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General Info
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Columns
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Resources
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Multimedia
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Drive-In Theaters
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Indoor Theaters
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Parks and Fairs
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Auto Racing
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Boat Racing
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Gas, Food and Lodging
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Cities and Towns
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Recreation and Sports
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Roadside Michigan
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Site Update Archive |
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| Site Updates as of August 20th, 2007: |
Hello folks, I have been adding some new stuff to the site over the last few days so here is a quick summary.
On the Drive-In front, the Capri Drive-In hosted its annual car show a few days back and we have posted pics on the
Capri web site here. There is also a great new event happening this Tuesday,
August 21st which is the opening night of the Old 27 Motor Tour. There will be a special triple
feature starting with "American Graffiti." In addition, Paul Lemat, who played
John Milner in the film is scheduled to appear and sign autographs. There will also be a 1932 Ford Coupe identical to the one in the film on display.
Last but not least, Butch Patrick AKA "Eddie Munster" is also scheduled to appear. You can
get more details on that here and here.
In other drive-in news, the famed researcher Andrew the Librarian has unearthed some rare photos of the old Ionia Drive-In.
In addition, some new pics of the Cascade Drive-In have been put up that were taken by Jeff Raterink.
On the indoor theater front, news has come in that 2 multiplexes in the
Flint area are being closed by National Amusements. According to the Flint Journal,
the Cinema 10 and Showcase Flint East will be shuttered soon.
The Showcase East goes dark at the close of business on Sept 3 so if you want to check
it out one last time you better hurry! I would appreciate some pictures if someone in Flint happens to be there on closing night.
On a brighter note, I have added some new "old" theaters that were not listed before for the Mears Theater and
Shephard in Shephard. In another development,
the Howmet Playhouse has been donated to the City of Whitehall by the Blue Lake Fine Arts Camp and
a group has been formed to re-open it as a community theater.
The racers have also been sending in their updates and pictures which is great!
If you can, please get out and support your local Speedway or Drag Strip
for the remainder of the season so we can preserve our great auto racing tradition here in Michigan.
I have also added lots of new pictures in the Restaurant, Motel,
Tourist, Resort, Hotel and more.
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| Site Updates as of July 2nd, 2007: |
Hello folks, the Bob-Lo Island update is complete, I have taken two trips on the Detroit River recently, one time to the island and another to the Detroit waterfront near Ren-Cen to see
Grand Funk Railroad, the classic rock band from Flint. The trip to the island revealed that there is a decent amount of remnants of the Amusement Park still left.
The Space Needle, pavilion and various other buildings still stand on one end of the island as well as the boat dock and canopy. In addition, I was able to get pics of the 2 Bob-Lo boats,
the Ste. Claire and the Columbia. The Ste. Clair was docked near Chene Park and it looks good. The Columbia is docked near Ecorse and is covered up. It looks to be rusting a bit.
The old Clark Street dock is still there as well, I was wondering what was once in the building where the ticket office was, if anyone knows please let me know.
On the Drive-In Theater front, Ron from MichiganDriveIns.com and I went up to the US-23 Drive-In
in Flint over the weekend. We had a nice chat with Lou Warrington, who has owned and operated the theater for over 50 years. He reminisced about the drive-in business in Michigan and had
some great stories. For example, he told us about how the Pontiac Drive-In was started by about a dozen milk men who worked for
Twin Pines Dairy!
As for Indoor Theaters, I also have some new pics of the Capitol Theater in Flint as well as some other old theater
locations around that area. I will be posting those pics soon. Scott Biggs has also sent along some pics on the Riverfront 4, which is located inside Ren Cen in downtown Detroit.
The racers have sent in some good new pics on Speedways, Cars and Drivers, and Drag Strips.
In addition, I have added some new Motels, Lakes, Restaurant,
Gas Station and Aerial Views.
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| Site Updates as of May 26th, 2007: |
Hello folks, I have been updating the site all day so here is a summary of all of the new stuff!
On the Drive-In Theater front, Tom Magocs of the Capri Drive-In has found some long
lost film footage of the old Coldwater Drive-In, narrated by his dad, John Magocs.
You can check it out on either the video page or the Coldwater DI page. Also, we have some new
"old" pics of the Van Dyke Drive-In in Warren. I think at this point all of the drive-ins
in Michigan are open so try and pay them a visit if you can.
As for Indoor Theatres, unfortunately their was fire at the old Irving Theater.
Although it had not been open for some time, it was still a unique remnant from a time when Detroit had dozens of theaters all over town.
Ron Gross at MichiganDriveIns.com has dug some pics of the
old Ken Theater in Frankenmuth. It was modeled after a Quonset hut!
The racers have been busy submitting pics and info as always, and the new "Cars and Drivers" section is coming along nicely.
There is also some new pics of the beloved Mt. Clemens Race Track and the
Michigan State Fairgrounds. The tracks around the state are open and would appreciate your patronage.
I have also added numerous pics in the Tourist Traps, Motels,
Hotels, Restaurants, Resorts, Retail, and many other sections as well.
Finally, I would like to encourage you folks to continue to visit the wonderful attractions in and around Michigan. I know gas prices are high and money is tight,
but a night out at the drive-in, downtown theater or local race track is a good time for the whole family at a reasonable price. If you stay overnight, some
of the independent motels or campgrounds offer a classic experience, usually for a lower rate.
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| Site Updates as of May 12th, 2007: |
I have been adding some good new content over the last few days in the Speedway,
Cars and Drivers, Motels, Tourist Traps and more.
The best news of all is that most of the drive-in theaters are now open except for the Hi-Way, which will hopefully be
open next weekend. The main screen at the Getty in Muskegon is back in operation so we can now refer to it as
the Getty 4 again! The status of the Silverdome Drive-In remains uncertain.
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| Site Updates as of January 13th, 2007: |
Hello Folks! We have some good news on the Drive-In Theater front. Ron at
MichiganDriveIns.com has confirmed that the
Getty 4 Drive-In in Muskegon has completed the repair on Screen 1, which is the original
classic screen that was damaged by a storm last year. This is a good indication that Jack Loeks Theaters is committed to the continuing
operation of this great drive-in.
Also on the drive-in front, we have received some new "old" pics of the Jackson Drive-In and the Fort George.
In regard to Amusement Parks, I have found some great info on Park Island in Lake Orion,
from the book Lake Orion (Images of America) by James E. Ingram and Lori Grove.
I will be posting more pics of it soon.
As for Auto Racing, we have some great new material on Manchester Speedway thanks to Dennis Schill,
Brian Norton has sent in a ton of new pics as well, including Mt. Clemens,
Spartan, Flat Rock and more.
We have also received info on the long, lost Maple City Speedway in Adrian, also thanks to Brian Norton.
Bear in mind it is only 2 months until the Capri Drive-In opens, so think spring! In the meantime, we need to pray for snow so we can salvage the winter
travel season!
