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Comments:
lynne - 2004-09-21 21:10:30 Ave Maria did a pretty decent job of saving it once already. Why would the city have to buy it? The place was condemned before Ave Maria purchased it in 1998. It was trashed and therefore had to be gutted. It doesn't have a Victorian feel to the interior anymore, but it's no longer a place of "horrific, unimaginable filth and squalor," as Dave Kelley( an Ave Maria vice president) said.* * * * * * * * * * * * Laura - 2004-09-21 21:37:54 Lynne: isn't it lovely? I pass by every day en route to work and always enjoy seeing it. Eric *: ooh, stories, please. Did you tour it? Tell me more about the squalor--how on Earth did that come about? More info would be very appreciated! I'm very curious about Rosa Mystica now, thanks to your comment.* * * * * * * * * * * * Laura again - 2004-09-21 21:40:51 Oops, got so carried away by that squalor that I didn't answer your question. I guess the city wouldn't necessarily have to buy it--just some responsible body. What I DON'T want to see is Rosa Mystica carved up into crappy student apartments with ten thousand bikes chained onto some crappy new railing made out of pipes sunken in concrete. It's a jewel.* * * * * * * * * * * * Laura - 2004-09-21 21:49:21 two "crappy"s--sorry, that's a bit coarse. Substitute "cheapo" for "crappy" please.* * * * * * * * * * * * Eric * - 2004-09-21 21:54:20 Pipes sunken in concrete is very of the period. That is if you are referring to handrails and such. The house was on the Heritagefest Homes Tour a few years back. I guess the house was a frat or other student housing. The way the city is zoning things nowadays, the building probably couldn't be carved up into apartments as you fear. It's also not very likely that a house in its condition could be turned into apartments and still be a profitable business venture. Finally, I don't believe the Law School is leaving. AM would probably still have use for the place. As evil as Mr. Dominos is, the place is in good hands if that makes any sense.* * * * * * * * * * * * Laura - 2004-09-21 22:13:36 That's good insider info, Eric *, thank you. Searched ll over the AM website for Kelley's email but couldn't find it. As a raging atheist, I have little sympathy for Ave Maria's mission, but if their staying here means that old jewels will be kept up, I want them to stay. * * * * * * * * * * * * raymond - 2004-09-22 07:31:03 If Ave Maria gains success in the November election at least we needn't worry that a same-sex led family might take over the building. Any union such folks have may well be totally banned, and their medical insurance too. Ditzy doilies on the furniture and frilly lace in the windows? Puh-leeze!* * * * * * * * * * * * Laura - 2004-09-22 08:49:55 Here's a really ignorant question: I'm curious as to how A.M. figures in the November election...does it appear on the ballot somewhere, and if so, how? Just wondering. It's true that the fact that A.M. has a law school whose mission in part is to generate lawyers of faith makes me uneasy. Law has to do with regulating the state, and faith has absolutely nothing to do with that. Anyways, I completely misremembered the name, as I observed sleepily this morning while biking past--the yellow beauty is the Regina Coeli building--Rosa Mystica is nearby.* * * * * * * * * * * * raymond - 2004-09-22 10:38:22 Patrick Gillen, an attorney with the Thomas More Law Center, founded by Mister Monoghan and with strong ties to Ave Maria, helped draft the proposed amendment to deny same-sex couples any legal rights or protections which replicate heterosexual marriage rights and protections.* * * * * * * * * * * * Laura, repulsed - 2004-09-22 10:40:34 Really. I didn't know we had a local link to such ignorance, hatred, and intolerance. OK, fine--I officially could care less if A.M. hightails it to Florida--good riddance to such "good Christians."* * * * * * * * * * * * Eric * - 2004-09-22 10:42:06 Raymond's comment was tongue-in-cheek abut a Bush re-election. AM's goal of producing lawyers who battle for religious goals is not different that a school that produces environmentalists, etc. You are right in law is about regulating the state, but religion is the basis for many people's definition of right and wrong. You can be secular and still believe that abortion is wrong. I'd be curious to know who hires their graduates.* * * * * * * * * * * * Laura - 2004-09-22 10:44:47 It's quite a bit different. Religious-inspired anti-abortion and anti-gay marriage laws can have devastating consequences in private lives in a way that carbon dioxide emissions standards do not.* * * * * * * * * * * * Eric * - 2004-09-22 10:51:06 You can be against abortion and have never set foot in a house of worship. It's really not the point of this discussion though.* * * * * * * * * * * * Laura - 2004-09-22 11:06:31 Well, it's a moving point, it seems, ranging pretty widely, but if there's one aspect you would like to exclusively dicuss, that is fine with me.* * * * * * * * * * * * Anna - 2004-09-22 12:39:57 I don't know how anyone could take seriously a center entitled, "The Thomas More Law Center". Are they trying to force the Episcopalians to be Catholic? Repeal divorce as an option? Force ole Henry to unbehead his wives? What?* * * * * * * * * * * * Laura - 2004-09-22 12:46:33 I note that his bio says that when More himself was a "barrister," he "helped Henry VIII in writing his Defence of the Seven Sacraments, a repudiation of Luther...[and] helped establish the parliamentary privilege of free speech. He refused to endorse King Henry VIII's plan to divorce Katherine of Arag�n (1527)."