Another biking blog takes us to Highland Park, a place that, even more than Detroit, gets passed over as miles and miles of blight. This post reminds us that there is a community still in the city. Additionally, the writer points out that the craftsmanship of its housing stock is worth a note.
Excerpt from
Bikes, Books & A Little Music:
I began my two-wheeled journey to Highland Park on 2nd Avenue just
north of Wayne State University. The avenue took me through the New
Center area past the Fisher Building, an Art Deco gem, to the
Boston-Edison Neighborhood, which is listed on the National Register of
Historic Places and once home to Henry Ford. I took a little detour
through those streets to check out the large cluster of mansions. There
are two on Boston Boulevard – the S.S. Kresge and the B. Siegel mansions
– just west of Woodward that always wow me; they are so huge that they
are the only two on that block.
After peddling through those streets, I
continued up 2nd Avenue. The homes in the neighborhoods along
2nd became much more concentrated with numerous apartment
buildings sprinkled in. Some were in need of major repairs; others were
in pretty good shape, and like many parts of Detroit, abandoned and
stripped buildings were evident.
I crossed into Highland Park and was
pleasantly surprised at the strides the city has made in getting rid of
blighted structures and replacing them with new brick townhouses and
other dwellings. This is a good sign in a community, much like Detroit,
that has been devastated by high unemployment, crime and tough economic
conditions.
Read the entire article
here.
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