Angelo's Redux

Jane (Fisher) Hogan's photo of the Angelo's menu prompted a flurry of reader interest, so here's an exterior shot from Jane, proving that you can't judge a fine restaurant by its parking lot.

(If you click on the photo, I think you can see the office of Dr. Sam Sorscher on the left, my beloved family dentist — despite his aversion to painkillers of any kind — for many years whose name drew a lot of comments in an earlier post.)



Jason B. Hill, a Flint Expatriate currently working on his doctorate in mathematics at the University of Colorado, took this shot on a trip to flint. He writes:

"Speaking of things I miss: Here are three of them pictured above...Angelo's, my twin brother Josh and my mom. But, since this is about Flint, I'll stick to Flint related things. My mom was born and grew up in Flint. She used to go to Angelo's when she was young. I think Angelo's is a place that you only really understand if you're from Flint. EVERYONE in Flint knows Angelo's. I've taken other people ("outsiders") to Angelo's and they're immediately disgusted when we walk in the door. I'll admit, Angelo's is the dirtiest diner you'll ever eat at. But, and I don't totally understand why, I love it. Before I moved to Vermont, I'd go to Angelo's at least once a week and usually more. They used to be open 24 hours before the Health Department made them shut down for a few hours every night to clean. I used to show up at Angelo's at 4-5am to do math homework and study before tests. I even spent New Years at Angelo's one year."

Jason and Josh are both photographers. You can find Jason's recent work here. And head here to check out Josh's work.

They were both born in Flint and lived off Ballenger on Concord until their father was laid off from the truck and bus plant. "He was lucky enough to get another job with GM in Pontiac," Josh told me in an email. "When that happened our family started moving around a lot: Columbiaville, Lapeer, Flint, Davison, Burton, Swartz Creek, Grand Blanc, etc. We both went to U of M Flint for college, at least the first few years, and both of us identify Flint as our hometown."

Before the Parking Lots

On a beautiful fall day in the fifties, Mary Fisher photographed the home of her grandfather, Frank D. Baker, who founded Baker Drugs in 1882 and also served as sheriff and postmaster at one time. The white house at 410 E. Third Street was in the heart of a leafy neighborhood near downtown. Jane Fisher, Mary's daughter, remembers her great-grandfather's house: "It had a massive front porch, and I remember a back staircase that had velvet curtains on either end so that it was completely dark in the stairwell. This house had a coal chute in the basement. It may have even had a Michigan basement, but I mostly remember the coal on the floor.

A view of tree-lined E. Third Street in the fifties.

The Baker house in 1973, shortly before it was torn down to make room for a parking lot.

View Larger Map

A satellite shot of E. Third Street today. The location of the Baker house is identified with a red marker. At least some of the trees are still there.