Flint Artifacts: AutoWorld Security Patches

Not to be confused with job security.

Still Life with Failure

Flint Artifacts: AutoWorld Souvenir Wallet

Note: Wallet has more than enough room to hold all AutoWorld profits.

Flint Photos: Joel Rash's Room With a View

Joel Rash, a longtime advocate for downtown Flint, has an office with an impressive view of Saginaw Street and a great collection of Flint memorabilia. (What's more valuable: A Rick Leach highball glass or an AutoWorld tumbler?)

Greece Channels Flint, Michigan

Greece's economic troubles may have different origins than Flint's ongoing problems, but the solution sounds strangely familiar.

"Prime Minister George Papandreou said this week that Greece needs to see strong investment in order for the austerity program to work," write Peter Boone and Simon Johnson in their Economix blog. "While the government cuts fiscal spending, he said, it needs new private business to employ the dismissed workers so that they are productive, can pay taxes and do not need unemployment benefits."

Hey, how hard can that be to pull off? Perhaps Greece should consider a theme park celebrating the ancient philosophers. They could call it SocratesWorld.

AutoWorld's Revenge

Jwilly writes:

Did you notice that Six Flags, of AutoWorld infamy, filed for Chapter 11 on Saturday?

They gave us abysmal advice on the AutoWorld concept. The same funding could have been spent on a medium-sized exhibition facility, and we'd still happily have it today...but they made their money from amusement parks, so everyone needed an amusement park. If it turned out that there were no customers, they could bail. It was our capital, and our one shot...we took the hit, they took their management contract money and left town.

So, AutoWorld molders in a landfill somewhere. There's a bit of long-delayed justice in their going down.

AutoWorld: It Could Have Been Worse

Let's remember AutoWorld at its best...as an artist's rendition before it actually opened.

Have you ever wondered if AutoWorld might have been something far more sinister than a harebrained redevelopment project?

Here's the Wikipedia description of Flint's biggest boondoggle:

"AutoWorld's first area was located inside a big dome. The insides were designed to look like Flint long ago. The first display that one encountered was a small cabin. Inside was a mannequin. When one pressed a red button on the outside of the cabin it kicked on a film that projected onto the mannequin's face. The mannequin was supposed to be Jacob Smith, founder of Flint. It would welcome the visitor to AutoWorld and talk about the beginning of Flint. In the center of the dome was a Ferris wheel, and nearby was a carousel and other attractions."

And here's Charles Holland, a London Architect, describing another doomed artificial world:

"Westworld is set in a theme park called Delos which is divided into three historical zones: the Wild West, pre-Christian Rome and medieval Europe. Each zone is populated by robots who act as adversaries, sexual partners, drinking buddies or whatever else the human visitors require in order to have a good time. The guests — of whom there seem to be remarkably few — behave according to a crude, secondhand understanding of their chosen period, chasing after comely wenches in Medievalworld or starting barroom brawls in Westworld. Behind the scenes an army of technicians programme, monitor and repair the robots."

Eerily similar, no? Perhaps if AutoWorld had comely wenches and served booze, it would have lasted longer. But anyone who's seen Yul Brynner's performance in the movie Westworld knows that things could have gone much worse at AutoWorld. Maybe we should be thankful that the place closed down before the robots escaped and hit the streets of Flint.

Improving Flint from afar

The Charles W. Nash House, owned and cared for by Flint Expatriate Rich Bennett, who points out it was pink when he bought it, so he doesn't want any complaints from historic preservationists. (This photo and many other great shots of Carriage Town by sarrazak6881.)

Yesterday's post on out-of-town property owners in Flint looked at some of the negative aspects of absentee investors. It prompted Flint Expatriate Sarah Swart to comment: "I'm wondering if any of these out-of-towners (which, remember, are only one of numerous OOT options, including bank ownership) are actually expats. Personally, I am tempted by the $900 home in Carriage Town and by one on Forest Hill Ave listed for $4,000. I'm not a real estate investor, I'm pro-local and -civic action, and I'm very tempted. "

You're not alone, Sarah. I've been tempted as well. And in the past week I've had the chance to reconnect with another Flintoid who has already taken the plunge. Rich Bennett went to St. Mary's School and graduated from Powers in 1983, so he has deep roots in Flint. He's now a real estate agent in San Francisco and the proud owner of the Charles W. Nash House in Carriage Town, a fine example of Queen Anne-style architecture that's designated as a Michigan Historic Site. He also owns two other Flint properties.

