The recreation center, which closed in the 2000s, became a source of hope and pride for children and teenagers at a time when the growing African American population was confined to segregated slums.
Two house fires on the city’s west side killed three people early this morning, and another blaze came dangerous close to the packed Raven Lounge, a blues and funk club made famous in the documentary “Detropia.”
Sonny’s death is another irreplaceable part in our city’s culture. The legendary voices of my childhood, the men whose voices were the narration of Detroit, are all starting to pass away.
Rows of burned out townhouses and high-rise apartments are decaying, windowless and tagged with graffiti. Broken furniture, garbage and dead trees are strewn across the 30-acre ruins near downtown.
The nation’s first federally funded public housing project for black people is coming down on Detroit’s east-side, removing a behemoth eyesore looming over I-75, Mayor Dave Bing announced today.
Police not only knew about the club; they may have provided security and limos for the upscale clientele who attended the swingers club while still on-duty, local authorities told the Motor City Muckraker this morning.
In his second book about Detroit’s under-appreciated gems, “Forgotten Landmarks of Detroit,” journalist and historian Dan Austin unearths the tragic demise of some of the city’s most storied buildings in engrossing prose and exquisite historic photos.