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- [Narrator] The Detroit Historical Society.

The Detroit Historical Society is proud to be a part of the salute to Holidays at Hudson's.

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(festive music) (festive music continues) (festive music continues) - It was just a huge department store, it was wonderful, had everything you can imagine, you didn't have to go any place other than J.L.

Hudson's because they sold everything.

- If you were in New York, you went to Macy's, if you were in Chicago, you went to Marshall Fields, if you were in Detroit, you went to Hudson's.

And a department store like Hudson's was actually a part of the community.

- The sights and the sounds and the smells of Christmas at Hudson's was just phenomenal.

- As soon as the decorations were up in downtown Detroit, we'd pile into my dad's car.

Everything was an event and an experience walking into Hudson's.

- The mammothness or the large size of the store when you'd walk through those front doors.

For a little kid, that that was a big deal, and I remember it almost kind of like it was yesterday.

- We would go to the parade, then we would go to Hudson's.

I remember being overwhelmed with all the people and with the incredible decorations.

- The holidays at Hudson's would've been when my folks took me to the downtown store, and I was enthralled with the size of the store, you know, the window displays, the lights, the elevators.

- It was just a sense of exhilaration.

A minute ago, I was down on the street, I was in a big store, and now it was almost like walking through the gates of an amusement park.

- But going into Hudson's was a treat, it was an experience.

And I will never forget, you know, going into shop the very first time.

- It was magical.

Just walking down the street up to Hudson's.

We spent hours walking and just, you know, looking at the activity scenes and then going up to see Santa Claus, that was a thrill for us.

It was just the most beautiful and amazing time for, if you can imagine, a little child.

- My most vivid memory is as a parent.

We would take our children to Hudson's, that's my vivid memory.

- I think I enjoyed it more if not just as much as my children as they grew up.

Hudson's was part of our history.

- For many years, there were 50 windows on all four sides.

Woodward, Gratiot, Grand River, and Farmer Street, and all of those windows were changed for many years every week.

In later years, not so much, but they still treated the windows you know, with dignity and for the holidays.

Up until probably the '70s, there were animated windows on the Woodward Avenue side.

And that was always exciting for kids, you know, to see, you know, every year it was a different theme.

And then, of course, on the sidewalk, under the canopy too, you'd have a popcorn vendor, caramel corn vendor, hot chestnut vendor.

And even in later years, the Hare Krishna were even on that corner.

- It seemed like, for Christmas, there was that added bonus, there was much more activity, the store was decorated, and they did a just a fantastic job, even before you got into the store, you'd walk, you know, in front of it and see those windows that were just amazing and you could even appreciate that as being a little kid as well.

And then, when you came in, it was just like what you see when you see like a movie involving the holidays or Christmastime, and so it was really special during the holidays.

- You know, I think I remember standing in line to see Santa, and certainly going up that escalator to the 12th floor, and with my cousins, and holding my youngest cousin, at the time, I was holding his hand, and he caught one glimpse of the man with the beer deer, and he was ready to like, "We gotta go," you know?

(laughs) And I'm like, "No, 'cause I've got something I wanna tell him."

And, you know, I mean, that's one of my fondest memories.

- But really the highlight at the holidays was when we would all pile into the car, at night when the lights were on, and the windows of the store had figures that moved and told stories, that was before the digital age where everything is moving and colorful.

But in those days, that was exciting and magical.

- The window displays at Hudson's, I was amazed and in awe over, I mean, it really just blew me away.

I think I would've spent hours there, just looking and loving everything that I saw.

- To a child, it just looked like miles and miles of toys.

My brothers would look at the Erector Sets, my sister and I would look at the dolls.

In my memory, there was an upper level that changed every year where there would be different scenes, and a salesperson at every counter, but not just a salesperson, somebody who could speak knowledgeably about the product, and whatever we were looking for would be there.

- Hudson's was famous for, I believe, the 60 windows that were part of the streetscape of downtown Detroit that they had that went all the way around the store.

Now, in particular, at Christmas, the Christmas windows that were put in there were very, very elaborate.

They usually told a story, they would have a theme every year, there was, you know, Candy Land theme, candy kingdom, or something like that.

