EVERYTHING THAT I USE IN THE FIELD: Main Camera: amzn.to/3iS4vvF Side Cameras: amzn.to/2WuCYIs Media Mod for Camera: amzn.to/3j7CMGF Lav Mic: amzn.to/3lsMkz9 Drone: amzn.to/3ITcKBV SD Cards: amzn.to/3C2co9O Camera Mounts: amzn.to/2UXVR6p Cables Required for Longer Recordings: amzn.to/3BYnr3Q Computer: amzn.to/3787b2j External Hard Drive: amzn.to/3lb23Tf WHAT I USE AT HOME: Computer: amzn.to/3rKIdiN Sound Mixer: amzn.to/3C15Ubx Microphone: amzn.to/2VaCjvo Microphone Accessories: amzn.to/3v7A35Z INTERACTIVE MAP that shows you all of the places that I've made videos on: (Doesn't always work on mobile devices. Will always work on PC.) www.google.com/maps/d/u/2/edit?hl=en&mid=1Lhzf04ocimPu-ROkg4cfXEYEvKMNnlI5&ll=42.68506257358429%2C-84.48366841804642&z=9 SOCIAL MEDIA & CONTACT INFO: Email: ChrisHardenYT@Gmail.com On Twitter: twitter.com/Chris_Harden55 On Instagram: instagram.com/c_harden7/?... On Facebook: facebook.com/ChrisHardenYT/ DISCLAIMER: Links included in this description might be affiliate links. If you purchase a product or service with the links that I provide I may receive a small commission. There is no additional charge to you. As an Amazon Associate I do earn a small commission on qualifying purchases. As always, thank you for supporting my channel!
I was born @ Highland Park General Hospital, grew up in Ferndale, @ 13, my parents moved us to Rose City- Northern lower Peninsula- West of Saginaw, in 67 because of the riots. My parents are buried in Royal Oak. Thanks for all of these videos- can see the Detroit area, without driving there from the North. It’s just not the city I remember. I had a great childhood in Ferndale and saw many fine concerts @ the Silverdome. Bob Seger, Grand Funk, J. Geils band, Humble Pie, etc….. 69 now, still Rockin’.
Simple, straight to the point, perfectly paced, nice amount of information. Exactly what I wanted. Especially the little detours into the areas with Eminem lore.
I've driven 8 mile hundreds of times over, but never from Harper Woods to B.F.E. in one shot. That was an interesting tour I never thought I'd take. Thanks.
About 2 years ago I drove every mile of 8 mile from east to west. It goes a good ways and you go far enough west its actually a gravel road in the country.
Great video. I use to work here (4:00) and in my youth, 8mile/Gratiot was a poor choice of mine to hang out. lol. I also grew up (here 20:40) in the 70's near this location. My teens were spent in the Northville Tunnels in the 80's and 90's (I think near 25:30)
One thing you notice driving on this road is that if you go the speed limit, you constantly catch the next street light going from red to green just as you approach them. This timing makes 8 Mile a very efficient drive most of the time. Van Dyke does that as well as Mound, Groesbeck and others. Other cities just don't do that.
Thanks for another great video! I just discovered your playlist yesterday and watched your 7 mile video yesterday and your 8 mile video today. I took both of these roads many times when I lived on the far east side and commuted to University of Detroit in the early 80s. I've also always liked riding the entire stretch of 8 mile and did it many times before moving out of Michigan in 2001. It's a lot more convenient to be able to whip through in 35 minutes from the comfort of my desk. I like that you pick the perfect speed at which to play back these videos - fast enough to keep the length of the trip from getting unwieldy yet not so fast as to leave the viewer with motion sickness. And boy would it have been nice to have been able to spend as little time at all the stoplights in real life! It was really nice to see this stretch again. Although I remembered the overpasses over the 75, 10, and 39 freeways well, I hadn't thought about the underpass at Woodward in ages so seeing it again was a real blast from the past. I'm going to be hooked on this playlist. Next up for me will be the Six Mile video - another route I often took to and from U of D. I'll save that for another day. The late Bob Talbert, columnist for the Detroit Free Press, once wrote an article about Eight Mile that I enjoyed enough to save a clipping of. At some point several years ago I was able to find a copy of it online, and I copied and pasted it - I'm glad I did so, because it looks like it's no longer available online. But if you haven't seen it I'm sure you - and other people who watched this video - will find it worth reading! Here it is: West to East, Eight Mile Has Got It All By Bob Talbert, Detroit Free Press Originally printed May 3, 1977; reprinted September 17, 1999 during his recovery from heart & ulcer surgery. "Streets are streets, but Eight Mile is more than just a road. Beginning (for me) as Baseline in Northville at one end and becoming Vernier in Harper Woods at the other, Eight Mile is more Detroit to me than anything else I can think of. Soon after coming to this city, I figured out that if one could tell where all the main freeways, expressways and four-lane highways crossed Eight mile, the rest would come easy. Once, many many years ago, one fine gentleman drove me out Grand River and told me at one time it was one of the state's key roads because it was the only direct road from Detroit to Lansing. Grand River, from Brighton on into Woodward Avenue, is very representative of what this area is all about. Jefferson from Gibraltar to Metropolitan Beach is another remarkable look at the extremes in which some of us live. Gratiot from downtown Detroit to downtime Mt. Clemens is still another slice through the Detroit cake,. How about Michigan from Dearborn to Ann Arbor? Telegraph, from Flat Rock all the way up to Dixie Highway in Waterford, is perhaps the longest slice of Detroit one can find, but it has become mile after mile of sameness. And then there’s Woodward. Good ol’ Wood’urd that begins at the river and turns into Pontiac’s Wide Track Drive. The great drag-racing strip of yesteryear, when skinning wheels was a bigger diversion than skin shows. There are some other shorter stretches, of which I am very, very fond - Ford and Fort and Van Dyke and Groesbeck and Maple and Plymouth and Outer Drive and Michigan and Hines Drive - but the biggies are still my favorites. From beginning to end they traverse the spectrum of this community, but the one that is the widest-ranging to me is Eight Mile Road. For one thing, it connects the tri-county area. It is still the fastest east-west route we have. Some hold out for various expressway routes, but not me. Eight Mile can’t match others in beauty, ‘cause mostly it’s one little business, one little service, one little office cluster, one little and big shopping center after another. I’ve driven from one end to the other of Eight Mile many times, sometimes in bumper-to-anger traffic and sometimes late at night when the road is still awake. Eight Mile is 24 hours a day, 365 days a year. Only thing that closes it is a wreck, but not for long. I don’t know what the statistics are, but I’d have to save the average Eight Mile driver is Detroit’s finest. The freeways have become Indy prelims. Eight Milers drive the limit, but seldom over it. And they are more courteous. They use more lane-switching signals and are, in general, more aware of the traffic around them. Now you may be a regular driver on Eight Mile and say that I am full of soybeans, that Eight Mile is a jungle. OK, I will admit that during rush hours I try to shun all streets, roads, etc. Every time I drive Eight Mile I’m amazed at new places that have arisen and old places that have closed. The balance is even, thank goodness. Another thing that amazes me, make that dumbfounds me, is how they make it - all these little shops and stores and restaurants and what have you. I know of nothing you can’t find on Eight Mile."
