cskazmer says:
This portrait could have been taken any time in the past forty years...the couple in the foreground are quintessential Detroit hipsters. I love the wary, defiant yet still hopeful expressions on their faces. The man has a slight tautness in his body, ready for action. What really speaks to me is the way the woman with her long, straight hair is behind the fence - so many people fled the city to the safety of the suburbs - a still porous barrier that creates its own kind of fear on both sides.
cskazmer says:
Hamtramck is a small town completely surrounded by the city of Detroit. The place is named after a French- Canadian soldier, note that Detroit was founded by the French explorer Cadillac in 1701. Locals know Hamtramck as Pole Town; even into the 70's the place was 90% plus Polish heritage. People, like all my grandparents, flooded into the place to work in the automobile factories and the services which supported the industry. That immigrant vibe is still there, just different immigrants with many coming from the Arab world and South Asia. So I loved the way this picture shows the continuing immigrant ethos ... plus the pink shoes and trim peeking out from the abayas.
cskazmer says:
This young woman reminded me of the best friend in high school...with that sassy all-knowing look about her. I was afraid to look up the Senate Theater...so many of the beautiful places are now in ruins...but this place with its magnificent Wurlitzer organ apparently is intact. So doubly nostalgic for me...
cskazmer says:
My grandmother and later my auntie ran a little neighborhood grocery store. My father would sometimes relieve them when they needed a break and I would always want to "help." At the store and everywhere, my father would say "the good lord made us all," so everyone was welcome at that store. This man, in his houndstooth coat, reminded me of some of the natty gents who would stop by. I especially remember on man, Frank, who worked in a near-by factory...he always had a kind word for me.
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