The Woodward Dream Cruise Began With a Ferndale Handyman
The Dream Cruise is now in it’s 25th year, but it originally started out as a fundraiser idea for a local soccer field. Detroit News columnist Neal Rubin tells us about the history of the event.
Classic cars cruise down Woodward Avenue during the Woodward Dream Cruise, August 2017.
It’s the 25th anniversary of one of the region’s most beloved, most hated and most iconic events: The Woodward Dream Cruise.
Detroit News columnist Neal Rubin began exploring the beginnings of the Dream Cruise and discovered the Metro Detroiters who unexpectedly began a decades-long tradition.
“It’s kind of crazy,” Rubin says. “Now there’s a million and a half people on Woodward [but] it started with a guy.”
“One of the things that differentiates this from other cars shows is you can be in the middle of it . You don’t have to be a have-not sitting on the curb watching the haves drive around.” – Neal Rubin, columnist
His name was Nelson House, a Ferndale handyman created the idea as a fundraiser for a local soccer field. After getting support from the community and local municipalities, the first Dream Cruise brought a quarter of a million people to Woodward Avenue that fateful Saturday in August 1995.
