People

Voices of Detroit: The Great Depression

During the first decades of the 20th century, the El Moore changed from a luxury building with eight large and luxurious apartments to a building that was subdivided several times. By the mid-1920s, there were almost 30 apartments (more like single or double rooms with shared bathroom facilities) in the same space. Things went from …

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Who says Cass Corridor had to be saved? Postscript

Change is inevitable, even if it isn’t always appreciated. But change in Midtown, celebrated by many as a good thing, can be an even better thing when neighbors work together to bring that change about. And when neighbors realize that it’s going to take all of them to make the neighborhood reach its potential. The veterans as …

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Who says Cass Corridor had to be saved? Part 2

  Long before ‘diversity’ had ever become a national buzzword, the Cass Corridor was already perfecting its version of the concept back in the late ’60s and early ’70s, according to longtime resident Bridget Tuohey. But it wasn’t just about racial diversity, it was about race, class, and just radically different sorts of people who …

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Who says Cass Corridor had to be saved? Part 1

The common narrative of the Cass Corridor is that it was one of Detroit’s worst and most notorious neighborhoods, known primarily for its pimps, hookers, junkies, addicts and just about any other reason why any self-respecting upstanding citizen would never want to live there. The logical conclusion of that narrative ends at the conception of …

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Walking Around the El Moore Neighborhood: Source Booksellers

The El Moore, a beautifully restored historic residential apartment complex that is designed to be a model of urban sustainable living, is located at 624 West Alexandrine at Second Avenue in the heart of the Midtown area of Detroit. As Tom Brennan, the co-founder of the Green Garage and the El Moore likes to say, …

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Voices of Detroit: The Arts and Crafts Movement in the Early 20th Century

The El Moore is a residential apartment complex that is designed to be a model of urban sustainable living. The El Moore building, which was named the “El Moore Flats” at the time, is a carefully restored structure that was designed by renowned local architect A.C. Varney and built in 1898 by developer Charles W. …

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