Is THIS the WORST City In America? Highland Park, Michigan

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  • čas přidán 16. 06. 2024
  • It's hard to argue that Highland Park isn't the worst city in America. The median household income is the lowest in the country for cities with a population of 5,000 or more. Highland Park has some fascinating history, as it's the birthplace of the assembly line which allowed automobiles to be built through mass production. It was technology that changed the world to what we know it as today. However, today Highland Park faces issues of extremely high crime rates, and most of the cities residents live in poverty.
    Intro: 0:00 - 1:03
    Highland Park: 1:03 - 16:40
    Highland Park Was Once a Special Place: 16:40 - 23:00
    Mostly Urban Ruins: 23:00 - 28:40
    Stevens Subdivision Historic District: 28:40 - 32:32
    ====================================================================
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Komentáře • 3,2K

  • @ChrisHarden
    @ChrisHarden  Před 2 lety +55

    Detroit Playlist: czcams.com/video/OvB6YR_BcxM/video.html
    American Hoods Playlist: czcams.com/video/Dm81ynWvUsM/video.html
    Michigan Playlist: czcams.com/video/X5t9afbEGIc/video.html
    Detroit Suburbs Playlist: czcams.com/video/6H3TJlPbGFQ/video.html
    Intro: 0:00 - 1:03
    Highland Park: 1:03 - 16:40
    Highland Park Was Once a Special Place: 16:40 - 23:00
    Mostly Urban Ruins: 23:00 - 28:40
    Stevens Subdivision Historic District: 28:40 - 32:32
    ====================================================================
    EVERYTHING THAT I USE IN THE FIELD:
    Main Camera: amzn.to/3iS4vvF
    Side Cameras: amzn.to/2WuCYIs
    Media Mod for Camera: amzn.to/3j7CMGF
    Lav Mic: amzn.to/3lsMkz9
    Drone: amzn.to/3ITcKBV
    SD Cards: amzn.to/3C2co9O
    Camera Mounts: amzn.to/2UXVR6p
    Cables Required for Longer Recordings: amzn.to/3BYnr3Q
    Computer: amzn.to/3787b2j
    External Hard Drive: amzn.to/3lb23Tf
    WHAT I USE AT HOME:
    Computer: amzn.to/3rKIdiN
    Sound Mixer: amzn.to/3C15Ubx
    Microphone: amzn.to/2VaCjvo
    Microphone Accessories: amzn.to/3v7A35Z
    INTERACTIVE MAP that shows you all of the places that I've made videos on: (Doesn't always work on mobile devices. Will always work on PC.) www.google.com/maps/d/u/2/edit?hl=en&mid=1Lhzf04ocimPu-ROkg4cfXEYEvKMNnlI5&ll=43.06219876674538%2C-83.82163216337808&z=10
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    Email: ChrisHardenYT@Gmail.com
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    DISCLAIMER: Links included in this description might be affiliate links. If you purchase a product or service with the links that I provide I may receive a small commission. There is no additional charge to you. As an Amazon Associate I do earn a small commission on qualifying purchases. As always, thank you for supporting my channel!

    • @derricklogan2058
      @derricklogan2058 Před 2 lety +7

      Chris? This is how life is. Some people: all people, from time to time, become upset when we're constantly hearing about the same thing from different media formats. But when it's true, it really shouldn't be an issue. Someone enjoys your videos or we wouldn't be watching. If those people who are upset with you would exercise their rights by not viewing your content, they wouldn't have an issue with you! It's the same with the cyber bullying! If you don't click on it, it won't bother you! When I was a child, I was bullied because of the color of my skin or because I didn't fit in to "The In Crowd" which was indicative of our slang during the 1960's and early 70's, so I know what it's like, just in a different era. Some people just don't take criticism very well, either about themselves or where they live/lived! But it's all about change. Nothing in life stays the same! NOTHING! I don't like what I see, but at one time in my life I did. Don't worry about it. No one will ever agree on everything!!! No one. Show a video about Woodruff Wilson from Oakman to Calvert; (North to South) and the John C. Lodge/U.S. 10; (East to West); to Livernois and then maybe those who are upset will have something to cry about?!!? ✌️

    • @carlosrivas1629
      @carlosrivas1629 Před 2 lety +4

      Maybe just maybe, diversity is not our strength but a terrible weakness.

    • @kennetho5393
      @kennetho5393 Před 2 lety +2

      Dude, this video is super popular right now. I wonder how long it will take to reach half a million views.

    • @natejennings5884
      @natejennings5884 Před 2 lety +5

      Some parts of Highland Park look like some parts of Atlanta. Atlanta's always had ghettos. But rising costs driving out the working class, jacked up crime rates under former mayor Keisha Lance-Bottoms (a race baiting opportunist), and two waves of riots in 2020 sent things into free fall.

    • @davidleach4811
      @davidleach4811 Před 2 lety +3

      A lot of what you are saying is in the rearview mirror for most of Detroit and it's neighborhoods. Highland Park is lagging yes but it's seen its worse days. Real estate investment companies are buying vacant property as fast as it hits the market. A lot of it is speculative but it's based on perceived value going forward.

  • @pzdf8v
    @pzdf8v Před 2 lety +1803

    A few years ago an EF-4 tornado went through Highland Park. It did $5 million worth of improvements.

    • @NMTW6
      @NMTW6 Před 2 lety +150

      that's so wrong yet so funny

    • @FixIt1975
      @FixIt1975 Před 2 lety +21

      Hahaha!!

    • @craigkimble1467
      @craigkimble1467 Před 2 lety +11

      Lol

    • @glennso47
      @glennso47 Před 2 lety +34

      Similar to Pitcher Oklahoma? The government had tried for years to shut the town down because of a history of lead mining in the area. But “Mother Nature “ came through and shut the place down in just a few minutes. This is some time in the past 15 years. 🌪🌩

    • @FixIt1975
      @FixIt1975 Před 2 lety +28

      @@glennso47 They still haven't gotten everyone out of Centralia, PA. There's not many left but those that are, are allowed to remain until they pass away. They cannot sell their homes or will them to family

  • @MrLaurak12
    @MrLaurak12 Před 2 lety +886

    I tried to rent an apartment at Glendale and Hamilton back in 1985. I left a deposit; the next day the landlady called me to “come get( your) money, you don’t want to live here” o was a teenage single mother, a 100lb white girl, very naive. God bless that woman.

    • @williscurry6557
      @williscurry6557 Před 2 lety +63

      Thank god. The landlords in that area are notorious for pocketing deposits for no reason!

    • @fredgardner2870
      @fredgardner2870 Před 2 lety

      All democrat run cities are like this... Democrats have stolen billions from taxpayers money since the 60s

    • @truthsocialmedia
      @truthsocialmedia Před 2 lety +1

      i would never let my daughter live in that craphole.. where was your dad?

    • @derricklogan2058
      @derricklogan2058 Před 2 lety +58

      You would not have been the only Caucasian Person in that area though. In 1988, a few blocks south of Glendale was a Caucasian Guy that I went to Chauffeur's Training School with. I can't remember his name though. In 1985, I was 24 years old and worked Security at Highland Park Community College and because of the very light complexion of my skin, most people thought that I was "White" and I grew up right across the John C. Lodge Freeway, 3 blocks south off Woodrow Wilson on Highland Street. But back in the 80's it wasn't nearly as bad as it is now! People now have just lost their minds! There's no respect for each other and absolutely no rememberance of the History of where we all came from nor the real struggle of what our parents and grandparents and even those before them fought for! Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. said it best in his speech: "I Have A Dream!" People should listen; really listen to what he was saying! I still have his speech on a 45rpm record!!! Many people now don't even know what that is!!!

    • @boogitybear2283
      @boogitybear2283 Před 2 lety +38

      Liberalism will do that to u.

  • @ClaudiaMitchell-jn7fw
    @ClaudiaMitchell-jn7fw Před rokem +48

    I was born in Highland Park in 1953. So sad to see the devastating shape it’s in. Breaks my heart.

    • @richbrake9910
      @richbrake9910 Před 10 měsíci +3

      It breaks my heart also. My mother grew up there in HP and retired from Chrysler. If she was still alive and knew this, she would be devastated. You may have known the Kimbro family at some point. Left HP in 1970.

