A
SSOCIATED
N
EWSPAPERS OF
M
ICHIGAN
P
AGE
5
July 28, 2016
B
ELLEVILLE
- P
LYMOUTH
Going once, twice
Hollywood movie props to be auctioned
State process to fund DeHoCo razing begins
Movie buffs from throughout the area
will be gathering in Belleville Saturday for
the auction of props from several well-
known movies, along with numerous other
unique items.
Rusty Oswalt, the former owner of
Ancient Treasures in Wayne, has contin-
ued his career making movie props and
prototypes, and has decided to sell many
of the items in his personal collection
which will be among the more than 130
lots for sale Saturday.
“Ten percent of all our sales will go to
the Gleaners Food Bank which helps to
feed the hungry throughout the area,”
Oswalt said. He and his partner in the auc-
tion, James Latham, have been preparing
the items for weeks, sorting and deciding
which of the artifacts fromOswalt's private
collectionhe iswilling to sell.
“I have been making props for movies
since 1994 and I am a collector,” Oswalt
said. Currently, the site of Spiritual Isreal
Church and Isreal Gardens Activity Center,
is filled with items like life-size original
prototypes for mummies from The
Mummy movies, “both one and two,”
Oswalt said. The same prototypes were
also used and seen in National Treasure
with Nicolas Cage and in Indiana Jones
and theCrystal Skulls.
Also ready for a new home are goggles
worn by Johnny Depp in the Sleepy
Hollow movie, along with the collection of
doctor's instruments the actor brandished.
There are also many, many early con-
cert posters, many autographed by rock 'n'
roll legends and unusual items from
celebrities.
The original knives used by Alice in the
Resident Evil Extinction movie and one of
the original swords used in the movie bat-
tles during The 300 will be on the auction
block.
“There really is just way too much to
list,” Oswalt said. “There will be no
reserve prices and no minimum bids on
the items.”
Viewing of items will begin at noon and
the auction will start at 1 p.m. this
Saturday, July 30 at 22971 Martinsville
Road inBelleville.
Oswalt said that shoppers can reserve a
seat by calling himat (734)722-1489.
Initial steps are under way for
demolition at the site of the for-
mer Detroit House of
Corrections.
The buildings, described as
blight by state officials, has hin-
dered development in both
Plymouth and Northville town-
ships.
TheMichigan Land Bank Fast
Track Authority has awarded the
ATC Group of Novi a contract to
begin preliminary environmen-
tal analysis work at the site, locat-
ed onFiveMileRoad.
Gov. Rick Snyder in May
signed into law a plan to transfer
$4 million to the Michigan Land
Bank Fast Track Fund so it could
start preparationwork at the 125-
acre site, which was used for the
Detroit House of Corrections
fromthe early 1900s tomid-1980s,
and also as a rubbish dump from
the 1920s through the 1950s.
Buildings on the site have been
vacant since 2004.
“Redeveloping the DeHoCo
site will not only be an economic
boost to Plymouth andNorthville
townships, but it also will
improve the quality of life for its
residents, making it a stronger
community,” said Steve Arwood,
director of the State Department
of Talent and Economic
Development, which oversees
the Land Band Fast Track
Authority. “These are the first
steps of a long process, but mark
an important step to move for-
ward on improving this site. We
are committed to moving quickly,
but diligently to ensure safe dem-
olition of these blighted struc-
tures.”
State Rep. Kurt Heise, R-
Plymouth Township, sponsored
the legislation to provide the ini-
tial resources, bills approved
with overwhelming bipartisan
support.
“This site isn't just an eyesore,
it has hurt surrounding property
values and has been a barrier to
economic development that
could create more and better
jobs in the community,” Heise
said. “It's taken a lot of work to
get to this point and we have far
to go. But I'm focused on getting
this project started so the region
canbenefit.”
State agencies and the ATC
Group are planning to start
reviewing the structures on the
site this week to gather informa-
tion needed to plan for future
demolition work. The land bank
is planning an aggressive time-
line that could see the demoli-
tion work under way before the
end of the year.
The environmental studies
also are needed to determine
potential uses for the site, or
what additional work beyond
demolition could be needed
before the land could be redevel-
oped, officials said.
Prototypes for mummies used in movies The Mummy both one and two and in
National Treasure with Nicolas Cage and Indiana Jones and the Crystal Skulls will be
auctioned this Saturday.
Goggles used by Johnny Depp in Sleepy Hollow along with his doctor's kit and a set of
original knives used by Alice in Resident Evil Extinction are among the 130 items to be
auctioned in Belleville Saturday.