Or, you know, later on when there were events, like one year, Christmas was themed to Big Bird who showed up in the parade there so the windows would tie in one way or another with that theme.

But given that the original J.L.

Hudson was a very, very devout man, he always insisted that really that some part of the Christmas display had to show the Nativity because that was really the foundation of the whole thing for him, and people shouldn't forget what the true foundation of the holiday was, all this other stuff was fun.

So really his nephews and then his grand-nephew, Joseph L. Hudson Jr., saw to it that that was carried on.

One year, they had a very beautiful display of several windows, the major windows on Woodward Avenue, that showed really the Christmas Story in there, and from the photographs of it, it looked like it was truly a work of art.

- A few of the windows that were more geared toward kids, they had like Grinch type of characters that back then we would be able to relate to.

And I don't remember specifically but they did such a good job because, as a kid, you could look at them, it's just like watching a movie.

- Decorating a window is a work of art.

So you had to have a talent and almost everybody, from the people who ran the elevators, to they knew how to greet you and make you feel, "Hello, how are you?

Please, what floor would you like?"

I mean, it was that kind of atmosphere so that you knew it was, "May I help you?"

The store had a certain fragrance to it, and that was intentional, I'm sure, because they wanted you to feel good, and if you felt good then you were certainly gonna buy something.

It's hard to truly just put into words what it was like to be able to walk into a department store and see the possibility of what can be.

And it fostered dreams, it nurtured that kind of creativity, it made you want more.

- The joy and the experience of going, and that's why I enjoyed it so much when I was actually employed to be Santa's Helper.

- Christmas at Hudson's was the real Christmas and the real Santa, I mean, that's how all kids felt.

'Cause it was up there, I believe it was at the 12th floor, and it just turned it into beautiful Christmas land.

I mean, almost like the setup in "Christmas Story".

I mean Santa was up, all the elves were there, and it was just the coolest thing.

You'd wait in line all day for that Santa, and you'd finally get in there and there he was, I mean, he just looked jolly and was so happy to see you, you sat on his lap and told him everything you wanted.

And again, you knew that, if you told it to the Hudson's Santa, you were gonna get it.

- Well, the 12th floor for not only employees, but also the public at large, that was, you know, the holy grail at Christmas time.

I mean, you had animated windows, you had a huge tree of lights on the Woodward Avenue side of the building, certain years, there'd be trees, and, of course, in later years, there was the castle on the marquee, and Santa, you know, received the key to the city at the end of the parade.

- One thing that Hudson's did that was different, not only could they deliver all that, but they, at some point, and I believe it was under Brenda's leadership, came up with the idea of selling a whole tree rather than having a department full of a little bit of this and a little bit of that, and it's up to you to make, if you wanted a tree that had a color to it or a theme that you could just buy the whole thing at Hudson's, and they would bring it, set it up and decorate your house really with it.

- Christmastime at Hudson's was just always the best because they just had everything really just so decorated up so nice.

I mean, all the floors, not just the toy floor, but, you know, the clothing part, the shoe department, everything else, it just looked like Christmas.

And they did, they just had the greatest, you know, decorations.

'Cause I had an aunt who worked at Hudson's, and the thing is, they would often change the decorations from year to year, so what they would do is they would give the employees the decorations from the year before.

So we'd go over to her house and we're going, "You've just got the best looking tree."

She's going, "Yeah, Hudson's, that's where."

And it was like, "Oh my goodness, this is so great."

And, but, yeah, you'd love it because it was like something out of a magical story.

It seemed like the day after Thanksgiving, it always snowed, so you'd go there, you've got the snow all around, you've got the beautiful decorations, all the people are in there, and it was just a magical time.

- On the Farmer Street side of the 12th floor, also, there was a carnival for the kids too with rides, you know, baby Ferris wheel, you know, there were even miniature ponies.

And then, there was also a restaurant, you know, for the kids.

Now there was also the Children's Only Shop, which in the early years was on the fourth floor, later on, moved up to 12.

And this was a shop for children only, adults were not allowed.

And all of the counters and the showcases were scaled much smaller, you know, for children.

And everything in this shop was priced accordingly, you know, 25 cents, 50 cents, 75 cents, a dollar.