    • @ClaudiaMitchell-jn7fw
      @ClaudiaMitchell-jn7fw Před 10 měsíci +5

      @@richbrake9910 I was born in H.P., but raised in Ferndale and also lived between 6 and 7 mile in Detroit. I was in 7’th grade when the riots broke out in Detroit in 1967, so I wouldn’t have known your Mother, but I agree she would be heart~broken too. It’s so sad to see Detroit in such decline, remembering how together it once was. It’s turned into “Thug City” and I don’t see any changes anytime soon. ✌🏻

    • @stratcat4450
      @stratcat4450 Před 3 měsíci

      ​@@ClaudiaMitchell-jn7fwI was born an raised there although in Oakland county. My dad an his brothers had a small tv shop very near but H P. My dad the in home guy would fix tv sets for free if some poor family couldn't afford it. They gave unclaimed sets away if someone needed it for thier kids. During the riots thugs destroyed the place anyway. An we grew up quite poor too! Never ever had a family vacation, I wore hand me downs etc...I left in the mid 90s an never looked back.

  • @munsters2
    @munsters2 Před rokem +189

    People make death threats just because you filmed their city? There are some insane people out there.
    Keep up the good work.

    • @734wheeler5
      @734wheeler5 Před rokem +14

      They know they’re exploiting it that’s why

    • @kelblueskies3937
      @kelblueskies3937 Před rokem

      Sounds like pissed off Democrat commies showing the mess they created.

    • @steve41557
      @steve41557 Před rokem +4

      Welcome to Highland Park!

    • @jenniferlloyd9574
      @jenniferlloyd9574 Před rokem +17

      @@734wheeler5 They're probably ashamed of their city. Why would you say he's exploiting it? I'd be proud if somebody filmed my city. Nothing to hide here... Some dwellers are just nasty I guess.

    • @williamsullivan3337
      @williamsullivan3337 Před rokem +1

      Eminem made the city look like crap.

  • @ourson66
    @ourson66 Před 2 lety +220

    Heartbreaking, especially at 26:33 when you focus in on the "Best Academy / Former Hospital" at Highland Street and 3rd Ave. That used to be an 800-bed convalescent hospital that was run for a number of years by my grandmother in the 1940's and 50's. If she were still with us, she'd be so sad to see the ruin it's turned into. My mom was born there. Really heartbreakiing.

    • @NipapornP
      @NipapornP Před 2 lety +5

      " the ruin it's turned into..."
      Like 99% of ALL buildings ever built around the world. The 1% are religious buildings and monuments, which stay for a little longer. Just check, which building from 200 years ago is still "alive" in you surrounding?

    • @ourson66
      @ourson66 Před 2 lety +16

      @@NipapornP what’s your point? Sure some buildings are torn down and new ones are rebuilt. That’s not what I was saying. Not all buildings are abandoned and left to rot, empty, slowly falling to pieces. Especially not In the midst of a big city like Detroit. It’s the urban blight, the fact that the building was once useful, and is now useless and abandoned. That’s what I’m talking about. If it had been replaced by a new building that was vibrant and being enjoyed by people, Chris wouldn’t have made the original video.

    • @chriscrabtree5827
      @chriscrabtree5827 Před 2 lety +5

      steve I am right here in Detroit and trust me I attend alot of community events on finding new ways to connect the community that info is so rich and Actually my first apartment was on Highland and woodward when I attended Wayne State. I hope that you are active in not only the history but the present in effecting change.

    • @ourson66
      @ourson66 Před 2 lety +1

      @@chriscrabtree5827 Chris, though my mom was born in Detroit, I've only been there a few times, and grew up in Canada, and now live in Toronto.

    • @user-du3vo5ld2j
      @user-du3vo5ld2j Před 2 lety +8

      I was in the Best Academy. We were asked to inspect that building by a bank about 10 years ago. The property manager that let us in and blew a whistle to warn any crackheads that we were coming. It had about a 5 million dollar mortgage on it through the charter school that was there. Charter schools in Detroit are a joke, I know, I taught at one. The bank asked us to inspect it just to see if they should knock it down. I remember hearing water running in the basement....a LOT of water just gushing. The path was block so we never did find the source of the water flow. A month or two later I was watching the news....they found a dead body in it.

  • @Lagunainkspot
    @Lagunainkspot Před 2 lety +64

    I was born there. My mother was raped there as a teen in the late 1950’s. I was stolen as a baby out of a diner. It is so sad to see that kind of misery. If you are miserable get out. I put on a USMC uniform to escape my misery.

    • @stefanroche3052
      @stefanroche3052 Před rokem +5

      Fully understandable, I live here now and have been born and raised here. This “city” neighbourhood what have you is a huge source of fear and trauma for me. It is what it is though. I relate to all the born and raised Highland Parkers who said they’d never come back. That’s exactly how I feel.

    • @CB-se3tt
      @CB-se3tt Před rokem +2

      sorry that was your reality, i hope you have found some semblance of piece.

    • @Lagunainkspot
      @Lagunainkspot Před rokem +11

      @@CB-se3tt Life is great now because somehow I made more good decisions than bad. I live in California with a great husband. I have 2 kids of my own, 3 stepchildren and 8 grandchildren. All the kids are educated and wonderful adults. You can make changes. It's never to late to change what's not working.

    • @daviddecelles8714
      @daviddecelles8714 Před rokem

      Yes, but unless you're a Corps lifer, where do you go back to as a civilian of moderate means when so much of the country is moving in the direction of Highland Park? No more 'solid middle class.' as he put it.

    • @Lagunainkspot
      @Lagunainkspot Před rokem

      @@daviddecelles8714 I stayed in California. Worked on a great career. and family. I didn't have family anywhere really so it wasn't hard to create a new home.

  • @dplomin1954
    @dplomin1954 Před rokem +1

    I find your video very informative. Thank you for shooting it!

  • @tscottshea
    @tscottshea Před rokem +2

    This is one of the most interesting videos I've watched on CZcams. Very thought-provoking. Thank you!

  • @derricklogan2058
    @derricklogan2058 Před 2 lety +77

    Chris? If someone is upset with you about THE TRUTH, there's NO TRUTH in them! Keep doing what you are doing! ✌️

  • @michaelwills1926
    @michaelwills1926 Před 2 lety +44

    It’s always so bittersweet to see places that have fallen from their heyday. Seeing the rows of empty houses, forlorn yet still beautiful structures which once hosted the coursing energy of families and children, industry and hope for the future. Great vid bro.

  • @elizabeth881
    @elizabeth881 Před rokem +10

    Thank-you for this video! Absolutely loved that you went through this city to show all the abandoned buildings. You made the work easier for people who would want to revive this city and bring back life to abandoned properties for the good of humanity. I see so much potential for this city this is a great opportunity for future humanitarian projects.

  • @I_HateClickBait
    @I_HateClickBait Před 6 měsíci +1

    PERFECT background music for this type of fascinating video. Thank for upping it!

  • @joebutchko2223
    @joebutchko2223 Před 2 lety +99

    Hey chris- Gran Torino was filmed there also. Your little speech at the end was right on target. I enjoy all your videos.

  • @annehallock5370
    @annehallock5370 Před 2 lety +82

    Over 40 years ago, my husband and I shared our first apartment in Highland Park. We lived on Elmhurst, just a few houses west of Woodward. We loved living there. We had good neighbors and had a lovely apartment. We finally left because of crime. I got beat up, after getting off a bus on Woodward. A man tried to steal my purse. We have fond memories of Highland Park. I enjoyed your video but like others, I am so sad to see what it has become. Thanks very much. Safe travels.

    • @kingpetra6886
      @kingpetra6886 Před 2 lety +12

      We moved from the East coast to Livonia for two years. . This time period was about twenty years before you initially lived in Highland Park. I liked Michigan. There was lots of outdoor recreation. We went into to Detroit to see the auto show, the Ice Capades, an occasional Tiger game, a class trip to the River Rouge plant, family trip to Greenfield Village, lots of little league sports for the kids, huge outdoor shopping centers and my dad and I even did some fishing on the Detroit River. The people were friendly, out going, without the attitude you get on the East coast. Livonia was one of the whitest towns in the country but our next door neighbors were Puerto Rican and we had an Arab family in school. These people (who really do have extended families) had relatives who had small businesses, mostly shops in the city. The baseball bat was the instrument of choice. Many of our other neighbors had lived in Detroit and told us they left because of the crime. And these people were quite vehement about this and made no secret about the people they felt who were responsible. Sixty tears later and many of our cities still have not recovered.

