10 Things You'll Remember If You Grew Up In The 80s In Michigan
By Serena Maria Daniels|Published January 11, 2016
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Serena Maria Daniels
Author
Serena Maria Daniels is an award-winning freelance journalist in Detroit, by way of Chicago, by way of the West Coast. She writes about Michigan for OIYS. Serena enjoys learning about language and culture and taking road trips with her beagle Ralph.
The 1980s were a wild time for America. Big hair, shopping malls, and excess were all considered the norm. And in the middle of it all, we had Michigan. The state was struggling to overcome competition in the automotive industry from foreign car makers, causing our once Blue State to fracture, in hopes of turning around the economy. A now globally-embraced music genre, techno, was in its infancy in a Detroit suburb. And we were saying goodbye to old and welcoming new symbols of popular culture. Have a look for yourself.
Ford Motor Company ceased production of these cars, infamously known for their exploding engines that were ultimately recalled, back in 1980. Many remained on the road throughout the 80s, but they were certainly not the proudest creations by the Dearborn automaker.
RIP 1898-1993. This amusement park sat on an island on the Detroit River, situated in between Detroit and Windsor, Ontario. Guests were ferried in by boat. Though technically a Canadian attraction, it was widely considered the Coney Island of Detroit.
It was one of the most tragic times in the city's history, when troublemakers would set countless numbers of structures ablaze on the night before Halloween.
The enormous department store was once a symbol of American entrepreneurial ingenuity, but when retailers fled the city of Detroit for the suburbs, the mighty company faltered. The flagship store in downtown closed in 1983. The building, once considered the tallest department store in the world, was imploded in 1998.
Most of you know Michigan's deeply-rooted connection to the Democratic Party, due to its ties to organized labor. Well, back during the 1980 and 1984 presidential elections, many of the blue collar Democrats defected to voting for Republican Ronald Reagan, thus the term Reagan Democrat was born.
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2) Getting mad when you learned that RoboCop was not actually filmed in Michigan
The story was based in troubled Detroit, so you thought you'd see some recognizable landmarks. Alas, you were sad to learn that the filmmakers opted to shoot in Dallas, known for its futuristic skyline.
Maybe you heard your older cousin bumping the sounds of something entirely new. It wasn't New Wave, or heavy metal, but something entirely new - it was the electronic genre of techno and it got its start in Belleville.
Part of me wants to forget, but then again where would we be if not for these developments? We know there’s so much more to the ’80s in Michigan than what we’ve shown you, though. Tell us about your biggest memories from that decade.
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