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Whooooosh: 1902
... winning five-miles event in 6:1 3-5, Grosse Pointe track, Detroit." 8x10 inch glass negative, Detroit Photographic Co. View full size. What the heck is "6:1 ... 
 
Posted by Dave - 08/25/2023 - 5:59pm -

October 24, 1902. "H.S. Harkness in his Mercedes-Simplex, winning five-miles event in 6:1 3-5, Grosse Pointe track, Detroit." 8x10 inch glass negative, Detroit Photographic Co. View full size. What the heck is "6:1 3-5"?Is that some kind of time recording from yesteryear, or is it perhaps a biblical reference from even more yesteryears? [361.6 seconds -- 6:01 and 3/5. - Dave] Speedy!If I read that time correctly, Harkness averaged 48.19 MPH 49mphThat's right around an average of 49mph. 5 miles at 6 min 13.5 seconds. Or is it 6 min 1 3/5 seconds? Either way, close to 49mph. Almost Flying... and within a year and a couple of months, powered flight would be achieved. Whenever I feel times are changing too quickly, I think back to if I were my current age a century-and-a-quarter ago. Getting past congratulating myself for making it to the ripe old age of 63, I would be utterly appalled by the spread of internal combustion engines, shattering the air with their noise and spewing smoke, scaring the horses, and breaking all the rules of the road! Well, I'm pretty much still in that state of mind. So maybe not everything changes so quickly! H.S. HarknessHarry Stephen Harkness, heir to a portion of the Standard Oil fortune, was a noted automobile racer and aviator. He cheated death in a 1910 airplane crash but was not able to buy his way out of the Spanish Flu epidemic. He died in 1919 at age 38. ConsensusSome scientists of note back then warned of exceeding 60 miles per hour, postulating that a human would face a lack of oxygen and pass out at the controls. They were wrong. Not in Grosse Pointe AnymoreHorse racing was a very popular pastime in Detroit at the turn of the last century and two horse racing tracks were built on the south side of E. Jefferson Avenue. One was called the Detroit Driving Club, where this image was taken. It was located at Algonquin Street and was designed by Mortimer Smith. Farther east out Jefferson Avenue at Marlborough Street was the Jockey Club. Both were in the Fairview Village area of Grosse Pointe Township. The Ford-Winton Race and the 1904 Thousand-Mile Packard Endurance Run took place at the Detroit Driving Club. It wasn’t until 1907 that this entire area was annexed by the City of Detroit and the names Fairview and Grosse Pointe Township became lost over the passage of time. More here: https://wikimapia.org/33799129/Detroit-Driving-Club (The Gallery, Cars, Trucks, Buses, Detroit Photos, DPC, Sports)
Detroit Deli: 1912
Detroit, Michigan, circa 1912. " Edelweiss Cafe , delicatessen room." 8x10 inch dry plate glass negative, Detroit Publishing Company. View full size. Buy one new today ... motor. Amazing piece of engineering. (The Gallery, Detroit Photos, DPC, Stores & Markets) ... 
 