Adults would have to sit in chairs outside the shop while the children shopped.

- Oh my goodness, I had ton of experience at Hudson's on Woodward, growing up as a child, I was at the Christmas store for the children, they had a wonderful opportunity for you to walk through and purchase gifts for your parents.

And then, just seeing all the beautiful decorations and the Santa Bears, you know, to purchase products and then get a Santa Bear was just phenomenal.

The best times of my life.

I loved that, that time of the year and being at that beautiful department store.

- It was really fun to have something where I could go in and be on my own and be able to do something that was grown up, you know, to be able to purchase something for my parents.

I always thought that was a really wonderful thing.

- You'd see the people with all the boxes and all the bags from, you know, Hudson's and other stores downtown, and it did, it just looked like something out of a movie, it was a fantastic and beautiful time.

- The way we shop today is so different, you know, people go online and they shop online.

And when I was coming up, you know, department stores kind of let you know that the seasons were changing and that this was something special whether, and so you window shopped and that was, you know, as rewarding sometimes as actually going into the store.

But going into Hudson's was a treat, it was an experience.

And I will never forget, you know, going into shop for the very first time.

I didn't just show up, my mom dressed us up, my grandparents dressed us up, we had a hat and a coat, you know, whether we put Vaseline on our patent leather shoes or not, I'm not sure, but we probably did.

You know, so you had to look a certain way, and you felt like, oh wow, this must be important or why would we put so much effort into it?

And it was something that we looked forward to.

(festive music) - Santa Bears represented hope.

Santa Bears represented love and compassion for children.

To hold the Santa Bear, to go to sleep with the Santa Bear, it was just special.

- I started out as the Fashion Director for Contemporary, and because of the Santa Bear, I became the first woman Vice President of Fashion and Marketing for the J L Hudson Company.

I was in the English countryside and I get a call from the President.

And he said, "Brenda", he said, "Ken Monroe needs you in Germany."

And we go to this center where there's over 100,000 square feet of Christmas from every part of the world.

And I'm like, dazzled.

I had never seen so many beautiful Christmas decorations.

At the time, the store was kind of boring.

It was very traditional, red and green and plaid.

And I said, "But look it, there's gold and there's silver and purple."

I said, "Why didn't we ever have purple?"

And then I saw these guys.

I said, "Oh, my God."

I said, "I've never had a Christmas tree.

I've never celebrated Christmas, but I want a Santa Bear, and I'm Jewish."

I said, "We've gotta have these little critters."

And Ken said, "Let's make it really special."

He said, "You can't buy a Santa Bear, but if someone buys $50 worth of Christmas they get a Santa Bear.

But you can't buy them.

You have to buy $50 worth of Christmas to get a Santa Bear."

And the Santa Bears came to Hudson's.

The Christmas business had over a 300% increase over the year before.

So of course, I'm very grateful to the Santa Bears because that's how I became a Vice President.

- I'm a native Detroiter and frequented the Northland store.

And that's where we, where we had our first, my mom and I shopped and my sisters shopped there.

And we had this great opportunity to get these Santa Bears.

We did our Christmas shopping there anyway.

And it just made you feel like you were something special happening.

And it brought you into a sense of nostalgia, even for your first purchase, because it just, it put you in the holiday spirit.

- Santa Bear actually was something that my kids were more excited about, so than for me.

And so, we definitely collected the Santa Bears.

There's no question about it.

I'm sure I still have some at my house.

- There was something special about them.

And I'm hoping that, I mean, I know I'm not the only one that has all of them.

If they had another, if they had a resurgence, I would start again.

I would probably collect more of the Santa Bears.

- The Santa Bear was so well received at Hudson's.

People just saw them and said, "Wow".

They're just the kind of thing you wanna like, hug.

So, today, people have what they call like support dogs.

For me, the Santa Bear was like that support, that you could just feel the love.

And for me, it's been such an amazing connector to other communities.

So now, 30 years later, when I'm involved in anything within the community like working with the police and community, bringing those two groups together, I introduce myself as the mother of the Santa Bear.

It gives me immediate credibility.

They transfer the love they had of Santa Bears growing up to me, and I get big hugs from almost everyone in the room.

