\u201cOne of the last true earthlings.\u201d That\u2019s how artist Chris Turner describes Daniel \u201cDanny\u201d Overstreet, owner of the legendary dive bar The Old Miami. Overstreet passed away on May 1 at 78 years old, leaving a legacy of passion and generosity to his community. The decorated Vietnam veteran did more than own a bar in Detroit\u2019s Cass Corridor during some of the city\u2019s most troubled years. Overstreet anchored the corner of Cass and Alexandrine by bringing together a ragtag group of veterans, artists, punk rockers, and misfits. In the process, he created an alchemical miracle in a particularly Detroit way, spinning gold from the dross of the city\u2019s outcasts.<\/p>\n
Turner helped Overstreet transform the vacant lots behind The Old Miami into an oasis of creativity. The process unfolded gradually after Overstreet bought the bar in 1980. It may have been lengthy, but, says Turner, \u201cit was a labor of love. It\u2019s hard work and alcohol: You mix those two together, and something great\u2019s about to happen.\u201d<\/p>\n
Overstreet was no stranger to hard work. The Old Miami took shape over the course of decades, one piece of art and one pool table and one couch and one cooler at a time. John Linardos, owner of Motor City Brewing Works, relied on Overstreet\u2019s help in the early 1990s, when he was building his brewery around the corner from The Old Miami. \u201cWhen I started the brewery, his support was very important to me,\u201d says Linardos, \u201cin terms of emotional support. And whenever I ran into trouble [with physical tasks], Danny would be sending over the right person [for the job].\u201d<\/p>\n
That was the power of Overstreet\u2019s vast community network. At any given moment, the bar might have a baker\u2019s dozen of odd-job construction workers, academics, visual artists, or mechanics willing to lend a hand to a neighbor.<\/p>\n
And veterans. Having been drafted into the Vietnam War, Overstreet was awarded two Purple Hearts and a Bronze Star for valor, according to his longtime partner Julie Flynn. He also participated in frequent war protests after his service. At The Old Miami \u2014 which draws its name from \u201cMissing in Action, Michigan\u201d \u2014 fellow disaffected veterans flocked to the bar in search of solidarity and empathy. Flynn says, \u201cThe Vietnam vets only had each other. They didn\u2019t hide that they were drafted.\u201d These unwilling heroes, like Overstreet, faced scorn from many Americans when they returned from battle. \u201cWe [Americans] should have supported them,\u201d Flynn says.<\/p>\n
That\u2019s what Overstreet set out to do. The Old Miami became a haven for veterans of many conflicts, and Flynn and Overstreet continued to welcome soldiers returning from Iraq and Afghanistan. Many veterans, says Flynn, \u201c[are] messed up, and they would come to the bar, and Danny really helped a lot of them. We tried not to let them all just sit around and drink. We were good at making our customers work.\u201d She and Overstreet also frequently brought bar regulars on outings to Belle Isle and Tigers games.<\/p>\n
\u201cHe worked hard every day, and he played hard,\u201d Flynn says.<\/p>\n
For the thousands of people who warmed a stool at the Miami over the years, Overstreet\u2019s warmth and charisma made the bar \u201cso many things to so many people,\u201d says Linardos. \u201cBut at the end of the day, it was just home.\u201d<\/p>\n
This story originally appeared in the July 2026 issue of Hour Detroit magazine<\/a>. To read more, pick up a copy of Hour Detroit at a local retail outlet. Click here to get our\u00a0digital edition<\/a>.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"\u201cOne of the last true earthlings.\u201d That\u2019s how artist Chris Turner describes Daniel \u201cDanny\u201d Overstreet, owner of the…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":328434,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[9],"tags":[123,125,124],"class_list":["post-328433","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","category-miami","tag-miami","tag-miami-headlines","tag-miami-news"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-fl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/328433","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-fl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-fl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-fl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-fl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=328433"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-fl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/328433\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-fl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/328434"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-fl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=328433"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-fl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=328433"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-fl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=328433"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}