Posted by Dave - 07/04/2011 - 2:14pm -

Detroit, Michigan, circa 1912. "Edelweiss Cafe, delicatessen room." 8x10 inch dry plate glass negative, Detroit Publishing Company. View full size. Buy one new todayThere's a slicer like this in my local Italian eatery in LA. Tied UpIn my father's laundry store all the packages (or "bundles," as they were called) were tied with string. Dad could snap off the cord, when he was done, with one motion. I could never master it, I had to use a knife. Meticulously Clean"Brown paper packages wrapped up with string, these are a few of my favorite things." As a young teen, I worked a part-time job in a bakery where pies,cakes and cupcakes were placed in a box and tied four ways with sturdy twine (that was hung up overhead) so the box could be carried by the twine. It was not easy to do it correctly (and doing it wrong could end in disaster). Crusty breads, hard rolls or crunchy, chewy rye was placed in brown paper bags. There were no plastic bags in the entire store. No third hand requiredI recall visiting a bakery that had some kind of box-tying pantograph device to handle the string. Deli Cabinets & More!Seems that Wolf Sayer and Heller did more than make deli cabinets. Mr. Heller also had a keen eye for architecture-commissioning Frank Lloyd Wright to build Heller House. Spoiledwe are so overwhelmed with choices when we shop nowadays that the offerings seen here seem very sparse. I wonderThat cash register might well be about ten years old in the photo, you suppose? Maybe part of it is being electroplated here? Mysterious sticks and hooksOn the back wall there is a rack with sticks that have hooks on them. What is this for? It looks like the sticks can be taken off the rack. There are stops that keep the sticks from being pushed too far back. The hooks look like they have sharp points, too. I would love to eat here!It is so spotlessly clean. I love it! It was so interesting to go with my grandma to single-item stores: bakeries, butcher shops, greengrocers. The people were cordial and they always gave me samples or candy. They anticipated Grandma's needs and tucked in something special for me. It was a much simpler time, I miss it. Thanks to Shorpy I can always go back. Looks LikeBlood pudding on the lower shelf. One of my favorite things to have with eggs. Cutting Edge That slicer appears to be a Peerless, I think it is a model produced by Merkel, the inventor of the auto-slicer. Everything was driven by one hand crank, later retro-fitted with a small eletric motor. Amazing piece of engineering. (The Gallery, Detroit Photos, DPC, Stores & Markets)
Bizarro Detroit: 1904
...         Fast-forward one year: The Detroit hard at work . Ecorse, Michigan, 1904. "Great Lake Engineering Works. Steamer Detroit , Michigan Central Transfer, stern quarter." Or would that be ... 
 
Posted by Dave - 05/04/2017 - 9:14am -

        Fast-forward one year: The Detroit hard at work. Ecorse, Michigan, 1904. "Great Lake Engineering Works. Steamer Detroit, Michigan Central Transfer, stern quarter." Or would that be Tiorted? 8x10 inch dry plate glass negative, Detroit Publishing Company. View full size. HatsThe observers display an excellent selection of headwear. Praise the engineer. . .. . . who first tested the seemingly crazy idea of sliding huge newly built ships into the water sideways. (The Gallery, Boats & Bridges, Detroit Photos, DPC)
Detroit Publishing: 1910
Detroit, Michigan, circa 1910. "Detroit Publishing Company, east front." The mothership for much of the ... photography seen here. 8x10 inch dry plate glass negative, Detroit Publishing Company. View full size. Home Sweet Home How nice ... 
 
Posted by Dave - 08/21/2012 - 12:38pm -

Detroit, Michigan, circa 1910. "Detroit Publishing Company, east front." The mothership for much of the large-format photography seen here. 8x10 inch dry plate glass negative, Detroit Publishing Company. View full size. Home Sweet HomeHow nice to finally see the home of so many of the fascinating images that bring us to this site! The building appears to have been recently enlarged; the wing to the right of (and including) the vestibule appears to have newer mortar joints which give that section of the building a lighter appearance. What really fascinates me are the varied brick patterns which have been used to great advantage in the otherwise rather ordinary facade. Basketweave and chevron patterning adds interest beyond the arches and corbeled cornice. I suspect that the odd window in the three-story section was the original entry before the addition. Thanks for the trip home, Dave! Don't forget to wipe your feetI bet the janitor's job was a nightmare on rainy days. Photo by ...It would have been hilarious if this photo had been taken by somebody other than the Detroit Publishing Co.! (The Gallery, Detroit Photos, DPC)
Nashua: 1908
... and Fletcher's Optical Parlors. 8x10 inch glass negative, Detroit Publishing Company. View full size. 1908 and 2017 ... 
 