(bright festive music) - The first parade was in 1925.

And it was, of the four big parades in Philadelphia, New York, Detroit, and Toronto, Canada, those were the real giant, nationally renowned, or at least in North America, renowned parades.

Eaton's was the first in 1905.

Philadelphia came along in 1920.

And both the Macy's New York Parade and J L Hudson's, it was called the Children's Parade at the beginning, that started in 1925.

Full page ad in the paper.

I guess Hudson's never really did anything small.

So it was a great big parade.

And that was really the beginnings for us.

And it grew from there, became known as the Santa Parade.

And then even now that we don't have Hudson's, it's carried on as one of those traditions that's inseparable from Detroit really.

- They began right at the old Burroughs plant, Amsterdam and Second Avenue.

So it went down Second Avenue to Cavs Park, Elizabeth Street, on down to Woodward.

And they had a big elephant in this one called Toto.

And this was gonna be a stuffed toy they were gonna have on the 12th floor at Hudson's, so they were putting a little promotional thing in there.

And the crowds came out.

About 150,000 people came out to see the first official parade in '25.

And it was, it was a big event.

So you had Santa, you had Mother Goose.

And Mother Goose will be in the parade like, many, many years.

And the old lady who lived in the shoe.

I mean, so it was great.

Costumed marchers, bands.

So it was really a good event and people really enjoyed it.

- Hudson's employees were certainly a part of the parade, everyone was invited.

You know, did you wanna volunteer to be a part of the parade?

You know, with floats, dressing up as clowns or characters, helping out at the warehouse, because the floats were all created and maintained at a warehouse on Fourth Street and stored there for the rest of the year too.

And preparations for the parade would start immediately after each year's parade in terms of a theme.

Would there be new floats?

Would there be new paper mache heads?

- The unique features of the Detroit Parade were they had this long caterpillar-like creature that formed a part of the parade ever since it started.

And in that full page ad you can see the thing there.

It looked different over the years.

But it started off as being called the Goozle Bug.

And at some point, and it's not really clear, that they changed that to Doodle Bug.

Ad it changed its face over time.

Some of the earlier ones kinda looked frightening, I'd say it wasn't meant, but they said that it would wind down the streets and wink at the kids that were lining Woodward Avenue.

The other thing that was very, very unique, were the giant heads that were unique to the Detroit Parade really.

And what happened was that one of Hudson's display managers had an idea for these, and had been in Italy and saw that that was a popular part of celebrations like Carnival and things like that in Italy.

- There's a town called Viareggio, which is the paper mache capital of Europe, and they've been doing that since the time of Medici.

It's a tradition where they have a big bonfire and burn them at the end of every year.

And the Hudson's brought in 10 to 12 a year and ultimately amassed the collection that's still in the parade today.

- And typically there'd be several thousand employees helping guide floats, balloons.

And of course, months in preparation before the parade, helping out at the warehouse down on Fourth Street.

You know, painting, fixing, working on costuming, things like that.

And it was always a big treat.

Also on parade morning, Mr. Hudson, Joseph L. Hudson Jr., would always make the rounds saying hello to everyone and wishing everyone happy holiday.

That was always special for people.

- Well they were asked to volunteer and become characters in the parade.

So, the ones that I've spoken with say that they would come down to the warehouse where everything was ready to go and they, for their trouble and the cold weather, they would get either hot coffee or hot chocolate based on their age.

And then they put on costumes and were able to walk down Woodward Avenue along with the floats, or sit on the floats, and actually participate in that as Hudsonians.

Now, specifically, a couple of the people that I talked to said it was very cold most of the time.

And they were in costumes that maybe had just leotards.

So their legs were cold.

It was a long, long walk for a lot of people.

And they had to not just saunter down the street, but they had to animate themself.

They were told to smile and wave at kids so that the kids had a great experience of the parade.

And so they said it was exhausting, but many of them said it was the most fun they ever had up to that time.

So, there really was a community spirit among the Hudsonians in there to participate in the play.

And they enjoyed getting dressed up.

It was like an extra Halloween.

- It was like Hollywood really, because all the local celebrities would be in the parade.

People we would see on TV and radio, and folks who had other shows.