Very nice, and yeah the main surface road thoroughfares in Detroit can be as long as 50 miles. It’s not common in major cities east of the Mississippi River for the main thoroughfares to be that long. I’m glad you enjoy the vids!
@@ChrisHarden When I was a very young child I used to think that the mile roads were named according to their length, i.e. 8 mile was exactly 8 miles long, 7 mile was exactly 7 miles long, etc. I figured they got longer as they went north because the shoreline of Lake St. Clair went sort of northeast. And I guess I figured all the mile roads started at some fixed point in the west - probably at Woodward. (Like I said, very young. I didn't even know anything about maps yet!) And due to I guess at least a trace of OCD it still bugs me a little that 7 mile goes further west than 8, even if it is due to a little problem known as .... Whitmore Lake. :) I've often turned north at the west end of 8 mile and gone up to 9 mile and then continued west on M-36.
I was born in Gross Point Farms but was raised in Sterling Heights (15 mile east of Vandyke) My dad worked over 40 years on 9 mile and Hoover Rd. I’m currently living in Rochester Hills for 23 years now, I spent a lot of time growing up at my grandparents on the lower west side of Detroit around 7 mile. I moved to Las Vegas for 4 years but moved back to Michigan during the pandemic (I was so home sick). I’m going to check out your other videos, even though I’ve driven the 8 mile stretch many times I still found this video fascinating.
Thanks Chris for my drives through michigan and the Detroit area ..having been born and raised in Detroit and dearborn, and now living in Canada, it's great to see areas I haven't been too or seen in awile
Just moved back to Detroit after 24 years in Virginia. It has been nice to get a view of the various neighborhoods with these videos. It has been an education
Honestly compared to Los Angeles Detroit has a bright future ahead! Of course every major city has good and bad parts! Obviously avoid the 7 mile road areas! But near downtown it’s okay to walk around
You really do a service for me because I always wanted to drive the entire lengths of these long Detroit roads but don’t have the time..thank you! Maybe you can do Grand River Ave from Detroit to the Grand Rapids area
Thanks for the tour. Sorry it tool me so long to find it! I grew up 1 street north of 8 Mile directly across from Eastland Center. I remember when 8 Mile was widened there in the late 60's. Watch them turn Eastland into a mall (used to be open air between store blocks). That whole area sure has changed.
I used to live in St. Clair Shores, Warren and I was raised in Plymouth so I know 8 Mile very well. I even remember going to Northland with my mom when it was a shopping center, before they made it a mall. I was very young but I remember the chicken pot pies at the restaurant in Hudsons. Yum. This is such a wonderful nostalgic trip for me, I moved to Marquette Mi. 20 years ago and haven't been on 8 mile since but I still recognize so much . I drove from the east side to the west side on 8 mile to visit my mom for years after I move to work on the east side. I can't believe there's NO traffic! this must be filmed early on a Sunday morning. There was always a traffic on 8 mile. I'd love to take a drive down North Territorial from Plymouth to Dexter Pinckney Rd some day if you have time! :) Thanks for the trip in the way-back machine! - it's a keeper. I'll now check out your tour of Marquette where it is now minus 8° F !!
When I lived in Michigan, there was one day a year when there was consistently (almost) no traffic on Eight Mile Road - Thanksgiving morning. I lived in Detroit south of Eight Mile and used to take a long run well into Eastpointe every Thanksgiving as a way to "earn" my Thanksgiving dinner overindulgence later in the day, and always used to marvel at being able to just run across Eight Mile usually without any waiting for traffic whatsoever. It was about the only time one could do that.
Detroit area orange barrell sickness is just that. You'll go through an area with miles of orange barrels and no construction. I've never seen anything like it. It's been like this since the early 90's.
Thank you very much for the upload. 23:09 mark . . .First girlfriend ever lived off of Lujon road there on the right into Meadowbrook Hills subdivision.
the numbers are good, but there is an unattractive blandness to the road. The growth and density are not enough to see the steady intensification you are seeing in Sunbelt cities, where the one story boxes are replaced by three or four story mixed use.
