C. Don Davidson - 1929-1987

North Carolina State University 1957

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School of Design

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This blog was created to honor the legacy of the late C. Don Davidson, a man who selflessly gave many years and countless hours in pursuit of a better community for the citizens of Pontiac Michigan and the surrounding area of Oakland County.

Davidson, a man with big dreams and a keen sense of vision for the future was considered by many to be a genius in his day including the college Chancellor of North Carolina State, where he attended on a full athletic scholarship, lettering in three sports for the Wolfpack from 1951 - 1957.

A Vision for Pontiac

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After working in the south as a prominent architect for several government and city projects, Davidson returned home in 1965 to a city that was slowly dying and stated in his own words, *"It looked as if someone had dropped a bomb on the city". In 1965, he began teaching architecture and urban planning at the University of Detroit.

It was then when Davidson and his U.of D. class embarked upon an urban renewal project for Pontiac under the direction of Bruno Leon, Dean of Architecture.

In 1967, another Pontiac-born fellow, mall magnate and real estate developer named Alfred Taubman was in the process of acquiring vacant land to build a large scale shopping mall in the downtown district. When Davidson heard of Taubman's plan and knowing how it would affect the local environment and long-term renewal plans of Pontiac, he successfully rallied a select group of dignitaries and local businessmen to quash Taubman's mall plan.

Some would say that Davidson became obsessed with a vision of a rebuilt downtown Pontiac that would serve as an urban model for the rest of the world, a project he created that became known as 'The Pontiac Plan', a project and dream he gave unselfishly as a gift to his beloved city with no financial reward and little recognition.

Davidson, who grew up in Pontiac, termed the city "the measuring rod of my life." He chose to work in his hometown of Pontiac, both in architecture and publishing because "Pontiac is a microcosm of the rest of America and its problems. To run from those difficulties is to merely pass on a more difficult set of problems to future generations. If people aren't willing to fight the good fight, blight will spread all over the county and the value of Oakland County will be killed because people chose to ignore the problems. If we cannot solve our problems in Pontiac, they cannot be solved in other cities." - Davidson quote, The Pontiac Times, Dec. 7, 1973

Early news articles written about Davidson and the 'Pontiac Plan'. The Pontiac Press - March/April, 1968 ... click on an article to read

Perspective drawing of the 'Pontiac Plan' , Pontiac Times - 1973

A 3-tier parking deck built over Orchard Lake rd. with a park plaza on the upper level, presently known as the 'Phoenix Center', two office buildings and a high-rise residentual complex are all that was ever completed.

Click here to view drawings and pictures of 'The Pontiac Plan'

Taubman's Downtown Mall Plan - 1967

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In 1966, real estate developer Alfred Taubman began his quest to build a large-scale shopping mall in the downtown district of the city. Several area businessmen opposed the plan and organized a group to defeat it. Later,the Federal Government ordered the city to 'cease and desist' in its impractical mall plan. Below, Taubman acknowledges defeat of his downtown Pontiac mall plan - click an article to enlarge

Copies of articles from the Pontiac Press - Sept. 28 and Oct. 18, 1967

Conception of the Pontiac Silverdome

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* In mid 1968, Davidson along with other area sports enthusiasts were excited at the prospects that professional sports teams, the Detroit Lions and the Tigers, were actively investigating the possibilities of a new major sports facility. The excitement was generated by the fact that Davidson on behalf of the city of Pontiac and its community leaders made a presentation to the Metropolitan Stadium Committee of a 155 acre site on the city's east side at the intersection of M-59 and I-75. The Metropolitan Stadium Committee voted unanimously for the Pontiac site. The city commission later appointed a Stadium Authority which spent the greater part of 1969 completing the necessary economic feasibility studies in constructing such a stadium. The city made the professional sports franchises aware that a stadium could be built and financed in Pontiac.
An Environmental analysis of a central business area : Pontiac, Michigan / Bruno Leon, Karl H. Greimel, C. Don Davidson' - Oakland County Research Library

In the preliminary phase of the stadium, Davidson and his University of Detroit architectual class along with U.of D. Dean, Bruno Leon spent many months creating and designing the stadium project and eventually was hired as chief project designer by the architectual firm of O'dell, Hewlett & Luckenbach, bid contractor. Initial designs included a dual stadium complex for both football and baseball that was later scrapped due to high costs and the lack of a commitment from the Detroit Tigers baseball franchise.

*Davidson was pleased to see a major part of his dream for the city of Pontiac accomplished in the building of an 80,000 seat 'state of the art' sports complex with a symmetrical, inner layout fashioned after the ancient Roman Colosseum.

Early construction of the Stadium - Carl Luckenbach, Architect

The Pontiac Times Newspaper Era ... 1972-1982

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Why another local newspaper?

"I sought out the opinion of fifteen experts. All of them agreed that it (starting a newspaper) couldn't be done. I decided that anything that certain left room for a unique answer." - Davidson

Davidson and his dedicated staff published a weekly newspaper for eleven years. It went defunct in 1982 due to advertising difficulties brought on by the recession of the early 1980's. At left is a copy of the 1st anniversary of The Pontiac Times Newspaper dated Dec. 7, 1973. - click on paper to enlarge

"The people of Pontiac were left without a hometown paper. As the Oakland Press moved more toward regional news, they really couldn't remain a local paper, too."
C. Don Davidson - Times publisher

The Man Behind the Plan Dies at 58

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News article written by Hank Schaller noting the death of C. Don Davidson and some of his achievements; published 'front page' in the 'Oakland Press' Newspaper, April 3, 1987 - click to read

Sports article of Davidson written by Bruno Kearns - Pontiac Press - 1968 ... click to read

Introduction to urban renewal book, written by C. Don Davidson