    • @witkneemenyon5612
      @witkneemenyon5612 Před rokem +2

      Highland park was such a beautiful place back in the day

    • @bobscott6223
      @bobscott6223 Před rokem +2

      You sure that was 40 years ago and not 60 ?
      Elmhurst was full of crime even back them. On Third avenue and Cortland, there used to be a convenience store that was ran by 2 brothers. It was a great place to buy some candy on the way home from school. When one of the brothers was killed by an armed robber, the store had to close down. This was in the mid 60's.
      Elmhurst was just 3 blocks south of Cortland.

    • @gshrdy5415
      @gshrdy5415 Před rokem +1

      @@bobscott6223 , Vincent Chin got killed by two Chrysler workers in 1982, bludgeoned him to death in Highland park, I felt sad for him, I was there near Wayne State.

    • @bobscott6223
      @bobscott6223 Před rokem

      @@gshrdy5415 Good for you.

  • @BlackSheepTruthMedia
    @BlackSheepTruthMedia Před rokem +1

    thanks for your time and dedication. The information's that you are releasing are very important and need to get out there in order to be able to create solutions. thanks, and much love from Canada.!

  • @Brocuzgodlocdunfamdogson
    @Brocuzgodlocdunfamdogson Před 2 lety +78

    Back when I was about 17, me and a few friends found the salt mine entrances in HP, and not knowing what they were, took interest. They look like subway entrances, and Detroit doesn’t have subways. I didn’t know about the gigantic network of salt mines beneath the city either.
    As we were about to enter, an old lady around 70 or so comes flying out of her house screaming at us about how we were going to die if we went in. We decided to take her advice and stayed out.

    • @jb-iw5yd
      @jb-iw5yd Před rokem

      That's one reason they want all the blk folks out

    • @detroitbanks9140
      @detroitbanks9140 Před rokem +9

      Yeah Highland park used to have an underground system not only for salt but transport they closed most of the entrances with cement some are still open but very unsafe I'm glad you didn't enter some kids got lost down there when I was younger

    • @bobscott6223
      @bobscott6223 Před rokem +1

      Please post the location of the salt mine entrance. Maybe I saw it when I was a kid too.

    • @detroitbanks9140
      @detroitbanks9140 Před rokem +2

      @@bobscott6223 it's above ground now you can see it off the freeway big brown half football looking things lol but they didn't used to be salt mine entrances they filled them up with different materials rocks sand cement salt etc it used to be an underground network not just a salt mine I believe they closed them entrances now cement over them

    • @bobscott6223
      @bobscott6223 Před rokem +1

      @@detroitbanks9140Sounds good. So you are talking about I-75, the Davison, or the Lodge as where these fooltball looking things can be seen ? Thanks

  • @johnfox8320
    @johnfox8320 Před 2 lety +127

    Highland Park Memories.
    My roots in the Detroit area go back to the late 1800's. My Great Grandmother was a teenager living with her sister, mother and father in Chicago when the Great Chicago Fire happened in 1871. They all made it out safely, but when the fire was over their house was gone. So they packed up and moved to New York where a few years later she met and married my Great Grandfather. The two of them didn't like New York very much, so they traveled West looking for somewhere to start their new lives.
    When they got to Detroit they were both taken in by what they called a "most lovely city", which at the time it was, so they stayed. They bought a house on Bagley Avenue and raised their family, including my Grandfather. When he was a boy, Grandpa and his little friends used to play ball in the street. But sometimes the games were interrupted by a man they nicknamed "Crazy Henry" because Henry would come driving along in one of his latest inventions which was basically a four-wheel bicycle with a noisy gas motor attached. "Crazy Henry" would later go on to create the Ford Motor Company.
    Later after Grandpa married Grandma they lived for years in a flat on Second Avenue in beautiful Highland Park where my father was born and grew up. After Dad married Mom they chose to stay in Highland Park, so they eventually bought a nice two story house at 39 Monterey between Woodward and Second. This is the house where I was born and lived in until I was seven. The street had many trees and well kept middle-class houses, and was a nice safe place for a kid like me to make friends and play.
    One day when I was still a toddler in diapers, I slipped away unnoticed by my mother and headed off on an adventure. When I got to Second Avenue at the end of our block (which back then was a busy one way street), I watched as the cars starting slowing down and stopping. I remember thinking that was nice of them to stop for me, so I continued across Second and kept on going. Before I got too much farther, a neighbor recognized me and "rescued" me (although I didn't know I needed rescuing) and called my mom to come and get her wayward son. No wonder her hair started turning grey not long after!
    In kindergarten and first grade I attended Ferris Elementary school, just two short blocks away up Woodward Avenue to Cortland Street. It was a large and very nice school that even had an indoor swimming pool. Mom and dad had no problem with me walking alone to and from school. After all, this was Highland Park, a beautiful and safe place to live. I fondly remember the McGregor Public Library close by on Woodward, which was a beautiful building and an interesting place for people of all ages to spend some quality time.
    In 1958 my parents sold the house and we moved to the northern Detroit suburb of Pleasant Ridge where we lived until I was in college. It wasn't until many years later that I had the opportunity to drive down Monterey, and what I saw just broke my heart. This beautiful, clean, safe neighborhood where I started my life now quite literally looked like a war zone. I would love to think that someday Highland Park could return to its glory days, but until or unless some economic miracle happens, then I just don't see how. It's sad to say, but I'm afraid that eventually after people like me are gone who remember what a special place it once was, Highland Park may simply cease to exist.
    John Fox

    • @johndavid5627
      @johndavid5627 Před 2 lety +2

      everthing will cease to exist

    • @johnzeszut3170
      @johnzeszut3170 Před 2 lety +8

      A story well worth reading. With the ebb and flow of today's world it remains possible that Highland Park might make a comeback.

    • @pjflynn5978
      @pjflynn5978 Před 2 lety +3

      Wonderful story!

    • @jacknasty6940
      @jacknasty6940 Před 2 lety

      Blah blah blah

    • @johnzeszut3170
      @johnzeszut3170 Před 2 lety +5

      @@jacknasty6940 Why Jack! What ever to you mean????

  • @chronocross7174
    @chronocross7174 Před 2 lety +3

    Another great video!! It is very relaxing to watch great quality driving videos and getting information about these places! Thumbs up! Thank you Chris!

  • @joshuastevens2186
    @joshuastevens2186 Před rokem

    Great video, Impressive editing, I hope to see it get better as your channel grows

  • @jakessmallengines
    @jakessmallengines Před rokem +2

    Good job on your videos ! My dads family lived next to Detroit Airport....brought back alot of memories on the roads...

  • @bf6908
    @bf6908 Před 2 lety +97

    Thanks for making this video. My grandmother lived in Highland Park, MI in the 50's and early 60's, when I was a child. I loved visiting her in the old duplex she rented (wish I could remember the street). My sister and I would spend some weekends with her, and we would all walk to Palmer Park and feed the ducks. Great memories of better times when people took pride in their neighborhood and watched out for their neighbors.

    • @vangogo6819
      @vangogo6819 Před 2 lety +4

      I didn't grow up here, I live in New England, but when I go back to the area I grew up in, almost two hours east from where I am now, it makes me sad to see what a combat zone my grandmother's old neighborhood is now. When we were growing up in the 60's into the 70's her apartment was nice, clean, the house was taken care of and we walked everywhere. Now there's nothing but hookers, junkies and gun violence every day and night. It stinks to see all that was good turn so bad.

  • @hoganfan924
    @hoganfan924 Před 2 lety +43

    I worked for Chrysler in HP from 88-91, and then would visit weekly from around ‘95-98 as we still had engine dynamometer labs still running there. It was a 💩 hole back then. A couple of Chrysler employees got murdered back then, one lady had a cinder block thrown through her windshield from an overpass, another had his convertible fire bombed as he pulled off the Davison onto Oakland Ave. A co-worker friend of mine was mugged and badly beaten as he made the mistake of stopping for gas there on his way home. Glad Chrysler moved out.

    • @ChrisHarden
      @ChrisHarden  Před 2 lety +10

      Dang I would’ve quit. No job is worth that kind of trouble.

    • @seanb6478
      @seanb6478 Před 2 lety +17

      @@ChrisHarden & those are the reasons no sane company will build there when they can be near a nice suburb w/ honest hard workers.

    • @abark
      @abark Před 2 lety

      Dang, hard to believe how long white supremacy has been the greatest threat to our country. When will it be stopped?

