Detroit Retro

Turdl or The Turtle

2010-03-14T19:14:00.000-04:00

Turdle

This guy spray painted everywhere. If you're from Detroit or frequent the city you've seen his stuff.

Forever nobody had any idea who he was, so he became known as the Turtle or "Turdl". He had a fairly simple or stylized image of a turtle painted in number or various positions. This guy had a price on his head by art galleries and police alike.

Turns out he is Ronald Scherz of Warren Michigan. He says he is no longer the Turdl.

Detroit Race Course

2010-02-16T23:26:00.001-05:00

The Detroit Race Course was a horse racing facility in the Detroit, Michigan suburb of Livonia. Opened in 1950, it hosted Thoroughbred flat racing and harness racing for Standardbreds.

The business was sold to Ladbrokes of England and in 1985 harness racing was discontinued. Racing ended after the 1998 season, and in May of 1999 Ladbrokes announced the sale of Detroit Race Course. The new owners demolished the facilities in the summer of 1999 to make way for commercial development.

The Uniroyal Tire

2010-02-13T10:24:00.002-05:00

The Uniroyal® Giant Tire was originally created as a Ferris wheel attraction at the 1964/1965 New York World's Fair. The wheel held 96 fairgoers and was powered by a 100-horsepower motor. More than two million people rode the Giant Tire Ferris wheel during the fair, including Jacqueline Kennedy and her children, John Jr. and Caroline.

After the 1965 World's Fair festivities ended, the Giant Tire was relocated to a Uniroyal Tire sales office in Allen Park, Michigan, and has towered alongside I-94 near the Metro Airport ever since. Over the decades it has become an important symbol of Uniroyal's 117-year heritage and a cultural icon for the city of Detroit known the world over.

Vernor's

2010-02-13T10:17:00.003-05:00

Vernor opened a drug store of his own on Woodward Avenue, and sold his ginger ale at its soda fountain. According to the 1911 trademark application on "Vernor's" as a name for ginger ale and extract, Vernors entered commerce in 1880. City by city, Vernor sold bottling franchises, with operators of those franchises required to strictly adhere to the recipe. In 1896, Vernor closed his drugstore to concentrate on the ginger ale business alone. Initially, Vernors was only sold via soda fountain franchises, but later Vernors was bottled for home consumption.

Zug Island

2010-02-13T10:14:00.001-05:00

Zug Island is a heavily industrialized island in the city of River Rouge near the southern city limits of Detroit in the U.S. state of Michigan. It is located where the mouth of the Rouge River spills into the Detroit River. Zug Island is not a natural island in the river; it was formed when a shipping canal was dug along the southwestern side of the island, allowing ships to bypass several hundred yards of twisting waterway near the mouth of the natural course of the lowest portions of the River Rouge.

Highland Appliance

2010-02-13T09:49:00.002-05:00

Until the big national electronics chains moved in, regional heavyweights like Highland and Fretter's ruled the roost locally. This is the original Highland Appliance store on Woodward. The chain has been out of business for several years, but the old sign remains.

Burger Chef

2010-02-12T00:15:00.004-05:00

Burger Chef was an American fast-food restaurant chain founded in 1954 in Indianapolis, Indiana. The chain expanded throughout the United States, and at its peak, it was second only to McDonald's in the number of locations nationwide. The chain featured several signature items such as the Big Chef and Super Chef hamburgers.

DREAD card

2010-02-11T23:22:00.001-05:00

I remember getting one of these back in the early 80's. You got them down at Harmony House. I can't remember how much of a discount it was, but I found myself at Wonderland Mall once a week to pick up a record.