Metro
IDEA MAN
from page 13
Marvin Yagoda of Southfield, his friend of more
versation, the program I was working on was killed."
than 25 years, says, "He is the sweetest guy in the
Still, the ideas kept spinning out of his head.
world who also happens to be an unbelievable talent.
"The Detroit Grand Prix," he says. "That came out
We met when he covered the front of my pharmacy at of my plan to run a race around the downtown free-
Fenkell and Ardmore with a photo display of antique
way loop and across Jefferson Avenue.
bottles. I've seen it reproduced in newspapers and
"The waterfront restaurant aboard The Landsdowne,
books from all over the country, and it turned this
the last side-wheeler on the Great Lakes. People loved
drab building into the promise of something great
it, but we could never get a commitment from the city
inside.
"Let me tell you about the heart this man has,"
says Yagoda, who also owns Marvin's Marvelous
Mechanical Museum in Farmington Hills. "They
asked him to judge a kids' pumpkin growing con-
test down at Eastern Market.
"I looked at the winner he picked, and it didn't
look like the best pumpkin to me. 'Marv,' he
explained. 'I chose the kid who looked like he
needed a boost.'"
The memory of the early days still makes
Pollock glow.
"What an opportunity;" he says. "I could drive
down any street in the city, and if I saw something
that sparked an idea, I would try to make it work.
I could reach the most influential people in town
by dropping them a note. Of course, I wrote it on
a city of Detroit letterhead and sometimes I got
reprimanded for that. But the point is they
responded.
"The whole idea was to draw private investment
by using government funds as seed. The city did
the first graphic at Eastern Market; and after the
other storeowners saw the effect it had, they want-
ed to do it, too. The city only had to pay for the
first one.
"The publicity was great. Television loved these
Pollock used `Supeigraphics"
projects because they made great pictures.
to illuminate Detroits
Architects loved them because we were getting into
Eastern Mar ket.
the urban hinterland where almost no one was
working. The business community loved them
because their revenues were increasing."
The mayor, however, was ambivalent. The Life mag- for enough parking. Whenever there was a big event
azine article came out, says DeLisle, and Gribbs
at Cobo Hall, there was no place to park. The cus-
searched in vain for a mention of his name. When he
tomers stopped coming.
failed to find it, his enthusiasm for Pollock cooled.
"When neighborhood merchants began complain-
ing of break-ins, we developed a painted security
Shifting Tides
awning. It was made of a polycarbonate compound
He had come to Detroit in 1969, right out of Florida
that could roll down at night and not look threatening
State University with a master's degree in architecture
like an iron gate does. The mayor put the funds into
in hand. The city then had one of the brightest collec-
sidewalk canopies, instead, in two neighborhood
tions of young urban planners in the country, assem-
strips. That did nothing for security."
bled by Charlie Blessing, the planning office director.
The thing that still rankles was the fate of his
Detroit was regarded as a great laboratory, where all
beloved streetcars along Washington Boulevard.
kinds of ideas could be tested.
"They were beautiful," he says. "The first urban
Pollock, however, was ultimately handed his head.
trolley lines to be built in America in 50 years. We got
In retrospect, he believes that some of it might have
the telephone company to sponsor a double-decker
gone to his head.
car. Nestle agreed to underwrite the cost of restoring a
"The biggest mistake I probably made was filing to
Swiss car and even passed out little chocolate treats.
run for mayor in 1973," he says. "I did it to sell a
"We wanted to extend it along the riverfront all the
program for city redevelopment. There was never a
way to the Stroh development at River Place. But then
serious thought of winning. But Coleman Young
the People Mover came along and sucked up every
noticed; and after he was elected, I think he always
transit dollar we had to spend, and when Peter Stroh
regarded me as someone he better keep an eye on, a
died, the trolleys were history.
possible threat.
"Most of these plans are still viable. But there is no
"He called me in once when another story about me
political will."
appeared and- said, Alex, you've got to throw me a bone;
Matter Of Money
get me a mention in these articles.' I told him I couldn't
control what the media wrote, but right after that con-
Nor are there funds. Detroit is wallowing in red ink
1/27
2005
14
and grand plans seem as unlikely as a brass band on
an elephant. But that doesn't deter Pollock.
"The solution comes down to increasing the tax
base. Every idea I have addresses that.
"For example, they're studying Eastern Market again
to see how they can make it grow," he says. "But the
basic problem is this: The farms are located farther
and farther away and fewer farmers want to make the
trip down there."
He draws a proposal from his cabinet.
"But look at this. It's the Mistersky lighting
plant on West Jefferson Avenue. It spills 2,000
gallons of distilled water an hour into the Detroit
River. Now you take the abandoned industrial site
next door, where Revere Copper and Brass used
to be, and set up 28 acres of greenhouses there.
"Hydroponic farming! Growing crops in water.
It's the hottest thing in food production. Now
you've got a new source of produce right in the
city to sell at Eastern Market. Transportation costs
are negligible. You're creating jobs. It can be a
tourist attraction.
"Fort Wayne. It's totally under-utilized. It's an
historic gem. Why not turn some of the buildings
into bed-and-breakfasts?
"The gondola to Windsor. It was all set to go
back in the 1970s, but it was killed because the
city thought the Fords were going to use the land
to build a riverfront stadium. But it's still a great
idea and very doable. The Detroit casinos would
hate it, but U.S. Customs and Immigration likes
the idea. Why? Because it's much easier to process
people on foot instead of in cars."
But those are just the appetizers. Pollock has
many more plans in his cabinet.
"We are the automotive capital, and what do
we have to show for it? A few museums. A big
show once a year. What about the after-market,
all the accessories and add-ons people buy once
they get their car? It's a $27 billion a year busi-
ness. That's where the mainstream is. That captures
what the public really wants.
"Why not an After-Market Expo Center, with
changing exhibits, conference halls, an outdoor track
for demonstrating products? Put it at the State
Fairgrounds. It has the space."
Another document comes out.
"The Detroit River has a current of four knots," he
says. "The technology exists to harness that with
underwater turbines and convert it to electric power.
You could light every building downtown using that
source.
"Wouldn't that be an incentive for people and busi-
ness? 'Come downtown and you'll never have to pay
another electric bill.' There are so many disincentives
to living in Detroit. There has to be the vision to over-
come them, and there just isn't."
Right now, Pollock is working on more modest
schemes. He is designing a footbridge over 1-375
between the Ford Field area and Eastern Market.
"We want to make it look like a traditional covered
bridge, with old-fashioned lattice work," he says. "We've
got to get it finished before the Super Bowl next year. It
would be a great visual for network TV But it just takes
so long to get anything accomplished here."
It is hard to restore the magic in a world that has
grown old. 0