  • @MikeinVirginia1
    @MikeinVirginia1 Před rokem +54

    I was born in Detroit in 1952, my father was a tool & die man for Dodge. He preferred Chrysler cars his whole life. We left Michigan when I was 6, but I did kindergarten there and have always been interested in the auto industry and Detroit. So this video is special for me. To top it off, my grandfather was a friend of Will Rodgers, and Will Rodgers was a friend of Henry Ford. So when Will was in town he'd go see Henry and take my grandfather. So my grandfather knew Henry Ford! 😊

    • @Lions1102
      @Lions1102 Před rokem

      congrats

    • @1motorcitychop
      @1motorcitychop Před rokem

      Didn't Henry Ford steal the car invention or something of that nature from a black man I'm really asking because I thought that was a true story

    • @Lions1102
      @Lions1102 Před rokem

      @@1motorcitychop idk

    • @1motorcitychop
      @1motorcitychop Před rokem

      @@Lions1102 just did some research I'm not so sure he did anymore have a beautiful life My friend

  • @DonaldKDever
    @DonaldKDever Před rokem +2

    Good job! Love these videos

  • @choxxxieful
    @choxxxieful Před 2 lety +27

    Thank you Craig for an enlightening video. I well remember the town and friends who came from there. It wounded me to see what became of it and hope my friends (from the 1950's) who remain are well. I cried more than a few tears watching this video. It is a warning for many, if not all, of us.

  • @bill1772
    @bill1772 Před 2 lety +6

    HELLO Chris. I did enjoy this vlog; I worked within the automotive companies throughout Michigan in the 80s'and 90s. This video took a great deal of time, searching historical records.
    The Footer is nicely done, the updated ticker on each street you were traveling.
    Excellent Job, Mr. Harden.
    Bill from Columbus.

  • @cbesthelper404
    @cbesthelper404 Před 10 měsíci +7

    Henry Ford developed a significant portion of Highland Park. He made sure that homes were built that Ford executives could live in. You can see some of them at around the 14:04 mark. Ford was responsible for developing Oakman Boulevard, which runs from Hamilton Avenue all the way to Grand River. The homes on Oakman Boulevard were mansions.

    • @chrisharris6206
      @chrisharris6206 Před 7 měsíci +1

      Actually Oakman Blvd, is actually the extended part of Manchester Blvd. That Started at Oakland Ave, The original Ford plant. We used to in the ,70s. Used to live on Ferris, right across from the High School. My Sister and brother Graduated from, Highland Park High. In ,79 ,80. I went to St Benedict Elementary School 🎒 in Highland Park,78 -81. We had moved so I only did , kindergarten, - 2 grade till we moved. But Oakman Blvd, starting at Hamilton Ave, Sanders Headquarters was to the right side off Hamilton Ave, a few blocks. Also on Hamilton Ave, was farm maiden dairy, I think. With the Girl on the milk. Down some more blocks, was where the Telephone Books were made. John C Lodge in that area. And at Fenkell and Rosa Parks was Hostess and Wonder Bread Is bakery. Oakman Blvd, didn't stop 🛑 at , Grand River, it continues to Dearborn and at Michigan Ave. It turns into Miller Rd . Which is where, The Ford Rouge Plant is, my Dad used to work at Specialty Foundry, Rogue Steel. Those were the good old days. Sorry for the sloppy writing, but nostalgia gets me. 😢. And we could walk across Oakland Ave, right into a pathway, that ran along the Polar Bears, Football 🏈 Field. Then proceeded to the High School 🏫🎒. Those were the best days growing up. Ford went to where my dad worked, And built the Rouge Plant, and then Chrysler Corp. Moving to Auburn Hills was the last Straw. I'm in East pointe MI, which original was East Detroit. But as a kid I remember Highland Park well.

    • @cbesthelper404
      @cbesthelper404 Před 7 měsíci

      @@chrisharris6206 Thanks for sharing. You've conjured up some memories. I remember the Hostess Bakery on Oakman Blvd. You could smell the pastries blocks away. They had a little store with marked-down items for sell in the back and up some metallic steps. Yes, there was a Michigan Bell office nearby as well. I remember the Sanders there too. At one point, you could go in and receive counter service. I loved Parkman Branch Library off of Linwood.
      You lived across the street from the newer high school? I know that a new school was built on Woodward around the late 70s or so. The high school that I remember is the old one on Glendale, right next to Highland Park Community College.
      Do you remember the art-deco style Sears store on Woodward and Robert Hall a little further north on Woodward? That Highland Park shopping center was really nice at one point. I cannot name all of the stores, but I do remember a Kresge's, a Cunningham's, Mailings Shoes, Petrie's, Winkelman's Bakers Shoes, the A&P just west of the Kresge's parking lot, and a few more shops.
      The 6 Mile Theater on Woodward was where we would check for all the new movies coming out. I remember seeing some memorable ones there, like "To Sir, With Love" and "Night of the Living Dead".
      Yeah, those were the days.

    • @chrisharris6206
      @chrisharris6206 Před 7 měsíci +1

      @@cbesthelper404 oh yes, before we moved to Highland Park, in the Fall of, 1977. We lived in the University District. U If D. On Woodingham, between Puritan and John C Lodge, Fenkell. My birth home where I spent my first four ys. Before , we moved down south for a while, then w like I said moved back to Michigan Highland Park. Lived on Ferris,St. Right off Oakland Ave. The Highland Park new, High school was across the street from me opposite direction southwest of Oakland Ave. How ironically it was open in,1977. Yes I remember the old one , on Glendale Ave. Had my Tonsils removed at Detroit O Hospital. Sister loved McGregor Public Library, they both graduate Highland Park High,79,80. I went to St Benedict Catholic school, on John R, and Church . Yes that was a humongous beautiful Sears. On Sears St. Little bit of trivia. A&P eas to the Northside of Sears, on Sears St. Remember the Magnavox store in Woodward, sighnige still there. My brother used to work out at the original , Power House Gym. On Woodward. Oh yes Uptown Bookstore, and the Naughty Adult Section . Lol. Bill Donuts Damn Good, at Woodward and 6Mile. Howard Johnson huge on Woodward. Highland Appliances the original one?, on Woodward. Detroit Edison, Ma Michigan Bell, Michigan Consolidated Gas, all in what used to be downtown Highland Park The Hotel right off Woodward in the middle thinking it was Grand, that was where you stayed at when visiting, used to be nicer downtown. Red Barn, across the street. Burger King, in the, Parking Structure. On Davison and Woodward. King Auto Sales. Grocery Stores on Woodward, between Glendale and , Tennison. Post Office,von Vena Busta and Woodward. Hamilton Ave, had Paint N Stuff on Hamilton Ave and Puritan Ave. Also Hamilton Ave West Highland Park was the manufacturing and industrial part of the city. And Davison and Oakland Ave. Chrysler Head Quarters. The executive kid's of some of the top brass , went to St Benedict Catholic school also. Again excuse my writing I'm, posting on my phone. But Old Highland Park, fantastic memories in the middle to, later,70 s. Now ugh,🥺🥺😬

    • @valnpaulvanorden
      @valnpaulvanorden Před 2 měsíci

      There's a story about highland Park and some destroyed rape kits that were never investigated and they rebuilt a new police department I don't know if they touch on this during this video

  • @robertcarmichael973
    @robertcarmichael973 Před rokem +1

    I really liked your video, so sad, thanks for sharing a part of history with us.

  • @lawrencemarocco8197
    @lawrencemarocco8197 Před 2 lety +46

    To make things worse, the city hasn't paid its water bill to the Great Lakes Water Authority in several years even though they've been collecting from the residents. Now GLWA wants to bill the rest of us for HP's irresponsible management.

    • @Belleville197
      @Belleville197 Před 2 lety

      who owns the GLWA ?

    • @CODCritic101
      @CODCritic101 Před 2 lety

      @@Belleville197 probably nestle ! LOL

    • @Dallas_K
      @Dallas_K Před rokem +4

      Their own water facility was so ill-run and neglected that the reservoir finally collapsed about ten years ago. Then they got on with the Detroit water system and quickly failed to pay bills. DTE (electric company) actually shut off and REMOVED streetlights for failure to pay bills. Video of streetlight removal is here on CZcams.
      I left Highland Park permanently in 2007. The place is a hopeless mess best left to consume itself. Clint Eastwood came to my street a short time later to film "Grand Torino".

    • @bobscott6223
      @bobscott6223 Před rokem

      I always thought that HP got its water form the waterworks that Ford built. It is still standing too. Is located on Dequindre near the Davison

    • @lawrencemarocco8197
      @lawrencemarocco8197 Před rokem

      @@bobscott6223 Some of the walls of the reservoir are still standing but it was decommissioned decades ago.