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| Site Update for December 29th 2006: |
Hello Folks! I have posted tons of new pics as you can see from the update lists below. Alot of Speedway stuff
thanks to Dave Dehem, Jon Milan and Robert Krupa. Thanks for your patience guys, I know it took a while to
see them posted.
Ron Gross has sent on some good new pics of Indoor Theaters and Drive-Ins. I also
have posted dozens of bids eye view pics of some of the lost Detroit Theaters as listed below.
I have been really busy with work and the holiday season but as that is wrapping up I should be able to get another
update done sooner. Now comes the long haul until the drive-ins open again! I think I will go down to the
Ford Wyoming to satisfy my craving in the meantime...
I have also added a link to Google Maps on the location pages as they have some pretty cool hybrid maps that
show both aerial and street maps combined - enjoy!
As always, I thank all of you who have supported the site and hope that you continue to submit your information and pictures. That's all for now!
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| Site Update for November 20th 2006: |
Hello Folks! I have been updating the site steadily over the last several days, with some new pics in most categories as listed below. As usual, there are new submissions every day for both new locations which are listed at the right and for existing locations listed below.
The new message boards are starting to see some activity and the site generally is getting tons of traffic, so keep the new information coming in! I haven't been keeping up on my blog as well as I should so I will try and keep that current. I started a new job recently so I have been very busy so bear with me.
I have some pictures to go through from a recent road trip in which I was able to get some new material on old theaters in Northern Michigan so watch for those soon.
As always, I thank all of you who have supported the site and hope that you continue to submit your information and pictures. That's all for now!
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| Site Update for October 1st 2006: |
Howdy Folks! Well, as many of you who have visited the site lately can see, I have been furiously adding new features for 2 weeks at least! The following is
a summary of what has been added:
- Webmaster Blog - This page will contain random thoughts and indicate what updates I am making on a daily basis.
- Image Search - Will allow you to search for pics based on location, city or caption. Great place to see all pics for a certain subject.
- Advanced Search - The search now goes far deeper, many more fields are included so you can get more meaningful results.
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Message Board/Forum - This will be for discussion of topics that do not relate directly to a given location and also a
place where your posts will remain largely un-edited. I will be monitoring the boards and replying to posts as needed.
- Site Statistics - Has data relating to the most popular locations on the site, also by category and other useful info.
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New Multimedia Section - An entire new section featuring video and audio clips related to Michigan and the topics featured on the site.
In addition, the clips related to certain locations will also be listed on the page for that attraction. I am pretty excited about
this new section and will be adding lots of additional content soon.
- Online Poll - I will be adding new polls every few weeks, another way to see what the folks out there are thinking.
I hope you will find these new additions useful, you can learn more about them by going to their respective pages where there is further explanation
as to how they work and ways to get the most out of the functionality contained therein. As always, I will be adding more new features
and content to keep the site fresh.
On to the regular updates. First up, my favorite subject, Drive-Ins! As you can see from the picture above we have received some great new "old" shots
of the magnificent Blue Sky Drive-In in Pontiac, thanks to Greg. They are truly amazing and we appreciate him sharing them with us. We also received some
cool pics from Dennis on the Sky Drive-In in Adrian and some new shots of the Tawas DI from Dan. Keep the good stuff coming folks!
As for Indoor Theaters, Kara has been busy sending in some great stuff on the theaters of Manistee, see the links below in the "Latest Pictures" sections for those.
Speaking of "Theaters," you may have noticed I have converted to the more "Americanized" word "Theater" in lieu of "Theatre" throughout the site. This is
in keeping with how most venues refer to themselves and the recognition that "Theatre" generally refers to auditoriums who show plays or other forms
of live entertainment. I have allowed for both spellings on the search page so you shouldn't have any problems.
There have been many other updates, Drag Strips, Speedways, Motels, Tourist Traps,
and we have added a couple of Amusements Parks that were not previously listed. See the "Latest Additions" section on this page for those.
The last thing I wanted to mention was that I am now offering opportunities to advertise on the site. I do this mainly in an effort to offset some of the expenses
involved in producing and maintaing it. The content will always be free but I will be adding a few banner ads here and there and special pages related to the
marketing aspects of the site. If anyone is interested in placing and ad or doing a tie-in with their website, please email me
and we can discuss the options available. The site is generating more traffic than ever as we had over 12,000 unique visitors in September!
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| Site Update for September 8th 2006: |
After a marathon session, the new update is ready! Whew! Anyway, starting on the Drive-In front, we are happy to report the 5 Mile DI in Dowagiac has
been re-opened by the folks who own the Sunset Auto Theater in Hartford, Neal and Glenda Edwards.
We also have some new "old" pictures to share of the Chippewa in Manistee and the Plainfield in Grand Rapids. The season is winding down so
be sure to get out there and support the drive-ins before they close for the winter! Remember the Capri Drive-In will have its Halloween Party in October, complete
with a contest for best costumes at the intermission. I also want to mention there is a nice feature on the AOL site about the Capri, you can view that here.
You just page through to number 9 and there it is.
As for Indoor Theaters, I am pleased to announce that yours truly and this website will be featured in the Detroit Free Press
this week in an article pertaining to Movie Houses and Multi-Plexes, you can view it here. There has been an announcement of a new multi-plex for Shelby Township,
thanks to Kim Connell for the heads-up on that. There is also a nice selection of image updates that you can see on the list below, some exclusive that have never been
seen before. Another piece of good news is that the awesome Penn Theater in Plymouth has been rescued and is open again, please patronize the theater if you live in the area.
I have put together a special page that will highlight the remaining, open downtown movie houses, similar to the "Open Drive-Ins" page, You
can view it here. National Amusements continues its exodus from the state with the closing of the
Beacon East and the Showcase Dearborn.
The racers as usual have been busy sending in new pics and plenty of updates, the new pics list for speedways has been updated below. There are some especially haunting
images of Jackson Motor Speedway sent in by Mike that show what the old track looks like now as well as some
vintage pics showing it when it was open.
I have also sprinkled in plenty of new pics in the Motel, Tourist and Gas Station sectiions for your viewing pleasure.
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| Site Update for July 7th 2006: |
I spent all last night doing research and found several aerial shots of lost speedways,
you can see the list below or look at the "Latest Speedway Pics"
section to check them out. If any of you racing fans out there live near any of these
old sites, I would appreciate getting some recent pics from the ground level if you
get the chance.
On the drive-in front, it looks like it is shaping up to be a great year. The weather has been
good and the movies seem to be a bit better than last year. We had a little scare at the
Capri Drive-In a few nights back when a tornado was sighted west of the Theater. It
was decided it was best to send the folks home and play it safe. Also it seems that the
main screen at the Getty 4 will not be in operation until next season. Word is the drive-in
has been doing good numbers, even with 3 screens.
On the Indoor Theater front, I found the former site of the
Dewitt Theater, I didn't have my digital camera with me so I will have
the shots up when I get the film developed. Apparently the marquee was still intact
a few years back but is now gone. If any of you folks out there have a pic of the
building with the marquee please send it to me! I also discovered another lost
small town Theater in Millington.