That's sort of what the Lake Michigan side is about. The beaches, hills, dunes, forests - all beautiful, seemingly endless, and the towns are generally quite charming and have a lot of character to them. Downside? Michigan 100% failed miserably at developing any actual cities over there. It's almost entirely tiny towns. The biggest one is Grand Rapids, which isn't even near the water, but rather about half an hour inland - and with having only 200,000 people, it barely even qualifies as a city. It also isn't much to look at, and at times feels more like a glorified suburb (thus the "Bland Rapids" nickname). Meanwhile, the one place Michigan has a real metropolis of over 4 million people - metro-Detroit - it happens to be in the ugliest part of the State, and not even centered at a Great Lake....in the only state in the nation with FOUR Great Lakes, and more shoreline than the east coast or [lower 48] west coast. It's almost as if Michigan has never had any long-term planning and development going on at the State level.
Had a car give out, right at Livernois, across from the Ferndale Laboratories, in the middle of rush hour. Little Caesar's told me they didn't have a phone. Right, everyone orders in person, even though the place isn't big enough to dine in!! The party store with the yellow awning had a lovely payphone, with crud all over the receiver. I don't see either of them, anymore, lol. Even better, no matter who I called, from that corner, it was long distance, because I was in Oakland County, and the 2 people I called, were in Wayne and Macomb. I told my ride, I wasn't sure if I heard gun shots, or fireworks. She said probably gun shots. Fun afternoon!
I was born in 1957(Last time Lions were champions) Mount Carmel hospital. From 1-4 yeas old lived in Redford. Moved into a brand new house in Farmington hills. Neighborhood was called Kimberly off of 11mile between orchard lake and middle belt. Lived there for 15 years. Also lived in Northville/Novi. Worked at different A&P grocery stores in Westland, Northville and Novi. Graduated from Harrison High senior year was at Northville high.
If you take 5 Mile Road, that would be Fenkell or 12th Street North from Downtown to West, but coming back East, you would connect with Oakman to 14th going South ⬇️ towards Downtown. So if you are ever near Rosa Parks Blvd and Highland Street, you would be where I grew up at!!! Fullerton, Leslie, Glendale, Cortland, Richton and Monterey Streets in no particular order.
About 8 Mile/Baseline Road: My geography professor at Wayne State University said that if Lake Michigan were not in the way, 8 Mile would have had Illinois on the Eastbound side and Wisconsin on the Westbound. EDIT: Some say Michigan invented what Michiganders call the "Michigan Left", which has nothing to do with politics. 8 Mile Road has a very wide, grass-covered median separating the Westbound side from the Eastbound. Livernois Avenue is also a busy throughfare, it intersects 8 Mile. As the suburbs grew, so did the number of auto accidents at that intersection, as motorists were desperate to make a turn before the light changed. In 1962, the middle of the intersection received a lighted "NO TURNS" sign on all four sides. Motorists wishing to turn left were instructed to turn right, drive rightbound for a few hundred feet, make a U turn across the median, then proceed onto the street, effectively making a left turn. Over the years, more intersections on Michigan roads would receive these "Michigan Left" intersections. 19:25 I could make good use of the car disintegrator when the traffic is heavy😊
@@bioshock5620 Well, there really is a *VERY* gradual curve, since the Earth is a sphere, but since it is a huge sphere, you won't notice the curve. Of course, you would need an Amphicar to cross Lake Michigan as you drive (float?) along that line.
@@Lolahdee-ju3dy In retrospect, I don't remember it being a dangerous place. There were some shady characters that came and went . Just a bit trashy. It's long gone now.
Did you know 8 mile is the same survey line as the Wisconsin South State Boarder line? Sorry I forget the history behind as to why it is on the same survey line. Following that 8 mile survey line you will also notice it is the dividing line between several counties across Michigan. The 8 mile survey line was determined sometime in the 1800s but I can not remember the historical significance.
I grew up in Southfield and if you had a business on the south side of 8 mile in Detroit you paid a tax that wasn't paid on the other side of the road. Probably the same today. We used to get on Southfield Rd and drive it to my grandparents in south Florida. Long trip before the expressway. Looks pretty empty today.
I kinda like Southfield, where I could be in the center of the Metropolitan area, yet live in a quiet subrural setting, with a ranch house on two acres, and no street lights.
Is there any chance you will do a 15 mile/Maple Rd video? It takes you through a lot of the major suburbs as well as upscale downtown Birmingham. Plus I want to see where I grew up way further west, past Haggerty.
It also has missing sections and assumes the routes of many established roads. Sections of Outer Drive are in Dearborn and Ecorse. Interesting trivia: Detroit's highest premise number (higher than 26000) is on W Outer Drive, very close to the Detroit River, it continues into Ecorse, running into W Jefferson with a T terminus by the river.
West BranchBall Currently I’m working my way up on the mile roads, and since you asked I will add Harper and Schoenherr to my list. I have lots of unedited videos currently, 45 to be exact but I’ll try to sprinkle them in somewhere.
@@ChrisHarden also 8 mile road the tv show hardcore pawn filmed right by 8 mile and greenfield road, American jewelry and loan. that's also a famous location
When I lived in Southfield and then Farmington Hills, you were a west sider and opposed to east sider where the video started. Each rarely spent much time in the other side. North Park was like a winter wonderland at Christmas time. It was all outdoors and lit up. On the SE corner of Woodward and 8 Mile was a notorious club full of prostitutes and their pimps dressed as Super Fly. 8 mile near Greenfield/ Telegraph area was full of garish lit up motels with waterbeds and mirrored walls and ceilings. There was one in particular on the south side of 8 mile that I may or may not have been to a dozen times.
What what time of day is it on the way road evening . I used to work in that area 8 Mile and Woodward that looks like around Van Dyke dequindre area, not have not been down there in Six years.
