Author

Mickey Lyons

Mickey Lyons is a Hamtramck-based writer and historian. She is the creator of Prohibition Detroit, a blog about Detroit's historic drinking establishments.

Mickey Lyons's Latest Articles

Drawing the line: Northwest Goldberg, Northwestern Goldberg Community, or Zone 8?

What's in a name? For some residents, the neighborhood is Northwest Goldberg, named after a popular school board member. To others, it's Zone 8. And for other community members, it's neither.

A tiki cocktail at Chin's
Tiki bar ‘boom’: What’s behind the latest revival in metro Detroit?

Tiki bars have come and gone, but the latest iteration of tiki, in metro Detroit at least, swings in favor of the fun and frivolous, a balm after the professorial stylings of the classic cocktail revival of the last decade.  

Mary Aganowski has tended bar at the Two Way Inn since 1981
In an era of the trendy craft cocktail, Detroit’s neighborhood bar endures

New bars are popping up in Detroit at lightning speed. But several of Detroit's oldest neighborhood hangouts, and some newer spots seeking to emulate that vibe, are still holding steady. 

A cultural history of Metro Detroit, Chapter One: Native Americans

Our new series on Metro Detroit's ethnic and cultural history, written by local writer and historian Mickey Lyons, begins with the first Detroiters, Native Americans.

Sarah Ayers in her workshop
Garment designer Sarah Ayers adds some chic to Detroit’s grit

Since opening her clothier business, William and Bonnie, two years ago, owner Sarah Ayers has created a niche for herself as Detroit's go-to seamstress and garment designer.

A Slow Roll ride in Detroit
Opinion: Slow Roll has lost its way

Slow Roll, a weekly bike ride through a Detroit neighborhood that attracts thousands of riders, is ostensibly a casual affair meant to engender good will between cyclists and residents. But, as Mickey Lyons writes, recent rides have accomplished the exact opposite. 

Mary Aganowski has tended bar at the Two Way Inn since 1981
Detroit’s veteran bartenders reflect on over 30 years behind the bar

Most seasoned bartenders will tell you that the more things change, the more they stay the same. But for these tenured tenders, the view from the bar illustrates the story of Detroit’s dynamic transformations.

grosse_Ile_018
A remarkable tale of slavery and opportunity in early Detroit

The history of an old church on Grosse Ile is a remarkable tale of slavery and opportunity in early Detroit. Here's the story of the church's founder, Elizabeth Denison Forth, an ex-slave who became the first black woman to own property in Michigan.

Abick's Bar in southwest Detroit
What exactly is Detroit’s oldest bar, anyway? The answer might surprise you

Stop into any venerable bar in the city and you’re likely to encounter a heated debate over which bar truly is the oldest in Detroit. We set out to put an end to the debate, but it wasn't as simple a task as we thought.

Abick’s Bar, a neighborhood institution for more than a century

Detroit's oldest continuously family-operated bar is mourning the loss of its matriarch, Manya Soviak, but a new generation of the family is leading the neighborhood institution into its second century of existence.

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