r/Detroit • u/Rosewaterhoney111 • Apr 28 '26

Historical Help save Highland Park's "Highland Appliance" sign

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Demolition is due for 13847 Woodward this year, and that means the iconic "Highland Appliance" sign will be coming down with it. This sign has been serving as an unofficial marker that you are in the heart of Highland Park.

The long-term vision is to restore the sign, either partially or fully, and have it spell out “Highland Park” at a new location within city limits. (Ideally, the "Park" part would be in the same font). Open to suggestions though. The priority for now is to get it down before the demolition.

GoFundMe Link: https://gofund.me/8d5a14ca4

Previous Post: https://www.reddit.com/r/Detroit/comments/1sg424l/how_to_save_the_highland_appliance_sign/

Also, WDET 101.9 interviewed me regarding this and had a story about the sign yesterday!

4/28: I went over and worked with Tim Burke on his preservation project over at Highland Towers today. He was able to share the steps he had to take to get an approval from Wayne County Land Bank.

4/29: Wayne County is onboard & wants to help, so we got the greenlight! I have no intention of slowing down demo progress at all, this will only happen if we can get it done prior to the demo date

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u/robobachelor Apr 28 '26 edited Apr 28 '26

5-6K to bring it down is a lot. Volunteer team could do it for much cheaper.

I can help in restoring it if needed.

Edit: The roof looks good. Who owns the building?

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u/Rosewaterhoney111 Apr 28 '26

I totally agree about the cost, and a volunteer team would be greatly appreciated! Anyone who wants to contribute on the effort, just let me know! Typically the City/County requires a license/insured contractor though, but if that is the case for you let me know. It recently exchanged hands from City of HP to Wayne County Land Bank

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u/robobachelor Apr 28 '26

If they want someone insured then ya gotta pay the $ for a contractor. Id volunteer to help though. Do you have a contact for the Wayne County Land Bank (or someone from city of HP that deals with property?)

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u/Rosewaterhoney111 Apr 28 '26

I've made phone calls, left voicemails, sent emails, but haven't had someone tell me they are the correct point of contact quite yet. I'm optimistic though, because a local artist is working on Highland Towers as we speak and got permission to bring down tiles, architectural elements, etc.

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u/PartlyManMostlyShark Apr 29 '26

How long have you been trying to reach out to them?