I have also added quite a few Gas Station, Motel
and Restaurant pics from post card scans. Speaking of restaurants,
Ron at MichiganDriveIns.com has put together a fantastic section on vintage drive-in restaurants,
it is definitely worth checking out!
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| Site Update for June 22nd 2006: |
I apologize that this update took so long to post, I have been tied up with numerous
issues over the last several weeks, I won't bore you with the details here. Hopefully
I will be updating the site more frequently from here on out.
On the drive-in front, the Silverdome Drive-In will apparently live on! We apologize for the confusion on this as
several sources were contacted and the info was that it was closing. It should be open sometime
this month, we will keep you posted. Ditto for the 5 Mile DI, which did not open this
year but has now been sold to new owners and should open soon. So that is good news for
the drive-in fans like me! The main screen at the Getty 4 was still not operational at
last check but hopefully that will be resolved soon as well.
On the Indoor Theater front, some great new picture submissions came in and are listed below, thanks
to all who patiently waited for me to post them.
I am working on an update to the speedway section now, with alot of new stuff on Mt. Clemens
Race Track, by far the most popular attraction on this site. I wish there was a way
to bring the track back to life as there are tons of folks out there who loved it so.
I also sprinkled in some new pics in the Tourist, Motel, and Restaurant sections and more is
to come.
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| Site Update for April 9th 2006: |
We seem to have some news on the Silverdome Drive-In in Pontiac, it appears that it will be closing. This is not entirely
suprising when you consider it was opened as the final pages of the Silverdome itself were being written. The concept seems
ill-conceived in retrospect, investing probably 100's of thousands of dollars in a parking lot drive-in with the
future of the hosting facility in doubt. The Silverdome DI never really provided the authentic drive-in experience, yet was
closer in proximity for some Metro Detroiters than was the Miracle Twin, US-23, or the Ford-Wyoming.
We encourage patrons who once attended the Silverdome to visit the aforementioned drive-ins, the Hi-Way in Carsonville
or the Capri Drive-In, all of which are superior to the Silderdome DI.
Also on the drive-in front, in an enormous coincidence,
Ron Gross of MichiganDriveIns.com has done some
great detective work again and found some vintage pics of the Lakes Drive-In
in Lake Linden showing the original built-up screen that was destroyed by a storm. You may remember Ron had
found some pics of the Lakes Drive-In in Brighton on the last update, whose screen was also destroyed by a storm.
We also wanted to thank Sean Doerr, who was the author of the "Lost Detroit" series of columns for all of his work over the
last 2 years or so. Sean is moving on to other projects, but you can still see his work at http://www.snweb.org/.
We have some new pics of indoor Theaters, which are listed below. I took a trip out to the new Trillium Circle 14
in Grand Blanc to see how it was coming along, it seems there will be a sort of modern art-deco treatment to the entrance area.
We also have some new stuff on Speedways, with some Mt. Clemens Race Track material coming in, see the links below for that.
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| Site Update for February 27th 2006: |
Well, spring is coming and that means the drive-ins will be opening up! First up will be the Capri, which
will be opening some time in March. As yours truly is the webmaster of the Capri Web Site
look for an announcement soon on that. In the meantime, you may remember that the Capri
was featured on the Food Network's "Top Five" program a while back. The show is being replayed
on Thursday, March 23rd at 11:00 AM so check it out if you can.
Also on the drive-in front
Ron Gross of MichiganDriveIns.com has done some
great detective work again and found some vintage pics of the Lakes Drive-In
in Brighton showing the original built-up screen that was destroyed by a storm in 1982. In other news it looks
like the Silverdome Drive-In will live on for now, as the latest deal to purchase the property was rejected by
the City of Pontiac. I understand that the operators of the drive-in have worked out an agreement to operate the
theater for the upcoming season.
As for the indoor theater's we have a few new ones and some nice new pics submitted by
Scott Biggs. You can check the "Latest Additions" and the "Latest Pictures" sections for those.
The racers have been busy again so we have lots of new pics to share on that, see the "Latest Pictures" section
below to see those. We also wanted to pass along some sad news, legendary drag racer and long-time
contributor to this site Charles Kurzawa has passed away after a long illness. We wish to extend
our condolences to the family of this great man and invite you to look here for a great picture
of Chuck doing what he loved most, racing at the drag strip.
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| Site Update for January 13th 2006: |
Hello Folks!
I have made some changes to the site home page, which I think will be beneficial to the vistors of the site and
make the updating of information more timely. As most of my updates consist of discussing new photos or information
posted since the last update, I have added a section below that provides summaries of the new pics by type. I have it
set up so I can run a quick update program as new items arrive that will automatically keep these items current.
The "New Additions" links to the right will show the last 30 or so new locations added to the site. The
section at the bottom entitled "Recent Information Updates on Existing Locations" will give you the last 30 information
updates on existing sites. This new method should allow for more frequent updates instead of batching all of the
material up and waiting several weeks to post it.
I will continue to put some commentary in here along with any news
items I run across that is related to the material on the site. Our
columnists will also be busy updating their sections and I will note
that here as well.
As always, I thank all of you who have supported the site and hope that you continue to submit your
information and pictures. That's all for now!
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| Site Update for December 11th 2005: |
Hello Folks! Hope you are all having a great fall and winter season so far!
The racers have been at it again, with tons of updates and pics. I am thinking that I will have to create a site
just for racing as the volume of submissions and visits is definitely significant. The following is a list of updates
on the auto racing stuff:
Thunder Valley Motor Sports, Thunder Valley Raceway,
Motor City Speedway, Flat Rock Speedway,
Auto City Speedway, Dixie Motor Speedway,
Pontiac Speedway, M-59 Speedway,
Michigan State Fairgrounds, Detroit Dragway, and
Tri-City Dragway.
Special thanks to Randy, Sean Fitzgerald, Dennis Woods, Dan Baumgarten, and Joe Vlk for the great pics and submissions.
On the drive-in front, Ron Gross of Michigan Drive-ins has passed along some great new color pictures from
Fredrick Ryan of the Ecorse Drive-In and the Dearborn. The Ecorse are demo shots and the Dearborn pics
were taken after some tornado damage - interesting stuff.
In regard to indoor Theaters, the Goodrich owned Novi Town Center 8 closed in November only to re-open under new
management, showing foreign and independent films. Kim Connell and Scott Biggs have sent along some additional
pics of the new MJR Marketplace Cinema 20 in Sterling Heights, which is now in the swing of the busy holiday season.
I have also discovered some new "old" Theaters in Bellevue,
Saline and Caro.
Also on the indoor Theater front, I have posted a preliminary version of some digital art I have been working on
featuring the Strand Theater in Caro. I was inspired by the version done by the fantastic Hyper-realistic
painter Davis Cone, whose work can be seen in the book "Popcorn Palaces."
If you love art deco movie palaces, this artist's work will amaze you!
I have just added 2 new sections to the site, the first one is "Lighthouses," no site on Michigan would be complete
without lighthouses! It is a modest start, but I will be adding to it as I go along, particularly historical photos.
