(WWJ) -- Detroit’s highly-anticipated “Hollywood” sign can now be found on the city’s west side, but it seems as though opinions about the finished product are mixed among Detroiters.
The “Gateway Sign” was installed earlier this month along eastbound I-94 between Cecil Avenue and Lonyo Street as the city prepares to welcome thousands of visitors heading downtown from Detroit Metro Airport during year's NFL Draft, which kicks off this week.
But there’s another Metro Detroit mainstay that has been welcoming travelers on their way from DTW for decades. We’re of course referring to the Uniroyal Giant Tire that sits along I-94 in Allen Park.
And while the Motor City being home to a Giant Tire does seem to make a lot of sense, there are still many locals who don’t know why exactly that stretch of highway is home to the 80-foot automotive landmark -- -- which happens to turn 60-years-old today (April 22, 2024).
On a 2022 episode of The Daily J podcast, WWJ's Zach Clark and Annie Scaramuzzino explored the unique history of the Giant Tire in Allen Park, and the origins of its many myths and legends that have continued to be passed down through the decades in Metro Detroit.
The tire was first used as a Ferris wheel (and advertisement for what was then called the U.S. Rubber Company) at the New York World's Fair in 1964.
At the end of the fair's season, the giant tire was offered up to anyone willing to dismantle it and remove it from the fairgrounds. After receiving no takers, it was eventually moved to Uniroyal's Allen Park headquarters in 1966.
The outer skins of the structure were transported from New York to Michigan using over 20 trucks, and remounted on a brand new steel frame. The tire is hollow, but the big metal frame inside that supports it essentially looks like a giant scaffolding, with criss-crossing steel bars. There is also a ladder that can be climbed all the way up to a door that allows a person to peek out of the top of the tire.
Michelin bought Uniroyal in 1990 and acquired the giant tire with it. In 1994, they put an estimated $1 million into the structure for necessary repairs after contemplating tearing it down. It was also revamped again in 2003 as part of Detroit's I-94 corridor revitalization project
For nearly six decades, the tire has served as a Metro Detroit landmark, towering over I-94 between the Southfield Freeway interchange and Outer Drive overpass.
Because of its place in local history, it has also been the subject of a lot of lore through the years — including rumors that people have lived inside of the tire, as well as the famed story it once broke loose and rolled down I-94.
As Steven J. Frey, author of The Giant Tire – From New York’s World Fair to Detroit Landmark, told WWJ in 2022, there was actually a kernel of truth to that last rumor -- but it was more of a Mandela effect than a real story thanks to an April Fool's Joke in the Detroit Free Press. Learn more about that here.
So will Detroit's new "Hollywood-style" sign ever reach Giant Tire status as a legendary landmark in the city? Only time will tell, but early reviews -- including a new song from Detroit rapper Gmac Cash called "Detroit Sign" -- suggest many are underwhelmed so far.
Still, the $400,000 beautification project is not finished quite yet, as the Detroit-based business Fairmont Sign Company prepares to install five more "Welcome to Detroit" signs across the city's borders.
In February, officials announced the draft footprint in Downtown Detroit would include an enormous stage and viewing area around Campus Martius Park and Hart Plaza, as well as the Woodward corridor. These projects area currently underway downtown.
Other activities and events will be held at Cadillac Square and the Monroe Street Midway, while Hart Plaza is also getting a multimillion-dollar restoration of the fountain and grounds.
It's all in preparation of the 2024 NFL Draft, which will happen in Detroit from Thursday, April 25 through Sunday, April 27.