I grew up 6 houses off 8 Mile Road just a block west of Woodward in Ferndale! I sure miss Northland! That place was like Disney World as far as shopping center experience back in 1950s and 1960s. I left Detroit in 1968. Wasn't fun watching the National Guard vehicles going down 8 Mile during the riots! What kind of vehicle are you driving as you seem to be sitting high up?
Full sized SUV. This way the video has a less chance at getting ruined by being behind a vehicle that's taller. You'll see a difference if you watch my 7 mile video as I was stuck behind a mini van for much of the drive and I was in a sports car.
Went to Summer School between 6 and 7 mile, off McNichols when I stayed with my Sister and her Husband. Pretty crazy, didn’t learn much with all the confusion in the classes. That was in 1969. Pretty shady !!😮
The 8-mile road trip is a rags to riches story, huh? Very interesting ride and great narration. That trailer park where Eminem filmed is so spookily tucked away. It's like living in its own private Idaho. Detroit is too flat and bland for me -- like Eminem. Cool video!
Oh man my dad lives off 8 and Ryan glad I don't live there it's a sxithole lol. I also worked at the Romeo and Juilet furniture. My family knows the owner Romeo.
Rode my bike with a neighbor , we ended up going from 9 mile, to 8 mile. We were met with screaming and yelling and were glad to make it back home- we were just 10 year olds. We got a real taste of racism that day. !!!!
I've driven through the area. It's nice, not too sketchy and people are pleasant enough. The plot where Eminem's house used to be isn't worth the bother. Go to his spaghetti take-out joint instead.
@@yeahhjay4 not the burbs anymore I live there we hear gunshots almost every night people getting shot over their a lot more now , cars being broken into and people getting car jacked at the corner of 9 and vandyke yeah not so nice anymore
Haha. It was filmed really early on a weekday morning in May of 2020. Right in the midst of the pandemic too, so not much of a reason for many people to be out and about.
Those were the peak government shut down prices. Demand for travel was low since everyone was scared to travel, and since everything was shut down and people were either working from home or were laid off/furloughed, there was no need to drive anywhere.
![เป็นไปได้ไหม - WanMai [Performance Video]](http://i.ytimg.com/vi/Eh5hItD4Mr0/mqdefault.jpg)
EVERYTHING THAT I USE IN THE FIELD:
Main Camera: amzn.to/3iS4vvF
Side Cameras: amzn.to/2WuCYIs
Media Mod for Camera: amzn.to/3j7CMGF
Lav Mic: amzn.to/3lsMkz9
Drone: amzn.to/3ITcKBV
SD Cards: amzn.to/3C2co9O
Camera Mounts: amzn.to/2UXVR6p
Cables Required for Longer Recordings: amzn.to/3BYnr3Q
Computer: amzn.to/3787b2j
External Hard Drive: amzn.to/3lb23Tf
WHAT I USE AT HOME:
Computer: amzn.to/3rKIdiN
Sound Mixer: amzn.to/3C15Ubx
Microphone: amzn.to/2VaCjvo
Microphone Accessories: amzn.to/3v7A35Z
INTERACTIVE MAP that shows you all of the places that I've made videos on: (Doesn't always work on mobile devices. Will always work on PC.) www.google.com/maps/d/u/2/edit?hl=en&mid=1Lhzf04ocimPu-ROkg4cfXEYEvKMNnlI5&ll=42.68506257358429%2C-84.48366841804642&z=9
SOCIAL MEDIA & CONTACT INFO:
Email: ChrisHardenYT@Gmail.com
On Twitter: twitter.com/Chris_Harden55
On Instagram: instagram.com/c_harden7/?...
On Facebook: facebook.com/ChrisHardenYT/
DISCLAIMER: Links included in this description might be affiliate links. If you purchase a product or service with the links that I provide I may receive a small commission. There is no additional charge to you. As an Amazon Associate I do earn a small commission on qualifying purchases. As always, thank you for supporting my channel!
2
I was born @ Highland Park General Hospital, grew up in Ferndale, @ 13, my parents moved us to Rose City- Northern lower Peninsula- West of Saginaw, in 67 because of the riots. My parents are buried in Royal Oak. Thanks for all of these videos- can see the Detroit area, without driving there from the North. It’s just not the city I remember. I had a great childhood in Ferndale and saw many fine concerts @ the Silverdome. Bob Seger, Grand Funk, J. Geils band, Humble Pie, etc….. 69 now, still Rockin’.
Simple, straight to the point, perfectly paced, nice amount of information. Exactly what I wanted. Especially the little detours into the areas with Eminem lore.
I've driven 8 mile hundreds of times over, but never from Harper Woods to B.F.E. in one shot. That was an interesting tour I never thought I'd take. Thanks.
About 2 years ago I drove every mile of 8 mile from east to west. It goes a good ways and you go far enough west its actually a gravel road in the country.
Great video. I use to work here (4:00) and in my youth, 8mile/Gratiot was a poor choice of mine to hang out. lol. I also grew up (here 20:40) in the 70's near this location. My teens were spent in the Northville Tunnels in the 80's and 90's (I think near 25:30)
One thing you notice driving on this road is that if you go the speed limit, you constantly catch the next street light going from red to green just as you approach them. This timing makes 8 Mile a very efficient drive most of the time. Van Dyke does that as well as Mound, Groesbeck and others. Other cities just don't do that.
Thanks for another great video! I just discovered your playlist yesterday and watched your 7 mile video yesterday and your 8 mile video today. I took both of these roads many times when I lived on the far east side and commuted to University of Detroit in the early 80s. I've also always liked riding the entire stretch of 8 mile and did it many times before moving out of Michigan in 2001. It's a lot more convenient to be able to whip through in 35 minutes from the comfort of my desk. I like that you pick the perfect speed at which to play back these videos - fast enough to keep the length of the trip from getting unwieldy yet not so fast as to leave the viewer with motion sickness. And boy would it have been nice to have been able to spend as little time at all the stoplights in real life! It was really nice to see this stretch again. Although I remembered the overpasses over the 75, 10, and 39 freeways well, I hadn't thought about the underpass at Woodward in ages so seeing it again was a real blast from the past. I'm going to be hooked on this playlist. Next up for me will be the Six Mile video - another route I often took to and from U of D. I'll save that for another day.
