eight mile monotony

**313WX** · September-14-14, 08:22 PM

Originally Posted by edgar_rhode

my wife and i were driving home from the funky ferndale art fairs and we decided to cut down eight mile to make our way back to the east side. driving past all the strip bars, popup BBQ's and food joints, nail salons, oil change / tire places and other struggling businesses - we got to wondering...

was eight mile ALWAYS so commercial and lacking in significant buildings / architecture? was it zoned to be industrial? i mean - other main drags - michigan, gratiot, grand river, et al, at least occasionally have a church, or some landmark buildings [[ GAR, michigan central ) to break the monotony.

just wondering if its a matter of being an east west corridor as opposed to coming out of the core of the city or what?

As far as the bolded, yes.

8 Mile didn't become developed/urbanized land until the post WWII era.

It was the original Hall Road.

**mtburb** · September-14-14, 08:58 PM

Originally Posted by 313WX

As far as the bolded, yes.

8 Mile didn't become developed/urbanized land until the post WWII era.

It was the original Hall Road.

Plus, 8 Mile is similar to many other commercial thoroughfares in the tri-county area with similar widths and medians [[such as Fort Street and Telegraph Road), though it does feature the famous power line in it's median.