And they'd just be there on the back of the cars, waving along and having a good time.

- As a child, even local personalities were important.

But you also have to remember, that that was also the same time as Motown.

So we had the music of Motown and the artists of Motown that many lived in the neighborhood early on.

- Hudson's of course, sponsored and paid for everything regarding the parade from 1924 all the way up to around 1980 or so.

By then, it was costing between one and two million to produce the parade.

And Hudson's reached out to additional sponsors, which then paved the way eventually for the parade to become its own nonprofit, America's Thanksgiving Day Parade Foundation.

- I was part of the group that was founded at the tail end of when Hudson's was leaving.

They were still here in town doing whatever they could to support us.

But a nonprofit foundation was set up.

The founding board members and city and state leaders that basically said we need to save this thing.

Hudson's was willing to do whatever they could to help, but it just seemed critically important to them that this not be one more thing the city loses.

I think the most unique thing about this parade here, and it's one I didn't expect coming in, was really what it meant to people.

I was looking at it as an artistic, piece of artistic expression, and from board members to volunteers who showed up to help, just to hear the stories of what it really meant to them growing up.

- It was cold.

It was cold.

And most of the time, even though our dad was Santa and maybe should have offered us special privileges, we wanted to be in the thong of the people.

And there were thousands of people lining the streets.

We got there very early because he had to be there early.

He kind of half dressed into his suit and boots and belt, everything else.

And only when he got there did he put on the rest of the beard and the white makeup and everything else.

But because we got there early, we did get kind of prime space on the streets.

And it was beautiful.

It was beautiful being with all the people.

It was beautiful when his float finally arrived.

We always felt excited of course, and a little sigh of relief that he had made it to the end and was gonna be brought up to the big platform where the Mayor was waiting for him with a key to the city.

And one year, we did get invited up to the store itself to watch with the Hudson family.

- We would get down early like everybody else and we'd find our spot and stand there.

And I remember seeing the excitement of seeing that first float coming down toward us.

And it was just, again, it was just a fantastic experience.

- I thought it was unbelievable that we had this huge Thanksgiving Day Parade in Detroit.

That in Michigan, we were able to come down and watch again, all of the different displays.

I mean all kinds of things, all kinds of characters.

Disney characters and other characters.

I loved the clowns.

And I loved the various types of floats and the colors and so on.

And of course, Santa Claus was always the last and the special float at the very end.

- There were just certain features of Detroit that, I mean, we have to take pride in.

And a lot of times, because you grow up with it, you don't think it's as special as it really is until you move someplace else, and you find out, oh my, we had this and we had that.

And the parade is certainly one of them.

Hudson's was certainly, you know, will always have a special place in my heart.

- It was just so exciting.

'Cause really, going to the parade started the day before.

'Cause you tried to go to bed at 9:00 'cause you knew you were gonna get up at 5:00 AM so you could get down there and get a good space.

But you couldn't even fall asleep, you were just so excited.

So next thing you know, it was probably late for me then, which meant 10:00.

- It kicks off with the Thanksgiving Parade on Thanksgiving Day, and how many of us got up early in the morning to see the floats march down Woodward Avenue along with the bands from various high schools around the state.

And some came even from out of state.

To see the different floats, and who sponsored the floats, and who was on the floats, who was the Grand Marshall.

I mean all of those things.

And people continue to come down, even though you can watch it on television.

And I'm certainly glad you watched all those years.

But it's something to be there and to take part of it.

And then when the sleigh with the reindeer and the man with the beard, and with the getting the key to the city, when he made his way down Woodward Avenue you knew that the holiday season was truly underway.

(bright festive music) - I used to work at Hudson's downtown.

So we would always stand in front of Hudson's, and that was just so great.

Because once Santa got to the end, he and Christmas Carol would go up, basically, the ladder, and that they're on the ledge, and he'd just say, "Ho, ho ho, welcome to Detroit, and ready for the best Christmas!"

And they'd both go inside the castle.

- Christmas Carol was a character that was developed by the JL Hudson Company, and it's an interesting story that there was a young lady named Maureen Bailey, and she had come up with the idea for a Santa's helper, whose name was gonna be Christmas Carol, and drew pictures of what Christmas Carol looked like.