The late Bob Talbert, columnist for the Detroit Free Press, once wrote an article about Eight Mile that I enjoyed enough to save a clipping of. At some point several years ago I was able to find a copy of it online, and I copied and pasted it - I'm glad I did so, because it looks like it's no longer available online. But if you haven't seen it I'm sure you - and other people who watched this video - will find it worth reading! Here it is:
West to East, Eight Mile Has Got It All
By Bob Talbert, Detroit Free Press
Originally printed May 3, 1977; reprinted September 17, 1999 during his recovery from heart & ulcer surgery.
"Streets are streets, but Eight Mile is more than just a road.
Beginning (for me) as Baseline in Northville at one end and becoming Vernier in Harper Woods at the other, Eight Mile is more Detroit to me than anything else I can think of.
Soon after coming to this city, I figured out that if one could tell where all the main freeways, expressways and four-lane highways crossed Eight mile, the rest would come easy.
Once, many many years ago, one fine gentleman drove me out Grand River and told me at one time it was one of the state's key roads because it was the only direct road from Detroit to Lansing.
Grand River, from Brighton on into Woodward Avenue, is very representative of what this area is all about. Jefferson from Gibraltar to Metropolitan Beach is another remarkable look at the extremes in which some of us live.
Gratiot from downtown Detroit to downtime Mt. Clemens is still another slice through the Detroit cake,. How about Michigan from Dearborn to Ann Arbor? Telegraph, from Flat Rock all the way up to Dixie Highway in Waterford, is perhaps the longest slice of Detroit one can find, but it has become mile after mile of sameness.
And then there’s Woodward. Good ol’ Wood’urd that begins at the river and turns into Pontiac’s Wide Track Drive. The great drag-racing strip of yesteryear, when skinning wheels was a bigger diversion than skin shows.
There are some other shorter stretches, of which I am very, very fond - Ford and Fort and Van Dyke and Groesbeck and Maple and Plymouth and Outer Drive and Michigan and Hines Drive - but the biggies are still my favorites.
From beginning to end they traverse the spectrum of this community, but the one that is the widest-ranging to me is Eight Mile Road. For one thing, it connects the tri-county area. It is still the fastest east-west route we have. Some hold out for various expressway routes, but not me.
Eight Mile can’t match others in beauty, ‘cause mostly it’s one little business, one little service, one little office cluster, one little and big shopping center after another.
I’ve driven from one end to the other of Eight Mile many times, sometimes in bumper-to-anger traffic and sometimes late at night when the road is still awake. Eight Mile is 24 hours a day, 365 days a year. Only thing that closes it is a wreck, but not for long.
I don’t know what the statistics are, but I’d have to save the average Eight Mile driver is Detroit’s finest. The freeways have become Indy prelims. Eight Milers drive the limit, but seldom over it.
And they are more courteous. They use more lane-switching signals and are, in general, more aware of the traffic around them. Now you may be a regular driver on Eight Mile and say that I am full of soybeans, that Eight Mile is a jungle. OK, I will admit that during rush hours I try to shun all streets, roads, etc.
Every time I drive Eight Mile I’m amazed at new places that have arisen and old places that have closed. The balance is even, thank goodness. Another thing that amazes me, make that dumbfounds me, is how they make it - all these little shops and stores and restaurants and what have you. I know of nothing you can’t find on Eight Mile."
Very nice, and yeah the main surface road thoroughfares in Detroit can be as long as 50 miles. It’s not common in major cities east of the Mississippi River for the main thoroughfares to be that long.
I’m glad you enjoy the vids!
@@ChrisHarden When I was a very young child I used to think that the mile roads were named according to their length, i.e. 8 mile was exactly 8 miles long, 7 mile was exactly 7 miles long, etc. I figured they got longer as they went north because the shoreline of Lake St. Clair went sort of northeast. And I guess I figured all the mile roads started at some fixed point in the west - probably at Woodward. (Like I said, very young. I didn't even know anything about maps yet!) And due to I guess at least a trace of OCD it still bugs me a little that 7 mile goes further west than 8, even if it is due to a little problem known as .... Whitmore Lake. :) I've often turned north at the west end of 8 mile and gone up to 9 mile and then continued west on M-36.
buddy your beats are so good, andf your humor is classic ty
I was born in Gross Point Farms but was raised in Sterling Heights (15 mile east of Vandyke) My dad worked over 40 years on 9 mile and Hoover Rd. I’m currently living in Rochester Hills for 23 years now, I spent a lot of time growing up at my grandparents on the lower west side of Detroit around 7 mile. I moved to Las Vegas for 4 years but moved back to Michigan during the pandemic (I was so home sick). I’m going to check out your other videos, even though I’ve driven the 8 mile stretch many times I still found this video fascinating.
grosse
Thanks Chris for my drives through michigan and the Detroit area ..having been born and raised in Detroit and dearborn, and now living in Canada, it's great to see areas I haven't been too or seen in awile
Just moved back to Detroit after 24 years in Virginia. It has been nice to get a view of the various neighborhoods with these videos. It has been an education
Is Detroit safe ?
@@Lolahdee-ju3dy Yes, there are many neighborhoods that are fine. It's a big city with many different neighborhoods. Some are much nicer than others.
Honestly compared to Los Angeles Detroit has a bright future ahead! Of course every major city has good and bad parts! Obviously avoid the 7 mile road areas! But near downtown it’s okay to walk around
Great job, Chris. Information and funny. A great blend!
