The Tour De Hood is an informal affair. Usually, the Legal Eagle tries to find a road or street we haven’t visited, figures out an interesting way to get there, and we’re off! Over Memorial Day weekend, we engaged our inner nerd-selves and picked a destination (actually two) and rode there, not particularly caring about how we got there. (In short, we rode down some streets we’ve been down many times before).
Greyhound (I believe) used to claim that “getting there is half the fun”, and that’s always true riding around Detroit, because you never know what new delights await you. It’s certainly tons more entertaining than a bus ride.
To wit, I’ve ridden down Mack Avenue many times, but saw some new things I hadn’t seen before.
Hoods {sic} Tire Service has an eye-catching new sign. Scroll through the back pages of the Tour De Hood, and you’ll find the old one, which promised that they wouldn’t buy stolen rims. The new one is very nice.
Been in business since the days of bias-ply tires
I don’t remember there even being a “Kita Pita” before – but that could be because I hadn’t noticed it before it had this swanky paint job.
I don’t know what a “Kita Kream” is or what it tastes like
A new food shop/car wash/auto sales retailer was celebrating its grand opening. But it wasn’t open when we rode by; nor were there any cars on offer in its lot.
Maybe I’ll try to get lunch there some day
Next up, a religious sect or local version of Mary Baker Eddy’s church of Christian Science. This was founded by Ann Ryan back in ’47.
Mental Science: Didn’t catch on quite as widely as Sigmund Freud
After the “Dew Drop Inn”, the Elbow Room/Lounge has to be one of the most popular bar names in America. This particular iteration of same has a nice new sign.
Nice new signage; same old paint job
Public art always brightens a neighborhood. A local metal fabricating company has pitched in with this outdoor sculpture.
Sturdy, recycled materials, What’s not to like?
Still on Mack, we passed an auto repair emporium that’s new to me. Pretty butch name, eh?
Better check out the availability of that URL, stat!
Mack Avenue behind us, we veered left onto Gratiot, where more discoveries awaited.
Sad to say, Jimmie’s bicycle repair shop is closed.
I love ghost signs. A little snooping around online turned up a couple of interesting things about Laurel Stoves. They were made by Detroit’s own Art Stove company, and had the kind of advertising tchotchkes (If you prefer, tshatshke, tchachke, tchotchka, tchatchka, chachke, tsotchke, chotski, or chochke; the standard Yiddish transliteration is tsatske or tshatshke) they just don’t make any more.
Here’s an ad for Laurel Stoves from a Cass City dealer in 1912:
Be Sure To Show Up At Two To Win A Free Stove
As for the advertising giveaway, I’m not sure why you’d want to attach your brand to a potentially lethal weapon, but I guess things were different back then.
Maybe it’s for making “Chop Suey” (ha!)
Jimmie’s Bike shop may be on the move closer to downtown, judging by the sign on this defunct small-engine repair shop.
Motown/Mowtown. Get it?
They’ve recently spruced up Capitol Park. While the buildings surrounding the plaza are in various states of renovation (or non-renovation), the park is very nice, and has a nice scale model of Michigan’s first Capitol.
n.b.: Approximately 1/75 scale. SIgnage honesty rules!
Our destination was nearing. The Legal Eagle wanted to visit a couple of rail marshaling yards. (See title of this post). So did I. (See title of this post). Look at all those non-moving trains. You can’t beat that for a great time.
Lots of trains. Little movement
I only managed to snag a couple of photos before a very nice gentleman arrived and urged us to leave the premises. He did admit we didn’t look like scrap metal thieves, but we’d been caught on the railroad’s CCTV system, and got the boot.
All that riding, only to be escorted from the yard. (We tried another location, but got tossed from there, too). Anyway, before we headed home I did get a snap of this somewhat mysterious sign on a freight car.
I don’t know how or why you’d want to hump a freight car
Anyway, we had a great time while it lasted, and as we headed back north, we passed under I-75, where I noticed this piece of graffiti on a supporting column.
Copyrighted and trademarked. To what end?
A Nerd Tastic time was had by all. And Greyhound was almost right. Getting there was even more than half the fun.
If you’d like to re-create this ride, the Legal Eagle has provided this handy map of our route.
