A Guide to Port Huron with Tyler Moldovan

For many residents of Port Huron, the city has been their lifelong home. But for Tyler Moldovan, the city of Port Huron was a distant place, just a name he would see on passing highway signs.

Now, it is his home.

“Circumstances brought me here, but something about the city drew me in,” Moldovan says.

As a resident for about 5 years, Moldovan sees all that the city has to offer to him, and offers it right back. He is passionately involved in the city, planning a 2021 campaign for City Council as well as holding a seat on the Downtown Development Authority marketing committee. He is also an active spokesperson for the city, specifically advocating for more bike lanes to provide more mobility for residents throughout. And if that wasn’t enough, Moldovan has his hands in the art scene here. He is co-founder of Desmond District Demons, a horror film festival that takes place each year.

Moldovan may be relatively new to the area, but his involvement and love for Port Huron run deep. This is why I thought he would be an interesting character to talk to about the city that he knows.

He has noticed that some lifelong residents of Port Huron are blissfully unaware of what all the city has to give. And I can include myself in this. Port Huron isn’t a major city in numbers, like Detroit, but it does have all of the amenities of a large city. And the “hidden gems” of Port Huron, really aren’t that hidden.

Moldovan is an active spokesperson for the city, specifically advocating for more bike lanes to provide more mobility for residents throughout, Westrick says.“There are people from this area that don’t even know what is offered to them,” Moldovan says. “There is an issue, and we have to work on building the community we do have before looking outward.”

Moldovan thinks that there are a few key aspects of Port Huron that everyone, residents and tourists, should know about in the city. One being local events. The Port Huron DDA and Rec Department put on local events in the area every month for the community to enjoy. Moldovan specifically likes the rec department’s Walk Your Block scavenger hunts which allow residents to explore their neighborhood in a new way. He highly recommends residents get out and walk around their neighborhood, “take a walk or bike through the neighborhoods and roads in the city.”

There are several parks throughout the city — Pine Grove Park, Lincoln Park, Palmer Park — and beautiful historic streets like Court Street. Port Huron is fortunate to have gorgeous scenery that residents may not even realize could be right in their backyard.

Moldovan also enjoys the walking tours that are put on by the Port Huron Museum, which is another way to get out and explore the rich history in the city.

The beautiful architecture initially drew him here. Moldovan thinks the hundred-year-old houses have a charm all their own, and when a young family moves in there is a little bit of life injected back into them.

The beauty and local art of the city captured Moldovan and he thinks all residents should be keen on. He mentions Huron City Radio, a podcast written and produced by Daniel Williams, that portrays Port Huron in a new tongue-in-cheek manner. Moldovan met Williams in The Exquisite Corpse Coffee Shop and they quickly hit it off, as they were both outsiders with a love for the city.

Moldovan noted that the most interesting group of people he has met have been the fishermen of Port Huron. He enjoys taking a walk down the boardwalk near the Blue Water Bridge and chatting with them about their most recent catches. “They say it’s one of the best fishing spots in the state and that people come from all around to visit.”

The unique charming characters that Moldovan has met in Port Huron are one of his favorite things about the city. He says that the people he meets and the stories that they have are what brings a vibrancy to Port Huron.

“I think things like that are what makes Port Huron, Port Huron. Not necessarily everything being clean and crisp, but you have these people that live and work here providing for the city, and the city seems to be providing back,” Moldovan says.

“Circumstances brought me here, but something about the city drew me in,” Moldovan says.

Moldovan’s closest friends are Maggie and Nathaniel, owners of the Exquisite Corpse Coffee House. He would walk down to the shop in the morning to get a cup of coffee and would linger and chit chat with the owners until close. He then began doing business with the owners of the coffee shop and through that, a friendship flourished.

“It would have never happened if I did not walk down to the coffee shop every morning,” Moldovan says. “They welcomed me with open arms.”

He says it’s nice to be able to wander around a city and begin to form relationships with the businesses and community.

Tyler Moldovan is just one of the thousands of residents in Port Huron. He is an example of the fresh new perspectives that the younger generation is bringing to the city. With high numbers of young entrepreneurs moving into the city, he sees that Port Huron is not a dying city, but thriving. After my conversation with Tyler Moldovan, I felt inspired to acknowledge Port Huron for what it was, and see it for what it is becoming.