Newspaper Clippings, 1970-1971

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"The amazing thing is how
well the freeways do work...
you can get from the heart of
Detroit to. most any place in
the tni-county area in 30 'minutes." Part of the network are
the Chrysler and the Ford, running across bottom of photo.
"I've always been hooked on
Greenfield Village. Our fainily rarely misses Christmas at
Greenfield Village."

"Washington Boulevard, espedia'ly in the spring... if you
stretch your imagination a bit,
you could be in Paris."

City plus suburbs -th -mi

I t picture

Detroit, where the living is easy? No, 'no
one says that!
But it does rank high in cash flow. Tax
Smoney into the Detroit office of the Internal
SRevenue Service (IRS) totals in excess of $13.1
blina year. Sixty percent, roughly $7.9 bilIlion, comes from the three metropolitan area
Icounties, Wayne, Oakland and Macomb.
In the nation, only the IRS Manhattan District in New York, with $23.1 billion, outranks
SDetroit.
The city's wage scales, working conditions,
housing and natural advantages all draw high
praise from contributors to the symposium.
They say z
"Convenience of shopping - well-located
centers anid malls (Northland was first of its
kind).
"Good career opportunities (automotive,
retail advertising, etc.),
"Particularly good chance for women to get
ahead now that women's lib has begun operating and there are so few top women anywhere."
"Detroit is a city of homeowners. I believe it
Shas the highest percentage (over 70 percent) of
individually owned dwellings of any major
city.'
"Those miles of residential streets with indh
vidual homes brighten up Detroit, in contrast
to the monotonous row houses of Baltimore or
Philadelphia or the many apartment houses of
other large cities."
'4Average factory wage about $2,000 higher
here than anywhere else, yet cost of living isn't
that much higher."
"Availability of homes - tremendous turnover in northwest suburban area.":"Perhaps a greater variety of human enSdeavor has been possible here than in any
other major city. In its early history it was a
shipbuilding center, a fur-trading center; now
#it is a mighty industrial center."
"Detroit is the undisputed pioneer and pat
tern for the most advanced techniques in management and labor unions as well.'"
"The most important attribute of Detroit
must be its huge fresh water supply. No other
majot city in the world has the amount of unsalted water available to Detroiters."
"Potentially, Detroit's riverfront property is
the finest -in the nation. There is plenty of
vacant space for development."
"Detroit's property tax is one of the lowest
in the nation fora~ big city."
"We complain about dirty industrial towns.

Detroit is clean by comparison with most.
When's the last time you were in Pittsburgh,
or Gary, or Akron- or in our nation's capital;
for that matter?"
'"Detroit has some of the most varied and
beautiful gardens in the world within easy
reach. It is placed by nature in an area that
can grow just about anything."
"At least we don't have dreadful wind, burnicanes or earthquakes. "
Detroit has been a mecca for people-on-themove throughout its history. Today it retains a

polyglot flavor from the many ethnic strains in
its makeup.
There's a give and take -- the frontier people are still here,-in all their infinite variety.
Participants in the symposium had good
words for many Detroiters - including policemen:
" our mounted policemen -- a real touch of
class no suburb has."'
" As a courtesy gesture I'll place Detroit's
police at the top of my list of what's right
about Detroit. I'm relating my dealings with

"We take for granted so many of the
things that are right about Detroit

them as a citizen, not as a newspaperman. I
have found them extremely polite and willing
to be helpful."
"Very charitably minded citizens (United
Foundation began here; Detroit gives more.
per capita than any other city."
" Detroit sport fans are among the most
loyal, -appreciative and sportsmanlike of any in
the nation. And they have this reputation with
professional athletes."
"Detroit, I bet, has fewer hard-core junkies'
than New York, Chicago or Los Angeles.
Even pretaews.",
"Detroit kas a group of businessmen who are
awar, of the city's physical, social and economic problems.- They still aren't sure exact]y
how to tackle them, but the'y are making
attempts - Detroit Renaissance, New Detroit
Inc. Greater Detroit Chamber of Commerce
and Central Business District Association."
"Detroit has a social awareness unusual in,
most large cities. Possibly because of this, Detroiters* becoming too aware of the gap between black and white set off a frustration resulting in the temper tantrum of 1967. But I believe Detroit is making an outstanding attempt
to bridge this gap.."
"At least here I do not see a sense of hopelessness or widespread cynicism about urban
problems. We have not accepted graft and corruption as a way of life.
"We have not bowed to the idea of poverty
being an irreversible illness. We have not
abandoned the inner city as being unimprovable."
" The great majority of Detroiters are reasonable, friendly, helpful and interesting."
There you have it. Admittedly, it was an experiment.
Not all the possible answers were given, by
any means -- in fact, glaring omissions are
obvious.
So how would YOU answer it -
Is there anything right about Detroit?.,

I

Detroit scores high under the thesis of historian Arnold Toynbee, who says a city grows
through response to challenge.
Detroiters have thrived on the city's chatlenges.
And if News staffers are a good sample, Detroiters appreciate their heritage, as exemplified in the Cultural Center.
All of its major components - the Detroit Institue of Arts, the Detroit Public Library and
its Burton Historical Collection, Wayne State
Univetsity, the Detroit Historical Museum, the
Children's Museum -- are among things they
cite as being right about Detroit.
Other cultural attractions, in the core city
and in the suburbs, come in for commendation.
Some of the references:
"We take for granted so many of the things
that are right about Detroit. Our -art museum

has international status. Ditto the public library and the historical museum.. "Wayne State University has grown from the
Detroit Junior 'College I rememiber 'on the top
floot of old Central High School. Forget the
demonstrators and remember the thousands of
kids going earnestly about getting an education
there."
"The children's programs at the art institute are as -good as any in the world."
"I've always been hooked on Greenfield Village. Our family rarely misses 'Christmas at
Greenfield Village,' and we often go to the
Sunday afternoon festivals of old mve."
"Wayne State University has done, enormous
upgrading. A few -years ago, I'd never have
considered allowing my children to go there.
For undergraduate work, I'd pick Wayne today
over U. of M. or MSU."

"Nationally known art galleries, good Art Institute and Detroit Symphony."
"Wayne State has a fine plant and its Medical School, with Receiving (branch of Detroit
General) Hospital and Lafayette Clinic, is exceptional. Detroit's Medical Center may be
without parallel- when it's finished."
Detroit's riverfront is cited often as being especially rich in sights from the past:
" Downtown you can still watch train ferries
carrying railroad cars across the river.
Ambassador Bridge is right, too."
"In the heart of Detroit is a forest you can.,
reach easily by car - Belle Isle."
" Watching the Detroit River change seasons
and the ships come in."
"Detroit is one of the largest areas for water
sports in the world. There are 400,000 pleasure
boats on the river every summer."

Detroit's cultural attractions are varied and. plentiful. Meadow Brook Music
Festival is one of many enjoyed by thousands in the
city and suburbs.The Institute of Arts is just
one of the components of
Detroit's Cultural C en te r
which ranks among the
finest in the country.

"Buying f r uits5, cheeses,
tomatoes and plants at
Eastern Market"... another Photos by
one of the nice things News Staff
about liI v i n g in "Big Photographer
Detroit."

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