Is Flint, Michigan Home to "Genuine Citizenship?"

Randall Mawer of the Lost Coast Review writes:

"The style of Teardown is Rolling-Stone-style journalism, relatively informal, strongly first person, loosely organized. But there is modern history, too, and wide-ranging inquiry into economics and (especially) politics. The strongest narrative interest, though, springs from Gordon’s contacts with Flintites old and new, people doing what he is contemplating. They are attractive, enthusiastic, clearly willing to help Gordon with his project. The heart of the writer’s ambition is not the hypothetical house, effective symbol of the whole--the city, the citizenry--though it may be. This rather is the friendships of the house-holders, who provide one another expertise, save one another cash, and embody the genuine citizenship represented by loyalty to one’s block, one’s lawn, one’s “residence” in the largest sense of the word. The small, locally owned coffee shop, market, and bar are thus extensions of the homes, and the lack of waste ground between them shows quite literally how such residences fuse into real community."

Flint Ghosts: Buick Special in San Francisco

 A Buick Special spotted at 30th and Sanchez in San Francisco.

Flint Icons: The Durant-Dort Office Building

The news that General Motors had pledged to financially support the historic Durant-Dort Office Building on Water Street, which is owned by the Genesee County Historical Society, was a reminder of how close Flint came to losing this Vehicle City icon.

Like much of Carriage Town, the building where Billy Durant and J. Dallas Dort created G.M. and helped transform America had seen better days before it was restored as part of the ill-fated push to transform Flint into a tourist destination, proving that even bad ideas like AutoWorld can yield something positive for a community.

A brief history of the building on Wikipedia reads:

In 1895–96, the company built this building near their factories to house offices and, on the second floor, a carriage showroom. A contemporaneous account describes it as "an elegant office in connection with [the] main factory, where a small army of clerks, stenographers and typewriters are engaged in the clerical part of the company's business. The office building was originally built as a two-story Italianate structure with a flat roof. Around 1900, the flat roof was replaced with a hipped roof, and an entrance portico was added, giving the structure a Georgian appearance. In 1906, a fire damaged the roof, and rather than repairing it, the company added an extra story and capped the building with a flat roof; the portico was also removed at the time. The building remained in this configuration until the 1980s.

Durant left the Durant-Dort Carriage Company in 1913, and J. Dallas Dort used the office building and nearby factory for the production of automobiles by his Dort Motor Company. The building was used by Dort until 1924, after which it provided office space for various service organizations such as the Red Cross and the local Chamber of Commerce. In 1947, the Arrowhead Veteran's Club obtained the building for use as its headquarters. The club owned the building until 1977, when the city of Flint purchased the building with the help of an anonymous $55,000 donation. The building was designated a National Historic Landmark in 1978. Using the designation and the deteriorating condition of the building as an impetus, the Genesee County Historical Society undertook the task of restoring the building. Funds were raised, and the building was restored to its early 1900s condition, replacing the hipped roof and portico that had been in place at that time. The restoration was completed by 1986.

I can't help wishing many other buildings could have had the same luck. A restored Sill Building, with its slender profile, would be a nice addition to the UM-Flint campus if it hadn't been demolished. The houses on Manning Court would be a greater asset to the city than the parking lot that replaced them.

But rather than dwell on the historic structures the city has lost, let's be thankful for the one that didn't get away. Here's a selection of photos of the Durant-Dort Office Building over the years. For more photos and information, Gerry Godin's personal take on the building at his All Things Buick blog is a must. And the Durant-Dort Carriage Company Facebook page is another worthwhile source.

The original two-story exterior in 1898.

 

By 1901, a third story had been added to the building.
 

Despite the external decay, much of the ornate interior details were still intact in 1975 when Flint was beginning its downward slide.

Workers reconstruct the third floor in 1982 with the doomed Hyatt-Regency in the background.
 

The finished product.

G.M. Closes Deal on Factory 1 in Flint

G.M. has finalized the deal to purchase the birthplace of the auto company — Factory 1 on Water Street — in Flint's Carriage Town neighborhood. Jeremy Allen of mLive reports:

Initial plans for the factory on Water Street include repairing the roof and walls and making structural improvements throughout the 25,000-square-foot building. Work on the facility is expected to start in late 2013. Parts of the factory date back to 1880 when it was constructed as part of the Flint Cotton & Woolen Mills.

