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John Makely / msnbc.com
An empty lot in Detroit's Palmer Woods neighborhood where Mitt Romney's boyhood home once stood.
Mike O'Brien of NBCpolitics.com writes:
DETROIT -- All that's left of Mitt Romney's boyhood home is an empty lot, his family's old house in Detroit's Palmer Woods neighborhood having been bulldozed two years ago in May.
The Romney family home fell victim to a familiar predator in the city of Detroit: abandonment and blight. The city ordered the demolition of the home, at 1860 Balmoral Drive, in 2010 as part of an initiative to address blight throughout the city.
Romney has made frequent mention of his roots in southeast Michigan during his campaigning before Tuesday's primary in the state. He elaborated on the fate of his boyhood home, in which the family lived until 1953 according to the Boston Globe, at a stop Thursday evening in Milford:
"I was born in Detroit, Harper Hospital, our home was right around six-mile and Woodward, a place called Palmer Park. And uh, we had a home there. It’s been bulldozed now because it turned, I guess, into an eyesore or a place where drugs were being used so they had to tear it down. It was a lovely home."
Ricardo Thomas/ The Detroit News via AP
This May 15, 2010 photo shows the onetime home of Michigan's Romney family in the Palmer Park section of Detroit. A demolition crew in Detroit torn down on Tuesday June 8, 2010 the 5,500-square-foot house that was lived in by former Massachusetts Gov. Mitt Romney when he was a child. The dilapidated, two-story home torn down Tuesday in the Palmer Woods area was one of 3,000 set for demolition this year under Detroit Mayor Dave Bing's plans to improve neighborhoods by getting rid of dangerous structures and eyesores.
It's a different portrait of the property painted in an Associated Press story about the demolition:
Unlike thousands of other vacant houses in the city, the structure at 1860 Balmoral in Detroit's exclusive Palmer Woods area wasn't open to trespass, neighbors said as it crashed and crumbled to the ground.
There didn't appear to be any vandalism and it certainly didn't become a haven to drug dealers like many others across the city, 58-year-old Tyrone Stewart said.
Mike O'Brien / msnbc.com
Boarded up storefronts on Woodward Ave. near Palmer Park in Detroit.
The Palmer Woods neighborhood is hardly a portrait of poverty or disrepair; most of the homes in the community are well maintained and worth hundreds of thousands of dollars, even in a depressed housing market. A golf course and the University of Detroit Jesuit high school, an all boys' Catholic prep school, are nearby. A more familiar sight of abandoned and crumbling storefronts stand across Woodward Avenue at 7 Mile, opposite the east end of Palmer Woods.
Len and Barb Marshick of Belleville, Mich. said at a Friday night rally for Rick Santorum, Romney's main opponent in the Michigan primary, that they drove by the Balmoral Drive property during its demolition. They bemoaned the destruction of the link between the would-be president and the community that raised him.
"Romney hasn’t lived here for so long, I just don’t think the average person thinks he’s a Michigan guy," Barb said.
Story: Romney begins closing arguements in Michigan
Paul Sancya / AP
The former home of one of Michigan's most prominent political families lies in debris after being demolished in Detroit Tuesday, June 8, 2010. Crews demolished, as part of Detroit's plan to tear down neighborhood eyesores and dangerous houses, the 5,500-square-foot, two-story structure where George Romney raised his family for a time before being elected governor. Former Massachusetts governor and one-time Republican presidential candidate Mitt Romney was raised in the home in the once prestigious Palmer Woods area.
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SO let me see, this turd who had his eye on the Oval office for years now, and is a multi-multi-millionaire via bulldozing corporations, could not see the historical context of buying the home and preserving it, or just becoming a slumlord for the time being, because he felt that he really had a shot at being President, and what Presidential history does not include the home they lived in as a child?
This disgusting person (Sh|t Romney) does not even have the foresight to do this. What a POS.
Romeny has not lived in that house for years. He now has his own place and his own life- so what does it matter. Most of us eventually leave home and make our own history.
And, this matters why? The Romney family didn't own it anymore. Just more msnbc propaganda
GOP R TRAITORS -- Just like a Democrat, open mouth and insert foot. The Romney sold the house years ago. It was the newer owners who let the house become an eyesore. So apparently GOP R TRAITORS, you're the as- that created the turd.
At last, a shovel-ready project.