Another new section is the "Tourist Cabins" page, which recalls the great old resorts that pre-dated many of the
hotels and motels we have now. Michigan was well known for these sites and there are still some great ones out there. There will be
more new sections coming soon, next up will be one featuring "Ships of the Great Lakes," which I hope to expand into an
extensive area on Michigan's nautical history.
As usual, I have also added dozens of new pics in the Restaurant, Motel,
Tourist Trap and Resort Sections.
I want to thank all of you out there who are visiting and giving your great feedback, submissions and pictures. Due to
my hectic schedule, most new pics submitted between now and the first of the year will probably be posted in January.
As usual I will keep up with the daily submissions of information as they come in as all I have to do is proof read
them a little and post them.
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| Site Update for November 11th 2005: |
Hello Folks! Thanks to all of you for being so patient, waiting for the next update, I have been swamped.
The racers have been busy sending in tons of submissions as usual with lots of new info and pics. The following is a
summary of those:
Jerry - Pontiac Silverdome, Nunica,
Millburg, Ionia,
Grand Rapids Speedrome, Grand Haven,
Galesburg, Big Rapids,
Air Park Speedway, Berlin Raceway.
Phil Graf - Motor City Speedway. Randy - Flat Rock Speedway.
Terry Bogusz Jr. - Springport and Auto City Speedway.
Chris Fobbe - Tri-City Motor Speedway.
Also on the indoor Theater front, Beth Bourque has submitted a great picture and information on the Wayland Theater in
Wayland, a Theater previously unknown by us until now. Pat Weaver, a long time submitter to this site, has
sent in some great info and pics of the Star Theater in Gladwin, which is currently undergoing a restoration effort.
Seth Landon, another reliable submitter, has sent in some good pics of the Gem in Beaverton.
Kim Connell tells us that the new MJR Marketplace Cinema Sterling Heights is opening soon, if it hasn't already. She also sent along
some new pics of this almost complete multi-plex. Coincidentally, the Showcase Sterling Heights has disappeared completely
at the same time as the demolition is now complete.
As for drive-ins, sadly the season is at it's end except of course for the Ford Wyoming 1-5. There was a great Halloween Party
at the Capri Drive-In and a good time was had by all. I found some nice pics of the
Beltline Drive-In Wyoming on the Cinematour site that you may not have seen as well.
I have also added a new section under recreation simply entitled "Lakes." It consists of some vintage pics of
some of the wonderful lakes around Michigan, for a start.
As usual, I have also added dozens of new pics in the Restaurant, Motel,
Tourist Trap and Resort Sections.
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| Site Update for September 25th 2005: |
Hello Folks! I know its been a while, but I have been swamped with work from my day job, as well as other side projects.
First off, we have some new pics of some Theaters in Sterling Heights, namely the demolishing of the old
Showcase Sterling Heights and the simultaneous building of the
MJR Marketplace 20 nearby.
Scott Biggs and Kim Connell, both long time supporters and submitters to this site, have provided some great pics
of both. Also on the indoor Theater front, I found a nice pic of the State in Alpena
when it was known as the Maltz.
On the drive-in front, we have some new pics of the old Cascade Drive-In, thanks to Ron Gross at
MichiganDriveIns.com and
Jerrica Lee. Remember the Capri Drive-In will be open through Halloween on weekends only so please
support them by coming out.
The site has continued to get tons of good submissions on a variety of subjects, you can look at the "Recent Additions" and
"Recent Updates" sections on this page for those.
I have also added dozens of new pics in the Restaurant, Motel,
Tourist Trap and Resort Sections. I also wanted to let everyone know
that the uploads page has been disabled indefinitely due to some idiots who continually try to upload scripts
and other harmful files to the site. If you would like to submit some pics, simply e-mail them to me
as an attachment at webmaster@waterwinterwonderland.com.
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| Site Update for July 24th 2005: |
Hello Folks! As promised, I have uploaded hi-res historical aerial photo's of the following locations. These pictures range in
date from the late 1940's to the late 1960's, showing the respective location in all of it's former glory. Just click on the
location name on the following list to view the photo for that location. Here is the list:
Drive-Ins
Algiers Drive-In on NE Corner Warren at Wayne in Westland
Bel Air Drive-In on 8600 E 8 Mile Rd in Detroit
Bel Aire Twin Drive-In on 6231 N Monroe in Monroe
Blue Sky Drive-In on 2150 N. Opdyke Rd in Pontiac
Commerce Drive-In on 8305 Richardson Rd in Walled Lake
Dearborn Drive-In on 26500 Ford Rd in Dearborn
Denniston Drive-In on 6495/6501 N. Monroe St (M-125) in Monroe
Dixie Drive-In on 6720 North Monroe in Monroe
East Side Drive-In on 19440 Harper Av in Harper Woods
Ecorse Drive-In on 21366 Ecorse Rd in Taylor
Ford-Wyoming 1-5 on 10400 Ford Rd at Wyoming in Dearborn
Fort George Drive-In on 16300 Fort St 1/4 Mile S of Eureka in Southgate
Grand River Drive-In on 30200 Grand River in Farmington
Gratiot Drive-In on 31900 Gratiot in Roseville
Holiday Drive-In on 23000 West Rd in Trenton
Jolly Roger Drive-In on 24745 Van Born Rd in Taylor
Lakeshore Drive-In on 5737 Lakeshore Rd in Port Huron
Marysville Drive-In on 1120 Gratiot in Marysville
Michigan Drive-In on Dix-Toledo Hwy at Eureka in Wyandotte
Miracle Mile Drive-In on 2103 Telegraph Rd in Pontiac
Mt Clemens Drive-In on 45360 N. Gratiot at Hall St in Mt Clemens
Oak Drive-In on 2916 Normandy Rd (13 1/2 Mile/Woodward) in Royal Oak
Pontiac Drive-In on 2435 Dixie Hwy 1 Blk N. of Telegraph in Pontiac
Scio Drive-In on 6588 Jackson Rd in Ann Arbor
Seaway Drive-In on 8543 Marsh Rd in Algonac
Troy Drive-In on E. Maple at Stephenson in Troy
Van Dyke Drive-In on 32341 Van Dyke in Warren
Walake Drive-In on 2150 W. Maple Rd in Walled Lake
Walled Lake Drive-In on 535 East Lake Drive in Walled Lake
Waterford Drive-In on 3520 Airport Rd in Waterford
Wayne Drive-In on 38547 Michigan Ave in Wayne
West Side Drive-In on 14350 W 8 Mile Rd in Oak Park
Willow Drive-In on 51300 E. Michigan Ave in Belleville
Ypsi-Ann Drive-In on 4675 Washtenaw in Ann Arbor
Dragways and Speedways
Detroit Dragway on Sibley at Dix in Brownstown Twp
Chief Pontiac Speedway on in Pontiac
Motor City Speedway on 8 Mile Rd. 1 Block E. of Schoenher in Warren Township
Mt. Clemens Race Track on I-94 and North River Rd. in Mt. Clemens
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| Site Update for July 7th 2005: |
Hello Folks!