Posted by Dave - 10/20/2023 - 3:43pm -

1908. "Main Street -- Nashua, New Hampshire." At right, offices of the Nashua Telegraph and Fletcher's Optical Parlors. 8x10 inch glass negative, Detroit Publishing Company. View full size. 1908 and 2017 PigeonsJust try to tell me pigeons aren't trash birds! Safe spaceMaybe you heard this already but WalletHub just named Nashua, New Hampshire, the safest city in America. The other nine in the top ten are Columbia, Maryland; South Burlington, Vermont; Gilbert, Arizona; Warwick, Rhode Island; Portland, Maine; Casper, Wyoming; Yonkers, New York; Burlington, Vermont; and Scottsdale, Arizona. According to the same study, South Burlington, Vermont (the third safest city), "also tied with Cleveland and Cincinnati, Salem, Oregon, Washington, D.C. and Seattle for the most hate crimes per capita." Uh oh. Maybe move to Burlington, Vermont -- less than three miles away and coming in at ninth on the safest city list. Or just stay put and take your chances. CLOUDS!I don't know if it was luck or some type of different exposure process, but it's rare to see a sky with clouds in these old photos. The cameras couldn't pick up the subtle shades and usually the skies appear completely white even though at the time they may have been overcast or partly cloudy. Because now you can bank onlineWorking left-to-right: JennyPennifer's comment caused me to pay special attention to the police officer walking his beat, just to the left of the wagon parked at the curb. He's dressed like a London Bobby. The four-story building with the curved front is, regrettably, gone. This likely happened when Main Street was straightened, and a newer bridge was built across the Nashua River. The Romanesque church at the end of the street is on the other side of the river. The building at right, which became a bank in jrpollo's update, is now luxury condos, called The Mint. Not to criticize too much, but my first efficiency apartment had more kitchen space. I guess the residents are expected to eat out. A number of nearby restaurants have expanded their al fresco option to include both the sidewalk and the parallel parking spaces in front of their restaurant. Straight and trueI lived in Nashua for 12 wonderful years and lived in the North End right off of Concord. This image did raise a question about the curved building a block from the river crossing. Any straightening alluded to earlier would have taken place much earlier in the 19th century... The Sanborn Insurance maps of 1912 indicate that Main Street and the bridge were already where they are today. But the curved building, identified as the Howard Block gracefully curved to widen the main street from the width of the bridge (I am guessing). Main Street really is three lanes wide in each direction... feels like an avenue in Manhattan. I am also grateful that the Library of Congress has these Sanborn maps...! Terrific detail about buildings and their particular use. Here is the link to that image: https://www.loc.gov/resource/g3744nm.g3744nm_g053631912/?sp=32&r=0.517,0... Different process = CLOUDS!Eary photographic processes were primarily sensitive to only blue light. Numerous newer processes throughout the late 19th century added increases sensitivity into the greens and yellows resulting in what we now call orthochromatic materials. It wasn't until around 1906 that a truly panchromatic emulsion with full sensitivity to red was developed. This took several decades to become dominant. It wasn't until the panchromatic films and plates became available that we begin to see photos that can render skies anything other than nearly blank white. Orthochromatic materials remained in use for quite a while largely because you could develop them under a red safelight. Panchromatic materials required total darkness. [Here and here, some clouds from 1864! - Dave] Light grey/white clouds against a blue sky require a panchromatic emulsion, otherwise the clouds and sky reproduce nearly the same light grey. Only when the clouds are all grey and dark grey (think: storm clouds) will they reproduce on earlier orthchromatic or pure blue sensitive emulsions. Tea TimeThe Grand Union Tea Company delivery wagon in the Nashua photo made me curious. My local New Hampshire grocery store used to be a Grand Union. I found a brief history of the company here: https://oldmainartifacts.wordpress.com/2013/10/07/grand-union-tea-compan... (The Gallery, DPC, Small Towns, Stores & Markets)
The Curb Market: 1905
... and curb brokers." 8x10 inch dry plate glass negative, Detroit Publishing Company. View full size. No bars How did they ... 
 