  • @mcherylyn
    @mcherylyn Před 2 lety +15

    Wow...sorry you have to deal with crazy people... I enjoy all of your videos and the info you provide. Thanks for doing what you do.

  • @jlloyd4771
    @jlloyd4771 Před 2 lety +1

    Very interesting and informative!!

  • @Markus65o2
    @Markus65o2 Před 2 lety +3

    Very interesting and well-done video. Great naration with informative facts. I grew up in Michigan and didn't know the history or current state of Highland Park. Thank you and keep up the good work!

  • @jeffreyfwagner
    @jeffreyfwagner Před 2 lety +6

    Nicely done video! I am a little surprised that you did not show whatever is left of the old Chrysler campus on Oakland Ave. I worked there in the 1970's and was impressed by the contrasts of really nice houses and all the other stuff. Thanks for the good video.

  • @charlesc.parker1164
    @charlesc.parker1164 Před 2 lety +7

    I watch a lot of videos like this but I really like your honesty. You call it just the way it is and no sugar coating. Thanks Craig

    • @bmorg5190
      @bmorg5190 Před 2 lety +2

      That’s why it pisses the Democrats off so much when they watch his videos. The truth hurts them so badly 🤣

  • @davidmaynard9462
    @davidmaynard9462 Před rokem +8

    I was a lifelong resident of Michigan, moving there in 11-50 and staying until 10-06. Also in the 80's we did a partnership with Grace Church as street ministers. There is nothing you said about the city that was in error. It wasn't as bad when we were there but that was 40 years ago. Thank you for your efforts and thank you for the update on the way the city has gone down. It saddens me.

  • @glitch_cloudy8606
    @glitch_cloudy8606 Před rokem +2

    Thank you for your videos and your honesty

  • @ubebukothepugbros.446
    @ubebukothepugbros.446 Před 2 lety +225

    These surrounded cities need to be absorbed into Detroit ASAP. No need for the duplication of public services. Then, mass demolition needs to happen, just like in other parts of the Detroit Area (same for parts of Cleveland, northern St. Louis, E. St. Louis, and more. . Turn it all into park or farm land. Only when the blight is removed, can the potential be seen.

    • @antonfarquar8799
      @antonfarquar8799 Před 2 lety +20

      may be they could start an architectural salvage program - all the bricks from the demoed buildings could be salvaged & sold.

    • @petergriffin383
      @petergriffin383 Před 2 lety +27

      Bulldoze it all and start over, you're absolutely correct, it's the only way.

    • @onefeather2
      @onefeather2 Před 2 lety +2

      Well said.

    • @TheGameReview217
      @TheGameReview217 Před 2 lety +7

      Bringing Highland Park and other regions into Detroit may help, as there's far less of a duplication of services, but I'm not 100% certain even Detroit would be able to handle the monumental debt that Highland Park has accrued over the years. I don't think it's a one stop solution, but can definitely help Highland Park bleed funds quite a bit less.

    • @greatlakescopwatchglcw127
      @greatlakescopwatchglcw127 Před 2 lety +15

      Easier said than done. The Highland park mayor and other govt officials aren't going to voluntarily give up their salaries.

  • @briancunningham707
    @briancunningham707 Před 2 lety +7

    In 2004 my son was in a regional high school wrestling tournament at Highland Park High School. A gang fight broke out in the sachools parking lot and the tournament was locked down until the Wayne County Sheriff's Department arrived.

  • @FlowJunkee65
    @FlowJunkee65 Před rokem +4

    Hey, Chris. Thank you for these type of informational videos. I really appreciate them because as a social worker, I imagine the types of infrastructure and investments that might help mitigate some of the problems and suffering among the folks who lives in these communities and improve their lives, and I would hope that city and state politicians are actively looking for these!
    My late dad attended Olivet College on a football scholarship many, many years ago, then earned his pharmacy degree from Ferris State College (now University). I've never visited Michigan, and I know these schools are way on the other (west) side of the state, but Michigan is still on my bucket list of places that I really want to visit one day.
    Thanks again, man. Liked and subscribed.

    • @ChrisHarden
      @ChrisHarden  Před rokem +2

      Thanks for the kind words! Michigan has many places with both extremes… amazing and sad.
      It’s really hard not to like the beaches along the Great Lakes, and many of the other inland lakes. It’s also just as hard to ignore the current state of some of the cities.

    • @FlowJunkee65
      @FlowJunkee65 Před rokem +2

      @@ChrisHarden Yep. I live in a beautiful little city in Los Angeles County, but it doesn't take too long a drive to encounter the growing number of homeless individuals on the streets, including many who are coming to L.A. from other states. Times are hard all around...

  • @Marcd4DeathVideos
    @Marcd4DeathVideos Před rokem +2

    Love your videos man. I am from the burbs of SouthWest Detroit and I enjoy all the information you share about the areas you drive through. Maybe one day Gentrification may move Highland Park in the right direction? Other then that happening IDK what will help that town.

  • @lizb1537
    @lizb1537 Před 2 lety +6

    Thanks for your video Chris! So sad to see a town in such disrepair with so many abandoned buildings. I grew up in the Detroit area. Thanks for sharing!

  • @janicecopeland9083
    @janicecopeland9083 Před 2 lety +13

    Good job documenting what is happening in a once great city, thank you.

  • @jeanettesledge5490
    @jeanettesledge5490 Před rokem +1

    I'm from the D and I found this very interesting and informative thanks for sharing

  • @richardmang2558
    @richardmang2558 Před rokem +5

    Being from very dry southern California, where any non-irrigated land is parched. I am amazed at how beautifully green all the trees and grass are.

    • @CPTR111
      @CPTR111 Před 5 měsíci +1

      Because of all the rainfall and moisture originating in the Gulf of Mexico, most anything in America east of I-35 is generally going to be pretty green...North or South (unless it's flood plain). 😉🌳

    • @sven888
      @sven888 Před 28 dny +1

      It's like we are living an an upside down situation. Everybody should move there. People are odd.

  • @CSltz
    @CSltz Před 2 lety +3

    These are interesting videos. You put a lot of work in to them. Could you come up with some pictures of what it used to look light?

  • @jimkeys7580
    @jimkeys7580 Před 2 lety +5

    Thanks for the tour Chris - good job! It's good to have a reality check on what is happening in these areas.

  • @ericnortan9012
    @ericnortan9012 Před 2 lety +13

    I grew up in the Flint area. Worked all over SE Michigan as an electrician. It always was amazing to me looking at these old buildings and houses, I could see how great this town used to be. Huge homes, really cool architecture, the birthplaces of modern America, now just rotting away. I feel the same about Michigan, definitely loyal to a fault. Four deployments with the Marines to four continents and 27 different countries, yet I couldn't wait to get back to Flint. Makes me wonder what I was thinking. Moved up north years ago, now live in Alpena. Love it up here. I just hope these towns can turn it around.

    • @ericnortan9012
      @ericnortan9012 Před rokem

      @@tvv178 Ya, great town. Lots of outdoor type recreation. It's a real nice stretch of shoreline between here and the bridge.

  • @erichehir9672
    @erichehir9672 Před rokem +2

    That was a great tour , thanks

  • @knighttuttruptuttrup8518
    @knighttuttruptuttrup8518 Před 2 lety +6

    Your doing a fine job, bringing things to light.

  • @RogerWyatt365
    @RogerWyatt365 Před 2 lety +24

    I lived in Detroit in the late 50's through the 00's - first living near 6-Mile (McNichols) and finally near 7-Mile (near Palmer Park). I took the bus every day - going to Cass Tech - going down Hamilton and I saw the devolution of that street over time. I remember going to the Sanders shop and getting hot-fudge sundaes there. I remember when going to the Howard Johnson's on Woodward on a Sunday after church was a VERY big deal. I remember going to the Red Barn Hamburger place for $0.25 burgers (who needed White Castle?!). I remember going to the Sears and then over to Cunningham's across the street from the Ford plant. I remember sneaking into the "Adult" section of the bookstore on the corner of Woodward and McNichols (before the whole thing became an adult store). And I remember driving down the Davidson Freeway to cut over to I-75. Those days were fading in the 70's, gone in the 80's and erased from the face of the earth in the 90's. At least I have my memories.

