preservationrestoration

^^ Agreed. The Middletown store had a very "unfinished" feel to it. I remember shopping there frequently. Mostly for electronics. I think the Middletown store also stayed open until 1995. They did a major downsizing and focused mostly on electronics on two levels. But yes, they had everything. Carpet, furniture, clothes, groceries.

^^^ It's not a structure I deem worth preseving. It's not historic. It's a big block of unusable concrete. They could do it through bonds and use the cost savings to pay down the bonds. That's pretty much what they did with the City Centre Mall.

My answer is YES! Should city raze Swallen's? City Council discusses the future of the building, which has been empty since 1992. By Ed Richter Staff Writer Thursday, July 05, 2007 It has been a question Middletown City Council has wrestled with for about a decade — what to do with the former Swallen's building. The four-story, 170,000 square-foot building at the corner of Broad Street and Manchester Avenue has been empty since the store closed in May 1992. The former department store chain filed for bankruptcy in 1995 and the building has been owned by the city since 1997 — because the city owned the land the building sat on. Contact this reporter at (513) 705-2871 or [email protected].

You can also get pretty good views of the downtown skyline, Midtown area and New Center area from the top of the parking structures at Wayne State. Nothing more satisfying after working for 8 hours, sitting in a finance class for another 3 then picking up your car from the top of the structure, pausing for a moment and admiring Detroit's beauty.

I went to the Tigers game last night (they lost :( ) but it was a beautiful nite. People out everywhere. Woodward in a traffic jam. That's the Detroit I like (minus the traffic jam). But, I took Woodward downtown from 8 Mile and I couldn't believe how much vacant land is along that strip. Makes me wonder what it looked like in its heyday.

Very interesting. I remember when my dad suggested I look at Wright State for college. I said that was the ugliest campus, and I would not be going there.

or how hamilton is not in hamilton county.... I won't in the LCNB building for two summers while in college so i used to do a lot of walking downtown during lunch and breaks. Lebanon is full of snooty people. Still, it is a cute downtown, featured in both Milk Money and Harper Valley PTA films. I've never noticed that German deli before; I'll have to check it out.

Great shots. Thanks for sharing.

A trip to Woody's with the parents was always a real treat. It does bring back a lot of memories. I remember their awesome seafood department.

Searching for pics of downtown Middletown.

Owosso...heard of it, but don't know where it is. Like Ink, was surprised to see a warehouse condo/loft/apartment project in a city that small. Gives me hope though :)

The old city building is an amazing structure. So very European.

I like that FLW home. What I don't like is that god-awful government housing tower. reminds me of the ones in Middletown.

What a beautiful high school.

I've been to Springfield several times, but never to this campus. Thanks for sharing. It seems bigger than I thought it would

I saw one of these concepts somewhere here in Michigan, but I can't remember where. I guess it didn't make that much of an impression on me.

21 plus 10.

They are some of the best stained glass windows in Middletown from what I've seen. I think what happened was the sanctuary was built first, and then the decision was made to install the windows. I also think that the sanctuary was meant to be temporary with plans for a bigger one, which would have put the windows to better use. I love the one in the narthax though. You can see it from Marshall when you drive by.

In doing research for Ink on old Middletown schools at the Middletown Library Lens site, I came across something I hadn't seen before, but was very familiar with. The old Methodist Protestant Church later known as Calvary Methodist Church and today Christ Methodist Church on the east end of town. At one time it was the third Methodist church downtown (First, Faith--formerly a U.B. congregation). Hence while it probably moved to the east end. I have seen pictures of the older building and inside of the second building downtown, but never the outside of the building...until today. Here it is. I known several of the stained glass windows were moved to the new church on Marshall and Grand :)

Oh BlueBall.... Blue Ball School. Built in 1873. Used until 1930. Newer school built in 1912. Discontinued in 1968.

Looks like you have most of it covered. Just a few additions and corrects. Booker T. Washington. Located on South Main between 17 and 18th Streets. Built 1918. All black. School became Edison School in 1955 (different than Edison E&W) Torn down 1971. Columbia School was located on Marshall Road. Built 1840. Closed in 1912 when Maple Park was built. http://www.middletownlibrary.org:8080/cgi-bin/viewer.exe?CISOROOT=/Crout&CISOPTR=703&CISOMODE=grid Nice job. You have to give Middletown schools some credit though. With the problems they had with Maple Park and Amanda being sold to private developers, and the sitting empty and rotting beyond repair and becoming blight in their respective neighborhoods, Middletown didn't want to have the same thing happen during this project since so many residents complained about both Maple Park and Amanda. Plus, the folks around McKinley wanted the school on the same exact site. I'm still not convinced Roosevelt and Vail will come down. To the schools built in the 1950s...I say good ridance :)

The same can be said for those who live in Norwood but claim Hyde Park :)

Bottom line: They didn't want to be in Middletown. If they did, they would have worked with the city on an office complex at the east end, where there is plenty of land available. As for reuse? Well close to 600 employees will remain in the office complex. Not sure if in the new addition or in the older building. Could several of Middletown's smaller companies rent office space out of there? Cohen Brothers? Could MUM use portions of the building for classroom space? There is plenty of land in front of it. Could the whole complex somehow tie into the Middletown PaperBoard redevelopment?

If I was running a bank, Michigan would be the last place I'd look to expand to. Honestly, 5/3's latest move leaves me dumbfounded.

I recongize that it is not directly related to 5/3. However, both Comerica and 5/3 are about the same size. Both are based out of declining or slow growing markets. Most of 5/3's growth, like Comerica's growth, has been outside of Cincinnati and Ohio. Look at their aquisitions. Several in the south. I was putting this out there because: 1.) It could be an opportunity for 5/3 in SE Michigan, where they have been opening branches after their acquisition of Old Kent. 2.) Could this happen in Cincinnati? 5/3's stock has suffered in the past 1-2 years. Cincinnati is not viewed as a growth market. It is in an historically industrial market.