Well, I know it has been awhile since the last update. The reason is that your loyal webmaster has been swamped with
other work and an unplanned stay in the hospital with a recovery period afterwards. Well, I am still busy but I had to make time to update
this website as you folks have loyally been submitting and visiting all along. I want to let everyone know that I
appreciate all the great feedback and the submissions and I apologize for taking so long to get some of them posted.
I am currently in Delaware doing this update so it is a little harder with a dial-up connection.
With that, on with the updates!
First off Dan Baumgarten has sent in some great submissions on the beloved Mt. Clemens Race Track, one of the most
loved entries on this site. He also sent in some great stuff on Motor City Speedway, another fave, as well as
Lake Angelus and Sunset Speedway. I myself went up to Wilbur to get some pics of Raceland but they are not
developed yet. I will post those ASAP. I have also added a "Latest Speedway Pics" page for you folks who want to
see the latest stuff easily.
On the Indoor Theater front, we have some new multi-plexes going in throughout the state and some new
"old" pics of movie houses gone by. We have pics of the Center in Marlette,
the Crowne in Marne and the Century in Coopersville.
Additionally, a submitter known only as "MovieGirl" has sent
in some great shots of the Abbey, Americana West, Old Orchard and
Great Lakes Crossing. Some of these are vintage shots from several years back and give you
a great look at life at the multiplex. The new Theaters can be seen by clicking on the "Recent Additions"
on this page.
I have also updated the usual Motels, Restaurants,
Tourist Traps and Gas Station sections.
On the drive-in front, Ron Gross of MichiganDriveIns.com
has discovered some great hi-res historical aerial photos of drive-ins in and around Southeastern Michigan,
but I won't be uploading them until I get back into town. Feel free to check out Ron's site in the meantime.
That is it for now - Hopefully the next update will come sooner! Thanks for your support!
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| Site Update for May 10th 2005: |
Hello Folks!
Spring is in full swing, the drive-ins are opening up, and pretty soon the race cars and boats will be running. It's all good!
Starting off with drive-ins, my favorite, The Capri, will be showing
Star Wars Episode III, Revenge of the Sith starting Thursday, May 19. The buzz is that the movie is very dark yet very good,
definitely the best since the original 3 films. Don't expect any cuddly Ewoks in this one folks, Vader dominates. Remember "Order 66..."
The studio's terms are pretty tough, so please check it out at the Capri if you can and show your support for drive-ins!
On the indoor front, we have added several "lost Theaters" mostly thanks to Ron up near Port Huron, as well as some new multiplexes that
are newly open or in progress in Grand Blanc, Sandusky,
and Kentwood. Sadly the Fox Village 4 in Ann Arbor was closed by the owner,
citing high expenses.
On the auto racing front, we have a new submitter, Dave Dobner, who has sent along some fantastic old photos of Detroit Dragway,
Pontiac Silverdome, and in particular Mt. Clemens Racetrack. The Mt Clemens shots
have detail in them that we never had so check those out motor sports fans!
As usual I have added some Tourist Traps, Motels, Restaurants and
other goodies that I have come across. You will note that I have added some larger shots in these sections as 300 pixels sometimes does not do justice to a special
location. I am sure they are pretty slow for you dial-up users, but I think they are worth it.
I have some new ideas that I am putting together, so stay tuned. In the meantime, enjoy the good weather - Michigan summers are short!
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| Site Update for April 19th 2005: |
This time we have updates in almost every category. Let start off with drive-ins. The Capri,
Ford-Wyoming and Miracle Twin are open and the Getty and US-23 will be opening this weekend. It
looks like all locations will re-open this year so that is good news. Ron Gross over at
MichiganDriveIns.com meanwhile has discovered a previously unknown DI called the Midway.
Turns out it was mid-way between Gladwin and Beaverton on M-18, hence the name.
The mystery surrounding the Auto Theater in Constantine has been put to rest thanks to Ron also.
He was able to pinpoint the location of the place and I happened to be down there at the
same time and got some pics of the lot now.
I also found some new pics of the Commerce and The Oak. I also
think I have a probable location of the Gospel Film DI in Cathro as well.
Also on the Drive-in front, there is some talk of a new drive-in being built in Clare. Seems and
investor has purchased some land with that intention. We will keep you posted on that and if
anyone has any additional info, let us know.
On the indoor front, John McDowell sent along some nice pics of the new Harbor Cinemas in Ludington. Thanks John,
that will save me the trip, although I like going to Ludington! I also uncovered some nice old
shots of the Temple in Detroit, as well as a bunch from the Bay City area.
You can check the "Latest Indoor Pics" section for those and more.
Additionally, Ron G found a shot of the Lake Theater in Walled Lake from an old Box Office mag.
I want to ask any of you Theater folks out there that I am extremely interested in old
Box Office magazines and will pay cash for anything related to Michigan Theaters we do not have already.
On the Auto Racing front, Ron has sent in some shots of the Auto City Speedway in Clio.
Rick Rzepka, one of our most loyal submitters, has also provided some nice shots of the
Mid-Michigan Motorplex from this year.
There is also some new Restaurants, Motels, Resorts and Tourist Traps. I will be adding a
Ghost Town section in the next few days as well.
That is it for now - Thanks for your support!
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| Site Update for March 30th 2005: |
Hello Folks!
The fun season is kicking into gear and we have some nice updates to celebrate here as well.
First off, there is a new section on Boat Racing, with John Gacioch
supplying some great shots to start with.
The opening weekend at the Capri Drive-In
went quite well and it was great to get out there under the stars and see some movies! I
assume the next Drive-In in Michigan to open will probably be the
Miracle Twin in Flint, most likely sometime in April.
The rest should follow soon after that, we will try and get those dates and post them ASAP.
I have enhanced a few sections of the site also. The Restaurant,
Motel and Downtown View
sections all contain areas with new, larger pics. Sometimes a 300 pixel wide image
does not do certain locations justice.
On the Indoor Theater front, I found some great vintage shots of a previously unknown
Theater in Constantine, the Park. Also
the Frolic in Midland, which as you can see was quite nice.
I also found a new "old one" in Deckerville.
On the Auto Racing front, Rick Rzepka came in with some great shots of US-131 Dragway
and Milan from the old days. Also John Gacioch sent
along some great shots of drag racing legend Shirley Muldowney at Milan Dragway
which definitely capture her in an intense and thoughtful moment.
Even if you are not
a racing fan, I highly recommend that you check Johns's Dragstrip Memories Page,
as his work is outstanding and is among the best I have seen. I am honored that he
has allowed us to share these great shots with you.
Last but not least, for all of you fans of old Flint, I have found some shots of the old Flint IMA,
which eventually became Auto World. There are also some shots of the demolition
of the facility.
I have some new ideas and am gathering material to add some new sections to the site, as well
as expand and enhance others. The site visits have been high and the submissions from
you folks have been strong and that encourages me to keep pushing. It is
my goal to surpass the 1 millionth page hit count this year and it looks like that
will happen.