Future plans for the site are the subject of ongoing meetings within GM. No date has been set for publicly outlining how the Durant-Dort facility will be used.

Reuss said that he'd like to see the site used as a museum to potentially showcase some of General Motors' historic vehicles and classic pieces, but plans are still in the works.

"Teardown: Memoir of a Vanishing City" West Coast Launch Party at Badger Books in San Francisco

Saturday, July 27, 2013
3:00-5:00pm

West Coast Launch Party

Badger Books
401 Cortland Ave.
San Francisco, California

Check out Teardown: Memoir of a Vanishing City, the book Michael Moore calls "a brilliant chronicle of the Mad Maxization of a once-great American city." Meet author Gordon Young. Have a drink. Support Badger Books. Explore Bernal Heights. Open to the public. Books available for purchase and signing.

Flintoids Gather at Charles Chocolates in San Francisco

Traci and I were lucky enough to spend Sunday at a Flint-themed party at Charles Chocolates in San Francisco. Chocolatier and Flint Expatriate Chuck Siegel supplied Faygo, Vernor's, Coney's with Angelo's sauce, a deluxe with olives, and PX-style boneless ribs, not to mention chocolate cake reminiscent of Bill Knapp's. It was amazing. It brought out a great crowd of Flintoids on Florida Street, just around the corner from the office where I wrote "Teardown: Memoir of a Vanishing City." As with most Flint gatherings, we all had a lot in common and quickly discovered that everyone had about a dozen mutual friends from the Vehicle City. A great day with great people with a Flint connection.
 

Erica Firment (a.k.a. The Librarian Avenger), Gordon Young, and Chuck Siegel.

 

 This is a lunch any Flintoid could appreciate.

 

Two-fisted drinkers: Vernor's and Faygo.

 

The various Siegels of Flint and beyond in San Francisco. From left to right, Hannah, Gloria, Chuck, Milt, Susie, Jake, Leah, Shabana, and Ed.

Flint Postcards: Cromer's Restaurant and Cocktail Lounge

Flint Artifacts: 1971 Northwestern High School Yearbook

Karl Pohrt, R.I.P.

Karl Pohrt, a kind, intelligent soul and a true Flintoid who grew in the Civic Park neighborhood, died Wednesday at his home in Ann Arbor. Karl was the longtime owner of Shaman Drum Bookshop, an iconic place for great books and intelligent conversation in Ann Arbor for many years.

Janet Miller of AnnArbor.com writes: 

He also was a man with a big heart, said Susan Pollay, executive director of the Downtown Development Authority. Pohrt, a DDA member for eight years, was running a meeting when a member who had just returned from maternity leave came with her baby. “The baby sat on Karl’s lap for the whole time,” Pollay said. “That was a Karl moment: leadership and humanity.”

While he was a kind man, he had a wicked sense of humor, Pollay said. He ran a highbrow bookstore, but he also loved bad movies, she said. “The worse the movie, the better.”

Pohrt also had a deep intellect and was a scholar on literature from the Beat Generation and a friend of Beat poet Gary Snyder. That’s what helped bring them together, said Arthur Nusbaum, a close friend and sometimes business partner. They traveled to the European Beat Studies Network conference in the Netherlands last fall. “Two dharma bums, finger poppin’ angels of desolation, real cool daddys, materialize out of the void into the harsh Amsterdam morning," Pohrt wrote on his blog. "Ahh, not really. Who am I trying to kid? It would be more accurate to describe us as two late middle-aged Americans, blurry-eyed and disheveled, stumbling into Amsterdam’s Schiphol airport.”

Karl was the brother of Tom and Dick Pohrt. They shared many happy memories of growing up at 1407 W. Paterson Street in Flint. His father, Richard A. Pohrt, was an early and enthusiastic collector of Native American art. His mother, Marion Dena Pohrt, taught at Civic Park School for many years.

Karl will be missed.

Karl (left), Tom (middle), and Dick Pohrt on W. Paterson Street in Flint in the fifties.

Flint Artifacts: Lucille's Chatterbox Liquor Bar