Downtown Clouds

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.

Goodbye, Central High: Class of 1941

One in a series of videos shot at the Flint Central High School farewell gathering on June 12, 2009.

Keeping Flint Clean

It's laundry day in Carriage Town.

Sunday at the Balkan Bakery

Civic Park School is now closed, but the Balkan Bakery lives on.

Flint Wildlife

Talking Politics at The Torch

Okay, this is what passes for "celebrity journalism" in Flint Expats...

I paid a visit to The Torch last night with my old pal Sparky Sanford. At about 10:30 U.S. Congressman Dale E. Kildee — looking dapper in a dark suit — stopped in for nightcap. I hadn't seen him since I was an ineffectual intern at his Washington office in 1986. Through the haze of smoke in the bar, he shook hands, gave us a brief update on Flint politics, then settled in at a nearby table. After 30 years representing Flint, he still knows how to connect with his constituents or, in this case, two former constituents.

Paul's Pipe Shop lays down the law on smoking in Flint.

Goodbye, Central High: Class of 2007

One in a series of videos shot at the Flint Central High School farewell gathering on June 12, 2009.

No Contract, No Work

A member of Laborers Local 1075 hits the bricks on Saginaw Street

What would a visit to Flint be without a labor dispute? I took this shot this morning outside the old Hyatt/Character Inn, which is in the process of being converted into the Riverfront Residence Hall. (That's the Durant Hotel in the background, also being rehabed.)

The Dichotomies of Carriage Town

If you want urban renewal juxtapositions, look no further than Carriage Town in Flint. All of these structures are within a two-block radius of each other.