Gotta agree with you denver. It shows some productivity in regards to shovel ready projects. All obama has done is shovel bull$h!t down our throats.
abandonment and blight,,,,,,,,,,These things seem to follow Romney everywhere he goes
Bain capital did not only liquidate bankrupt business's, They bought and dismantled low profit business's supporting entire communities with thousands of workers, Business's that were not in trouble but put a lot of money into expansion, hiring, retirement, communitiy betterment projects keeping their profit margin low, You know, Real AMERICAN companies working for the good of,,,,,,AMERICANS, Not just Corporate profit margins
Detroit is a craphole regardless of Romney's former presence there.
Tearing down "dangerous.... eyesores" should include Romney himself.
I suggest it as a national bipartisan pasttime.
I grew up near 7 Mile & Livernois right next to that neighborhood. There are beautiful homes there with private security patrols. They are large and spacious with large yards compared to other areas. There is also a house built by famed architect Frank Lloyd Wright known as the Dorothy Turkel house. It is a beautiful looking home but really stands out from the other more traditional buildings.
Mittens your so out of touch how on earth can you "fix" anything dude? REALLY! He is the weakest and most flawed Republican (presumptive) nominee in a long time....even worse than Dole and McCain. He can't beat Obama. He couldn't even beat McCain! I am from Massachusetts and I'm NOT a Romney supporter.
WOW, to be priveledged and to live in a prestigious neighborhood and grow up in a 5,500 sq. ft home - now to think Romney wants to live in the White House = six stories and 55,000 ft² (5,100 m²) of floor space, 132 rooms and 35 bathrooms, 412 doors, 147 windows, twenty-eight fireplaces, eight staircases, three elevators, five full-time chefs, a tennis court, a (single-lane) bowling alley, a movie theater, a jogging track, a swimming pool, and a putting green... Based on his childhood and to his current advantages - it's my opinion that he was (from his childhood) & is (from his current lavish lifestyle) out-of-touch with the suffering working/unemployed class of Americans and I don't believe he has the best interest of this country.
You sound like you're blaming Mitt Romney for his parents being successful. WOW, then vote for Obama, he'll make sure you're never successful enough.
Hey Lady, Obama wants to live in that house also. Spend less time posting silly comments and go get a job.
Perhaps whoever moves into the White House in 2013 will do some major remodelling, including turning the one-lane bowling alley into two (or more) lanes, adding or deleting a door here and there, and adding a full sized basketball court. After all he what else is he to do... the country is running itself!
obama lives in that lavish house already and has done nothing to deserve such privilege. The plus side to obama living there is that he is seldom there. That substantially reduces the wear and tear on a building if it is unoccupied.
I think the only thing Obama did to be able to live in the White House is receive more votes than McCain. Thus he deserves the privledge.
Now that a gateway to Hell has been demolished, hopefully fewer of the devil's disciples will no longer be free to pass through and walk the earth!
So here you grew up in this 5,500 square foot home in a very lovely neighborhood - and with all your vast wealth you couldn't find it appropriate to donate some money to renovate your childhood home???? Really???? How pathetic is that!!!! You are so out of touch with the working class Americans and unemployed people in this country. You have no clue what normal working people go through every day - living paycheck to pay check - hoping they can pay their bills from one check to the next and feed their families. People in this country deserve more than lip service from all the weatlthy politicians. Not to mention that all the big businesses in this country who have their cars, etc., manufactured outside of the USA just so they can save money because they don't want to pay Americans a better wage here - should be penalized big time for doing this because if they kept their business here then more Americans could be working and supporting their families - and also supporting America's economy. Wake up America - let's give notice that we are mad as hell and aren't going to take it any more!!!!!!!
He may not have known it was destined for demolition. If your parents no longer live in your childhood home, how many of you know the fate of that house? I know I don't.
Really do you know if he actually owned the place and really have you donated to fix up the old house you grew up in. Most of us want to leave our childhood behind when we become adults.
Chadley, the Romneys drive American made cars
Chadley, "donate" to whom? The Romney's don't own it anymore. The house wasn't on any historical site list. You don't look to smart right now. But, that's typical lib; try to make a big deal out of something you don't know anything about or that doesn't amount to a hill of beans!
Dirt, Yes, they do! In fact Mrs. Romney drives TWO Caddys. Pretty sweet deal.
So was all this meant to show his huble beginnings, becuase it looks like he lived in a mini castle to me....
When did she become a stunt driver?
hey chadley if Americans want to pay 5x more for products made in the good ol USA they would be made here but THEY DON'T. Also most Americans have IRA's or retirement accounts that they want to grow & are depending on for their retirement. These accounts have stock in them from the companies that have their products manufactured overseas. If you're looking for the stocks to APPRECIATE u need the companies to make $. Taking these 2 factors into consideration what's your solution??