In typical Flint fashion, Rich and I met at a bar, The Latin Amercan Club, to catch up. When we were done discussing the relative merits of the paddle versus the ruler from the nuns at St. Mary's, we talked about Flint real estate. Unlike some absentee owners, he's restoring his properties and working to improve his neighborhood away from home. His sister is local, so she helps him with the projects, and he's hooked into the network of local preservationists, contractors and urban homesteaders. He makes regular trips back to Flint and hopes to eventually rent some of the properties. But right now the goal is improving them.

"It's seems like Flint's leaders have always been looking for one big project to fix everything — Autoworld, Water Street Pavilion, Windmill Place," he said. "Flint is going to improve with a lot of small efforts all added together."

Rich's effort is buying a few houses, fixing them up, and making them an asset, rather than a detriment, to the neighborhood. The fact he's in San Francisco doesn't matter much at this point. He's improving Flint from afar. It's an approach more absentee owners should take to heart. It's also the approach many local property owners could embrace. After all, the majority of Flint's slumlords are probably local.

Flint Artifacts: Autoworld Mug

Calling all tourists!

Despite the layoffs, the crime, a mayor with a rap sheet, and the fact that its most famous native son — Michael Moore — is actually from Davison, there's one thing Flint's leaders have never really lost, and that's the naive belief that someday, somehow, someway Flint will be a tourist attraction.

All I can say is keep dreaming that dream, you crazy dreamers!

From the folks that brought you Autoworld and the downtown Hyatt comes this news, courtesy of Joe Lawlor of The Flint Journal:

"New radio ads are hitting the airwaves today with poetic lines recited by comedian Tim Allen promoting a tourist destination: Flint, Michigan.

"The radio ads and accompanying billboard campaign will hit key Michigan, Ohio and Indiana cities and air for three months as part of the statewide Pure Michigan campaign promoting tourism.

"The $200,000 tab is being split by the state and Flint Area Convention & Visitors Bureau."

Care to give a listen to this masterpiece? Just click here. And you must give it a listen. But be forewarned, once you hear this, you'll be scrambling to book a flight to Flint for a two-week vacation, so have your Visa ready.

"Bureau President Jerry Preston said the advertising agency talked about changing Genesee County's image from the state's 'most distressed community' to a 'vibrant getaway.'

"'We're trying to move the needle a little bit, from rock bottom to something above that,' Preston said."

Ah Jerry, such lofty goals. (What exactly is just above "rock bottom"? Low down? Piss poor? Really yucky?) This will certainly be money well spent. If you need any other ideas, Jerry, check out this video about Stoneybridge, Scotland, provided by my friend Keith Laidlaw, who hails from Edinburgh. The accents are a little thick, but all we need to do is change the word "Stoneybridge" to "Flint" and get Ben Hamper to redub the voiceover, then we'll have more tourists than we'll know what to do with. Let's hope they're well-armed.

Should Powers move?

There's been a long-running discussion about the fate of Powers High School in the comment section of an earlier post on Catholic church closings in Flint. The topic has received more comments than any other post on Flint Expatriates.

Everyone may have said what they want to say at this point, but I thought I'd bring the subject back in case people who missed the earlier post want to chime in...especially those with insider knowledge of what Powers plans for the future. And exactly how Powers raises — or doesn't raise — money.

And I'll throw this idea out no real economic evidence to back it up. If this had happened, Powers might be in the same situation they are in now, or worse. But here goes...

I've always thought that when the Catholic high schools consolidated, Powers should have just moved into St. Michael's. They would have had to make arrangements or buy some land for sports fields, but that wouldn't have been too difficult given the condition of that area even in the early '70s. It would have created an anchor near downtown, made the school more centrally located for commuters, and attached a parish to the school, which was always a drawback to Powers.

And it would have meant the school was right next to Flint's biggest tourist draw — Autoworld! Oh, wait, forget that last sentence.

Just a thought.

COMMENTS:

Anonymous says: St. Mike's certainly would have been a good choice, but I know of a better one: Holy Redeemer. Powers still claims the football field as its home field. When the consolidation occurred in 1970, TWO catholic high schools should have been created: Flint Catholic Central High School NORTH (now Powers). Flint Catholic Central High School SOUTH (Holy Redeemer). I know — wishful thinking.

Anonymous says: The answer is simple. No. Powers was build to serve all of the county, not just Grand Blanc and Fenton. Funds should be raised not for moving, but for
1. lowering the cost of tuition (which is the main reason why the enrollment has dropped).
a. Powers has done a terrible job with alumni relations of the years.
2. Redeveloping the Northwestern/Powers area. Instead of running, make the area better. This is what Notre Dame is doing in South Bend. Which is more Catholic than running from problems. Moving to the south subs will do nothing to reduce the main barrier (tuition) and make a Catholic education out-of-reach of most working Catholics. How could this be good for the long-term health of the Catholic Church?

