To kick off Michigan month I thought I'd show you a little of Flint, Michigan which is my hometown. I live on the outskirts of Flint- outside the city in what used to farm country. Some of it still is the rest is suburban.
But I grew up going to places in downtown Flint, many of which are now gone like Autoworld. I also attended college at UM-Flint and partied at the (dismal) downtown club/bar scene in the mid 90s (I miss you Metropolis).
Flint is called Vehicle City which many assume is because of the auto manufacturing companies that were started here or took up residence here but it was actually nicknamed Vehicle City long before a car ever hit the bricks in Flint (possibly before there were bricks to drive on).
Flint was called Vehicle City thanks to 3 carriage companies that were here in Flint in the 1800s. Odd that there were 3 carriage companies then 3 car companies. Hmmm. It's always been the Big 3 here. Well- at least until the car big 3 started doing us dirty in the 80s. It's been going downhill ever since.
But enough of that.
One unique feature of downtown Flint is the beautiful Vehicle City arches that were erected in 1899 (see top photo). I am not sure when the originals were taken down. I read somewhere possibly during the war when all metal was scrapped for making weapons, tanks and all that.
In 2003 replicas of the original arches were put up as part of the downtown Flint revitalization project and honestly they look great. At night they light up- really dressing up the downtown area.
I took these photos below at last year's Back to the Bricks.
Back to the Bricks is a fun family event. If you love cars it is a must go. If you want a fun, family day out it is also a must go. It gets bigger and better every year.
My family went last year and it was a blast. The cars to see are phenomenal. Check out some of these photos.
This is the door of a Flint fire truck. My hubby used to be a firefighter so the firetrucks were the first place we stopped.
And he's a truck guy so I think we took photos of every truck there.
This year Back to the Bricks is August 17-21.
Another place to check out if you ever visit Flint is the Farmer's Market- fresh produce, a restaurant, a wine cellar and so much more in one of few remaining gems of downtown Flint.
In fact the annual Vampire Ball hosted by Vertigo Theatrics benefits the Flint Farmer's Market.
This year's Vampire Ball is Saturday October 16th- love to see you there.
So Flint is bad at times but there's still a rich and fantastic culture here that I haven't seen anywhere else.
Plus for me it's home.
Michigan is home...and there's no place like home.
So I hope you will join me all month long as I highlight some of the places around Michigan that I love and introduce to you some fabulous Michigan authors.
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6 comments:
Your Flint is a bit different than the Flint I've come to know through reading Stephani Hecht's Drone Vampires and Lost Shifters books, which are set there! :)
Great Post! I miss Michigan!! Wish I could move back. It sucks where I live there is nothing to do, all we get is as of cars is stinking Slamming and Jamming and that not my cup of tea. Hope you have fun!
I haven't been to flint is so many years. I used to go every summer to visit my aunt and uncle for a couple weeks.There was always so much to do there.
I have not read Stephani's books. I have heard of them. How does describe Flint? I guess I'll have to check them out and see.
Have been to Michigan twice, but not to Flint.
Sounds like a very interesting celebration.
It is definitely not as bad as the news makes it sound- sure there are a lot of bad things going on in some areas that spill out into others but you just have to know where not to go-especially after dark.
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