September 2010
-
A Road Show for City Cyclists
A century ago, bustling Detroit was dubbed the Paris of the West.
Mac Truck
Drive through quaint downtown Clarkston, and you might spot a micro van reminiscent of Scooby Doo’s Mystery Machine carefully cruising down Main Street.
-
Note-worthy
At Walsh College, doodling is a good thing.
-
Saving Face
Façadism, which refers to the act of surgically preserving a building’s street-facing exterior wall during demolition, sounds as though it could be a mental illness right out of the Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders. But sometimes, it can be the sanest option when attempting to strike a balance between developers and historic preservationists.
-
Detroit 1-8-7
A prime-time cop drama premiering Sept. 21 (ABC, 10 p.m.), is already receiving backlash from critics who say the production perpetuates the perception of Detroit as dangerous — not to mention 187 is California’s police code for homicide.
-
High-ranking General
Like Lee Iacocca, he’s been called “the man who saved Chrysler.”
-
Fall Arts Preview
Through Nov. 28 U. of M. Museum of Art American artist James McNeill Whistler (1834-1903) was an arrogant, litigious man, but his gorgeous art belied his prickly personality. During his prolific career, he found beauty in muted scenery and turned the ordinary into the extraordinary with his innovative and poetic style. More than 100 lithographs […]
-
Positive Portrait
Luis Croquer, who came from New York’s El Museo del Barrio in 2008 to be director of MOCAD, considers Detroit a seedbed of artistic opportunity. Eighteen months into his role, Croquer, who was born in El Salvador and whose father was a diplomat, reflects on his Detroit agenda.
-
Setting the Scene
Meadow Brook Theatre, Michigan’s largest non-profit professional theater, opens its 45th anniversary season on Oct. 6 with Dracula: A Rock Opera. The musical will be the first show directed by 31-year-old Travis Walter in his official capacity as artistic director. Walter recently spoke with Hour Detroit about his plans for Meadow Brook audiences.
-
Triple Play
Variety, as they say, is the spice of life — even (or maybe especially) when it comes to exercise.
-
Best Bets of September
Six items topped our A-list for September.
-
A Hero From Hamtramck
If life were like a Saturday-matinee serial, the further adventures of Vincent Markowski would have had a more upbeat, action-packed ending. However, this was Hamtramck, not Hollywood, and Markowski — better known to the world as Tom Tyler — had come to his sister’s large frame house on Moenart Street to suffer a slow, tedious death. Only 50, the celluloid action hero and Western movie actor was afflicted by a rare and frightening disease that had already cost him his looks, his marriage, and his livelihood.
-
Scene Stealers
Photographed at Cranbrook House & Gardens, Bloomfield Hills
-
Rescuing a Landmark
Norm Silk and Dale Morgan make a living creating centerpieces and designing social spectacles. But their decision to buy and restore a famous-pedigree house in Detroit brought a role reversal of sorts: Suddenly, they were in the spotlight.
-
Market Value
Toasted Oak. The name sounds more like a winemaker waxing poetic about the merits of a new red wine than a restaurant.
-
Serving Hope
A cluster of brightly hued balloons marks the vintage building on East Jefferson in Detroit that houses The Sunday Dinner Company.
-
Krista and Steve Conyers & Jeff Hoffman
Their stylish menus are enticing enough to attract a loyal clientele of discriminating diners, but no matter how expert they are, restaurant people like to take a break from their own kitchens for a taste of someone else’s cooking.
-
Miguel’s Cantina/Dockside Jack’s
Restaurant veteran Molly Abraham noshes around town, tracking down some top spots.
-
Zucchini Cups
George Vutetakis, longtime chef/proprietor of Royal Oak’s Inn Season Café, has been working on his cookbook, Vegetarian Traditions, Favorite Recipes from My Years at the Legendary Inn Season Café, since 2002, when he sold the restaurant and moved to California.
-
Pizzeria Biga
The much-anticipated restaurant from the perspective of Bacco’s Luciano Del Signore opened to rave reviews, not only for the maple-fired pizzas with deliciously thin crusts, as well as the cured meats and pristine salads, but also for the remake of the rosy-brick building that once housed the romantic Il Posto.
-
Arts and Entertainment
September 2010
-
Lighting the Way to Fall
My terrier trots ahead of me, sniffing the olfactory evidence of change in the wind. I’m left to observe the more obvious signs of transition: the resounding chorus of crickets and cicadas mingling with the distant tune of an ice-cream truck meandering the darkening neighborhood streets, proffering a taste of late summer with a sound of approaching autumn on the side.
