Phoenix Group presses for urban renewal from old Detroit police precinct building

Driving out Grand River one rainy day last spring, I happened past this gothic building on the corner of Grand River and Rosa Parks. I had no idea what it once was, nor if it was still being used today.

Turns out it is, which surprised me, given the rough condition of the neighborhood. But I was even more surprised by what it used to be.

These days, the building serves as headquarters for the Phoenix Group Companies, whose mission it is to redevelop urban communities through new residential construction and the redevelopment of existing homes. Look a block in any direction from Grand River and Rosa Park, and it's clear the Phoenix Group has its work cut out. (For all of you wise guys out there, no, MacGuyver doesn't work there.) 

The building was originally constructed in 1901, when it served briefly as a police station in Detroit's Second Precinct. It was eventually reassigned to Detroit's Eighth Precinct, and served as such for decades. It's got to be one of the most uniquely built police precincts I've ever seen, its architecture intended to mirror the Victorian style that was prominent throughout much of the Woodbridge neighborhood.

A Car Is Born: A quiet nod to the site of Henry Ford's early work

The big building on Bagley doesn't see much traffic these days, not like it used to anyway. Back when the Michigan Building was home to the Michigan Theater, it was a pretty happenin' corner of downtown, just down the street from Grand Circus Park and an integral piece of Detroit's famed theater district.

Now much of it is a parking garage. Also in the building, the Bagley Bar, one of our favorite downtown lunch spots, is still grinding it out. Next door there's a sandwich shop, the Bagley Grill, I think it's called.

But hanging on the walls between those two hangouts is a quiet reminder that this site gained historic significance long before the theater (at times known as the Michigan Palace) was built back in 1926. Before that, the land was the site of a one-story brick building where, according to the Michigan Historic Site placard, "in 1892, Henry Ford began experimenting with the motorized vehicle in his workshop."

The sign goes on to tell that "his invention was quite simple compared to today's automobiles. It consisted of a two-cylinder machine, mounted in a light frame geared to bicycle wheels. That unpretentious auto was the start of the Ford Motor Company which played a major part in the automobile industry that changed the face of Michigan and the world."

MGM Grand Detroit goes big to build its seasonal displays

Operating with a bigger-is-better mentality that's typical of casinos, the MGM Grand Detroit doesn't mess around when it comes to dressing up the corner of Bagley and Third Street.

Five times a year, the MGM Grand introduces a new seasonal display in what it calls the Grand Garden, a triangular grassy area fronting the casino that's accented by 50-foot Canadian birch trees.

For its fall display, the area features a winding patch of monstrous pumpkins with occasional enormo-rolls of hay. Throughout the year, the displays often feature lighting that really makes the corner look special at night. It's worth a quick drive-by if you ever find yourself downtown in the evening.

The Grand Garden is maintained by a company called Design Solutions, the same gang responsible for the Conservatory and Botanical Gardens at Bellagio in Las Vegas, as well as the holiday treatment given to Rockefeller Center in New York.

Grand Trunk Pub, Vine host filming of made-for-TV 'Smooch'

It might seem like small potatoes compared to high-profile productions like 'Transformers 3' and 'LOL: Laughing Out Loud' that have swept through Detroit in recent weeks.

But  crews for 'Smooch' - a made-for-TV movie that will air on Hallmark TV in February - is in town today filming a Valentine's Day 2011 flick at the Grand Trunk Pub and Vine wine bar on Woodward.

Starring Kiernan Shipka ('Mad Men') and Kellie Martin ('ER'), 'Smooch' is a modern-day translation of The Brothers Grimm story 'The Frog Prince'.

In an interesting side note, some movie-makers doing work in Detroit appear to have grown tired of passers-by showing interest in their projects. When I asked one of the crew members what was being filmed, he said as seriously as possible, "A mayonnaise commercial," clearly not in any kind of mood to divulge the truth. Other people walking along Woodward had already been fed the same line. Fortunately, our relentless digging finally got to the truth: a movie that few of us will ever watch was filmed in Detroit today.