That is it for now - Thanks for your support!
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| Site Update for March 18th 2005: |
Hello Folks!
Spring is coming and that brings up one of my favorite subjects, Drive-Ins! As usual the
Capri is the first one to open up and that will be March 24th. As you may know, I also
do the website for the Capri and it has a new look again this year. Be sure to come down
on the 24th and kick off the spring season right! Speaking of Drive-Ins, Ron at
MichiganDrive-Ins.com has received a great pic of the old Ecorse Drive-In during
its destruction. You can see that here.
Switching to Drag Racing, I want to thank 2 great submitters, namely Rick Rzepka and John Gacioch.
They have sent some amazing stuff on Tri-City, US-131,
Detroit Dragway, Milan, and Motor City Dragway.
I have a new page featuring John Gacioch's work. I think you will find
his work breathtaking in both quality and historical significance.
Sean Doerr has also submitted his latest column, which features a recent trip to some
great Detroit Landmarks.
As usual, I have been sprinkling in updates on just about everything, check the "Recent Updates"
list and the "Recent Additions" lists for those.
That is it for now - Think spring and I will see you at the Drive-In!
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| Site Update for February 10th 2005: |
Wow - It's been a long time huh? Well, your loyal webmaster and keeper of the flame of
all things retro in Michigan has been busy again. A new job with a longer commute has
been eating up a lot of my spare time. But there is a good amount of new stuff so let's get
to it.
First of all, look for a newly redisigned
Capri Drive-In web site soon! As you
may know I am also the webmaster of that site. Tom and Sue, who own the Capri, are
getting cabin feaver and are tentatively looking at opening on March 11th, earlier
than ever!! A final decision will be made by the 7th. All I can say is if you want an
early spring, go to the Capri Drive-In Guestbook
and tell them you are coming down for the opening. That will ensure that they will do
it on March 11th. I will be there as will Ron from MichiganDriveIns.com
along with some other DI Diehards so be there!
There is plenty of great stuff on the racing front. As in tons of user submissions and new photos.
A gentlemen named Jerry submitted some fantastic stuff on Harvard, Greenville, Hastings,
Whiskey Ridge, Jackson, Galesburg, and Saranac to name a few. Most of it is quite rare,
so all of you racing fans should check it out! Speaking of racing, or new resident columnist
Chris Fobbe has submitted a great new "Outside Groove,"
so be sure and read it as well.
I have added some new Indoor Theaters, and some new pics of old ones. John Lauter, our resident
movie palace maven, has sent in some great stuff on the Riviera Annex. This
of course was the smaller Eberson atmospheric that handled the overflow from the nearby
Grand Riviera. Both were fantastic and are sadly
gone. Thanks to John though, we have good pics of each. John's next installment for
his column will be coming soon, so stay tuned for that. As far as other Indoor Theater
stuff, check the "Latest Indoor Pics" link for that. Some new
Theater activity has been happening around the state as well, with the new Harbor Cinemas
in Ludington. I need a pic of this one - help! There is also talk of a new Theater at
the location of the old Showcase Sterling Heights! Our
friend, loyal contributor and former Showcase employee Kim Connell will get us the latest info on that one I am sure.
Unfortunately, the quaint Grand Theater in Grand Haven
has now been added to the Demo's List. A restaurant will soon
take its place.
As usual, I have added some Motels, Tourist Traps,
Restaurants, Resorts, and
Gas Stations too. Enjoy!
That is all for now - Think Spring!
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| Site Update for December 30th 2004: |
Hello Folks!
I don't have a huge update this time, but there is still some great stuff to share so let's get to it!
First off, I have the pleasure of welcoming another columnist on board! His name is Chris Fobbe, he is a 14 year old from Lansing
whose area of expertise is auto racing and his first column is great. His feature will be known
as "The Outside Groove." He is involved in many facets of racing already and I am
sure he will continue to be an asset to the site. I think it is great that the younger folks like Chris and
Sean Doerr still appreciate the "good stuff." It should give us all hope for the future!
The next update I have is an excellent piece of work that was done by Karen Pier Hunt, a longtime submitter to the
site. She took the initiative and put together a nice piece on the now defunct Four Bears Water Park,
complete with a nice set of pictures. Thank for the great work Karen!
On the Auto Racing front, a gentlemen by the name of Terry Bogusz Jr. sent me some great new pics of
the old Mt. Clemens Speedway which I am sure you racing fans will enjoy.
With all of these great submissions, pretty soon I won't have to do anything at all! Tthe next major update should be coming up in a few
weeks so stay tuned!
That is all for now! Gary Ritzenthaler
Webmaster, WaterWinterWonderland.com
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| Site Update for December 12th 2004: |
Merry Christmas Folks!
I have updated the site in almost every category, so I will just summarize the highlights for you.
On the indoor Theater front, John Lauter has sent me and given me leads on a massive amount of
information on Detroit Theaters. Of special note is the Riviera Theater, where he provided over
20 new pics of this outstanding example of an Eberson atmospheric that is unfortunately gone. Part
2 of John's Column should also be up soon as I have seen the draft and it is great! Most
of the other new Detroit pics can be seen by looking at the "Latest Indoor Pics" page.
On the Detroit front, Sean Doerr has submitted a fantastic column about his
adventure exploring and abandoned Detroit landmark. Kinda spooky!
There has also been quite a few updates to the Dragway and
Motor Speedway sections, with new pics on the Grand Rapids Speedrome,
Michigan State Fairgrounds, Detroit Dragway,
and many others.
On the Amusement Park front, we have some great new pics of Jefferson Beach,
Walled Lake, and Electric Park from the Wayne State University Library site, which is
great for all of you Old Detroit buffs.
There is also more Motels, Resorts,
Beaches, Aerial Photos and
Tourist Traps so check 'em out!
I also wanted to thank you submitters out there, that's what makes the site better, when we
all chip in. I have been getting a ton of submissions and it has been great, keep it up!
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| Site Update for November 21st 2004: |
Hello Michigan Mavens!
This update has a little bit of everything so lets start with Drag Strips. Fred
Militello has solved the mystery of what is left of Tri-City Dragway, and
the answer is quite a bit. I myself have tried to get access to the old Dragstrip off of Sarle
Rd. for quite some time. I actually got stuck in the mud on the other side of the airport on
a vacant lot that I thought was the dragway once, it took 12 hours, 3 tow trucks and a back hoe
to get me out. I then located the site and was chased off the land by airport security. Later
on I sent a letter to the Tri-City Airport asking for permission to get on the property but got no
response. Then along comes long time drag racer and afficianado Fred Militello with a full set
of beautiful pics, be sure to check them out! Fred also sent along some pics from the reunion
at Ubly Dragway this year as well.
Next up is some great pics from Rick Rzepka of the legendary "Color me Gone" Mopar
at Detroit Dragway, a car that most of us drag racing fans of a certain age will remember!