And she said, "I want to take this downtown and show it to Hudson's because I think it's something that they should incorporate into their Christmas celebration."

When she went downtown, she was hired on the spot by the advertising director at the time, and Christmas Carol became Santa's helper afterwards.

And Christmas Carol was a thing until the mid '70s or so.

- I remember Christmas Carol because I wanted to be her.

As my dad, Rue Weiss, had the gig of being Santa in the Hudson Parade for many years, it only seemed natural that I would be Christmas Carol and get to be on the float with him.

I remember Sonny Elliot, who did kind of the play-by-play, for Channel 4 for all the parades as far as I remembered.

He called her the girl with the patent leather hair and the patent leather shoes.

And I thought she was beautiful.

- I admired Christmas Carol.

I liked her shiny, shiny shoes and her shiny black hair and her big headband and her red dress.

- Christmas Carol was always at the end of the parade, also with Santa, to get the key to the city and the marquee.

Christmas Carol was also the face on the little booklet that the kids would receive when they came to see Santa.

Some years, it may have been a coloring book.

Other years, it would be, you know, some sort of a fantasy-type story.

But Christmas Carol was, of course, was the face of those little books.

- And my own wife, her name is Carol.

And she tells me she loves the Christmas holiday.

Right around late October, early November, she says, "Now listen, that Carol you knew, she's gone.

Until after Christmas, Christmas Carol is here.

- My first memory of going to Hudson's was this huge store and walking in with the Christmas decorations everywhere.

And, of course, I was aiming for Santa.

I was trying to find Santa.

That was the icing on the cake to be able to have a chance to tell Santa because I knew he then would be able to help me get what I wanted for Christmas.

- My name is Rita Ross, and I was Santa's helper.

To be Santa's helper, it was like seeing the joy, all of the children's, that one trip to see Santa at Hudson's and to be able to sit in his lap and tell him their wishes and what they want is a magical, is a very magical thing.

- Christmas at Hudson's was the real Christmas and the real Santa.

I mean, that's how all kids felt.

I mean, Santa was up, all the elves were there.

You'd wait in line all day for that Santa, and you'd finally get in there, and there he was.

I mean, he just looked jolly and was so happy to see you.

You sat on his lap and told him everything you wanted.

And, again, you knew that if you told it to the Hudson's Santa, you were gonna get it.

- Hudson's was also one of the first stores in the country to offer guests a choice of Santa.

You know, did you want a Caucasian Santa?

Did you want an African American Santa?

Did you want a Hispanic Santa?

So, I mean, children, and every year, about 250,000 kids would see Santa.

They'd be lined up on floors, you know, to get to 12 to get there.

- I was a kid, and I remember us going downtown to Hudson's because they'd let it be known.

Hudson's was now gonna have a Black Santa.

There were kids of all background waiting there to see him.

'Cause if you were the Hudson Santa, you were the real deal.

So I just remember getting in there, you see when it's like, "Wow, he's really gonna make sure I get the race car set I want.

He's really gonna make sure I get all the other GI Joe toys and all like that.

So, yeah, you know, it was just fantastic.

And it seemed like after that, more and more stores, you know, began to do it the following seasons.

I was a Santa Claus back in the late '70s.

I just remember I was in my mid-20s.

I was about 135 pounds.

So they had to pad me up so I could look like Santa Claus.

And at the end of the run, I had wound up losing 10 pounds.

So that holiday season, I just sat at everybody's Christmas table, just going, "Can I have some more?

I need more."

You know, just so I could get back up.

- My mom and dad were professional actors.

He was actually friends with the gentleman who did it before him.

His name was Bob Leslie.

And they asked my dad to take over.

- In all the 16 years that my dad played Santa Claus in the Hudson Parade, we watched from the streets along with everybody else, and we loved every minute, rain or shine.

And to visit the 12th floor afterwards where my dad came in and spoke to each one of the Hudson kids, and that was so special.

- He loved and believed that he was Santa on that day.

Nobody could tell him different.

And by the time the last part of his costume was on, he transformed.

And even though the weather might have been in Clement, and by the end of the parade, he had icicles coming from his beard, he loved it.

