Detroit’s got a reputation for being a tough spot today, but it
wasn’t always that way. For decades, area residents on this side of
the border once saw Detroit as their entertainment and cultural
playground.
Gerry Fields, 73, remembers Detroit at its highest point,
when it had the fourth-largest population in the U.S. and
downtown was a bustling centre of fun and entertainment.
Windsor’s bars were only open until 11:30 p.m. back in the ‘50s
and ‘60s, whereas in Detroit, all bars were open until 2 a.m.
“Downtown used to be vibrant, used to be fun..a nice place
to meet people,” says Fields. “All that went away after the riots
and after they changed the liquor laws in Canada. More and more
people stayed over and entertained over here instead of over
there.”
Fields also saw the decline of Detroit, and the fear that
scattered across the country, making its way to Windsor. Even
today, the fear remains for those who remember the riots in the
late 1960s.
“You could go down by the river in Windsor when the riots
were on for days and you could see the fires all over the city, like
little bonfires,” says Fields. “The city was burning to the ground
and that’s what we saw for days and days. Naturally you couldn’t
go to Detroit because of the riots.”
Fields points to that period as a turning point. “It seemed
like everything was turned around,” he says. “Crime
increased...more malls were built out in the suburbs and that
killed the shopping in the downtown Detroit.”
Fields and his wife, Lynn, lived outside Detroit for a while in
the ‘90s, and still shop there once a week. However, he says the
outskirts of Detroit are much different from “actual” Detroit,
where everyone says they plan to visit, but many never actually
do. “Actual” Detroit, he says, is much too dangerous and doesn’t
make him feel safe.
Iesha Coburn, 22, also goes to Detroit to shop, as do
thousands of Windsorites, some regularly, some occasionally.
She’s heard about how Detroit used to be and says it is tragic that
it is not the same anymore.
Even though Detroit has a reputation for violence and crime,
Coburn can appreciate living right next door.
“It adds so much for the life of Windsor because it’s like a
touristy spot,” says Coburn.
Coburn’s approach is common. Seven days a week, Transit
Windsor sends its Tunnel Bus across the border every half hour
or so, taking day visitors into the “D” for a variety of reasons. Car
traffic at the bridge and tunnel bring even more. Windsor
students live at home and study at Wayne State. Nurses, engineers
and other professionals make a daily commute. Sports fans take
in major league football, baseball, basketball and hockey games.
Art lovers, concert goers and theatre fans visit the Detroit
Institute of Art, the Fox Theatre and the Detroit Opera House.
Top to bottom:
Strolling in downtown Detroit
A crowd boards the bus
Abandoned buildings are
everywhere
December 2014/January 2015 - The HUB 11