    • @michellel44
      @michellel44 Před rokem

      @roger Wyatt Is the Howard Johnson’s on West Grand Blvd near Woodward? 14 floor high rise? If so Henry Ford Hospital turned it to housing for medical and nursing students. I lived in the old “Ho Jo” in the early 90’s. Great memories!

    • @martymcfly9480
      @martymcfly9480 Před rokem

      Ironically that bookstore is the only thing still there out of that entire list. In good condition too

    • @RogerWyatt365
      @RogerWyatt365 Před rokem

      @@martymcfly9480 Ha ha ha! That figures, doesn't it?!

    • @RogerWyatt365
      @RogerWyatt365 Před rokem +1

      @@michellel44 No, this was the HoJo on Woodward in Highland Park, not too far away from the (now defunct) Northern High School.

  • @dinopulizzi8481
    @dinopulizzi8481 Před 3 měsíci

    A good informative video , thanks !

  • @rezenking8426
    @rezenking8426 Před rokem +4

    running redlights in Detroit is super common . the deeper you go the less laws the roads have

  • @edlukens2447
    @edlukens2447 Před 2 lety +3

    Thank you for this eye-opening tour documenting Highland Park, MI and its severe problems.

  • @natenix5371
    @natenix5371 Před 2 lety +30

    My daughter bought a house in Highland Park. I thought she was crazy but two yrs. later the house looks beautiful. Definitely looks out of place. If more people thought like her the city could make a come back. Instead of talking bad about it see what can be done to make it better. Be safe and God bless.

    • @toprope_
      @toprope_ Před rokem +2

      Since about 2013-14 there are a lot of safe islands in Detroit that are cheap and safe without being in a gentrified area. There’s less now that they’re growing and the city is coming back. By 2030-40 that home is gonna be worth some nice money so close to the city but still in the suburbs.

    • @MsWeirdTv
      @MsWeirdTv Před 11 měsíci

      Im going to buy a fixer upper too in Highland park! Does your daughter like living in that city?

    • @MrCmarklee
      @MrCmarklee Před 9 měsíci

      I love architecture in the city of highland park and drive thru the city often … I’m a architect and have a few small projects in this area and I think things can be done to make things better … if you receive this reply i would like to meet for coffee to discuss, thanks

  • @Tacet1000
    @Tacet1000 Před rokem +1

    That was fantastic Chris...I have tears in my 80 year old eyes!

  • @keithbarrett4630
    @keithbarrett4630 Před 2 lety +8

    Some of the houses on these side streets are absolutely beautiful... still displaying the wealth the city once held.

    • @bobscott6223
      @bobscott6223 Před rokem

      Some of the houses off of six mile and around the Detroit Golf Club have the luxury homes from that era. They have carriage houses with apartments above for the chauffeur.

  • @KenVic02
    @KenVic02 Před 2 lety +12

    The closed BEST Academy you show at 26:35 used to be Detroit Osteopathic Hospital. Both myself and my sister were born there in the early 60's when that area was still thriving and nice pre-riots. Wow what incredible blight. I left Michigan in the late-90's, but always informative to watch videos like this. Thanks for posting.

    • @jackkelledes4082
      @jackkelledes4082 Před 2 lety +3

      I was born in that hospital in the late 60's. I was hoping to see the academy on here so that at least some remnant of my birthplace remained.

    • @msswannee636
      @msswannee636 Před 2 lety

      @@TugIronChief no. Detroit Osteopathic Hospital.

  • @georgemallory797
    @georgemallory797 Před 2 lety +16

    Reminds me of Gran Torino. (Edit) Just found out Gran Torino was filmed there! Wow!! In all honesty, you could have told me this was Pontiac or Gary, IN and I couldn't have proven you wrong. The rust belt took things hard in the 70's and 80's. The final death blow was Bill Clinton's 1993 signing of NAFTA.

    • @salemdesigns65
      @salemdesigns65 Před 2 měsíci

      However, Reagan began talks of a multi commerce deal with the U.S. and Canada in 1988. Michigan was about to make a major shift. Clinton only tweaked the deal by including Mexico. He kicked us over a cliff.

  • @fs6622
    @fs6622 Před rokem +2

    No death threats here!! I've enjoyed your videos for a good couple years! Thanks!! I used to travel quite extensively and it's fun to see all these places once again. My only favor if I had one would be to hear more of the music that starts on this vid at 23:12. I think that's what kept me coming back. Can you tell me what it is?? Anyway, thanks. Really liked watching one last night as you went past the Better Made factory, while I was munching on Better Made potato sticks. 🤣

  • @artistjim114
    @artistjim114 Před 5 měsíci +1

    This was a great video! Highland Park reminds me of Elizabeth NJ. I always love old rustbelt towns. 500 artists can change Highland Park in about 3-5 years, just like we did in Brooklyn.

  • @MrDannyk01
    @MrDannyk01 Před 2 lety +12

    Omg I remember going thru the HP delivering furniture about 7 years ago and it was bad then. Can't imagine what it is now.

  • @deborahtelkamp6860
    @deborahtelkamp6860 Před 2 lety +7

    Good coverage, very sad what has happened to Highland Park. I lived there in the 50-60's My father (Vearl Johnson) was the Superintendent of the Highland Park Water Department. I was surprised that your video did not cover anything about the Water Department that they had. We use to live in a house that is on the property of the water department. Prior to living at the Water Department, we lived at 152 Candler Street. That house is still standing and occupied. Very sad what has happened to the city. I don't see any way this city will ever recover. Its been going on for to long and with no changes

  • @vidaholmes
    @vidaholmes Před rokem +1

    Thank you for the history. It brought back a lot of memories. Lived on the border of Oakland Ave.neber the old Chrysler. I'm 70yrs. Thank you.

  • @Thuase
    @Thuase Před rokem +9

    I spent a few years working for an ISP in this area recently and this is a wild stroll down memory lane for me. I had no Idea the city was down this bad financially to worst in nation levels, but at the same time it explains so much. I hope the city will rebound soon the people there are so genuine.

  • @Deeishere3
    @Deeishere3 Před 2 lety +61

    So glad to see that you did a video on HIghland Park. I was born in Highland Park and went to the community college. It's so sad to see the condition that it is in. I hope there is a comeback for this city. Thanks for all the history too!

    • @mowest5852
      @mowest5852 Před 2 lety +4

      It will have a comeback ❤

    • @ednorton47
      @ednorton47 Před 2 lety +3

      @@mowest5852 Just not in your lifetime.

    • @TheBandit7613
      @TheBandit7613 Před 2 lety +8

      @@ednorton47 it's 93% black.
      3% white.

    • @Dallas_K
      @Dallas_K Před 2 lety +4

      @@mowest5852 Been hearing that for too many decades!

    • @EdSteelieEd
      @EdSteelieEd Před 2 lety +1

      @@ednorton47 Sad but true! Not in my lifetime is certain!

  • @pcojedi
    @pcojedi Před 2 lety +6

    great video, keep up the good work

  • @andrewalford2390
    @andrewalford2390 Před 10 měsíci +1

    Great video. I spent my first 34 years in HP, minus 4 military. I grew up on Tuxedo. I was hoping the video would have made it to my street so I could have seen my house. I left in 2010. It's sad to see how much worse the city looks. My HS is a vacant lot 😢. Anyway, thanks for the memories.

  • @hardusdeklerk8993
    @hardusdeklerk8993 Před rokem +1

    Very informative video.

  • @w.j.tuckfield5438
    @w.j.tuckfield5438 Před 2 lety +5

    Hey Chris, thanks for taking me down memory lane, I spent alot of time there when I was a kid. My Aunt lived on Ferris st 2houses off Oakland. My Grandma lived on California a few houses off Woodward .My Grandpa worked at Chevrolet Gear and Axle as a Maintenance man for 45 year in Hamtramck . So sad to seen it in such ruins in the late 60"s early 70"s it was a beautiful city

  • @johnnyonthespot4375
    @johnnyonthespot4375 Před 2 lety +13

    (21:25) Does anyone remember an appliance store called "Highland Appliance" ? The original store that the company started with ( *Highland* Park ) still sits vacant, boarded up and still has the Highland appliance name on the building on Woodward ave. THIS is how the city is doing.

    • @TPOrchestra
      @TPOrchestra Před 2 lety +3

      I remember Highland Appliance very well, they were huge in the seventies and eighties. I was always puzzled at why the company eventually failed.

