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Darkstar416
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Interesting take on how some of the biggest genuine tourists in town for the Super Bowl were actually suburban Detroiters...
DETROIT BRINGS 'EM BACK: Like tourists in own town, suburbanites gape at view
February 3, 2006
BY TAMARA AUDI
FREE PRESS STAFF WRITER
They were easy to spot, with cameras swinging from their necks and maps sticking out of back pockets, making their way through downtown with slow, meandering steps and unabashed pointing.
Tourists in Detroit: from far-off places like Macomb Township and Troy; Warren and Livonia; Dearborn and Farmington Hills.
Hours before Thursday's official opening of the Motown Winter Blast, the outdoor Super Bowl celebration, suburbanites clogged the People Mover and the sidewalks to see the city they call home but hadn't actually set foot in for years. (And no, driving in and out for a game doesn't count.)
While the people in Seahawks and Steelers jerseys took pictures of the Renaissance Center and the Joe Louis fist, the people in the Lions jerseys and Michigan State University caps conducted more personal tours, rediscovering the city they had left decades ago for outlying towns and villages.
"Oh, look! Foran's is still open!" exclaimed Jill Fenech to her husband, Bob, while standing -- and pointing -- near Foran's Irish Pub on Woodward, near the office Jill left more than a decade ago when the couple started having children.
The Fenechs live in Livonia and, like many suburbanites, have come to the city from time to time for shows or games. But Thursday, they took a slow stroll down Woodward and rode the People Mover, things they hadn't done in ...
They looked at each other with furrowed brows.
"Well, a very long time," Jill said. "Years and years."
"But can you believe this?" Bob said suddenly, gesturing to kids skipping down Detroit sidewalks, strollers rolling across Campus Martius, the distinct smell of frying meat in the air, and clogs of people waiting to cross streets. "I've never seen the city look this good. It's amazing."
That happy amazement explained the wide-eyed look, something between shock and awe, that separated the locals from the out-of-staters. Many admitted they weren't sure what to expect of Detroit after absences of so long. If you eavesdropped at the packed Au Bon Pain or on the People Mover, you heard the same conversation taking place across several city blocks:
"Look at how clean the city is!"
"Look at how many people there are on the street!"
"Look at the new Hard Rock Cafe!"
Tom Zorwick, who considers himself a lifelong Detroiter even though he lives in Harper Woods, was amazed. "I haven't seen this many people on the sidewalks since men wore hats," said Zorwick, 51.
His friend Jim Stachowski, who lives in Warren, said the last time he took a walk in Detroit, it was a tense 3-block march from his parking spot to Comerica Park for the All-Star Game last summer. He carried a concealed .38-caliber handgun -- he said he didn't feel safe without it.
"We were the only people on the street," he said. "It was desolate."
On Thursday, Stachowski said, he walked the streets unarmed. He didn't feel like he needed the gun.
That unease is why 49-year-old Sean Carney and his family, from Harrison Township, have "spent more time on the streets of Chicago than we have on the streets of Detroit," Carney said. He did his best to make up for it Thursday. He gave his daughter, 7-year-old Katelyn, her first tour of the city, pointing out the streets he visited as a child.
"It's great to be able to finally show her this stuff," he said.
What was different? People said they were willing to return because they figured there would be bigger crowds, more security and better organization for something like the Super Bowl.
Many parents used the Motown Winter Blast as an opportunity to show their children the city for the first time.
Fifteen-year-old Nate Strother and his sister, Stephanie, 11, who live in Farmington Hills, got their first ride on the People Mover, along with their 11-year-old friend, Andrew Wright of Northville.
David Strother, 44, brought his children and Andrew to the RenCen to get autographs from football stars being interviewed at the TV and radio show sets. An added perk for the kids -- they had begged their way to parent-sanctioned hooky from school.
Taylor residents Mike and Jennifer Murphy took a breather inside the Taste of Detroit tent with their two children, David, 12, and Emily, 10.
The Murphys sometimes get downtown for sporting events, Mike Murphy, 35, said, but that usually means rushing home after the game.
"I'm impressed," he said.
His children skated for the first time in Campus Martius. Murphy had thought the rink was set up just for the Super Bowl. When he learned it was there all winter, he said he and his family would be back.