Wow! A candidate for President who is actually accomplished! What a paradigm shift for those who are so blind they can't see what is happening to this country.
Go, Mitt! Voting for you in tomorrow's Michigan primary! (A Detroit native who sees firsthand every day what the policies of the past 40 years have done to this city)
Looks like Michigan didn't even see the house as historical and worth saving. What does that say what they really think of Mitt Romney.
It means absolutely nothing. Why would Detroit consider Romney's house a historical monument when he has no political ties to Michigan? This was also Romney's dad's house and he was the governor and they still razed the house.
watergil, why would they be savingit? yes, his dad was governor but that wasn't Dad's childhood home and not typical to preserve governor homes. Why don't you go make up something else to be upset about....poor sick little libs that have to attack and make stuff up because Obama has been such a disaster
Abraham Lincoln's home gets saved,
George Washington's home gets saved,
Thomas Jefferson's home gets saved,
Who the hell is Willard Romney?
So what does that say about the condition of the economy in Michigan.
That it needs something different from the past 40 years? Go, Mitt!
I live in Michigan and I don't think it was abandonment and disrepair that caused that house to be destroyed. We were trying to get rid of anything that has to do with Mittens. He says that Michigan was his home state....we all would simply prefer if he'd call one of the other six domiciles, home. Otherwise, he's welcome to join Newt......headed to the moon.
During the halcyon days of the 1960s, I was often homeless because of my dysfunctional mother. My dream of having a permanent home lead me to my career in architecture. Even though I had to drop out of high school, I joined the Navy SeaBees to learn construction and get my GED, used my in-Service educationanal opportunities to get my Associate's degree in drafting, bought my first home wiht a Cal-Vet loan, used my post-Service GI Bill to graduate with a degree in Architecture and Architecural History, and used my Veterans preferance to get a good job after I retired from the Navy. I was first hired by an international package delivery company part-time, and have kept that job even though I soon after became a salaried employee with a local govenment and teach part-time. I now live in the type of home I dreamed of as a kid living in a car and have a small vacation home an hour away that I designed. Whenever I see any building torn down, I see the death of what was once someone's dream and find it sad. I prefer to practice re-use architecture, adapting older structures to new uses and believe in filling-in the empty spaces of cities rather than expanding sprawl. I'm a Veteran, a Teamster, and a teacher. It was the Democratic Party that gave us the GI Bill and the Soldiers & Salilors Bill of 1941. I know who to thank for my prosperity: my chance for education and the preferment I recieved as thanks for my Service. I don't live in Detroit but I have been buying abandoned buildings in my own area, about two a year, renovating them while trying to maintain the original vision and character, and putting them back into use. My husband, also a retired Sailor, and I were married last year in Iowa. Interesting how two Gay guys have more military service than all the Republican candidates combined, eh? We need to bring back conscription to renew patriotism in our youth and provide a common national interest. Including the current president, no man should be Commander-in-Chief who has not himself served honorably in the Armed Forces. The road to the White House may start in a humble home or a mansion, but it should include time in a barracks. (I still haven't seen GW Bush's honorable discharge, even though Obama's birth certificate is available.)
Save the house ? What for ? Are you willing to save the other 40% or 60% of the houses that need bulldozed down the street ? Housing blight is in every large , older city .
Last year , dodging a backup on the interstate . I cut through an old neighborhood . The once beautiful homes are in total decay . Only a few had anyone living in them . Very little restoration was being done .
Sadly this story is a media spin . Bashing Mr. Romney .
It took very little to bring out the left wing finger pointers .
Allow Detroit , to decide what houses need to be bulldozed down .
Bulldoze down half of Detroit . I have an idea , of building a huge solar farm and possibly a small wind farm there .When the houses and businesses are gone , the infrastructure will remain .With my concept . A solar farm could be in place in months , not years . With my solar farm concept . Electricity could be produced at night .
RON
WTF does this have to do with running for president? If anything this is alarming evidence what will happen to your childhood house too if liberal democrat socialist marxist crap keeps running this country. It will also happen to your current house too. OBAMA 2012 keep that hope and change a coming!
Detoilet went downhill as soon as coleman young was elected mayor. that's when everyone with a brain got the F out!
They forgot to leave him in it before it was bulldozed. He would blend well with a trash heap in the photo.
Just wondering, suds. If somebody said that about Obama, what would your response be?