* * * * * * * * * * * * Anna - 2004-09-22 12:51:51 er... yes -- repeal divorce as an option, force henry to unbehead his wives... (these are the things he's famous for). He wasn't a brilliant legal mind, rather, a very religious man -- not a quality I would like in my own lawyer, but hey, to each his own.* * * * * * * * * * * * Laura - 2004-09-22 12:57:58 Well, I didn't know any of that, but appreciate learning it.* * * * * * * * * * * * raymond - 2004-09-22 13:02:45 Perhaps the Salvation Army could take its Blood and Fire to the Ave Maria site if it is abandoned. The old school could serve as their McRecreation Center. As to the other buildings, it'd be a boon to have the residences back on the tax rolls. If the churches all paid taxes to begin with the city might attain solvency. Certainly not though if they continue the present policy of real estate speculation.* * * * * * * * * * * * Laura - 2004-09-22 13:17:05 Regina Coeli would be the most lovely residence imaginable, pending it's not all chopped up inside as some of Eric *'s comments seem to indicate.* * * * * * * * * * * * Anna - 2004-09-22 14:10:43 This will make me sound like I do nothing but read books and watch movies and plays, but there's an excellent play about Sir Thomas More called A Man For All Seasons, and it has also been made into a (pretty good, but not as good as the play) movie. I actually admire More's courage, I just think naming a law school after him is silly. Surely there are more important legal minds...(if want historical, how about one of the philosphers... oh, wait, pagan, silly me).* * * * * * * * * * * * Laura - 2004-09-22 14:16:25 I was really impressed when I read your comment about Thomas More. I'd had no idea who he was and was quite interested to read your comments and the bio. I'll keep the play in mind. And just for the record I'm both tickled and privileged to run a little green lemonade stand where people are gauging the legal-mind worthiness of late 15th century-early 16th century barristers.* * * * * * * * * * * * brett - 2004-09-22 15:23:53 I'm surprised that nobody's mentioned the 25 story crucifix which started this whole business. Ave Maria wasn't going to move to Florida, but rather to Domino Farms, where Monoghan's cross would have been the centerpiece of the campus. Only when the Ann Arbor zoning board killed the idea did the whole Florida Plan materialize. As for the few older buildings owned by the school, I think ypsilanti already has more than enough restored mansions for their historic home tours. I vote we tear them all down and build a nice big paper mill in their place.* * * * * * * * * * * * Laura - 2004-09-22 15:24:59 a nice big paper mill...ahhhhhhh.* * * * * * * * * * * * everyone - 2004-09-22 20:15:43 (waiting in stunned silence for ypsidixit to finish whatever it is she's doing with that paper mill)* * * * * * * * * * * * Laura - 2004-09-22 20:24:20 Hmmm? Huh? I just valued the paper mill as a 19th-century relic of thouands of blue-collar, non-Historical Society-plaqued-houses Ypsilanti lives, is all.* * * * * * * * * * * * addiann - 2004-09-22 20:42:50 a bigtime polluter, that paper mill. I cast my vote too for "A Man For All Seasons." Great play.* * * * * * * * * * * * Eric * - 2004-09-22 20:44:00 If you're going trash them, then get the name right. It's the Heritage Foundation.* * * * * * * * * * * * Laura - 2004-09-22 20:54:14 Well, they're having a meeting right this minute, Eric *, tonight, and I notice you're not attending. Topic is "Historical Preservation." They're chatting about how nice it is to spruce up old houses. Which it is. But I'd rather read lots of paper mill oral histories on their site, except they aren't there. Perhaps because, contrary to the Pittsfield Historical Society, the stories of everyday ordinary Ypsilantians don't really matter to the local historial-plaque crowd.* * * * * * * * * * * * brett - 2004-09-22 21:59:20 ypsilanti has a heritage foundation, a historic district commission, and a historical society. Each group mainly involves themselves in preserving the history of the moneyed elite (the occasional underground railroad exhibit not withstanding, as artifacts were most likely donated by moneyed elite). most importantly, if you look at the names on each of their boards they completely overlap, meaning the titles of groups are basically meaningless since it's the same small collection of people making all the decisions. * * * * * * * * * * * * Laura - 2004-09-22 22:11:58 Good Lord, man, are you still up? You just about fried my dial-up modem tonight with your voluminous comments! All of which I appreciated. But God, man, it turned blogging into an extreme sport! I had to restart every ten minutes due to an overload in my hotmail inbox! But it was fun and I valued each of your 10,000 comments. At any rate, thanks for your latest comment (panting to keep up with brett's comments).* * * * * * * * * * * * brett - 2004-09-22 22:12:15 sept. 16th letter to the ypsi courier: http://www.ypsilanticourier.com/2004/letters/040916.htm from jane schmiedeke, a name you'll see on each board.* * * * * * * * * * * * brett - 2004-09-22 22:17:08 your blog has been a great distraction today. I work at home, on the computer, so I can keep up with the best of them, as no Boss ever walks through the room and looks over my shoulder (well they do, but they're cats, and can't read english). Furthermore, I too am bandwidth-challenged.* * * * * * * * * * * * Laura - 2004-09-22 23:02:43 Well, I'm glad my blog has been a good distraction today. Thanks for reading. I'm also glad to see that there are fellow non-broadband antiquarians out there. Pretty soon we'll be forced into broadband tyranny. But not quite yet. Blog on...* * * * * * * * * * * * add your comment: |