Reviving Detroit

[JoeNiblick]

I'm so glad I stumbled upon this website... Full of people who love things from the Golden Era! The city of Detroit has such a rich history, it would be a shame to raze everything and start over (I'm still hoping and praying Michigan Central will be spared, even though there are plans to demolish it.).

With that said, the best way to support the city is to LIVE in the city. I'm doing my small part to save at least one building here:

This is my 1927 Tudor, designed and built by Redfield and Schuett for Mr. Fred Birkhill. When I bought the house, there were overgrown yews in the front and the grade was sloping to the house. I just had them removed and the yard re-graded. This weekend, I'll be working on putting in new bushes, and then sod.

 

[JoeNiblick]

Update

Over the holiday weekend, I worked on the front landscaping. Here are pics:

Next on the list: Sod!

 

[LordBest]

What a lovely house.

 

[davestlouis]

Beautiful home...I understand the housing market in the city is just about dead. I read somewhere that the median selling price is $7500, or some silly number like that. MY BIL lives in Redford MI, he calls it Redford-tucky, to honor some of his less-than-polished neighbors. My darling wife is bugging me to move to MI, just need a job first, get away from the heat and humidity in Missouri.

 

[JoeNiblick]

I paid a bit more than the median for this one, but it was totally worth it! It's in a great neighborhood with a strong neighborhood association.

http://www.sherwoodforestdetroit.org/

It's definitely worth checking out if you're interested in the city!

 

[davestlouis]

My eldest daughter was doing too much partying at Mizzou (University of Missouri) so we shipped her off to live with her uncle in Redford, she'll start college in the fall. She has had NO luck finding a job, not even a nibble. The economic situation scares me more than a little...I'd hate to pack up and move, uproot the whole group, unless I had very stable employment.

 

[JoeNiblick]

I think it would be foolish to move anywhere without first having a job, at least with this economy. I know it was a particularly tough year for finding summer jobs right out of high school or for college kids.

With that said, there are certain growth industries in the state (the auto industry is not one of them), like green energy and medicine.

Good luck where ever you decide to go, Dave!

 

[davestlouis]

I'm in the funeral trade, but I believe there is no reciprocity between Michigan and Missouri due to different licensing requirements, so I would have to work an apprenticeship and go to embalming school, then become a licensed funeral director, it would take several years and in the meantime, there would be relatively little income, so that's out the window. In Missouri, I can be a director without being an embalmer. Anyway, beautiful home.

 

[Shirin]

wow Joe that's a lovely home! Do we get to see the inside too? Does it have those nice arched doorways and hardwood floors?

 

[adamjaskie]

Beautiful house, and looks like a great neighborhood.

I'm just south-west of there, in the north-east corner of Dearborn. Two miles from where those kids were shot last week

 

[StraightEight]

Great looking house. You have my admiration. My dad grew up between Dexter and Linwood in the '40s and early '50s and used to say "the houses were old when I lived in them."

 

[Doublegun]

Good for you. There are many pockets of beautiful "vintage" homes in Detroit. Sherwood Forest, Green Acres, Palmer Woods, the Edison District, Indian Village... the list goes on. What Detroit needs is people like you to buy these homes, move in and invest in the neighborhoods. Unfortunately, the economy is as bad as anyone can imagine and will not get better anytime soon.

What many have not figured out is that there is a direct relationship between Detroit and Michigan. Until Detroit cleans itself up literally, figuratively and politically, Michigan can not and will not recover.

 

[RC]

Very nice work, Joe.
As a soon-to-be 1926 Tudor Cottage dweller myself, I hope you will continue posting updates here. There is much similar work ahead for me and I'm an absolute beginner in the care and feeding of historic houses.

 

[tbrunke]

Joe it is great to see one of us, helping in Detroit. I was born in Royal Oak, and my whole family is from the area, my parents and grandparents were born in Detroit proper. I was there for 9 months in 2008 and drove thru all the old great neighborhoods, Indian Village, Sherwood Forest, Corktown, Boston-Edison, etc........ plus the downtown has some of the best art deco architecture around; have several photos of Cadillac Place, Fisher Building, and snuck into the Michigan Central to the roof and took some great pics of downtown. I was also there when the beautiful Book-Cadillac was restored and stayed a night there. Detroit has so much to offer for anyone that has some money to invest. My dream, and hopefully in the next few years it comes true, is to buy a home in Boston Edison, what unfortunately steers me away is not so much the crime, as it is the horrendously high property taxes.
I have settled for now in downtown Denver and it is much safer and still has some great architecture. I love Denver, but my heart is in Detroit, it is truly a gem which needs to be saved! By the way for your ironwork go to Scott Iron in Ferndale (9 and John R) my uncle owns it, he can give you a great price!
Thanks for what you are doing Joe, and next time I'm out there I'll look you up!
Cheers! Terry

 

[tbrunke]

Beautiful home...I understand the housing market in the city is just about dead. I read somewhere that the median selling price is $7500, or some silly number like that. MY BIL lives in Redford MI, he calls it Redford-tucky, to honor some of his less-than-polished neighbors. My darling wife is bugging me to move to MI, just need a job first, get away from the heat and humidity in Missouri.

The humidity is just as bad in MI.

 

[Sweet Leilani]

The previous posters are right- Detroit has just about the best Golden Era architecture anywhere. My mother was born and raised just outside the city in Grosse Pointe. Her family had lived in the Heidelberg neighborhood for several generations, which is one of those once-beautiful places that has become sorely neglected.

My grandmother passed away last year at age 98 and is buried with the rest of the family in Forest Lawn Cemetary. I haven't been out there since then, but everytime I went I always used to marvel at the elegance of the buildings. Kudos to you, Joe for helping to keep that alive!

 

[Mr_D.]

I think it would be foolish to move anywhere without first having a job, at least with this economy.

But that is not always possible.

I have been out of work for over a year. we live on food stamps andmy wifes college grant.

I have been beating the streets every day for work. but we live in a small town and it's dried up.

Our car is on it's last thread. we have to "water" it when we leave the house, then "water" it to get back home, and that's getting worse.

I would give anything to move to a better town, but I can't do that without a job, then if I have a job I can't move because I would not be sure to find a job where we move to.

It's a catch 22.




Anyway. beautiful house Joe