Posted by Dave - 08/08/2012 - 2:03pm -

New York circa 1905. "Broad Street exchange and curb brokers." 8x10 inch dry plate glass negative, Detroit Publishing Company. View full size. No barsHow did they ever get any business done? All of these businessmen, and not one using his cell phone! What did she forget to tell him?Love the lady leaning out of the third floor window on the lower right to say something to the man who appears next to the lamppost, looking back up at her. Hey JoeYou can meet my brother tomorrow afternoon on Broad Street. He'll be the one wearing the bowler. No AutosIt's interesting that there don't appear to be any motorized vehicles in the picture. So far as I can see, everything is horse-drawn. It appears to me that nearly all of the businessmen in the picture are wearing bowlers. For the most part, other hats, such as caps, are on younger men. Thus, I am guessing that the woman leaning out the window has sent the young man as a runner on some errand, and perhaps is, as coriander suggestions, adding something to the request. The American Stock ExchangeThe "curbstone market" was the predecessor of the American Stock Exchange. PeekingI love to see if anyone is looking out those windows ... Found one! Lux MortemAwesome example of a Bishop's Crook Type #1 with crossbar. Today's reproductions are based on the BC type 24a, which look pretty close. But those globe luminaires hanging from the fluted fixtures are long, long gone. What are we all looking at?It seems like there is a LOT of folks in the middle of the street doing something -- but what? [Trading stocks. - Dave] Au courantHere's the 1905 look, complete with a bowler hat.. And this is:Where I have all my money invested? Wish I would have seen this photo before my chat with an investment dealer. Get that man a hat!I see you there to the left of the foreground globe... You think you can just stroll about in public half naked? There's always one in the crowd! One Hatless MaleAnd two women. Love the pic. Neither Rain nor SnowGreat Photo! Does anyone know what the denizens of the Curb did when the weather got nasty, similar to what New York experienced this January? Post Lux MortemThe crossbar is an artifact from the gaslight days, where the lamplighter would rest his ladder. StandoutThere's one top hat (left foreground) vs 1,000 bowlers. Is this an executive? Mr. Peanut? Nothing much changed by 1980I worked at 48 Wall Street for 16 years. Wall Street intersects at those steps at the top of the picture. That is where George Washington once spoke. Really, very little had changed. Most of those buildings were still there, and the crowd levels were the same. By 1975 crowds weren't playing stocks but 3 card monte that would scram when the lookout whistled. Until about 1980 men with bowlers and tophats still walked the streets. They were carrying physical stocks and bonds between dealers. There was a 4 pm drop dead delivery for all transactions. Hats off to youI'm reminded of the Simpsons episode where Homer ends up in the psych ward after wearing a pink shirt to the plant. The guys in lab coats were probably headed right for the poor hatless gentleman right behind the lamp bulb when this picture was taken. Strange that a century later those wearing hats on a regular basis are the odd ones. What are the vendors selling??I see apples and, what exactly? Parsnips? Carrots? Topless on BroadPerhaps the crowd gathered are actually trading. Or maybe, when the man without a hat showed up, they all ran ran away from him, as if he were some strange alien, and are all discussing what they are going to do about this social deviant. Notice he's all alone there in the middle. Perhaps the man walking toward him (with something in his left arm...maybe a summons) will be the one to set him straight. "Sir, you need to put a hat on, or else. Get with the system, man." A tale of two citizensA few paces behind the gent in the top hat is a fellow in working garb -- a lighter colored jacket that is open, with a different style hat. And on the