Metro Detroit Photo of the Day

[martinpon]

Sadly, Pontiac was a victim of 1960's urban renewal. A good 1/3 of the downtown was demolished, including most of its theater district. The Clinton River, which snaked through downtown, was straightened out and buried underground in pipes.

They looked at several proposals, including one from a young Pontiac native Alfred Taubman. Unfortunately, they chose the current design that bypasses downtown completely with what it now the Woodward Loop. Before 1960, everyone driving from Detroit to Flint had to drive through Pontiac. Now, nobody does.

I've seen a lot of references about the size of the buildings considering the size of the city. You have to remember, at its peak, Pontiac had 86,000 residents and was the largest city in Oakland County until Southfield passed it in the 1990s and larger than Ann Arbor until 1970. When most of the large buildings were built in the late 1920's, Pontiac had just experienced a 250% population growth in 10 years.

The below picture is from the 1930's. Compare it with the one below that is pretty current, and you can see how much Pontiac has lost. My dad remembered Pontiac as a place with no parking. Now it looks like it is mostly parking.

Edited July 28, 2007 by martinpon

[ZachariahDaMan]

How sad, I didn't realize so much of downtown was demolished.

[martinpon]

There are some great "then and now" photos on the city website at:

City of Pontiac - Historic District Commission

[RustTown]

I knew at lot of central Pontiac was razed. It's pretty obvious. But seeing the sheer amount is devastating.

[hudkina]

No, the devestating part is that Oakland County is so backwards in its thinking that they'd rather focus on building up Brandon TWP than trying to redevelop Pontiac. Hopefully in the not too distant future, Pontiac will see many of those lots turned into new Royal Oak-style condo developments.

[nofunk]

That's really depressing. I had no idea Pontiac had been so dense.

And that loop looks retarded.

[RustTown]

Pontiac, and the same goes for the other county seat of Mount Clemens to a lesser extent, much like Detroit, were sucked dry by their respective sprawl.

Edited July 29, 2007 by Lmichigan

[wolverine]

I hate driving on that stupid loop. And it's always under construction.

[martinpon]

Things aren't all bad for the city. They just finished up a streetscape project. This photo is from the top of the Phoenix Plaza, just after the new streetlights turned on. The nightlife isn't too bad downtown, but two things could help a lot. Get better-known groups to perform at the Phoenix Plaza, and finish work on the Strand Theater.

[tracer1138]

I've never been downtown Pontiac, but I think those beautiful streetscape finishes warrant a gander.

[wolverine]

Don't they have that arts eats and beats thing?

[martinpon]

About 90% of Arts Beats and Eats occurs within sight of this picture. Most of the major acts perform at the Phoenix Plaza. Most of the restaurant kiosks are in the 3 blocks straight ahead. The parking lot on the left holds the carnival, kids activities and sports. The Arts and smaller venue stages are in the side streets. Here's a map of this year's festival:

Arts Beats and Eats Map

Edited August 2, 2007 by martinpon

[martinpon]

Somebody asked for a panorama of Pontiac. This is from the city website, two views 70 years apart:

Edited August 4, 2007 by martinpon

[hudkina]

Hopefully 50 years from now, there will be condo towers, new commercial buildings, and better streetscapes.

[wolverine]

That is one of the best "then and now" photographs I've ever seen.

Edited August 5, 2007 by wolverine

[nofunk]

That panorama is depressing, but the new streetscape shot above it is very promising!

[martinpon]

Both pictures are rooftop pictures. The bottom one from the 1930s was taken from the roof of a house on Hill St. Within a couple of years, all of the houses in the center of the picture (plus the house the picture was taken from) were torn down. 20 years later, the site became what is now city hall. The top picture is a current picture taken from the roof of city hall.

[martinpon]

Here's a better daytime shot of the streetscape. It's taken a block up from where the night time shot was taken.

Edited August 8, 2007 by martinpon

[julene]

Fairlane Green in Allen Park use to be a dump now it is a really nice shopping plaza.

[Michi]

Speaking of Fairlane Green:

[hudkina]

There is a really great view of the Dearborn "skyline" from the Target at Fairlane Green.

[wolverine]

Uh oh, Michi near restricted areas.

[Michi]

What are you talking about? I AM a restricted area!

[martinpon]

Here's a shot from last Saturday's Dream Cruise in downtown Pontiac. This is Saginaw Street looking south from Huron. Note the new streetscape features. Most of the buildings on the right date from the 1880s.

Edited August 21, 2007 by martinpon

[martinpon]

I've lived in Pontiac 25 years and never noticed the details on the old Pontiac State Bank building shown above and on page one of this blog, until I zoomed in on the original.These full torso Indians on top of the 20 story building are fascinating. You can see the profile on the front of the building.Below it is a close up of the indian head relief over the front entrance of the same building.

Edited September 4, 2007 by martinpon