The Fisher Building at Eighty

I took this picture of the Fisher building the day I went to see Avenue Q at the Fisher Theater. I can walk to the Fisher from the house. It is a little more than a block away. In fact, I see the building most nights as I pass by the windows at the back of the house.

The Fisher building turned eighty this year. As I was researching it's history I found out it was one of three buildings that were planned, except the stock market crash in 1929 and subsequent depression got in the way. The building was designed to be the Fisher Body Corporation headquarters and convieniently it was just across the street from the General Motors building and headquarters, their main customer.

By 1931, the effects of the "Great Depression" were negatively impacting the City of Detroit and the autombile industry. Car production was down by 80% from 1928 numbers. As Detroit's economy tumbled, the Fisher brothers stepped up and provided food and medical services to the growing number of homeless citizens. They also turned their idled plants into homeless shelters.

By 1935, it seemed that the stranglehold the depression had on Detroit was beginning to loosen. By the end of the 1930s, the Fisher Body Corporation was back to work, this time building the anti-aircraft guns and gun mounts that would play a role in the success the U.S. has in the outcome of World War II.

Gregory Fisher, CEO of Fisher Coachworks LLC and the grandson of one of the original Fisher brothers, recently announced in Crains Detroit Business that they want to begin manufacturing a lightweight mass transit hybrid bus in 2009. The design will allow this new vehicle to achive an MPG that is double what a hybird bus achieves on the road today. He indicated that they "...hope to build the vehicle in Michigan".

The company anticipates that the manufacture of this new vehicle will generate 600 new jobs and revenue of $480 million. With Michigan in it's eighth year of a growing recession and unemployment in the state at 8.6%, it appears that the Fisher family is again stepping up to the plate and hitting a long one for the home team.

Even after eighty years, the name "Fisher" is one a building can be proud of.

America's Thanksgiving Day Parade

This is one of my favorite holidays (second only to Halloween). Not because of turkey and pumpkin pie, but rather the parade. America's Thanksgiving Day Parade has been a Detroit tradition since 1924.
For years after I moved to Detroit, the parade staging area was in my neighborhood. The morning of the parade a group of us would walk down to the staging area and watch as block after block, the parade would make its way out onto Woodward Avenue. Two years ago the parade moved back downtown and therefore the staging area moved out of New Center and into the Midtown/University area.
I was driving up Woodward Ave on my way home from getting groceries at the r. Hirt jr. co. in the Eastern Market when I passed several of the "floats" in the staging area. I was hoping to see this year's Skillman Foundation winner, but alas it wasn't in the staging area. I just love a parade, even if I have to walk a mile to see it!

Detroit Industry at the DIA

After viewing the Detroit Institute of Arts (DIA) Monet to Dali exhibit this morning, we stopped by Rivera Court to take in the Detroit Industry fresco cycle. It is one of the best examples of Diego Rivera's work. The walls of the court are covered with Detroit work life in the 1930s. I was particularly drawn to the center panel on the north wall. The one that depicts factory workers in the Ford River Rouge Plant.

As I studied the panel, I reflected on the problems currently facing the American auto manufacturers. I wondered if Rivera could ever have imagined the current industry crisis. In fact, could anyone have imagined that the results of the burgeoning labor movement would eventually play a major role in the demise of thousands of jobs in Detroit and Southeast Michigan.

When did unions and management become so greedy? First there was idled workers getting paid "sit around, watching movies or doing crossword puzzles" at the Jobs Bank and now the auto executive fiasco of a trip to Washington.

As I looked at the faces of the factory workers in the panel I wondered if corporate jets and crossword puzzles were part of their hopes and dreams.

The Bruce

This is the Bruce T. Halle Library, located on the main campus of Eastern Michigan University. This building houses one of the largest collections of children's literature in the U.S. It also uses an automated retrieval system (ARC), similar to the Sonoma State University ARC. This the building I call home. Well, not home-home, but business-home.

My office is in the basement. I don't spend much time there. I find sitting alone in a windowless room to be quite depressing. Instead, spend most of my time out on campus. It is great having a job that allows me to "travel", even if it is just across campus.

I like what my job has become. I spend most of my time helping different groups on campus teach/communicate change in regard to business process and technology. You would think this would be easy; however EMU history has proven that it is not their strength. But I digress...

My favorite feature of "The Bruce" is that it plays synthetic bells during the lunch hour. Kitschy tunes that you can't get out of your head once they are there. Tunes like Muskrat Love by the Captain & Tennille.

Crap, I am whistling already.....

It's Like Cheers Only Topless

The Booby Trap is one of the many topless bars that litter the Detroit side of Eight Mile road. This road divides one of the poorest large cities in the U.S. with one of the nations wealthiest counties. Eight Mile road is a symbol of the racial divide that began with the "white flight" to the suburbs in the 1950s. The 1967 Detroit riots then accelerated this movement to the suburbs. As recently as the last census, Southeast Michigan maintained its status as the most segregated metropolitan area in the country. I have only seen white males entering the Booby Trap. I guess the desire for pornography has no boundaries.

It's a Wonderful Life

I went to the movies last night. No, I didn't see the latest blockbuster. Instead I saw It's a Wonderful Life at the Redford theater, complete with an intermission and Christmas music played on a pipe organ.
I love the social aspect of going to the movies at the Redford . Things like waiting in line under the marquee to buy tickets, the conversations during the intermission, and the way the theater erupts in laughter at just the right moments.
I think the best part of the night was that the theater handed out bells and told the kids to ring them every time they heard the word "angel".
The Redford theater is very unique. The organ is actually a system of pipes and various other musical instruments. The organ was originally used during the silent movie era.

Lola Good Ears

This is Lola. Before she was adopted, they called her Lolo. She came with one of her sons... Sonny. He was too small and kept slipping through the fence. With 3 dogs and 2 cats the household began to feel more like a zoo. There was an attempt to fostering both of them and when the time came it was decided to only adopt Lola. I recently received an email that indicated Sonny was adopted by a family with a little girl who just loves him to pieces.

Lola is our protector. She is primarily responsible for Tinkerbell, but she protects all of us from danger. Danger most often manifests itself in the form of cats and squirrels, and neighbors too.

Tinkerbell

I love this dog. While technically she is not mine, just try telling either of us that we are not part of the same pack. She is getting so old. At 13 years, she can barely hear. This is why Lola joined the pack last year.
Lola is Tink's dog. Lola is responsible for making sure that Tink knows when there is a threat and that barking should commence. Lola also protects Tinkerbell from clumsy me. Lola is right there to make sure all of us are not in any danger. I will introduce Lola next...

... And Now Winter is Here!

The weather gurus are calling for 6" to 9" here in southeast Michigan. Only the major streets get plowed in the city. The neighborhood association pays to have our alleys plowed. This means that I can get out of my garage and to the end of the alley before I am likely to get stuck. We are just one block from plowed freedom, known as Woodward Avenue.

So close and yet so far.

Where Did Summer Go?

I took this picture on one of the last nice days of summer, just before the leaves turned brown and fell. The neighborhood kids can literally play in the street and not worry about cars (although the police seem to think it is a shortcut to just about anything they need to do in the neighborhood).
This is also the center of the neighborhood. At the end of this street is a large park that the dogs think is theirs. In the evening it is one of the most peaceful places in the city.