other side of the street, there is a fellow who is sitting on the railing, getting his shoes shined. Three left standingActually only three of the buildings shown here are still standing: 1) The New York Stock Exchange of George B. Post (the pedimented building midway up the left side of the street), built in 1903; 2) the Subtreasury, aka Federal Hall National Memorial, originally the US Custom House (the partially visible Greek temple at the corner of Wall Street), built by Town and Davis, 1833-1842; and 3) the Broad Exchange Building, second from the right, built by Clinton & Russell in 1900. Everything else you see has been torn down and replaced by newer buildings. [The poster below was speaking of the 1970s. - Dave] You could hear a pin dropI worked on the Staten Island Ferry on weekends in the early 70's. The whole area was a ghost town when business was not in session. I remember the sound of a windblown rope hitting a flagpole that you could hear from blocks away. The Third LevelSo few women, it looks like the Egyptian demonstrations. Only 100 and a few years ago, some of our grandparents just kids then, but the cityscape is overwhelmingly male (except for a few women selling fruits and vegetables from the carts). Are the men actually purchasing vegetables to bring home for supper? There's one man in the foreground on the left smoking a cigarette, while the man next to him has his hand up to his face like he is using a cellphone. Or making a gesture of some kind ("Hey, can you spare a smoke?") Of course, this could be a Jack Finney time traveler who forgot he isn't supposed to bring his cellphone and that not only do cellphones not work on planes, they don't work when you take the Third Level either. Fruit CartsIf you're wondering what those carts are all about, they are selling fruit, not vegetables, to the brokers, who often didn't have time for a proper lunch. Instead, they'd grab a couple of apples or bananas, etc., and go back inside for more trading. (This comment from food historian Jane Ziegelman) ToucheI wonder what put a smile on the faces of the two men at bottom left, who btw look very much alike. Brothers? The bear of a man in centre front of the milling throng seems to be looking at the photographer. SlapstickI got to thinking about all those discarded banana skins that seem to be in the gutters, on the road and doubtless on the footpath (sidewalk) in this photo. And wondered if this was a common sight in other locations where the fruit vendors plied their trade. Is this then the basis for the comical slipping on a banana skin routine? (BOBS). A person slipping on a banana peel has been a staple of physical comedy for generations. A 1910 comedy recording features a popular character of the time, "Uncle Josh", claiming to describe his own such incident: Now I don't think much of the man that throws a banana peelin' on the sidewalk, and I don't think much of the banana peel that throws a man on the sidewalk neither ... my foot hit the bananer peelin' and I went up in the air, and I come down ker-plunk, jist as I was pickin' myself up a little boy come runnin' across the street ... he says, "Oh mister, won't you please do that agin? My little brother didn't see you do it."(wikipedia) Top 5This is truly a great picture but curious what makes it so popular that it has virtually become a permanent photo in the top 5? The last posted comment was on 2-19. Thanks for any info. [Links from Stumbleupon and Reddit. - Dave] Thought I would shareCute little moment they happened to catch. Old Stomping GroundI love this 1905 photo and miss working at 25 Broad St (Paine Webber). I get a kick out of all the banana peels! Guess Peter Coyote is correct, it's a perfect food. (The Gallery, DPC, NYC)
Country Kitchen: 1942
... and the juicer. Ahhh, those were the days. Made in Detroit -- "Tasty-Krisp Popkorn" ... just to the left of Sanka. ... Krisp Products was located at 11166 Grand River Avenue in Detroit. Now an empty lot in a much-decayed neighborhood, but in the 1940s it ... 
 