DETROIT BRINGS 'EM BACK: Like tourists in own town, suburbanites gape at view
February 3, 2006
BY TAMARA AUDI
FREE PRESS STAFF WRITER
They were easy to spot, with cameras swinging from their necks and maps sticking out of back pockets, making their way through downtown with slow, meandering steps and unabashed pointing.
Tourists in Detroit: from far-off places like Macomb Township and Troy; Warren and Livonia; Dearborn and Farmington Hills.
Hours before Thursday's official opening of the Motown Winter Blast, the outdoor Super Bowl celebration, suburbanites clogged the People Mover and the sidewalks to see the city they call home but hadn't actually set foot in for years. (And no, driving in and out for a game doesn't count.)
While the people in Seahawks and Steelers jerseys took pictures of the Renaissance Center and the Joe Louis fist, the people in the Lions jerseys and Michigan State University caps conducted more personal tours, rediscovering the city they had left decades ago for outlying towns and villages.
"Oh, look! Foran's is still open!" exclaimed Jill Fenech to her husband, Bob, while standing -- and pointing -- near Foran's Irish Pub on Woodward, near the office Jill left more than a decade ago when the couple started having children.
The Fenechs live in Livonia and, like many suburbanites, have come to the city from time to time for shows or games. But Thursday, they took a slow stroll down Woodward and rode the People Mover, things they hadn't done in ...
They looked at each other with furrowed brows.
"Well, a very long time," Jill said. "Years and years."
"But can you believe this?" Bob said suddenly, gesturing to kids skipping down Detroit sidewalks, strollers rolling across Campus Martius, the distinct smell of frying meat in the air, and clogs of people waiting to cross streets. "I've never seen the city look this good. It's amazing."
That happy amazement explained the wide-eyed look, something between shock and awe, that separated the locals from the out-of-staters. Many admitted they weren't sure what to expect of Detroit after absences of so long. If you eavesdropped at the packed Au Bon Pain or on the People Mover, you heard the same conversation taking place across several city blocks:
"Look at how clean the city is!"
"Look at how many people there are on the street!"
"Look at the new Hard Rock Cafe!"
Tom Zorwick, who considers himself a lifelong Detroiter even though he lives in Harper Woods, was amazed. "I haven't seen this many people on the sidewalks since men wore hats," said Zorwick, 51.
His friend Jim Stachowski, who lives in Warren, said the last time he took a walk in Detroit, it was a tense 3-block march from his parking spot to Comerica Park for the All-Star Game last summer. He carried a concealed .38-caliber handgun -- he said he didn't feel safe without it.
"We were the only people on the street," he said. "It was desolate."
On Thursday, Stachowski said, he walked the streets unarmed. He didn't feel like he needed the gun.
That unease is why 49-year-old Sean Carney and his family, from Harrison Township, have "spent more time on the streets of Chicago than we have on the streets of Detroit," Carney said. He did his best to make up for it Thursday. He gave his daughter, 7-year-old Katelyn, her first tour of the city, pointing out the streets he visited as a child.
"It's great to be able to finally show her this stuff," he said.
What was different? People said they were willing to return because they figured there would be bigger crowds, more security and better organization for something like the Super Bowl.
Many parents used the Motown Winter Blast as an opportunity to show their children the city for the first time.
Fifteen-year-old Nate Strother and his sister, Stephanie, 11, who live in Farmington Hills, got their first ride on the People Mover, along with their 11-year-old friend, Andrew Wright of Northville.
David Strother, 44, brought his children and Andrew to the RenCen to get autographs from football stars being interviewed at the TV and radio show sets. An added perk for the kids -- they had begged their way to parent-sanctioned hooky from school.
Taylor residents Mike and Jennifer Murphy took a breather inside the Taste of Detroit tent with their two children, David, 12, and Emily, 10.
The Murphys sometimes get downtown for sporting events, Mike Murphy, 35, said, but that usually means rushing home after the game.
"I'm impressed," he said.
His children skated for the first time in Campus Martius. Murphy had thought the rink was set up just for the Super Bowl. When he learned it was there all winter, he said he and his family would be back.