Hey! It’s Jer with some updates around town for your Friday.
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» The team behind Woodward Throwbacks is launching a retail shop focused on home goods. “Throwbacks Home” is going into 1500 square feet at 35 West Grand River in downtown Detroit. The shop near Capitol Park will sell “one-of-a-kind furniture made in Detroit from reclaimed and recycled materials as well as carry a curated selection of designer homewares and furnishings.” Should be open later this month, according to a press release. [Instagram]
Woodward Throwbacks has built quite a name over the years creating art out of reclaimed things. It’s been fun watching their journey — I remember being on another podcast with them in 2014! A good reminder that things that seem like overnight successes usually take a lot of work. They recently renovated a house in the North End neighborhood, and their work is stunning. Cheers to Bo and Kyle for their success.
» The popular “Power to the People” mural was repainted this week on Woodward. Artist Hubert Massey did the repaint and the original, unveiled in June of 2020. The work on Woodward just up from Spirit Plaza has been fading, and to keep it for years to come it needs to be repainted with more weather durable materials. The City Office of Detroit Arts, Culture, & Entrepreneurship commissioned the work.
🚧 Road repairs
» The Michigan Department of Transportation will be closing lanes on westbound I-96 and the I-275/M-5 interchange ramps this weekend as part of continued work on the I-96 Flex Route project. [MDOT]
» One of two lanes of the I-75 ramp to I-696 will close starting at 5 a.m. Monday (Nov. 7) through most of February.
» Westbound I-94 from I-75 to I-96 will be closed starting at 9 p.m. Friday, Nov. 4. Westbound I-94 is expected to reopen by 5 a.m. Monday, Nov. 7. Crews will be setting steel bridge beams on the Grand River Avenue overpass. The new overpass will replace the original, built in 1952. All work on this $14.6 million project is schedule to be completed in the spring of next year.
📰 What to know…
» The State Fair transit hub is moving to a new, temporary location 500 feet north on Woodward effective Monday, Nov. 7. This will make room for a temporary road to support work on redoing the Dairy Cattle building. Eventually, that will become the permanent hub location. In a media release late Friday afternoon, the Detroit Department of Transportation says that bus shelters and directional signage will be added to the area. Routes impacted will be 4-Woodward, 12-Conant, 17-Eight Mile, 30-Livernois, 54-Wyoming and connections with the suburban bus system, SMART.
» Ford’s Regent Court building (including 50 acres of land) in Dearborn has been sold. The buyer? Mike Shehadi, the CEO of PharmaScript Michigan. It’s an interesting move as Ford is working to focus their campus. No firm plans are announced yet for the site. [Free Press]
» Apartments and a licensed child care center are coming to Kercheval street at the Grosse Pointe Park / Detroit border as part of a three-phase project. Developers will be breaking ground this year on the three story building with ground-floor commercial spaces and twelve of apartments. [Grosse Pointe News]
This one has multiple facets to it. Resident concerns. A Grosse Pointe-based billionaire is building on the Detroit side of a border that’s been in the news a lot for being a dividing line over the years. Building of “missing middle” housing, and more.
» Southfield officials approved a new Tesla testing, repair, and maintenance facility on Telegraph north of 8 Mile. This will be the first Tesla facility of its kind in Michigan, and plans to handle 60 to 80 customers a week. [Crain’s Detroit]
» Bumbo’s bar in Hamtramck has been named the best dive bar in Michigan by Yelp. [Yelp]
Opened in 2015, it’s become a favorite for many. I’ve tipped back a few reasonably priced cocktails. If it doesn’t get too cold too quick, check out their patio. It’s 74 degrees as I write this. So hint, hint.
I’ve written a number of dive bar lists in the past, and it might be time to revisit. A number of places have changed or closed. Research time!
» Weeble wobbly steeple: A fire has damaged the original building of the Hungarian Reformed Church in the Delray neighborhood of Detroit, dating from the turn of the previous century. One side of the building is destroyed, and while the steeple still stands, it is in bad shape. Crews are figuring out how to tear down the damaged building for the neighborhood’s safety. Reports do not share the cause of the fire. [WWJ News Radio] [Free Press]
History tidbit: As the Hungarian population moved Downriver as neighborhood industrial jobs ceased to exist, and eventually New Life Community Church moved into the building. The Hungarian Reformed Church’s original building was the last one of four Calvinist churches in the Delray neighborhood. As the congregation moved Downriver, it merged with another congregation and settled in its current building at 9901 Allen Road in Allen Park. The Hungarian Reformed Church is still active, with a sign mentioning happy hour for members. For more information on the Hungarian Reformed Church’s and Delray’s history, check out these links: [Old DelRay] [The Neighborhoods] [Curbed Detroit]
» After being closed for a year, Brooklyn Street Local in the Corktown neighborhood of Detroit will re-open on Wednesday. [Detroit News]
» The Detroit People Mover is charging fares again. [Urbanize Detroit]
» The East Warren Holiday Market will be at the Cadieux Stage, at Cadieux and Waveney. The weekly event will start on November 27 and end on December 17. [E. Warren Holiday Market]
Built in 1937, the Cadieux Stage is the oldest production facility in Metro Detroit. I think I’m gonna need to do a podcast on the history of this one.
And that’s it for today! Thanks to Luciano for his help behind the scenes on this edition, and to Shianne, Fletcher, Randy and Devon for their support with the podcast.
If we bring value to your inbox, consider the gift of buying us a coffee. Thanks to Tracy and Michael for their support since the last edition.
If you can, try and get a few minutes of warm weather in your bones this weekend before it’s all gone. It’s going to be 70 tomorrow and 66 on Sunday.
Remember that you are somebody, and we’ll talk soon.
-Jer
