The View From Compuware

The View From Compuware, originally uploaded by A Dubs.

Greektown Rising

The Greektown parking garage/hotel is finally getting off the ground.

The Stinky Rose

The Stinky Rose Resturant & Martini Bar was torched this past Friday. It was still quite Stinky this afternoon. The building was originally home to the Woodbridge Tavern which held the first alcohol license in Michigan post-prohibition. It re-opened as the Stinky Rose in 2005.

Crystal Lofts

The Crystal Ballroom was gutted this winter in preparation for its conversion to lofts and retail space. Phase one the Crystal Lofts project will include 17 lofts ranging from 950-2,200 square feet and 14,000 square feet of first floor retail space plus indoor parking.

Historical photo from Virtual Motorcity

Park Avenue

Today's post is a quick re-hash of the revitilization of Park Avenue.

Cliff Bell's

The Park Bar and Bucharest Grill opened towards the end of 2006.

Dark Skies

Dark Skies, originally uploaded by A Dubs.

The Detroit Commerce Building (Center) is halfway through its demolition.

Home Improvement *Updated*

Here's a look at a couple of completed restorations in Brush Park.

This House is located on Winder

This is 255 Winder and an address to be named later.

Above is Edmund Place at Brush Park. 291 Edmund Place was built in the French Second Empire style for Frederick Butler in 1882. It has been converted into 4 condo units.

Monroe Ave

Monroe Ave, originally uploaded by A Dubs.

The Griswold

The Roxbury Group unveiled this Kraemer Design Group rendering of the parking garage/condo development that is replacing the Detroit Commerce Building. If this rendering is anything close to the final product, it will definitely mitigate the loss of the Commerce Building.

David Broderick Tower

David Broderick Tower, originally uploaded by A Dubs.

Hip City Living!

The elements have taken their toll on this house on Erskine in Brush Park. This house is slated to become part of Brush Park Village North. Will it survive the experience?

TechTown Detroit

Model D TV has put together a piece on the future development of TechTown. It gives a glimpse at the proposed $1.3 billion, 43-acre, 12-square-block multiuse renewal project partnership with Wayne State University, Henry Ford Health System and General Motors Corp.

City of the Strait

City of the Strait, originally uploaded by A Dubs.

Detroit's Downtown Movie Palaces

Detroit's Downtown Movie Palaces is a walk back in time to the Golden Age of Cinema. Authors Michael Hauser and Marianne Weldon have done a wonderful job stitching together the history of movie going in Detroit. Using photos from local archives, as well as Hauser's personal collection, the book provides glimpses of the city's lost treasures as well as rare looks at the survivors of that by gone era.

The origins of Detroit's movie palaces can be linked directly to the city's original entertainment district centered upon Monroe Street. Hauser and Weldon highlight the recital halls, vaudeville houses and burlesque theaters that dominated that area before moving on to cover the establishment of Grand Circus entertainment district. They detail the jewels of the necklace district with chapters devoted to the Capitol, Michigan, Fox, United Artists, Wilson, and Gem Theaters. The book wraps up with a look at the lost theaters of Downtown Detroit.

Detroit's Downtown Movie Palaces provides a comprehensive photographic record of the dozens of theaters that existed downtown during the first half of the last century. The interior photos of these opulent theaters, both lost and restored, are the true treasures to be found within these pages. It is a tragedy that so many of these architectural gems have been lost or damaged beyond repair. For younger Detroiters who weren't a part of the theater-going experience during that fabulous era, Hauser and Weldon have given us wonderful a taste of what it must have been like.

This is another quality addition to Acradia Publishing's Images of America series. Without question, you should make it a part of your own personal reference library.

Photos reprinted with permission from Detroit's Downtown Movie Palaces, by Michael Hauser & Marianne Weldon. Available from the publisher online at www.arcadiapublishing.com or by calling (888) 313-2665.

Cobo Arena

Cobo Arena, originally uploaded by A Dubs.

Continental Motors

Continental Motors, originally uploaded by A Dubs.

Last Chance Gas

Last Chance Gas, originally uploaded by A Dubs.

Dark Skies II

Dark Skies II, originally uploaded by A Dubs.

The High Line

I just discovered this amazing new application of railbanking taking place in Lower Manhattan.

The High Line was an elevated freight line that serviced the warehouses and factories of the Lower West Side. At points, a right-of-way was established through existing buildings.

The line has been abandoned since 1980 and much like the forgotten building of Detroit, grasses and trees have established themselves along the line. The Friends of the High Line are working with the City to preserve these viaducts and convert them into an elevated linear park and public spaces along the lines of the Promenade Plantée in Paris.

For a virtual tour check out oldnyc , or to see what's in store visit the design site. Also, check out the flicker cluster

Gutted

Built in 1919, this historic Albert Kahn designed print shop in Midtown has been gutted in preparation for a conversion into a retail/medical complex with indoor parking in the rear.