Did a lot of drag racing on 8 mile in my 67 GTX.
You really do a service for me because I always wanted to drive the entire lengths of these long Detroit roads but don’t have the time..thank you!
Maybe you can do Grand River Ave from Detroit to the Grand Rapids area
That's a Grrrand River of an idea
I like all the information about population, crime, etc. Very nice addition to the drive
Thank you for adding the street signs, now I can tell where you are at that moment. It help me see all the changes that have happened over the years.
❤ the insight, love the video. Keep them coming Chris!
Thanks for the tour. Sorry it tool me so long to find it! I grew up 1 street north of 8 Mile directly across from Eastland Center. I remember when 8 Mile was widened there in the late 60's. Watch them turn Eastland into a mall (used to be open air between store blocks). That whole area sure has changed.
The Bel Air shopping center replaced a long-time popular drive-in theatre called the Bel Air Drive-In. I saw movies there as long ago as the 1960's.
I used to live in St. Clair Shores, Warren and I was raised in Plymouth so I know 8 Mile very well. I even remember going to Northland with my mom when it was a shopping center, before they made it a mall. I was very young but I remember the chicken pot pies at the restaurant in Hudsons. Yum. This is such a wonderful nostalgic trip for me, I moved to Marquette Mi. 20 years ago and haven't been on 8 mile since but I still recognize so much . I drove from the east side to the west side on 8 mile to visit my mom for years after I move to work on the east side. I can't believe there's NO traffic! this must be filmed early on a Sunday morning. There was always a traffic on 8 mile. I'd love to take a drive down North Territorial from Plymouth to Dexter Pinckney Rd some day if you have time! :) Thanks for the trip in the way-back machine! - it's a keeper. I'll now check out your tour of Marquette where it is now minus 8° F !!
When I lived in Michigan, there was one day a year when there was consistently (almost) no traffic on Eight Mile Road - Thanksgiving morning. I lived in Detroit south of Eight Mile and used to take a long run well into Eastpointe every Thanksgiving as a way to "earn" my Thanksgiving dinner overindulgence later in the day, and always used to marvel at being able to just run across Eight Mile usually without any waiting for traffic whatsoever. It was about the only time one could do that.
I think this was filmed during the pandemic, mid 2020 so that might be why there was less traffic.
Nice drive. It’s so weird seeing the streets so empty.
Detroit area orange barrell sickness is just that. You'll go through an area with miles of orange barrels and no construction. I've never seen anything like it. It's been like this since the early 90's.
Thank you very much for the upload. 23:09 mark . . .First girlfriend ever lived off of Lujon road there on the right into Meadowbrook Hills subdivision.
As a visitor to Detroit from Boston, Detroit is much more massive, spacious, easy to get around.
Thanks for another informative video, Chris. Great suburbs indeed. Only thing missing is a coastline and character.
the numbers are good, but there is an unattractive blandness to the road. The growth and density are not enough to see the steady intensification you are seeing in Sunbelt cities, where the one story boxes are replaced by three or four story mixed use.
That's sort of what the Lake Michigan side is about. The beaches, hills, dunes, forests - all beautiful, seemingly endless, and the towns are generally quite charming and have a lot of character to them. Downside? Michigan 100% failed miserably at developing any actual cities over there. It's almost entirely tiny towns. The biggest one is Grand Rapids, which isn't even near the water, but rather about half an hour inland - and with having only 200,000 people, it barely even qualifies as a city. It also isn't much to look at, and at times feels more like a glorified suburb (thus the "Bland Rapids" nickname). Meanwhile, the one place Michigan has a real metropolis of over 4 million people - metro-Detroit - it happens to be in the ugliest part of the State, and not even centered at a Great Lake....in the only state in the nation with FOUR Great Lakes, and more shoreline than the east coast or [lower 48] west coast.
It's almost as if Michigan has never had any long-term planning and development going on at the State level.
Had a car give out, right at Livernois, across from the Ferndale Laboratories, in the middle of rush hour. Little Caesar's told me they didn't have a phone. Right, everyone orders in person, even though the place isn't big enough to dine in!! The party store with the yellow awning had a lovely payphone, with crud all over the receiver. I don't see either of them, anymore, lol.
Even better, no matter who I called, from that corner, it was long distance, because I was in Oakland County, and the 2 people I called, were in Wayne and Macomb. I told my ride, I wasn't sure if I heard gun shots, or fireworks. She said probably gun shots. Fun afternoon!
I couldn't tell where Gratiot was. I haven't seen 8 Mile Rd. in 50 years. My aunt had a house on Carlisle a block or 2 from Gratiot.
i dropped a like for your humor and beats
The reason it's desolate traffic is because this tour was during Covid. No one was outside like normal. It makes it better to see the scenery anyway.
@ 1:21……. My favorite Coney Island! @ 3:38 my favorite White Castle!
I was born in 1957(Last time Lions were champions) Mount Carmel hospital. From 1-4 yeas old lived in Redford. Moved into a brand new house in Farmington hills. Neighborhood was called Kimberly off of 11mile between orchard lake and middle belt. Lived there for 15 years. Also lived in Northville/Novi. Worked at different A&P grocery stores in Westland, Northville and Novi. Graduated from Harrison High senior year was at Northville high.
In the 70s I remember 8 Mile Road was often referred to as “The Great White Wall” and for good reasons.
You from around the four corners neighborhood too huh? Lol! 8mi/Grandriver! 👍🏾
If you take 5 Mile Road, that would be Fenkell or 12th Street North from Downtown to West, but coming back East, you would connect with Oakman to 14th going South ⬇️ towards Downtown. So if you are ever near Rosa Parks Blvd and Highland Street, you would be where I grew up at!!! Fullerton, Leslie, Glendale, Cortland, Richton and Monterey Streets in no particular order.
