ammo at the Wessel gun shop on Savannah & John R....Bought a million comic books at Michaels drugstore at Margaret & John R. I could go on and on about all th cool little stores and shops all along John R.
It was a really solid, thriving neighborhood through the 60's and into the early 70's...before "white-flight" to the suburbs started really kicking in... Lots of businesses changed hands or just closed up shop and things began to deteriorate quickly...Its too bad. A lot of those residential areas look like bombed out war zones now. There is only one house still standing on the block of Grixdale I grew up on.

[RYANGUARD]

The bank at Nevada and John R was a Detroit Bank and Trust when I opened my 1st account there in 1967.It is now Michaels Liquor Store.They use the vault to store their liquor in.I remember when somebody tried to drive an older model chevy into the side of the bldg.in IIRC the 90s and obviously didn't know about it being an old bank bldg.It knocked some of the facade off on the Nevada side but didn't even get anywhere near inside.I hope they were wearing their seatbelt!The store owner then had the steel poles installed with concrete inside them on the Nevada and John R sides shortly thereafter.

[Jarvo]

Ryanguard...I stand corrected. My memory is starting to show its age. The back was not NBD it was Detroit Bank and Trust...I knew that. I think i just had a "senior moment" and said it was NBD. It was 1960 then. I do remember that much for sure. I was in the 2nd grade when i made my First communion. My mother was worried about me blowing all of the $$$ -- giant take I got from my party...so she walked me over to that Bank and made me put my money in it.

[RYANGUARD]

I also remember when Wessels Gun Shop on John R and Savannah was rammed by a pickup truck on the Savannah side and lots of firearms were stolen.They moved to 9 mile and Ryan shortly thereafter.The L'Art Movie Theatre on Minnesota and John R that showed x-rated movies and the feed store across from Woodys candy store.All of the little shops that used to be along John R left with the population.....

[cosine]

Here's a recent post about our bike tour on John R from 8 Mile to Comerica Park.

http://tourdehood.wordpress.com/2010...tdh-quiz-evar/

[Baselinepunk]

My old neighborhood, such fond, yet fading memories. Grew up on West Longwood. Quickly, I remember going to the bar during the day with my Dad that was owned by a skydiver who used to show movies of his jumps. He had a piece of parachute tied off across the bar that folks could flip change in for tips. I think it was the Rainbow Bar.

We used to go to that bakery to get "round bread" as we called it. We'd go shopping at Perry's Butcher Market; the Scottish place I think EastsideAl was thinking about earlier. Just north of that was the Produce Market where we bought our veggies and other things. Both places were north of the Chaldean social club, which was north of the Baptist Church that always rocked out weekday nights. Went to Greenfield Park through the 70's and part of the 80's; frequently getting mugged along the way. We used to go to Hamoma's Party Store just south of Longwood. Dakota Inn was a favorite. We used to bike ride all over and in Palmer Park and Sherwood Forest as well. I remember that there was a store where we used to buy ice cream [[Superman!) at I think on W Nevada between Woodward and John R.

I remember when that big building that was located just on the other side of the wooded area of Palmer Park on Woodward burned to the ground. I think it was a theater of some sort; I remember my Dad telling me that the Jackson 5 once played there.

I haven't been through in about a year. Most of the east side of JohnR that I remember is gone, west side too.

[Hermod]

Still John R is one of my favorite streets in the Detroit Metro area because it retains its small business vibe all the way up to 12-mile.

There are still a lot of small [[non-chain) businesses remaining all the way up to 14 mile.

[fra paolo]

I lived on Worcester between 1960 [[when I was born) and 1978 [[when I moved out of Detroit and its environs altogether to go to college, apart from a brief return in the winter of 1981/2). According to Google Streetview, my old house is still standing, but a lot of the houses at the John R end are gone, including the one that for many years had a lawn jockey.

I don't remember all that much about the old neighbourhood. I used to walk to St Benedict's grade school in Highland Park every day from September 1966 until I graduated in June 1974, which of course took me past the Dakota Inn. There was a cinema across John R from the entrance to Worcester, and next to that was a store we called 'Lums', but that closed while I was still in grade school. On the east side of John R was an auto repair shop named 'Red's', and Red lived about three houses along from where I did. He paved over his entire front lawn to turn into car parking, which caused a local scandal.

[terryh]

Where would the racial 'dividing' lines have been in 60's through 80's? In other words, where were the predominantly African American neighborhoods..east of Brush? Dequindre? etc..

[Alfie1a]

My cousins, Drews, grew up in that area and I spent a lot of time running around the neighborhood with them. Streets they lived on, those i remember, were Omira, Brush, Hawthorne and Parkhurst. They went to Greenfield Park, too. My aunt Elsie worked at the Wanda Bar on 6 Mile for many years. It sure was a fun neighborhood back in those days.

When they were old enough, they got their own house on Charleston, north of 7 Mile. What a party house that was. I worked for a couple summers at Haig's mower Service on 7 and Charleston around late 70's.

[Alfie1a]

Greenfield Park had a reunion this past summer, did any of you attend?

[RYANGUARD]

I went to the last couple of Greenfield Park Reunion Picnics.I posted a lot of pictures on classmates.com if you are interested. Most of the people that attend are from the 70s back to the 30s.It is great to see friends from your childhood that you haven't seen in 30 years or so.

[fra paolo]

Where would the racial 'dividing' lines have been in 60's through 80's? In other words, where were the predominantly African American neighborhoods..east of Brush? Dequindre? etc..

I would have said Brush, in about 1967, a line that pretty much was still holding when I left in 1978. Can't comment after that. There was a big influx of Arab families around 1970, supplanting the various families of Irish and Slavic Catholic descent who lived there before.