Last week's Mystery Spot was a puzzler--just a few cars in a park-like place. But that obscurity was no barrier to
Joe and
Paul A., who correctly guessed that this was "Tourist Park," now part of Waterworks Park. Tourist Park was at one time one of the many spots in town where bomber plant workers "camped out," with RVs of the day or just tents.
This week's Spot is a parcel of land. Long a property guarded by a security guard in a booth, today it is abandoned and--all 29 acres up for sale! Where is this mysterious, once-secret parcel? You can see just a sliver of it in the pic below. Take your best guess and good luck!
8 comments :
715 Norris St, south of Highland Cemetary. They're asking $1.8 million.
http://signatureassociates.catylist.com/files/property/2740000/2748101/3664221_Ypsilanti_715_Norris.pdf
And just to add to cmadler's response: across the street from my favorite watering hole.
OK, so that was mysterious for, say, five minutes at least. AT LEAST. Wasn't it?
(sigh).
Dusty D is hazy on the original purpose of this site. Was it a Chrysler/Chevy production site of some sort? I remember seeing truckloads of car parts being stored here in the open space five or so years ago. A guard used to hover in the guardhouse. But why?
Many years ago this area was a hobo camp...far enough from town to evade the cops, but close enough to catch an outbound train.
BF: Yeah, I've met those Michigan Ladder folks as well, and they are indeed welcoming. But moreso to you apparently; I wasn't offered any refreshment. But it's all good. I'm not resentful or anything. Not much, anyway.
My question is: who in the Sam Hill is gonna buy this site? I would love to see Growing Hope given this land, but that's just a pipe dream. But in a perfect world, Growing Hope could rip up that giant paved lot, install greenhouses, and use the buildings for food sales/classes.
What if it never sells? Will the owners still pay 29 acres' worth of property taxes to the city so long as they officially own it? I guess so...but I can't imagine who would possibly buy this parcel.
This was for many years the site of Motor Wheel. then they moved out of the city and the site was where a firm parked thier trucks. I am told that for a time jet engines were tested in one of the buildings. This is why the guard was standing in the shack. At least, that is what I was told.
James: Thank you for your helpful comment. I don't see why, however, a guard was posted at a site that tested jet engines. I mean, that doesn't seem like an activity that requires a guard in a booth. The mystery continues.
While attending EMU, I worked in the old Motor Wheel "Personnel Office" (now gone) on this site. The foundry was directly behind the yellow sign in the photo. At that time the "guard shack" was only to monitor motor traffic into the plant. Motor Wheel Corp. made brake drums and rotors for the "Big Three" auto companies. The plant was formerly called "Central Speciality." Did you know there was once a public "dump" east of the guard shack?
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