The Original Days of Cruising in Detroit
During the late 1950s and 1960s, carloads of young people would "cruise" in their cars along the main drag in their town, from drive-in to drive-in, hot spot to hot spot. They were looking for friends who were also out for a drive or perhaps seeking an opportunity to their test car’s mettle in a street race. Cruising was more than just a social activity. It was an obsession. While parents and old folks saw it as driving around aimlessly, the kids knew it was the best way to spend a Saturday evening.
Chuck Berry popularized this aspect of youth culture in his hit “No Particular Place to Go” back in 1964. He paints the scene with lyrics like these:
Ridin' along in my automobile
My baby beside me at the wheel
I stole a kiss at the turn of a mile
My curiosity runnin' wild
Cruisin' and playin' the radio
With no particular place to go.
The cruising phenomenon that took hold of America’s youth happened all over Metro Detroit. The folks who lived on the west side haunted Telegraph Road looking for any excuse to race. Eastsiders piled into their cars and cruised up and down Gratiot, stopping here and there to chat up the ladies, grab a bite to eat, or make a bit of fun for themselves. Downriver, Fort Street was the spot. But none of these locales is as legendary as the portion of Woodward Avenue that the kids from the northern suburbs made their personal weekend playground.
On a typical weekend evening in the 1960s, Woodward Avenue would look like a parking lot on wheels come sundown. Young men and women looking their Saturday night coolest would load into their cars with their friends and head on over to the strip. Cruisers could be found up and down the Avenue from around 10 Mile where traffic was the thickest all the way up to northern Oakland County. The kids in their shiny, waxed up cars crawled along slowly taking in the sights and making sure not to miss that weekend’s action.
The hot spots along Woodward during that era were drive-ins such as Ted’s Drive Inn in Bloomfield Hills, the Totem Pole in Royal Oak, and the Big Boy’s at 13 1/2 Mile. Hangouts like these featured roller-skating waitresses that served hamburgers and milkshakes to the cruisers who hung out in and around their cars, playing the radio and carrying on with their friends. Of course, the cars themselves were as big of an attraction as the camaraderie. The cooler the car the better and cool meant both looks and power. Convertibles and hard tops allowed the kids to see and be seen but hot rods and muscle cars ruled the road. Occasionally races would break out, mostly for fun, sometimes for a bit of cash.
The golden era of cruising came to an end in the 1970s as gas prices skyrocketed, the drive-in restaurants began to close, and the local authorities began to crack down on cruising. But cruising Woodward came back in a major way beginning in 1995 with the first Woodward Dream Cruise event, a fundraiser that brought 250,000 participants and spectators back to the place of their youth. Today, this annual event draws over a million people each year from all over the globe, all of whom are looking to rekindle the magic of their youth.
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