Watch Hawthorn Hill leave Oakwood!
Thursday, May 03, 2007 Categories: Aviaton
heritage
Well, there it goes. The residents of the posh neighborhood surrounding Orville Wright's historic mansion at 901 Harmon Ave. couldn't abide the thought of sharing the famous site with the world. They turned out to oppose a request for a special use permit to allow small, controlled tours of the home, which has been in private hands and rarely open to the public for more than half a century. The Oakwood Planning Commission tabled the request until its next meeting in June and urged the Wright Family Foundation to find a compromise with the neighbors.
I decided to solve the problem for everyone. Last night I just moved the whole building to the Henry Ford Museum in Dearborn, MI. Orville himself allowed Henry Ford to cart off the original Wright family home and the bicycle shop where they invented the airplane. Michigan might as well have Hawthorn Hill.
This should make everybody happy. The public will get to see Hawthorne Hill, and Oakwood's residents won't have to endure strangers on their quiet streets or turn their leafy neighborhood into a gated community. What do you think? Post a comment!
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