On the drive-in front, Ron Gross at MichiganDriveIns.com has come up with some
good information on the Nite Sky in Beulah. Ron took the long trip to Beulah
based on a lead received from a submitter. Although that lead turned out to be incorrect, Ron
was still able to locate the site after extensive interviews of the local people.
Ron was also able to uncover the location of an old long-lost Speedway, called the B&L.
He took some shots of the remnants of the track and the grandstand. Great work Ron!
On indoor Theaters, I have been adding entries for additional Opera Houses, a category I never
fully implemented in the past but am in the process of setting up now. I also added some Theaters
I have just discovered and some old pics that I have not seen. Check the "Recent Additions" summary
on this page and the "Latest Indoor Pics" page for those.
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| Site Update for October 15th 2004: |
Hello To All Ghosts of Michigan's Past!
I have added a lot of new stuff to the site, so let's jump right in with my favorite subject,
Drive-In Theaters! Ron at MichiganDriveIns.com was able to get
ahold of some fantastic shots of the Algiers Drive-In, which obviously
had one of the coolest marquees of any drive-in ever!
I mentioned previously that I would be bringing a new columnist online and I can now announce the
addition of Sean Doerr's Lost Detroit. Sean has been a long time contributor
to this site and others and has unique perspective on Detroit. I think the fact that he is 14
years old proves that the youngsters out there also have an interest in preserving our
architectural heritage! His first installment is about the Statler Hotel, something near and
dear to him as he is the webmaster of SavetheStatler.com.
There are several new sections to talk about, most are just getting started but I will be
adding much more content in the future. We now have sections on Post Offices,
Airports, Vintage Detroit,
Car Dealers, Ballrooms,
Railroad Depots and Campgrounds.
For the racing fans,Rick Zepka has sent me some more great stuff on
Detroit Dragway, check out the great shot of the
Blue Max Funny Car!
I have also run across info and pics of 6 new Indoor Theaters/Opera Houses.
Well, I guess they aren't new, in fact they are old and gone, but they are new to me! I have also
added a bunch of new Motels in that section as well as some
Restaurants and Gas Stations. Check
out all of the new Tourist Traps too!
That is all for now! Gary Ritzenthaler
Webmaster, WaterWinterWonderland.com
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| Site Update for October 4th 2004: |
Hello Michigan Ghouls Past and Present
I have updated quite a few sections in the last week or so, set lets start off with dragstrips. I was able to obtain a
copy of a promotional film made for the City of Detroit in 1965. On this reel was some fantastic stuff from
Detroit Dragway. There is some great screen caps of the entire facility in that section and the
video will be up shortly as soon as I get it converted to the proper format.
Also on that film was some great stuff from Bob-Lo Island, which I have screen caps of and film will be added on that as well.
I have modified and greatly expanded the Tourist Trap section, there will be more to come. I was able to snag
some full page ads back from the 1960's that were run to attract tourists to Michigan, they are on there own page under
the Michigan Promos menu item. I have more of that material coming, this is just
the start.
I have also added a couple dozen Motels and Restaurants in their respective sections.
There are a few more Gas Stations and Aerial Shots in their sections as well.
Of course the same goes for the Beaches, Resorts and Retail sections too!
On the Drive-In front, the season is almost over but there is one big event left worth
checking out, that being the Annual Capri Drive-In Halloween Party.
There will be prizes for the best costumes and $15 carload pricing. It is always a blast
so head on down to the Capri on Saturday October 23rd for that!
I have some new sections planned as well that I am gathering content for right now. Specifically,
I will be adding sections on Rail Depots, Campgrounds and Airports. If anyone out there has some
material like that to add, please let me know. I am also assembling material for a "Michigan
Trivia" section so stay tuned for that.
That is all for now! Gary Ritzenthaler
Webmaster, WaterWinterWonderland.com
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| Site Update for September 26th 2004: |
Hello Michigan History Fans!
I have some updates in a few different areas, so lets start with drive-in Theaters. The "40 Years of Mustang
Love" event was held at the Capri Drive-In last weekend featuring a rare big screen
presentation of "Bullitt." There was a nice turnout, the weather was great and Steve McQueen was perfect!
The old 35mm print of "Bullitt" was in good shape and the color was still pretty vivid. Check the
Capri page for pics of that.
One the auto racing front, I have quite a bit of new content. I ran into a gentleman named Tim Young at
the Mustang event at the Capri and he just so happened to have some great shots of Detroit Dragway just after it
closed. In addition, a great new contributor to the site, Rick Zepka, submitted some fanatastic vintage
pics of Detroit Dragway also, featuring some of the all-time greatest cars and drivers that raced there!
Thanks to Tim and Rick for the great material!
Sticking with Drag Strips, I had some amazing photos of Tri-City Dragway submitted to me
that appeared to come from an online photo album belonging to Don Ruppel. I am in the process of obtaining
permission from him to use the pics, but I couldn't resist putting up a few in the meantime! I have also
added a nice aerial shot with callouts to show the layout of the facility. The dragway is now on the
property of MBS International Airport in Saginaw. I actually went up there once and "accidentally"
wandered onto the lot to get some pics of some of the remnants of the track. I have since sent a letter
asking for "official permission" to go onto the lot but got no response. If anyone knows a private
pilot that flies out of there or anyone else at the airport let me know!
In reference to Speedways, I received some good information from Mike at Gregory regarding
Thunder Road Raceway near Cass City up on M-53 and M-81. That inspired me to go
up there and get some pics of the eerie remnants of the place even though the signs on the lot
made it quite clear to GET THE HELL OUT! If I ever am jailed or killed getting content for this
site, I hope you will all remember my dedication. At any rate, there was some cool ruins there
and I also put together a descriptive aerial photo of that. The plave kind of reminded me of the old
Zilwaukee Speedway, which has some cool, spooky ruins on it as well.
On the way up to Thunder Road, I stopped by Armada and got some shots of what may have been
the Armada Theater. In addition, I paid a visit to the library
in Capac and found a rare photo of the previously unkown Capac Theater,
so be sure to check that out. I also came across another new entry in that category on eBay, the
Century Theater in Coopersville, which was quite nice for
a small-town Theater.
I have also come across some great info on Amusement Parks, which I will be adding to
the site soon. In the meantime, I have put up a page on Wolff's Amusement Park, and old park in
Detroit that opened in 1906.
I have also added the usual additions to the Motels,
Restaurants and Downtown sections.
That is all for now!
Gary Ritzenthaler
Webmaster, WaterWinterWonderland.com
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| Site Update for September 12th 2004: |
Hello Michigan Nostalgia Nuts!
I am back from a long time being away due to my moving from Wixom to beautiful Commerce Township Michigan. My computers and all of my other gear was packed away for awhile and I have just now got it set back up again. In fact, I am still fooling around with my primary workstation, wrestling with a display driver issue under Windows XP! AAHHRRG!
I have spent countless hours over the last few days adding content to virtually every section in the site, I had probably 100 user submissions that had built up since June. I want to thank all of you folks out there as always for your submissions and if you didn't get an email acknowledging it, please bear with me while I get caught up. I guess the best way to let you know what is changed is give you the highlights a section at a time so here goes...