(bright Christmas music) - I'm telling you, it was a phenomenal department store.

I cried when they closed that Hudson's store.

I wanted to protest because that, to me, was the heart of Detroit.

- Well, the building for me took on this like human quality, okay?

And if you could associate that with a person, it'd be like somebody that was very important in your life that represented something that's very good in your life.

And unfortunately, it's like you find out that there's nothing could be done.

It's gonna go away.

- The sadness that I felt seeing the grandom come down, and I'm glad that I have the memories preserved forever because that was a sad day and the end of an era.

I just don't think there's anything quite like Hudson's then to compare or now.

- I took my boys downtown.

We made sure we had a great vantage point a couple blocks away up in a building where you could just literally look right at it.

And, of course, they ticked off the timing so you knew like, hey, you know, one hour, a few minutes and whatever.

And what went through me is like that human quality, and you just felt really bad for this.

It's like I'm watching something literally important literally die, and there's nothing I could do about it other than watch.

And everybody, I remember, there might have been a hundred people in that room, it got so quiet.

And then as it started coming down, you'd hear a few people just go, "Oh my god."

And that's exactly how you felt watching it just crumble to the ground and go, "What a shame."

- They'll never build anything like that again.

And that's the part that makes it difficult to say, well, it had to be removed.

It had to go away.

Because they don't build buildings like that anymore.

And Detroit architecturally had some of the finest buildings in the country.

We had the finest stock of houses in the country.

And, you know, I didn't see all of the various, you know, architectural gems that this city, that made this city what it is.

But some of them are left, and you go, "Wow, what happened to them?"

They tore them down.

You know, tearing things down is something that's easy to do.

Holding onto them even when you're not sure what role they're gonna play in their next life, but at least they're there.

You've got the bones.

So if there's anything that we need to not continue to do is to tear down things we can't build again.

- It was hard to watch the Hudson going down.

I thought of all of my childhood memories and what an iconic building, what it stood for.

For me, it was about family.

You know, it was about celebrating the holidays.

It was about celebrating this awesome city called Detroit that was the highlight of my holiday season every year.

And so it was sad to see that.

- It was very emotional.

It was such a big part of our childhood.

My parents grew up in Detroit, walked those streets, shop at Hudson's in their formative years.

It was a connection that I had to my parents to old Detroit.

It was the end of an era when that building came down, and it's just, Woodward Avenue at that spot, it's not quite the same for me, but it'll always be in my heart, and I'll treasure those memories always.

(no audio) - There's a lot of hope, a lot of optimism, a lot of reasons to feel good about what's going on in Detroit right now.

- Frankly, I'm so thrilled that we've been able to maintain the Thanksgiving Day parade, keep that going.

A new building coming up where Hudson's was, and the traditions will continue.

The awesome efforts going on in Detroit, they're just building every single day.

And it's a wonderful place to bring a family and to really celebrate the holidays.

- Joe Hudson thought and felt and offered his leadership to work with the community to see about what can we do as a city.

Could we come back?

We did.

- I'm now bringing my adult son and daughter and their families and my five grandkids to Detroit.

We go to the tree lighting ceremony.

We come downtown.

I show them the incredible things that are going on in Detroit that's so exciting.

So many things for kids.

The beautiful holiday lights, but year round, now the really exciting things that are happening here in Detroit.

- You got Gucci.

You got Nike.

I mean, you got a lot of things that are downtown and more coming.

It's a bright future.

(bright holiday music) (bright holiday music continues) (bright holiday music continues) (upbeat music) (music continues) (music continues) (music continues) (music continues) (music continues) (music continues) (music continues) (music continues) - [Announcer] Holidays at Hudson's made possible in part by Baker Tilly.

- [Narrator] You could manufacture a whole new way of manufacturing, disrupt buying habits before they disrupt your business, and fuel the search for what comes next.

So what are you waiting for?

- [Announcer] The Detroit Historical Society.

The Detroit Historical Society is proud to be a part of the Salute to Holidays at Hudson's.

Central Michigan University.

CMU is the place to pursue your passion and prepare for your future.

And by contributions to this PBS station by viewers like you.

Thank you.