Flint Expatriates: That's Genesee Towers with an "S"

Friday, September 14, 2012

That's Genesee Towers with an "S"

Why is Genesee Towers plural? There's only one tower. Was there supposed to be another one? I'd always thought it was simply a self aggrandizing naming scheme based on the dubious rationale that it's two buildings stacked on top of each other with an open-air space between them. Anyone have the facts?

3 comments:

JWillySeptember 14, 2012 at 6:04 PM
I'm 100% fact-free, but I do have more info.

This tiny photo...https://dl.dropbox.com/u/49732470/small_GENESEE_BANK_2.jpg...looks to me like a discussion staged for a Flint Journal photographer about an architectural model of the building before it was built.

My guess is the guy on the left was then-Genesee County Attorney Edward Joseph, a Flint civic booster par excellance and the creator of the devious but legal City of Flint annexation away from Flint Township of the airport and the Van Slyke plant complex. My guess as to the guy on the right is whoever was President of the bank at the time.

So, only one tower was planned, because there weren't two models.

Which doesn't answer the question, so I'll exit stage right. 8^)
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J.L.September 16, 2012 at 5:05 PM
"I'd always thought it was simply a self aggrandizing naming scheme based on the dubious rationale that it's two buildings stacked on top of each other with an open-air space between them."

I'm pretty sure that's the exact reason. One tower of parking, one regular-style. It probably helped that most people around here add an 's' to the end of every damned business name (Meijers, Krogers, etc.). Sorry for going off track - the extra 's' is one of my pet peeves.
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AnonymousSeptember 17, 2012 at 9:29 AM
Most but not all annexation schemes are probably built on false analysis and promises if not outright voting fraud, JWilly. It's always a dying star contracting city that initiates annexation. Other cities just have a better PR team than Michael Moore and his Million Minions.

There were also plans for twin 24 story office and apartment towers somewhere in the Grand Traverse and Kearsley area around 1970 in my recollection.
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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.

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