About 8 Mile/Baseline Road:
My geography professor at Wayne State University said that if Lake Michigan were not in the way, 8 Mile would have had Illinois on the Eastbound side and Wisconsin on the Westbound.
EDIT:
Some say Michigan invented what Michiganders call the "Michigan Left", which has nothing to do with politics.
8 Mile Road has a very wide, grass-covered median separating the Westbound side from the Eastbound.
Livernois Avenue is also a busy throughfare, it intersects 8 Mile.
As the suburbs grew, so did the number of auto accidents at that intersection, as motorists were desperate to make a turn before the light changed.
In 1962, the middle of the intersection received a lighted "NO TURNS" sign on all four sides. Motorists wishing to turn left were instructed to turn right, drive rightbound for a few hundred feet, make a U turn across the median, then proceed onto the street, effectively making a left turn.
Over the years, more intersections on Michigan roads would receive these "Michigan Left" intersections.
19:25
I could make good use of the car disintegrator when the traffic is heavy😊
Wouldn’t the road have to curve pretty hard then cuz Wisconsin is above Illinois?
@@bioshock5620
Well, there really is a *VERY* gradual curve, since the Earth is a sphere, but since it is a huge sphere, you won't notice the curve.
Of course, you would need an Amphicar to cross Lake Michigan as you drive (float?) along that line.
@@1L6E6VHF thanks for explaining
I lived in a trashy trailer park on Telegraph near 8 mile. Southfield. Those we're the days!
Yes some of my coworkers from big boys up the road party there back in the 80s.
Is it dangerous ?
@@Lolahdee-ju3dy In retrospect, I don't remember it being a dangerous place. There were some shady characters that came and went . Just a bit trashy.
It's long gone now.
@@scooby3133 I’m too curious about Detroit Michigan I’m a fan of Eminem
I lived in the Detroit suburbs for a little while years ago. The suburbs were pretty nice. It’s when you got close to downtown things got sketchy.
What happened to 8 Mile & Mound Road , in the video, where I used to work at Chrysler in the 1970's ?
It's no longer there
I'm from eastpointe. I grew up on 8 mile. It's odd seeing it through someone else's lens.
Well, a lot of the suburbs are high rent. But Eastpointe, Harper Woods Hazel Park, RoyalOak Twp. all have become rough.
Royal Oak is rough now ??
Did you know 8 mile is the same survey line as the Wisconsin South State Boarder line? Sorry I forget the history behind as to why it is on the same survey line. Following that 8 mile survey line you will also notice it is the dividing line between several counties across Michigan. The 8 mile survey line was determined sometime in the 1800s but I can not remember the historical significance.
I grew up in Southfield and if you had a business on the south side of 8 mile in Detroit you paid a tax that wasn't paid on the other side of the road. Probably the same today. We used to get on Southfield Rd and drive it to my grandparents in south Florida. Long trip before the expressway. Looks pretty empty today.
18 years later and the trailer park still looks the same😂
Your videos are well made and educational. You make one factual error at 9:15 The movie 8 MILE was released in 2002 on November 8, 2002-----not 2001.
Good catch
@@ChrisHarden Your most welcome---keep making those neat videos-I'm a fan!
Southfield to me is my favorite suburb with Oak Park 2nd
Farmington Hills and Warren are my favourite
Apollo I like Farmington Hills, Novi,
And Clinton Township as well
I kinda like Southfield, where I could be in the center of the Metropolitan area, yet live in a quiet subrural setting, with a ranch house on two acres, and no street lights.
Sometime you should do a video of Metro Parkway / 16 Mile / Big Beaver / Quarton! :) :) :)
Good video ✅👍
Is there any chance you will do a 15 mile/Maple Rd video? It takes you through a lot of the major suburbs as well as upscale downtown Birmingham. Plus I want to see where I grew up way further west, past Haggerty.
@@tomsampson8084 you're right
I love in Warren off of vandyke between 8 and 9 Mile it is so bad over here now .. hear gunshots all of the time
Remember the roller skating on Vandyke
the fact that hes in the far right lane on 8 mile where the potholes are the worst is beyond me
Great video
0:18 Wrong way Wilson in the white Ford van.
You should do a video on Outer DR cause it’s unique it goes around the city in all 4 directions
It also has missing sections and assumes the routes of many established roads.
Sections of Outer Drive are in Dearborn and Ecorse.
Interesting trivia: Detroit's highest premise number (higher than 26000) is on W Outer Drive, very close to the Detroit River, it continues into Ecorse, running into W Jefferson with a T terminus by the river.
Great video
What is the instrumental playing for the first part of the video? It sounds familiar.
30:45 If we extend the imaginary line all the way to the West and across Lake Michigan, aren’t we on the Illinois-Wisconsin border?
You think you can do these Other Metro Detroit Roads
12 Mile
Harper Road
Schoenherr Street
West BranchBall Currently I’m working my way up on the mile roads, and since you asked I will add Harper and Schoenherr to my list. I have lots of unedited videos currently, 45 to be exact but I’ll try to sprinkle them in somewhere.
@@ChrisHarden I lived in the Harper & Chandler area.
you missed hardcore pawn :D
Can you also drive down Beck Rd (Canton MI), Drake Rd (Farmington Hills MI) and Orchard Lake Rd (Farmington Hills MI) ?