Dirt. Devout Liberal here and I totally agree with you. No matter how much I disagree with a person, wishing for their death is pretty creepy.
doesn't make it right, but....ya gotta admit, ALOT of people have said things like that about Obama, and allot more dire things.
I guess it's okay for dirt to call out Suds, but lest we forget the past three years. Including some some from congress.
Sheesh, MEEEEE, you have a short memory. Like GWB wasn't the frequent target of vile tirades from your Left!
This article is just a cheap shot by the liberal media to incite a lot of horsecrap comments. This is completely irrelevant. Why would or should Romney preserve his childhood home if he no longer lives there? Is it Romney's fault that Detroit is a blighted city? I'm not a fan of Romney, but this article and most of the comments are complete nonsense.
It takes so little to incite a lot of horsecrap comments on an MSNBC 'article.' Maybe 'MSNBC' and 'horsecrap' are redundant...?
Maybe not so much Mitt, but his daddy did wonders for jobs in Detroit.
What a shame he wasn't in it when they demolished it.
Wow, what a clever post.
Warren, what if somebody made a similar kind of statement about Obama? How would you respond?
Mitt Romney, bulldozed in Michigan, 2012.
Extinction by Democrat entitlement, bulldozed in Michigan, 2012. Go, Mitt on February 28!!!
Romney only lived in that house for the first 5 years of his life. From 1948 to 1953. There's no emotional attachment to the place. It's not like he lived there his whole childhood.
Can you remember when you were 1,2,3,4,5 years old?
This particular area of Detroit has been on the decline since 68. That's when hookers could be found covering the area along Woodward. The housing then started to decline during Nixon's tenure. Never came back. The homes are indeed beautiful and its a great shame that all of Detroit has suffered a similar fate. Of course the reasons are all due to the arrogance and greed that Romney and plenty of his corporate buddies have shown the world. This is what all of America will look like until the majority of voters wake up and stop voting against their own good. The GOP was horrible on its own , and now thanks to these old retarded Tbaggers like PROUDTPARTY- and his stupid posts , this is what we have to look forward to.
Nixon? How 'bout Coleman Young, who encouraged white flight, draining city coffers of much of their tax revenue? Detroit is blighted because much of its population is mired in generational entitlements, most of its households are headed by single mothers (just about guarantees poverty), and people forsook education in favor of high-pay (mostly) low-skill auto jobs that went away. Seems to me the LEAST likely fix is the Dem who continues to promise something for nothing. The MOST likely fix is the candidate who will make the necessary changes to get business hiring again (it's still not). It's all about JOBS, baby. Mitt in Michigan tomorrow!
Dear Surprised, I would venture a guess that Mittens (as you're cheerleading) will eek out Santorum and win Tues in Michigan. Keep in mind though, Michigan is Romney's home state; one of seven. And he's spent over $1.2 million for mostly positive ads, while his super PAC is spending $6 million on negative ads (in MI and AZ) to help him.
He would have had an easier time, if he hadn't promoted bankruptcy for Detroit. Oh, and if our gobernor hadn't endorsed him.
You'll get what you want...he'll likely win, here. It's just really strange how hard he has to work, considering he has always been the front-runner and heir to the nomination.
Guess everyone forgets Nobama actually DID the bankruptcy? Oh, and unlike what Romney was advocating (that being a surgical B that followed the rule of law), Nobama gave GM to the UAW. Buy votes, much? Shame on us as a country if we let that happen. (Oh, yeah, we let that happen in 2008 by electing someone with no experience relevent to being President. Duh us.)
I suppose you (repub's) would better viewed now, if you're congress-people hadn't sat on their hands, trying to slow our economy for the past three years. Or if you there was someone, ANYONE running that had a clue as to what to do. I'm sorry the repub candidates don't have a plan, no direction, no common sense and no leadership. Maybe in 2016...if repub leadership can learn from this.
(btw: its after 2pm here in Michigan and Romney is running scared that he'll lose his home state.)
He has not lived there since High school and really had nothing to do with Michigan for many years. The only connection is with the media.
So?
Doesn't anyone remember that when his father George was governor of Michigan in 1959 he lived on Rosewood Avenue near the corner of Clarendon Street in East Lansing? That's still a nice house and neighborhood, rolled by it a few days ago... My family lived across the street.
slow news day.....................
Detriot is a shinning example of how liberal policies destroy!
Thats why they got rid of his house the Republicans were stinking up the place. And yes i am over paid under worked and your jealous