-
The Detroit Museum of Art, 1915
Since 1927, Detroit’s repository of great art has been housed in the sprawling Paul Cret-designed Italian Renaissance building on Woodward.
-
Contributors: September 2010
Justin Maconochie, Lara Takenaga, Lara Zade, Taryn Bickley
-
Brighter Days ‘N’ Nights Bipolar Disorder Awareness Benefit
On Aug. 29, the first annual Brighter Days ‘N’ Nights Bipolar Disorder Awareness benefit was held in honor of Eric Ferus.
-
‘Detroit 1-8-7’ Actors Give Their Take on Detroit
The smell of buttery popcorn filled the air as the stars of ABC’s Detroit 1-8-7 walked the red carpet at the show’s glitzy local premiere.
-
‘Detroit 1-8-7’ Star Michael Imperioli Talks Music
Michael Imperioli, the Emmy Award winner and former Sopranos star, is not just an actor. He’s also the lead singer and guitarist for the rock band La Dolce Vita, and he (along with his wife, Victoria) sits on the advisory board for the Jazz Foundation of America.
-
‘Detroit 1-8-7’ Producer David Zabel on the Show’s Controversy
Before acting as executive producer on Detroit 1-8-7, David Zabel spent eight years as a writer and five years as showrunner for the medical drama ER. Having grown up in Manhattan, Zabel had little previous experience with Detroit. Hour Detroit asked the onetime aspiring poet about his impressions of the city and the controversy surrounding his new show.
-
‘Detroit 1-8-7’ Red Carpet Premiere at MGM Grand Detroit
About 350 people showed up to the invitation-only Sept. 7 red carpet premiere of ABC’s new cop drama, Detroit 1-8-7, at MGM Grand Detroit.
-
Review: ‘Detroit 1-8-7’ is the Motor City Through Hollywood’s Filter
The premise of the show is simple. We follow the homicide unit of the Detroit Police Department in a city with “one of the highest murder rates in the country,” as the opening voice-over explains. “Every murder tells a story.”
-
Fashion’s Night Out
Downtown Birmingham held an officially sanctioned Fashion’s Night Out on Sept. 10.
-
Girl’s Night Out Dolly Drive
Vista Maria held its first Girl’s Night Out Dolly Drive at BlackFinn Restaurant & Saloon on Aug. 31.
-
The sixth annual Ronald McDonald House gala
The sixth annual Ronald McDonald House gala was held on Sept. 11 aboard the Ovation Yacht on the Detroit River.
-
Opening Night Party for the Detroit Jazz Fest
On Sept. 3, the Opening Night Party for the Detroit Jazz Fest was held at Campus Martius Park.
-
A Step Back in Time
The Grosse Pointe Garden Club hosted A Step Back in Time on Sept. 14 at the Belle Isle Anna Scripps Whitcomb Conservatory
-
Shimmer on the River
Shimmer on the River was held on Sept. 16 at the UAW-GM Center for Human Resources on the Detroit riverfront.
-
Rock the Gulf
Rock to Save the Gulf was held on on Sept. 17 at the Crofoot in Pontiac.
-
Bras For a Cause
The second annual Bras For a Cause was held on Sept. 18 at the Royal Oak Music Theatre.
-
Fibromyalgia Comic Relief Night
Fibromyalgia Comic Relief Night was held on Sept. 16 at Mark Ridley’s Comedy Castle in Royal Oak.
-
Dorothy and Peter Brown Jewish Community Adult Day Care Program
On Sept. 14, a benefit was held at Neiman Marcus at Somerset Collection in Troy.
-
Vin Voyage
Vin Voyage was held on Aug. 27 at Coach Insignia and the GM Wintergarden at the GM Renaissance Center, Detroit.
-
A Night with the Big Band
On Sept. 24, Oakland Family Services held A Night with the Big Band at The Townsend Hotel, Birmingham.
-
Detroit Radio Personalities, Past and Present
On Sept. 25, Detroit Radio Personalities, Past and Present, was held at the Crowne Plaze Hotel in Novi.
-
CRUSH Somerset Collection
On Sept. 25, CRUSH Somerset Collection was held at the Center Court of Somerset Collection South in Troy.
-
Drive for the Cure road rally
On Sept. 25, the Drive for the Cure road rally was held at the VanElslander Cancer Center in Grosse Pointe Woods.