I remember the days of listening to WCHB radio and often hearing this ad about the legendary Louie the Hatter shop that went something like this: "Let's hear some chatter from Louie the Hatter, Louie the Hatter located at 19369 Livernois Avenue, one block north of west 7 Mile Road, in Detroit. Edwardian suits were $79.95...."
I remember driving down Livernois, the Avenue of Fashion, looking at Louie the Hatter and at all the grand stores, with grand awnings protruding from their store fronts. I remember my next door neighbor had a great clothing store called Jack's Place on the Avenue.
Well, a riot and a decline in the economy wiped all that away. The street got run down.
But now the Detroit News reports that the a two-mile stretch on Livernois from Six to Eight Mile roads "is poised to become a destination — again."
The paper reports that recently young entrepreneurs and veteran business owners have begun filling empty stores.
There's now a fashion boutique and a True Value Hardware is under construction and restaurants and other shops are eyeing the avenue.
It may not ever become the Avenue of Fashion again, but it could become a hip commercial district. -- A.L.