Anonymous says: My husband graduated from Detroit Catholic Central. I cannot believe the alumni network that CC has. (And the newly built school in Novi is incredible.) The programs, traditions, publications, endowments are impressive. Powers could learn a lot from them. However, Powers will never be a CC or a UofD Jesuit. The administrators may try to be, but never will be able to . The alumni ties to those schools are incredibly strong. Powers doesn't have that kind of affect on its graduates. Also, I was just in grade school when Powers was in its planning stages and my parents were involved on a parish level. I remember my parents saying that most of their fellow parishioners wanted the centrally located, Holy Redeemer site, if not two Catholic high schools in the county. It was egos and administrative arrogance that won out. It will be interesting to see how the new Bishop handles this issue of relocation.

Anonymous says: My family and I will no longer give Powers any more money until Powers can develop a vision for the school for the next 25 years. Part of that vision should be how Powers will make the current location the future location. Dealing with the D of L, Powers admin and various fractions at the school is a joke and makes Powers look 3rd rate. Bottom line—there are no real leaders at the school.

Autoworld's Cousin...Astroworld!

There's no doubt that AutoWorld was an unmitigated disaster. But my friend Carlo, who hails from Texas, has alerted me that it's not the only Six Flags experiment that crashed and burned. He's talking specifically about his beloved AstroWorld in Houston. Granted, it survived from 1968-2005, but its financial collapse was as fiery as Flint's misbegotten theme park, according to a group that tried to save it:

"Six Flags was in a real mess. Kieran Burke, the CEO of Six Flags was desperate. He had the stockholders breathing down his neck and had to do something. Six Flags was in debt for 2 to 3 BILLION dollars. Burke though the could make over 100 million of the sale of the property. So he decided to sell the property Astroworld sits on, telling everyone that the value of the land was far greater than the value of the park itself. Based on the fact he entertained no other offers, it is my belief that he had deal in place to sell the land before the announcement. Since the demo of Waterworld started pretty much immediately after the announcement, I think he had a very aggressive timetable to meet to clear the land."

Ode to Autoworld

The Toys Are Good Food website has a loving yet realistic ode to the ill-fated Autoworld:

"The interior of the dome was all built up to look like Flint ('Vehicle City'). But homeless people, abandoned buildings and cars on blocks were nowhere to be found. You see, inside the dome was a Disney-fication of Flint from the early 1900s complete with the (highly filtered) Flint River running through the dome."

Uncle Bob's Diner

Once you start talking about mistakes Flint has made related to historic preservation, especially downtown, it can turn into a very long conversation. But I can’t help myself. I have to talk about Uncle Bob’s Diner.

Generations of Flint residents ate at Uncle Bob’s, located near the Capitol Theater. Built in 1947 by the Jerry O'Mahony Dining Car Company, it was a destination for everyone from downtown business people at lunchtime to college kids looking for excitement after GMI formals. It even had a short run as a weird little new wave hangout in the ‘80s. But that was near the end. While the Flint braintrust was building AutoWorld, Uncle Bob’s was closed and decaying.

The good news is that Jerry Berta, a sculptor who specialized in ceramic art related to diners, bought the diner in 1986 for $2,000. The bad news — for Flint, anyway — is that he moved it to Rockford, Michigan.

''People all over knew about Uncle Bob's,'' Mr. Berta told The New York Times in 1988. ''I had a guy from Madison, Wis., write to me, saying he'd spent every night for four years in the ‘50's at this place.''

Berta and his wife, Madeline Kaczmarczyk, an artist, spent $50,000 restoring the place, right down to the original pink Formica ceilings, porcelain enamel exterior and stainless-steel sunburst patterns.

They envisioned an art studio — a diner filled with diner art called The Diner Store — but visitors kept showing up for food. So Berta bought a few more old diners from various places, and started serving food at Rosie’s Diner. In 1993 Berta decided to add a putt-putt course. It was not your average mini-golf setup; almost every hole has a cement sculpture of big food or art. He called the whole place Dinerland.

In 1996, Berta was able to put another neon sign in the window that stated, "Over One Million Served Right!" It went up as Jack Tietsama enjoyed the one millionth meal served at Rosie's in Rockford. The artists sold the diners in 2006 to Randy and Jonelle Roest, who continue to manage the popular attraction.

Flint ain’t Rockford, so I’m not claiming that this could have happened in the Vehicle City. But you never know.