    • @jsboening
      @jsboening Před 2 lety +2

      My brother worked at Highland appliance here in Grand Rapids in the early 90’s as a salesman. I bought a sweet Yamaha tape deck at a killer price. I still have a bunch of old tapes. If I remember Hughland went out and a lot of employees went to work at Fretter appliance across the street before Best Buy came in and finished small retail off.

    • @msswannee636
      @msswannee636 Před 2 lety

      @@TPOrchestra they would price match too. ijs

    • @davidmichaelklemmer1136
      @davidmichaelklemmer1136 Před 2 lety +4

      Originally, Highland Appliance was called Highland Radio. I am not sure when it became Highland Appliance; but, the name might have changed sometime as early as the 1950's. Highland Appliance was still in service as late as 1989 when I bought a Techniques turntable there. There used to be a large, beautiful, old Sears-Roebuck department store at Woodward and Manchester just up the street from the Highland Appliance store.

    • @strawberrieletter22
      @strawberrieletter22 Před rokem +1

      Yes

  • @timyak3079
    @timyak3079 Před rokem +2

    We appreciate your historic video about a town who few care about. We lived on Englewood at Oakland for years and appreciate the memories

  • @tcjon4321
    @tcjon4321 Před rokem +74

    No matter how many times I see Detroit, either in person or on a video, it never fails to make to make my jaw drop seeing the amount of decline that has happened.

    • @ChrisHarden
      @ChrisHarden  Před rokem +4

      It’s fascinating to me too.

    • @02WIFE
      @02WIFE Před rokem +8

      This is not Detroit

    • @02WIFE
      @02WIFE Před rokem +3

      @@ChrisHarden You don't have anything better to do.

    • @detroitbanks9140
      @detroitbanks9140 Před rokem +8

      This not Detroit first of and dnt talk if you never been here Detroit is a nice city they just always show the bad neighborhoods show the beautiful sides Rosedale Park, Palmer woods, North Rosedale Park, Sherwood Forrest, the beautiful side of North End, Our beautiful downtown of famous Great Lakes show that also

    • @tcjon4321
      @tcjon4321 Před rokem +7

      @@detroitbanks9140 I've been to Detroit many times and I am aware of the great and beautiful places that also exist there. I am aware that this is Highland Park not Detroit. But this kind of decay still happened in Detroit and it always amazes me to compare it to the nice neighborhoods that exist. Chris Harden even has a few videos showcasing these nice neighborhoods.

  • @rsohlich1
    @rsohlich1 Před 2 lety +39

    I played an AAU basketball tournament in spring 1996 in Highland Park. As we left my game we noticed we had a flat tire. We were obviously scared as we were sheltered suburbanites. A man came up to our car and said, "get out of here fast and try to reach the hospital." Am experience I'll always remember

    • @jpjpjp453
      @jpjpjp453 Před 2 lety +3

      @@TugIronChief Correct. In a lot of cities , you'll find a police presence in and around hospitals almost 24/7.

    • @jb-iw5yd
      @jb-iw5yd Před rokem

      Stop with the be

  • @robertrice8397
    @robertrice8397 Před 2 lety +6

    My Grandparents live at 240.W. Davison, 3 houses away from Hamilton. When the freeway went through, according to my grandmother, dug a new basement, and moved the house back 100 feet. My father went to and graduated from Highland Park high in 1941. From the stories Highland Park was like Birmingham Michigan, high end suburb. My grandmother would want to drive by the old hose, but after a while my Dad would say"They tore it down." Now the property is part of the service drive. I try really hard to picture it as it once was.

  • @aimeeripley3812
    @aimeeripley3812 Před rokem +2

    Thanks for this video. I grew up in Highland Park, MI. I lived on Tyler, Midland and Buena Vista and all were demolished. I went to Thompson and Barber. Highland Park High was built with no windows and still did not survive. God bless.

    • @marlarice
      @marlarice Před rokem

      I grew up in HP too, lived on Buena Vista and went to Thompson, Barber & HP High. In spite of my love for HP I had a lot of bad experiences. It's terrible now!

    • @aimeeripley3812
      @aimeeripley3812 Před rokem

      @@marlarice blessings to you

  • @leongroves5840
    @leongroves5840 Před 2 lety +8

    Hello Chris, I hope all is well with you and your family.. I just want to say, I really enjoy your video. About the reason for Detroit’s DOWNFALL. I was born and raised in Detroit in the early 50’s we left in 1967, 3 days before the Riot. I now live Tennessee for 55 years. Thanks for the video. Stay safe my CZcams friend..

  • @bettejudyjoan
    @bettejudyjoan Před 2 lety +55

    Chris thanks for taking me down memory lane. It is sad but I can see places I knew as a kid. I attended both Ferris Junior High and Cortland Elementary school in the early sixties. HP was so different then. It was actually beautiful with all the trees. I was also there during the riots which changed the city and started it’s downfall. Still, it was great seeing the town where I spent my youth while I am 3000 miles away. Keep up the good work. 🎊

    • @ChrisHarden
      @ChrisHarden  Před 2 lety +10

      If only we had 5K video technology in the 1960’s and my doppelgänger from generations ago to compare footage.

    • @noname-by3qz
      @noname-by3qz Před 2 lety +3

      Kevin!! Hello! I went to Cortland Elementary also! I had Mrs Caruso for second grade in 1961. Fortunately we moved because she liked to hit with the ruler! Grrrr. I think 1st grade was Mrs Sirloin? Kindergarten was Wadsworth I think.

    • @bettejudyjoan
      @bettejudyjoan Před 2 lety +6

      @@noname-by3qz My first grade teacher at Cortland was Mrs. Smith. She had a big 1960’s bouffant hairdo with a miniskirt however, she was very nice and I still remember her face some 56 years ago. Amazing memories.

    • @noname-by3qz
      @noname-by3qz Před 2 lety +3

      @@bettejudyjoan
      I think you're definitely younger than me. I definitely don't remember mini skirts till a few years later.

    • @bettejudyjoan
      @bettejudyjoan Před 2 lety +3

      @@noname-by3qz It was 1965 when I was in 1st grade. My tracer was also young.

  • @scaleyardmarine
    @scaleyardmarine Před rokem +1

    Hi I’m new to your channel and really you do a fine job I don’t see anything you did to slight anyone in these places I for one loved the history of the places to be very. Interesting and thank you for taking me to these places I’m very interested in hearing on Deerborn

  • @lindamosley922
    @lindamosley922 Před rokem +3

    In the early 60s, my dad worked at one of the automobile factories in Detroit. He had a sister who lived in Highland Park and he would stay with her during the week. He hated Detroit and Highland Park so badly that he would leave work on Fridays and drive all the way home to Johnson City, TN. He would get home around 2 in the morning on Saturday and leave on Sunday afternoon to get back to work on Monday.

  • @dlovesuper
    @dlovesuper Před 2 lety +4

    I watched and enjoyed the video because I'm a born and raised Detroiter and former Checker driver and very familiar with the areas you filmed. I drove through some of it when I was in town last year.

  • @LGN_Sniper
    @LGN_Sniper Před 2 lety +4

    Love the videos. You should do one on Flint.

  • @desmondthumbtzen7844
    @desmondthumbtzen7844 Před rokem +2

    I've been living out here for a little over a month. Such a wonderful city. Didn't know it had a rough history. Thanks brother, great video

  • @improbablya7
    @improbablya7 Před rokem +6

    being from the outer area of detroit and living my teenage years in those areas is crazy. literally grew up knowing to never stop at a red light in detroit at night. don’t talk to anyone you don’t know, i’m only 20 so this was recent years, my grandparents tell me of a different time 😕 so much crime in our great city now.

  • @tribalxredklr4039
    @tribalxredklr4039 Před 2 lety +48

    It's actually a really quiet spot with lots of urban farming going on. I recently bought a house off the landbank for $2000. Tax exempt for a year. Invest $10000 into the house and I'll be able to live in it and stop paying rent. Lots of my friends are doing the same. The area is honestly pretty prospective.

    • @NinjaRunningWild
      @NinjaRunningWild Před 2 lety +16

      If enough people move there in the hopes of carving out an inexpensive life for themselves, it could have a revival, which would obviously be a lot better than watching it crumble into disrepair.

    • @billkaldem5099
      @billkaldem5099 Před 2 lety +10

      This is great as long as you can keep the criminal elements away.

