In my home Saturday is family day and today Julie and I put the boys in the truck and went on a “Drive to Nowhere” which we do often. Today the random turns took us into Lansing where we happened to come across Durant Park. We stopped and let the boys play and walked the park, taking pictures along the way.
In 1919 W.C. Durant bought a city block and built the park complete with flower gardens, serpentine sidewalks and a circular fountain in the center. He used the same landscaper that he used a mile down the road for the Ver linden Lansing factory where the Durant and Star were built. In 1921 Durant donated the park to the city which included a festive parade. W.C. Durant was a well liked man in Lansing as his factory employed 3000 people and brought an estimated 15,000 new residents to the city for factory related employment.
While knowing of the park It was a nice surprise to unexpectedly come upon today and get to enjoy it. We even had the fantastic opportunity to see a couple locals ditch a stolen car at the park and sprint off through the woods! After the park we drove down the former location of the 500,000 square foot factory which sits as a large empty field along side of the railroad tracks now.
Question.... when the DMAC had the National meet in Michigan “Flint to Lansing” , did the group drive the cars from Flint To Lansing? A fair distance for the cars, but then again we did a grand number of miles at the 2017 National.
Hello Brian
When we had the 2000 Annual meet in Flint, we had about a dozen cars make the trek to Lansing and back. We were greeted at the Park with a band playing ..'wouldn't you rather be driving a Durant'. There was a professional photographer there that took pictures of members and their cars under the arch.
We were a little crazy then and didn't know better.