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08/24/2004: "Hooray for first impressions!"

Over the years I've made Detroit my home, I've played the part of Susie Q Cheerleader to those who have bashed Detroit for shits and giggles. My efforts, for the most part, had been successful. I am finding, however, that the more someone sees of Detroit, the harder those efforts become.

In the hopes of keeping my parents entertained during their weekend visit from South Carolina, we made the obligatory "Look, this is our boat. Look, this is the river. Look, that's a freighter" trip. They ooo'd and ahh'd over the restored wood boats on the canal behind Harbor Island and then we went out into the river. I'd mentioned the lovely trailer park to them in the past, but I hadn't mentioned the abandoned old house (built in 1925) also on the river in between the trailer park and the "Riverfront-Lakewood East Park".

The house sits on a fenced in peice of overgrown land, and while the windows are all boarded up, the house clearly used to be absolutely beautiful before it landed up in the hands of the city.

While I suspect this house may have been given to the city at the same time as the land making up Ford park was given, finding historical information online proved to be nearly impossible. What happened to it once it was given to Detroit, however, is what happens to so much else the city manages to get. After serving as a community recreation center, it was closed just last year.

This, of course, was the suggested action by the same mayor who has a larger goon squad security force than "small towns" like Chicago and Los Angeles. And least we forget this closing came right about the same time His Royal Lordship requested more full time security.

At any rate, the 3108 sq ft house (and 155,160 sq ft of land around it - the rest is apparently classified as a different property, owned by the Parks Dept) had a true cash value of $252k in 2002.

In a city where they already have a problem keeping up with the "parks" they do consider operational one really has to wonder what is behind allowing this house to become a hazard in the future by hanging on to it. Someone would snap the house up in a heartbeat to renovate it - if not as a private residence, a bed & breakfast type situation would be easily imaginable.

A sale would not only mean a bit of extra cash for Kwame's hookers bitches strippers city-related hobbies, but would also take care of an ongoing cost related to "keeping up" the property and making sure when it's torched it doesn't become a death trap to people who have no clue.

Both times we passed by this house, my parents just shook their heads. I'd be shocked if Detroit was less corrupt than a lot of third-world "corrupt" nations.