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Chin Tiki, Detroit, MI (restaurant) |
crespowu
Member
Joined: Jul 05, 2007
Posts: 2 |  Posted: 2008-01-17 11:14 pm Permalink
Why did it close so early?
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Tipsy McStagger
Tiki Socialite
Joined: Nov 21, 2004
Posts: 3388
From: HELL
| Posted: 2008-01-18 09:00 am Permalink
Quote:
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On 2008-01-17 23:14, crespowu wrote:
Why did it close so early?
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..because detroit became a rapidly economically depressed city that still has not recoverd to this day...everyone has practically left detroit...the downtown area where chin's was located has been a ghostown for the most part....no people = no one to spend money = no more chin tiki.
in fact, not too long ago, detroit was the murder capital of the nation (this title changes cities every couple years though)
[ This Message was edited by: Tipsy McStagger 2008-01-18 09:01 ]
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Matiki
Tiki Centralite
Joined: Sep 05, 2006
Posts: 52
From: The island of Michigan
| Posted: 2008-01-29 7:05 pm Permalink
Went by the old palce over the weekend. They have fencing all around it. I plan to keep a eye on it. I would like to have a piece of the A frame peak for my office or one of the torches of the sign. It realy is sad that they couldnt have given it a go. We destroy all our history in Detroit. I feel some of the old Auto Plants that have just crumbled should be made Historical sites. m
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MNZombie
Tiki Centralite
Joined: Nov 14, 2007
Posts: 50
From: Lakeville, MN
| Posted: 2008-01-29 7:23 pm Permalink
It's really quite sad how bad Detroit has gotten. You see the old pictures and hear the old stories and it really was quite something. My parents like to tell stories of their dates in downtown Detroit (including some of the tiki hot spots although they never really got into it much more then downing way too many drinks and then driving home). I was born just outside of the city and when i was last in Michigan, I'd drive miles out of my way so i wouldn't even have to go through Detroit.
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Tipsy McStagger
Tiki Socialite
Joined: Nov 21, 2004
Posts: 3388
From: HELL
| Posted: 2008-01-31 07:58 am Permalink
detroit just made top of the forbes magazine list of worst cities to live in.....i rest my case.
..no tiki for detroit till you clean up your act over there!!
..oh yeah, flint michigan came in second....yeesh what a mess.....
_________________
" I may not know karate..... but I do know crazy !!"
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Feelin' Zombified
Tiki Socialite
Joined: Jul 15, 2003
Posts: 1328
From: The Exotic Shores of Lake St. Clair
| Posted: 2008-02-07 11:13 am Permalink
Quote:
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On 2008-01-29 19:23, MNZombie wrote:
when i was last in Michigan, I'd drive miles out of my way so i wouldn't even have to go through Detroit.
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Wimps !
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MNZombie
Tiki Centralite
Joined: Nov 14, 2007
Posts: 50
From: Lakeville, MN
| Posted: 2008-02-07 2:50 pm Permalink
Hey, I did my time. It's like prison, when you get out the goal isn't going back. Besides, the only thing left near Detroit for me is some relatives at the Clinton Grove cemetary.
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Chub
Tiki Socialite
Joined: Jan 26, 2005
Posts: 258
From: Detroit, MI but now in sunny Los Angeles
| Posted: 2009-03-06 10:47 am Permalink
Well, I'm very sad to report this, but the Chin Tiki is being completely torn down right now as I write this. Demo crews came in yesterday I'm told and it will be gone completely by tomorrow. No chance to save anything. Very sad day for me. Detroit is my hometown and it kills me to see the whole city going down the way it is.
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Tipsy McStagger
Tiki Socialite
Joined: Nov 21, 2004
Posts: 3388
From: HELL
| Posted: 2009-03-06 12:18 pm Permalink
Quote:
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On 2009-03-06 10:47, Chub wrote:
Well, I'm very sad to report this, but the Chin Tiki is being completely torn down right now as I write this. Demo crews came in yesterday I'm told and it will be gone completely by tomorrow. No chance to save anything. Very sad day for me. Detroit is my hometown and it kills me to see the whole city going down the way it is.
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save yer tears for the tonga room....anything worth a damn in chin tiki was salvaged by the owners and either put into storage or placed in the chin tiki's second location in livonia....fear not....tiki has been saved, even though the temple itself went under the wrecking ball.....personally, i was in the old chins years ago before they tore it down..it was dirty and dissapointing....you didn't miss much...
