Sunday, January 9, 2011

Flint Artifacts: Civic Park Architectural Styles



12 comments:

  1. This looks like some houses near Mott Park, especially along Chevrolet.

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  2. Love these houses.

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  3. 1975 - Was 5 years old, I remember living on Proctor Street between Dayton and Hamilton, beginning of the white flight from the area

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  4. The two houses on the bottom were the ones built in the Civic Park Area. Proctor between Dayton and Hamilton during the 60's and early 70's had a ton of kids. Had some amasing games of late night hide and seek. Sometimes there would be about 40 or more kids from all around the neighborhood playing. Good times.

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  5. When watching "The Soprano's" reruns I saw one of these house designs in the opening credits...I wondered if the local area there was a GM town back in the day.

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  6. I lived in one of these houses on Lawndale till 1978. It is now torn down.

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  7. The drawings are from a book put together by the Architectural Firm; THA (I think) to promote architecturally correct renovation of homes in Civic Park area.

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  8. Right you are, George. It's called the "Civic Park Home Preservation Manual." It was prepared by Tomblinson, Harburn, Yurk & Associates, along with William Kessler & Associates, and funded by the Mott Foundation. It was published in 1981. It has guidelines on everything from window sashes to the proper distance of trees from front porches.

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  9. I drive by Gerald Yurk's office in Rochester when I go to my accountant's office. First time I saw the name, I knew it must be the one from Flint. I think I went to Longfellow with his brother, if it's the same family.

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  10. Anonymous -- there were two dudes named Yurk who worked at that firm, unrelated, if I remember correctly. The first was the aforementioned Gerald who left prior to '86 to start his own firm in Rochester. The second was named Rob (or Robert?) who joined the firm in '90 or so and has also since departed.

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  11. I have one of these books for sale, original Civic Park Home Preservation Manual from July 1981. The cover and first intro page are ripped but the rest is in good condition and all pages are there. It's a nice piece of Flint history and I really need the money.

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  12. I was the Project Architect for the Civic Park Manual. THA was hired to research and work with Flint Neighborhood Improvement Program (Flint NIPP)to restore several homes and help other homeowners maintain and care for their homes. The project was funded by The C.S. Mott Foundation. Sad to see the condition of these once beautiful and quality built homes 35 years later. Another GM Modern Housing neighborhood in Pontiac, MI that is currently undergoing revitalization

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Thanks for commenting. I moderate comments, so it may take a while for your comment to appear. You might enjoy my book about Flint called "Teardown: Memoir of a Vanishing City," a Michigan Notable Book for 2014 and a finalist for the 33rd Annual Northern California Book Award for Creative NonFiction. Filmmaker Michael Moore described Teardown as "a brilliant chronicle of the Mad Maxization of a once-great American city." More information about Teardown is available at www.teardownbook.com.