Skip to main content

Great Lakes Road Trip Day 13; exploring the 1980s in Western Metro Detroit

I had a lot of time today before I needed to at Metro Airport for my flight home.  Since I was bored, I headed out early to check out some places I used to live in the western Metro Detroit area in the 1980s.  I took M-59 as a back way to reach Union Lake Road and Commerce Township.  I was surprised to see the Dairy Queen at Union Lake Road and Cooley Lake Road I used to go to in the early 1980s but the Kentucky Fried Chicken (before it served crappy food and was called KFC) my family used to frequent has been replaced by a shopping center.









I turned off Union Lake Road onto Willow Road which only had houses on Union Lake in the Mid-1980s, I recall some of the neighborhoods present now just being empty fields and marsh lands.  I used to live in a neighborhood called Willow Farm which was probably built in the late 1970s/early 1980s.  The park I used to frequent as a kid was present but was much less elaborate than the 1980s.








I used to attend Scotch Elementary School when it was located in what is now the West Bloomfield School District Administration Building on Commerce Road and Hiller Road.  I want to say the original school was replaced in 1989 or 1990?  I attended one year at the new school before my family moved to New England, I'm fairly certain the original Scotch School was built in the very early 20th century.








At the time my Dad worked in an office which was located on 8 Mile Road and Haggerty in Novi.  At the time there was no extension of M-5 north of I-96 to the Pontiac Trail so my Dad's commute would have been almost all on Haggerty.  In retrospect I want to say things were just as built up from Commerce Township south to Novi, that must have been an awful drive every morning.  It will probably surprise some people to know that a lot of high rise white collar offices are located on 8 Mile Road, it isn't all what Marshall Mathers presented it to be.









I couldn't leave Michigan without a picture of a Big Boy statue.



Earlier in the 1980s I lived off of Ford Road/M-153 in Canton.  Canton has a lot more commercial businesses today than back when I was a kid, but a lot of neighborhoods still look the same.  I found it interesting to see concrete slabs used for neighborhood roadways instead of asphalt.



Apparently I put 2,975 miles on the rental car when I pulled into the return lot.  I was wrong about the terminal I arrived in at Metro, as I'm writing this I can see the old terminal across from the D Gates and the old control tower.  The rain seems to be tailing up from Hurricane Harvey according to the weather forecasts.  It should be a high of 107F in Fresno today in contrast, talk about one leaving one weather extreme for another.


Comments

Unknown said…
Great information!! Thanks for the detailed blog.It gives a better reading experience about Great Lakes Road Trip Day 13; exploring the 1980s in Western Metro Detroit.You may also visit to www.oceanroaddaytours.com.au to get our affordable and popular service.
Visit:Great Ocean Road Day Tours

Popular posts from this blog

Dillon Road

Dillon Road is a 34.2-mile highway located in northern Coachella Valley of Riverside County, California.  Dillon Road begins at Avenue 48 on the outskirts of Indio and ends to the west at California State Route 62 near San Gorgonio Pass.  Dillon Road was developed the 1930s as a construction road for the Colorado River Aqueduct.  Dillon Road serves as a northern bypass to much of the development of Coachella Valley.  Dillon Road is known for it's frequent dips and spectacular views of San Gorgonio Pass.   Part 1; the history of Dillon Road Dillon Road was constructed as a haul road for the Colorado River Aqueduct through Coachella Valley.  The Colorado River Aqueduct spans 242 miles from Parker Dam on the Colorado River west to Lake Mathews near Corona.  Construction of the Colorado River Aqueduct began during January 1933 near Thousand Palms and was made functional on January 7, 1939.  West of Berdoo Canyon Road the alignment of Dillon Road is largely concurrent with the Colorado

Tehachapi-Willow Springs Road

Tehachapi-Willow Springs Road is an approximately 21-mile highway located in southeast Kern County.  Tehachapi-Willow Springs Road begins at Tehachapi Boulevard (former US Route 466) in Tehachapi and crosses the Tehachapi Mountains via the 4,820-foot-high Oak Creek Pass.  Tehachapi-Willow Springs Road enters Antelope Valley of the wider Mojave Desert and passes by the historic stage station of Willow Springs to a southern terminus at Rosamond Boulevard.  Tehachapi-Willow Springs Road has historic ties to the Havilah-Los Angeles Road and Stockton-Los Angeles Road due to the once reliable presence of water at Willow Springs. Part 1; the history of Tehachapi-Willow Springs Road Oak Creek Pass and Willow Springs were known to the local tribes of the Tehachapi Mountains for generations.  The first documented European crossing of Oak Creek Pass was during 1776 as part of an expedition by Francisco Garces.  Oak Creek Pass is as used again by John C. Fremont during an 1844-1845 expedition to e

The 1928 Iowa Hill Road Bridge

The 1928 Iowa Hill Road Bridge is a derelict structure located in the Sierra Nevada Mountains of Placer County, California.  The 1928 Iowa Hill Road Bridge can be found between the communities of Colfax and Iowa Hill.  The 1928 Iowa Hill Road Bridge is a wire suspension structure which spans the North Fork American River.  The 1928 Iowa Hill Road Bridge was replaced by a modern span and converted to pedestrian use following floods during 1963.   Part 1; the history of the 1928 Iowa Hill Road Bridge During 1853 gold was discovered at what to become Iowa Hill.  The gold mining claims soon led to a small community known as Iowa City being established.   By 1854, Post Office Service began at the mines of Iowa City.  By 1856 gold production at Iowa City was estimated to be around $100,000.  Iowa City was burned in fires during 1857 and 1862 but the community was rebuilt with more modernized structures.   The location of Iowa City can be seen as "Iowa Hill" on the 1873 Bancroft