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Chub
Tiki Socialite
Joined: Jan 26, 2005
Posts: 258
From: Detroit, MI but now in sunny Los Angeles
| Posted: 2009-03-06 12:36 pm Permalink
You're actually wrong on this Tipsy. Reports from peeps on the seen in Detroit today are that there are still lots of furniture and even pictures on the walls as it's being demoed. The building was stable. Yes it could have used a good scrubbing, but it WAS stable. This is a big loss.
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Tipsy McStagger
Tiki Socialite
Joined: Nov 21, 2004
Posts: 3388
From: HELL
| Posted: 2009-03-06 1:05 pm Permalink
Quote:
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On 2009-03-06 12:36, Chub wrote:
You're actually wrong on this Tipsy. Reports from peeps on the seen in Detroit today are that there are still lots of furniture and even pictures on the walls as it's being demoed. The building was stable. Yes it could have used a good scrubbing, but it WAS stable. This is a big loss.
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from what my sources tell me..any pictures and furniture left behind was just run-of-the-mill crap....stuff like old booths, chairs, crappy landscape paintings and what not....i am assured there was no witco left behind...no signifigant masks or wall decor left behind.....i find it hard to believe that the chin's would go to such lengths as to remove a portion of the old bar and reinstall it in the other location and then leave good useful decor behind....i'm not buying it...i want proof.
and stable or not, detroit is a ghost town...how could anyone expect to make any money by reopening chins?? ..if it were feasible i'm sure it would have happened but detroit was already in disarray and the economy was the final nail in the coffin...the chin's were lucky to get out when they did otherwise they would really be screwed.....
..sitting immediatly to my right is my hat....and i am prepared to eat it...if you prove me wrong.
[ This Message was edited by: Tipsy McStagger 2009-03-06 13:07 ]
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bigbrotiki
Tiki Socialite
Joined: Mar 25, 2002
Posts: 10562
From: Tiki Island, above the Silverlake
| Posted: 2009-03-06 2:15 pm Permalink
Tiz Tiz, Dave, where is your spirit of urban archeology, the sense of mystery of buried civilizations? We are here not to speak ill of the dead, but sing the glory of Tiki havens of the past, so that their stories will be told for generations to come!
TIKI MODERN, CHAPTER 7: THE TIKI AND ITS TEMPLES
“In the midst of desolation and ruin we looked back to the past, cleared away the gloomy forest, and fancied every building perfect, with its terraces and pyramids, its sculptured and painted ornaments, grand, lofty, and imposing”
And now a moment of silence for the CHIN TIKI, please:
Back in the day:
And photographed in 2007:
Entering the tomb of the Chin Tiki (2007):
Some of its treasures:
(Now before anybody gets a heart attack, all this decor HAS been removed since)
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Tipsy McStagger
Tiki Socialite
Joined: Nov 21, 2004
Posts: 3388
From: HELL
| Posted: 2009-03-06 3:35 pm Permalink
sigh......BIG sigh!!!!
okay, you're right, i should have more reverance for the bygone palaces, but i still feel that if an old tiki temple still has their doors open, those are the ones we need to focus our energy on and support (chin tiki detroit has been closed for years...no amount of whining was ever going to save it )....i know you'll agree......and as for future generations...i think your books just about cover it.....that and google. so if any one really needs to know about chin tiki in the future, they can buy your book or look it up online.....
that said, thanks for saving me from eating my hat!!
[ This Message was edited by: Tipsy McStagger 2009-03-06 15:37 ]
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bigbrotiki
Tiki Socialite
Joined: Mar 25, 2002
Posts: 10562
From: Tiki Island, above the Silverlake
| Posted: 2009-03-06 3:57 pm Permalink
Yes it was dusty: It was the Tomb of Tiki!....here are some more snapshots:
the wallpaper in the restroom hallway!:
The downstairs bar area:
Witco and other Tikis of unknown origin mingle:
Rest in Peace, oh Chin Tiki !
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Tipsy McStagger
Tiki Socialite
Joined: Nov 21, 2004
Posts: 3388
From: HELL
| Posted: 2009-03-06 4:56 pm Permalink
nice pics big bro......now we know the truth.....
..it was that ghastly wall paper that drove everyone crazy to the point at which they had no choice but to abandon the chin tiki forever......
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