As far as Drive-Ins, (one of our favorite subjects!) Ron Gross at michigandriveins.com has been doing some great work getting opening and closing dates for all most every drive-in in Michigan. He has also found some great newspaper articles complete with pictures, most notably the Sunset in Lapeer, the Fort George, the Northland in Petoskey, The Bel-Air, and the Dearborn.
Also in the drive-in category, I was able to found a source for historical aerial photographs. I thought this might be a great way to get some answers on some long-gone drive-ins that we are lacking info on. The only problem is that they can cost up to $200 each. Anyway, I figured a good first candidate would be the Mikado. This drive-in was supposedly open until 1959 in the tiny northern Michigan town it got it's name from. The other interesting fact about it was that it supposedly moved 3 times before it finally closed, according to what frequent submitter Bobby Peacock (Cactus Bob) was able to find out from a local Mikado resident. The closest date I could get before 1959 was 1951, so I figured that if the place moved 3 times, one or more of the locations would be visible in 1951, only 8 years before it closed for good. Well, as you can see from the aerial photo, it only creates more questions then answers. There does not appear to be any recognizable "footprint" of a drive-in in that shot. Next up, the original Walled Lake Drive-in in Walled Lake. From what I can gather, it was across the street from the lake and was last seen in the 1940's. A historical topo should confirm it!
On the indoor Theater front, I have added several new pics, and some are pretty rare. I posted a great daytime color shot of the Michigan Theater in Lansing. One of my submitters, Greg Bellamy sent in a great, rare shot of the Morgan Theater in Ironwood, thanks Greg! My kids stumbled across my high school yearbook the other day and lo and behold it had a pic of the old Tel-Ex Cinemas marquee. This place was nothing much, an early multiplex actually, but i grew up a mile and 1/2 away and used to sneak in there as a kid. Ebay was the source of nice postcard shot of the St. Clair, and Sean Doerr came up with a great shot of the Park in Lincoln Park in its heyday. Other notable additions in this category include a nice shot of the Krim in Detroit from Jackie Mapes and a nice old shot of the Oriental from Dimitri & Rémon van Riemsdijk. Thanks folks!
I have added 3 new sections as well, just getting them started really but I will be adding more as we go along. They are Aerial Views, Tourist Traps and Fairs. So if anyone out there has any pics in these categories, let me know!
On the auto racing side, Ed Graf came up with a magnificent shot of the Motor City Speedway, the submissions on that place have been coming in strong, and Ron Gross sent in some fresh pics of the beautiful US-131 Dragway.
I added a ton of pics to the Motel section, and have added an alphabetical index so the pages will download a little better as I have in excess of 350 pics in there now. I have also added numerous Gas Station, Restaurant and Shopping Center and Retail pics also. pics as well.
In closing, I wanted to let you know that I will be updating the site on a regular basis again, as I have done in the past, thanks for your support and patience!
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| Site Update for May 25th 2004: |
Hello Michigan History Mavens and Fun-Lovers Everywhere!
I have some cool stuff to share this week in several categories so I will jump right in with probably our favorite topic,
Drive-In Theaters!
First of all, all of the 10 drive-ins around the state are now open although some are still open on weekends only. My personal
favorite, the Capri, has kicked off its 7 night a week schedule with
Shrek 2 on May 19th. I was working with Tom and Sue at the
drive-in for several days over the last week and I can tell you that there is a lot of work that goes into running a drive-in at
the level of the Capri. I have added some new pics to their section so you can check them out if you wish.
In other drive-in news, the Compuware Arena Drive-In proposal has been approved by the City of Plymouth and will open sometime
in June. We will be there of course to get plenty of pics when that happens.
From a historical standpoint, I was able to obtain some pics of the Bay Drive-In in Pinconning from the Van Wormer family who
built the drive-in back in 1959. The pics are pretty complete and there are more on the way so stay tuned. Ron Gross
of Michigan Drive-Ins also obtained some great, yet somewhat sad, shots of the final days of the Oak Drive-In so be sure
to check them out also.
Andrew Wilson, our resident researcher, has also uncovered yet another previously unknown drive-in in Douglas, Michigan while looking for
info on the Starlite DI in Saugatuck. He has also given me a great list of indoor Theater info which I will be getting posted
over the next few days.
On the indoor Theater front, Kim Connell of Showcase Sterling Heights fame has provided numerous additional pics of that
location as well as extensive pics of the demolition of the Showcase Pontiac 6-12. Her full album can be seen here.
I also found some rare pics of some Detroit area Theaters, namely the Beverly, Keego,
Telenews, Westown,
Vogue, Tower and Mercury.
I also went on a road trip and found some small town "lost" Theaters, I will be putting those up as soon as figure out
which pics go to which town! I went to so many places, I lost track!
On the speedway front, I have received tons of aerial pics from Brian Baker, who took the time to do the research and found
some great info and locations, check the recent updates section and the speedway page for those.
That is all for now, I will have another update soon, hopefully quicker than this one!
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| Site Update for April 15th 2004: |
Hello folks, I have a stack of new stuff, so I will get right to it.
As spring is in the air, I think it would be a good idea to start out
with one of our favorite topics, drive-in Theaters! On the news
front, many of you will know that yet another drive-in (of sorts) is
being pitched for the City of Plymouth. This would be the Compuware
Arena Drive-In, brought to you by the people that operate the newest
Michigan DI, the Silverdome.
It is in the planning and approval stage
at this point but I have set up a page for it with pictures of the
facility as it sits now. You can view them here.
It is hard to say how this will fly, as it seems it will steal some
business from the Silverdome, which from what I here is not exactly
doing big numbers. As for the location itself, there was not enough
interest in the Plymouth area to save the Penn, a wonderful downtown
Theater that is now in limbo, so it is hard to see how a temporary drive-in
with inflatable screens will fare.
We also have some other drive-ins opening up, the following is the schedule:
Capri at Coldwater - 2 Screens already open weekends only.
Getty 4 at Muskegon - 4 Screens opening April 23 7 nights.
US-23 at Flint - 2 Screens opening April 30 weekends only.
Miracle Twin at Flint - 2 Screens opening April 16 weekends only.
Hi-Way at Carsonville - 1 Screen opening by mid-May 7 nights.
Silverdome at Pontiac - 3 Screens already open 7 days.
Ford Wyoming 1-5 at Dearborn - 5 Screens already open 7 nights.
Ford Wyoming 6-9 at Dearborn - 4 Screens opening April 16 7 nights.
Sunset Auto at Hartford - 1 Screen opening by mid-May.
5 Mile at Dowagiac - 1 Screen opening by mid-May.
Cherry Bowl at Honor - 1 Screen opening May 1 weekends only.
Thanks to Ron Gross at MichiganDriveIns.com for some of these dates.
Speaking of Ron, Andrew Wilson and Ron have uncovered some additional great
historical info. We now have pics of the Lakes in Lake Linden when it was open,
and a new pic of the Ecorse Drive-In including the screen. Andrew has also found an ad on the
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