Might be a while but eventually I’ll get to those
Nostalgia Tours Thank you. I love your videos about Detroit. Great information and plus i love to see my city lol
@@ChrisHarden also 8 mile road the tv show hardcore pawn filmed right by 8 mile and greenfield road, American jewelry and loan. that's also a famous location
When I lived in Southfield and then Farmington Hills, you were a west sider and opposed to east sider where the video started. Each rarely spent much time in the other side. North Park was like a winter wonderland at Christmas time. It was all outdoors and lit up. On the SE corner of Woodward and 8 Mile was a notorious club full of prostitutes and their pimps dressed as Super Fly. 8 mile near Greenfield/ Telegraph area was full of garish lit up motels with waterbeds and mirrored walls and ceilings. There was one in particular on the south side of 8 mile that I may or may not have been to a dozen times.
wow, that's a long road!
This make enjoy video. Interest to learn abot detroit USA. Thanks you to Chris Harden.
24:00 and yet despite how rich both cities are that's still one of the roughest stretches of road I've driven on lol
What what time of day is it on the way road evening . I used to work in that area 8 Mile and Woodward that looks like around Van Dyke dequindre area, not have not been down there in Six years.
7:30 cookies store on the left 🍪
Seen gas for $1.87... God I miss that
I don’t pay anything now. Haven’t paid to refuel my car in months.
When you didn't know 8 mile is the most Dangerous area in Detroit 😎
I grew up 6 houses off 8 Mile Road just a block west of Woodward in Ferndale! I sure miss Northland! That place was like Disney World as far as shopping center experience back in 1950s and 1960s. I left Detroit in 1968. Wasn't fun watching the National Guard vehicles going down 8 Mile during the riots! What kind of vehicle are you driving as you seem to be sitting high up?
Full sized SUV. This way the video has a less chance at getting ruined by being behind a vehicle that's taller. You'll see a difference if you watch my 7 mile video as I was stuck behind a mini van for much of the drive and I was in a sports car.
Went to Summer School between 6 and 7 mile, off McNichols when I stayed with my Sister and her Husband. Pretty crazy, didn’t learn much with all the confusion in the classes. That was in 1969. Pretty shady !!😮
Where 's the pawn shop
A trip I always wanted to take. Baseline Road is also the Parnell line for all Michigan Counties in the lower Peninsula north of Baseline . Road.
15:17 that’s greenfield and turning right you’ll see American Jewerly and loan were hardcore pawn was recorded!
Looks like Long Island
I live in Canton Ohio it's like 3 hours from Detroit
I heard it's hard in the 8 mile because of moms spaghetti
Somebody actually made a cut up of that song where the only lyric is mom's spaghetti lmao
Mound Rd had a chevy plant on 9 mile a chrysler plant and a steel mill I worked ar all 3
The 8-mile road trip is a rags to riches story, huh? Very interesting ride and great narration. That trailer park where Eminem filmed is so spookily tucked away. It's like living in its own private Idaho. Detroit is too flat and bland for me -- like Eminem. Cool video!
Hahaha! I lived at that trailer park for 9 years, my mailbox is in the picture.
That’s awesome
Time stamp please…i was just fast forwarding to scenes
@@jamesonoof5973 The mailbox is at 8:59, my trailer is not shown but the trailer next to it is on the left hand side at 9:05
I hope u live better 🦁 King
This guy don’t know what he’s talking about. Royal Oak Township was one of the safest neighborhoods to live in.
Take 8 Mile West and it becomes Base Line Road!
I live on 8 mile.
Oh man my dad lives off 8 and Ryan glad I don't live there it's a sxithole lol. I also worked at the Romeo and Juilet furniture. My family knows the owner Romeo.
At 8 mile and Middlebelt and farmington the street sign says baseline. Maybe at Merriman too.
The light use to be time when u go the speed limit by the time your at the light it's should be green. I haven't been on that road in Six years.
You dont want to live anywhere near 8 mile unless it's the area where it's a gravel road.
Rode my bike with a neighbor , we ended up going from 9 mile, to 8 mile. We were met with screaming and yelling and were glad to make it back home- we were just 10 year olds. We got a real taste of racism that day. !!!!
Palms are sweaty. Knees weak arms are heavy. Vomit on my sweater already
Cleaning up Detroit one street at a time! Lamed Vav39....
Fucking hell, the place looks like a right shit hole, electric cables above ground and traffic lights that look like they're about to collapse
This part of Detroit looks like the north side of Melbourne imo
I've driven through the area. It's nice, not too sketchy and people are pleasant enough. The plot where Eminem's house used to be isn't worth the bother. Go to his spaghetti take-out joint instead.
I won’t ever cross 8 mile into Detroit
8 mile isn’t scary at all bro it is the suburbs you would be even scared if you went to 7 mile.
@@yeahhjay4 not the burbs anymore I live there we hear gunshots almost every night people getting shot over their a lot more now , cars being broken into and people getting car jacked at the corner of 9 and vandyke yeah not so nice anymore
4 lanes and no traffic lol
Haha. It was filmed really early on a weekday morning in May of 2020. Right in the midst of the pandemic too, so not much of a reason for many people to be out and about.
I just farted. Make sure you drop a like for that amazing insight scoop!
I doubt you could live in Northville only making 112K a year.
Sure you can. Just don’t buy a mansion and get one of the smaller homes or condos instead.
Can some one please verify something for me?? Those $1.60 a gallon of gas prices??!!
As I just finished filling up in nor cal at $4.70 a gallon.
Those were the peak government shut down prices. Demand for travel was low since everyone was scared to travel, and since everything was shut down and people were either working from home or were laid off/furloughed, there was no need to drive anywhere.
@@ChrisHarden Great response. Thanks for the insight!! I’ve never seen prices that low before.
@@joshuawilton7829 Me either. I took advantage of it and drove many places during that time haha.
I grew up in Livonia. It sucks
Mound road @ 8 mile don't forget to stop at cookies
What kind of cookies?
Mound Road in Detroit makes 8 Mile look beautiful.
So that’s where Eminem is from
1.69 gas prices LMAOO
14:35 road kill
Same taught
Poor thing !