1965 and Buena Vista

[captainjames]

In 1965 after returning from a tour the Supremes had new homes away from the Brewster Projects and now had homes on Buena Vista in Detroit Michigan. Diana lived at 3762, Florence at 3767 and Mary at 4099. I am curious as to who picked which home each Supreme would live in ? Did the girls family do it or did they wait until they returned and then say pick one. It just always seemed odd to me that Motown purchased three homes on the same block without either Supreme making a decision on where they would live. History always speak of the homes being purchased but never indicating had Mary would get the Duplex or Flo and Diana would be living almost directly across the street from each other.

[reese]

Mary wrote that while the group was on tour, someone from Motown [maybe a girlfriend of Don Foster's] went out and looked at homes that they thought were appropriate. Then the girls made their final selections. It was only then that they found out they were living on the same street.

[captainjames]

Mary wrote that while the group was on tour, someone from Motown [maybe a girlfriend of Don Foster's] went out and looked at homes that they thought were appropriate. Then the girls made their final selections. It was only then that they found out they were living on the same street.

Thanks and yes I remember that story, I just found it so odd on the same street for all three.

[sup_fan]

part of this has to do with the Motown PR dept. they were still building up the image of the Supremes in 65. the area of the homes was a very nice upper middle class area. pretty homes. so they were showing the girls moving into a respectable area AND moving their families with them. that was a big part of it.

so the girls were being depicted as thoughtful with their money, caring for their families. what good girls they are! and all picking homes on the same street just showed how much like sisters they really were

also it would have had to do some with what homes were for sale. even though motown's PR dept was savvy and very active, i doubt they would have knocked on people's door and offered to buy their homes, just for the sake of a good story lol. but who knows ;)

it could also be possible that maybe 2 of the girls just happened to pick homes on the same street and then someone got the bright idea of 'hey wouldn't it make a great story..." and so the third girl was gently nudged. "hey if you're deciding between these two, pick this one because..."

[captainjames]

part of this has to do with the Motown PR dept. they were still building up the image of the Supremes in 65. the area of the homes was a very nice upper middle class area. pretty homes. so they were showing the girls moving into a respectable area AND moving their families with them. that was a big part of it.

so the girls were being depicted as thoughtful with their money, caring for their families. what good girls they are! and all picking homes on the same street just showed how much like sisters they really were

also it would have had to do some with what homes were for sale. even though motown's PR dept was savvy and very active, i doubt they would have knocked on people's door and offered to buy their homes, just for the sake of a good story lol. but who knows ;)

it could also be possible that maybe 2 of the girls just happened to pick homes on the same street and then someone got the bright idea of 'hey wouldn't it make a great story..." and so the third girl was gently nudged. "hey if you're deciding between these two, pick this one because..."

Ok Ok Ok I get it .................

[Boogiedown]

I would guess that with a street name like Buena Vista , these homes had nice views , hence the name, yet I [probably mistakenly] think of Detroit as rather flat .

[captainjames]

Just as an FYI Dinah Washngton use to live on that street as well and I have to give it to Motown .....They werk !!!!
20096

[Spreadinglove21]

Weren't certain sections of Detroit closed off to Black homebuyers due to racially restrictive property deeds that owners could only sell to whites? That may have been another factor in how the Supremes all ended up with homes near each other.

[captainjames]

Weren't certain sections of Detroit closed off to Black homebuyers due to racially restrictive property deeds that owners could only sell to whites? That may have been another factor in how the Supremes all ended up with homes near each other.

That's a possibility but that was just about everywhere, in fact there are still some deeds that state do not sell to minorities on them and those are documents that can not be changed or altered because they are part of history.

[sansradio]

That's a possibility but that was just about everywhere, in fact there are still some deeds that state do not sell to minorities on them and those are documents that can not be changed or altered because they are part of history.

Big facts...the once and future dragon of redlining. On a related note, I recall a YouTube clip of one of Diana’s recent homecoming shows in "The D" where, in the Q&A portion of the show, she asked how many in the crowd remembered Hastings Street, which was the commercial and cultural lifeblood of Detroit’s Black community that was razed due to urban renewal and freeway construction not long after The Supremes made it big. The hometown audience went crazy cheering. She didn’t make any further commentary, but it was powerful, heartwarming signifying on her part that gave the lie to persistent statements that she doesn’t remember or acknowledge where she came from.

[sup_fan]

Big facts...the once and future dragon of redlining. On a related note, I recall a YouTube clip of one of Diana’s recent homecoming shows in "The D" where, in the Q&A portion of the show, she asked how many in the crowd remembered Hastings Street, which was the commercial and cultural lifeblood of Detroit’s Black community that was razed due to urban renewal and freeway construction not long after The Supremes made it big. The hometown audience went crazy cheering. She didn’t make any further commentary, but it was powerful, heartwarming signifying on her part that gave the lie to persistent statements that she doesn’t remember or acknowledge where she came from.

this is a great story! and i agree that people assume simply because she has built a life of her own that she has no feelings or memories or cares about her past. while she might keep most of that to her herself, there have been ample times she's shared things. plus fans and friends that really know her [[not attention-seeking detractors) all agree that she really does