The Flint Motor Festival parade took place in 1941 and somehow, color footage of the event (without sound) was preserved and has made its way to YouTube.

According to the info on YouTube, this video is from 1941. I wouldn't even have known where it was shot if not for the brick street, which pretty much means Saginaw Street in Downtown Flint. Has there ever been a different "main drag" in town? Nope.

It's pretty amazing to see how vibrant the area used to be when we were an automotive boomtown. Everything was on the rise back then. When I was younger, I used to love going into the Arby's on Davison Road because of all the awesome pictures they had of old Downtown Flint on the walls. It just looked like an amazing city and an exciting place to be back then -- a suspicion that was confirmed when my grandmother shared her memories of the heart of the city.

Granted, all the rehabilitation efforts and revitalized interest in the area has improved the overall aesthetic of downtown greatly. It's a cool place to be again, but it would be amazing to see a huge renaissance where the whole city gets back to where it used to be. Sadly, I think those days are gone forever, but at least we have some videos to experience that great period in Flint history.

Screenshot_1
loading...

More From WFNT