    • @FinneasJedidiah
      @FinneasJedidiah Před 2 lety +11

      @@billkaldem5099 reducing poverty will reduce the 'criminal element' as you call it. The vast majority of 'criminals' are just regular people who are either desperate, or grew up desperate and don't know how else to get by

    • @ST8URCASE
      @ST8URCASE Před 2 lety +1

      @@FinneasJedidiah hello, who is responsible for reducing poverty: the impoverished peoples or society?

    • @FinneasJedidiah
      @FinneasJedidiah Před 2 lety

      @@ST8URCASE society, since it's responsible for putting those people in poverty. If you believe otherwise you're both ignorant of how this world works, and extremely naive.

  • @moon2162
    @moon2162 Před 2 lety +7

    The summer of 1993 My wife was invited to visit a friend from high school who happened to be visiting a relative that owned a house in HP. I can't remember the street of the home we stayed at. This neighbor hood seemed livable compared to some. And the homes were all brick and were nice but had seen better days. In short , we stayed one night and it was an interesting experience for 2 people from rural farm country of Ohio. I was very glad to leave the next day.

  • @ChateauMaisoneuDeiu
    @ChateauMaisoneuDeiu Před rokem +1

    Born there, I lived on Pasadena, Highland, and Gerald . Thank you for showing me home. My mother was a nurse at DOH Hospital on Highland. Graduated 5th grade at H Ford Middle and was a Polar Bear.❤🎉😊 The Best of growing up as a kid.

  • @jameskokotovich1475
    @jameskokotovich1475 Před rokem +1

    Keep up the great work sir

  • @Lp-ze1tg
    @Lp-ze1tg Před 2 lety +15

    Few years ago, I noticed one of my neighbour's roof was rotting and it looks terrible. I tried to be a good neighbor and reminded them with a smile.
    In return, they looked at me with hate then I realized that they knew their roof was in bad shape but were embarrassed that I brought up the subject.
    Another year passed, one rainy day I overheard that they yelling at each other in their house. I can imagine that rain water must had been poured into their house from the roof.
    What you are showing in your video is real but people who live there are embarrassed.

    • @DavidRice111
      @DavidRice111 Před 2 lety +2

      and lazy...

    • @TempoDrift1480
      @TempoDrift1480 Před rokem +3

      I don't think someone needs to be reminded that their roof is rotting out. I'm sure you need to be reminded that you are irritating though.

    • @tashavolovsek9115
      @tashavolovsek9115 Před rokem

      And poor . Too bad some roofers can't donate the left over beams and shingles from other jobs and pitch in to help them

    • @tashavolovsek9115
      @tashavolovsek9115 Před rokem

      @@DavidRice111 not everyone can do roofing

    • @shanetrimble9265
      @shanetrimble9265 Před rokem +1

      @@tashavolovsek9115 Roofing is a very difficult job. Takes a lot of work and pre planning. And money

  • @gregpanek523
    @gregpanek523 Před 2 lety +6

    Back in the '60s when I was young, I would go with my dad to Highland park from Southfield to go to the Sears parts warehouse to get parts for our garden tractor and anything else we bought from Sears that my dad fixed himself, back then everything was servicable, not throwaway as it is now.My dad worked nights so this could happen any day of the week as long as we were back by 4 pm for him to eat and get ready for work, where he made parts for cars. Anyways, Sears had parts for everything they sold. Then we went to Hamtramck, my birthplace and stopped at Atlas Bottling where my dad's uncle or some reletive on his side of the family owned. I would have the run of the place, get all the free pop I could drink, while the adults switched to speaking Polish telling dirty jokes or something so I couldn't understand what they were saying. All I know is that there was a whole lot of laughter going on as work there pretty much stopped when we walked in and everyone greeted my dad. Then we would stop at the bakery in Hamtramck and bring home all kinds of treats, bread along with Kowalski cold cuts. then go back home to Southfield where we moved to in 1955 in a house my dad built himself on 1 acre on a dead end gravel road with 80 acres of wooded land behind us, which is still there..

    • @rebelrocker7494
      @rebelrocker7494 Před 2 lety

      I remember the State Fair Being There,Doubt it still is..What a Shame✌

  • @ericscottstevens
    @ericscottstevens Před rokem +2

    4:00 The high school mascot "Polar Bears" was from the US Army 85th division that participated in the AEF campaign in Russia in the summer of 1918. About 75% of the AEF Polar Bears stationed in Russia were from the Detroit area and the force was nicknamed "Detroit's Own" this included the 339th Infantry Regt. 337th Ambulance Corp. and the 310th Engineers.
    The last veteran of the Polar Bears died in 2003 at the age of 102.

  • @RBS.2
    @RBS.2 Před rokem +1

    We are from Brasil 🇧🇷 Congrats for the work Estamos te acompanhando. Graciously, Vankesh & Christina

  • @simonmacarthur6808
    @simonmacarthur6808 Před 2 lety +12

    The conditions of the roads in Highland Park, remind me of Egypt, where i live

    • @cdikkers30
      @cdikkers30 Před 2 lety +3

      Interestingly they remind me of an area in Southern Illinois we call "Little Egypt".

    • @edwardmiessner6502
      @edwardmiessner6502 Před 2 lety +2

      They remind me of the streets in New Orleans, where I live! ☹😡

    • @kova1577
      @kova1577 Před 2 lety

      @@edwardmiessner6502 New Orleans has nothing on this dystopia

  • @normamurphy5627
    @normamurphy5627 Před 2 lety +9

    I'm from Highland Park, born and bred. Graduated in the early 1960's. My mother graduated from HPHS in 1933. My grandmother was one of the first residents of Highland Park and raised her children there. It's sad to see how Highland Park has lost its charm and unpaid water bills are just the beginning. Thanks for the video, but I didn't recognize much at all.

    • @JustMe99999
      @JustMe99999 Před rokem

      Significant demographic change. No one left to care about the place or maintain it.

  • @GypsyRose37
    @GypsyRose37 Před rokem +2

    My dad works for Chrysler.. as a young kid, I can remember us meeting my dad for lunch there. My dad now works at yes the headquarters in Aburn Hills. I myself have not been to Highland Park since a kid, and sadly, its downfall does not surprise me.

  • @Youcomeasuare
    @Youcomeasuare Před 7 měsíci +2

    Sad to see these cities turn into what they were to what they are now. this video is a great history lesson for those who wish to learn. Thank you very much for your effort, time, and money in putting these videos out for us.

  • @mindfury1980
    @mindfury1980 Před 2 lety +7

    I worked in the Dialog Direct/formerly Budco office building for almost three years back in 2012-2015. We had to have water pressure boosters because it was so low. Not too far S of that location (you drove down a parallel street) is where portions of Gran Torino was filmed, Walt’s house was on Rhode Island St. It’s interesting to see the deterioration that has continued after I stopped working there. I do remember the roads being the worst thing though. Seen many cars get bent wheels there.

  • @FixIt1975
    @FixIt1975 Před 2 lety +96

    The most depressing street in the US? I'm guessing you haven't been through Elderwood in East Cleveland yet. I lived in Cleveland almost 30 years ago when I went to trade school out there. Oh there's Camden here in my home state. That's a real gem. Yeah, not. Always enjoy your videos, I really hope you carry in some of these neighborhoods

    • @apocyldoomer
      @apocyldoomer Před 2 lety +3

      Plenty of dilapidated cities to go around, sadly. You can thank Nixon for opening the Pandora’s box of Communist China, thanks tricky Dick, Watergate my eye!!

    • @apocyldoomer
      @apocyldoomer Před 2 lety +1

      Plenty of dilapidated cities to go around, sadly. You can thank Nixon for opening the Pandora’s box of Communist China, thanks tricky Dick, Watergate my eye!!

    • @jacknoble6668
      @jacknoble6668 Před 2 lety +11

      Grew up in Cleveland. I can co-sign that East Cleveland in particular and Elderwood in general are horrifying

    • @dvferyance
      @dvferyance Před 2 lety +14

      East St Louis is really bad as well.

    • @trowwzers5057
      @trowwzers5057 Před 2 lety +9

      I think Flint is the worst. It puts Highland Park to shame and it is only an hour north. East Cleveland is very close in the rankings too

  • @meeks1203
    @meeks1203 Před rokem +1

    Thanks for sharing

  • @retiredslamjamm
    @retiredslamjamm Před rokem +1

    I lived as a toddler on Log Cabin Street in late 50's before my family moved to Redford Twp. in 1960. My dad worked at Sears on Woodward from the late 50's until 1967. My Aunt lived on Florence, I believe until the early 70's, and then moved to Ferndale. Thanks for the video.