Coverups

Detroit erases its physical history. Europeans arrived in 1701, but the oldest surviving home dates circa 1840. Only vague traces of Native presence remain, like the burial mound that still sits inside Fort Wayne. Much of the Detroit's 18th century buildings were erased in a great fire in 1805. Very little of the rebuilt Detroit from the early 19th century remains. Antebellum Detroit was erased and replaced (the Monroe Block is a notable example). The architecture that can still be found abundantly in the older parts of the city doesn't begin to get built until after the Civil War.

We're still erasing, of course. While a lot remains, the majority of what was built between the Civil War and Great Depression in Detroit has been erased. Dramatic and idiotic "refurbishments" of theaters and other buildings in the decades after World War II erased much of the previous eras grandeur and replaced with colder, simpler designs.

Sometimes, entire neighborhoods get erased. Paradise Valley had the highest concentration of African American owned businesses anywhere outside of Harlem in the 1940s. It was erased by the venom and misguidance of politicians and planners. In the late 1990s, construction of the Detroit Lion's football stadium bulldozed the only remaining night club (The 606 Horseshoe Bar) of the neighborhood.

Paint can erase a lot of history. Century old advertisements have clung to the tops of buildings before finally being covered over. Murals have come and gone. Statements are made and then replaced with other statements. The billboard at the SW corner of Michigan and Trumbull was purchased this past election season by the challenger for Governor, DeVos. The retort simply painted over the "os" to spell "DeVil for Governor", and changed his hackeneyed "vote for change" mantra to "vote for satan". The DeVos people quickly and sometimes not so quickly changed the message back. The editors repeated their efforts on their other local billboards...



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