Posted by Dave - 01/19/2023 - 11:43am -

July 1942. "Birmingham, Michigan (vicinity). Kitchen in a country house." 4x5 inch acetate negative by Arthur Siegel for the Farm Security Administration. View full size. Eleven Years Later ... ... I finally see the rest of the kitchen. I clicked on "Kodachrome treatment" and discovered I made a comment on 01/01/2012. [There's even a third pic! Check back in 2034. But seriously, the negative for this particular photo didn't get scanned until 2022. - Dave] Drink Sanka Coffee and Sleep!My grandma use to drink Sanka. I remember seeing the jar in her kitchen when we'd visit. I also remember seeing Grandma's weed she kept in a big jar, between the Sanka and the juicer. Ahhh, those were the days. Made in Detroit -- "Tasty-Krisp Popkorn"... just to the left of Sanka. Popcorn was the go-to snack in those days. Tasty Krisp Products was located at 11166 Grand River Avenue in Detroit. Now an empty lot in a much-decayed neighborhood, but in the 1940s it was growing and prospering. Cold QuestionHave to wonder what the jar of cold cream is doing on the kitchen counter. With 6 sisters I sure saw a lot of that product in my youth, but always in the bathroom. Perhaps there's a culinary use I'm not aware of? [In the kitchen, a cold cream jar is not necessarily a jar of cold cream. - Dave] The MirolarmThe clock on the shelf is a Telechron Model 7F77, or "Mirolarm". Made between 1932 and 1938, it was Telechron's first "buzzer" alarm clock and would have been rose colored glass with a mirrored background. [Not to be confused with "Mirro" brand kitchen timers, or Joan Miró. - Dave] Grandma's weed?My first thought was: What’s a jar of nails doing on the kitchen counter? From the breadbox libraryCharles Gundel's "Hungarian Cookery Book" had its first printing in 1934 and is still available 45 printings later, and Gundel's is a world-class restaurant in Budapest still in business today. If one enjoys Hungarian food, this cookbook with its delectable offerings is sure to throw one off their January weight loss diet. Sone things never change (much)The bottle near the middle of the top shelf, in the paper wrapper, is clearly Angostura bitters. The labeling is amazingly similar to the one on my shelf, 80-plus years later. And my tin of Colman's Mustard is still more like this one than it is different. Bitters with the sweetThere's a bottle of Angostura bitters on that top shelf next to what might be maple syrup. UtensilsArthur Siegel also gave this kitchen the Kodachrome treatment -- Maybe not weed --Oregano? Well-wiredAny decorator magazine today would publish this kitchen with the word "whimsical" somewhere in there, but they would either studiously ignore the exposed electrical conduit, or comment on its "industrial" aesthetic. This is certainly an unusual abundance of electrical outlets for a kitchen of this period, and no doubt added at the owner's discretion to serve their abundance of kitchen gadgets. (How many people had an electric orange juicer in 1942?) Notice the light fixture above, with the original wiring concealed in the walls. In 1940, the National Electrical Code added a requirement for a dedicated 20 amp circuit for kitchen appliances, something that had been recommended as a best practice for a couple of decades. My sense is that this rule was little-enforced, as wartime materials shortages soon prevented compliance. But here's the original concept, illustrated in an official publication of the 1893 World's Columbian Exposition. Edit: I mistakenly typed "conduit," though this is clearly the first-generation iteration (1928-ca1950) of non-metallic sheathed cable, popularly known by the trade name Romex. Brought to You By --Shorpy should get ad fees for product placement: Kroger’s Colman’s Durkee’s Jell-o Sunkist Sanka Mary Scott Rowland Grandma's laboratory Perfect meals (The Gallery, Arthur Siegel, Kitchens etc.)
Detroit Photographic: 1904
New York circa 1904. "Detroit Photographic Co., 218 Fifth Avenue -- 26th Street front." Detroit Photographic, whose business was based on color postcard views and ... the turn of the century; in 1905 it changed its name to Detroit Publishing. In this view, the more you look the more people you see. ... 
 
Posted by Dave - 08/20/2012 - 1:31pm -

New York circa 1904. "Detroit Photographic Co., 218 Fifth Avenue -- 26th Street front." Detroit Photographic, whose business was based on color postcard views and framed prints, had stores across the country around the turn of the century; in 1905 it changed its name to Detroit Publishing. In this view, the more you look the more people you see. 8x10 glass negative, Detroit Publishing Co. View full size. 1, 2, 3I love the reflections in these windows. There are ropes and pulleys hanging out of the window of the building across the street, and the reflections of two people: one standing next to the photographer (reflected in Detroit's door) and another standing next to or leaning against the building across the street (reflected in the rug merchant's window). Together with Adolphe in the second-floor window, I count three people. The sourceSo am I right in thinking that this country is still around and providing all the photos to Shorpy itself? [The country is indeed still here. And just celebrated its 234th birthday. If you mean "the company," Detroit Publishing went into receivership in 1924 and was gone by 1932. - Dave] Don't jump Adolphe!That bad, it couldn't be! FinallyGood to get a glimpse of the source of so many unique and interesting photos! No ingressThere must have been another entrance. The board across the two doors with the company name seems to effectively bar the door. [What does it say on the board? - Dave] Now, having worked retail, I'd have been ticked off with the 99% of customers who tried to open the door when it clearly says the entrance is around the corner.... and then been one of the 99%... Sigh.... SIDE Entrance!The caption states that this is the 26th Street side entrance to the store, and the photo shows specifically that the side entrance address is 5 West 26th Street. This is on the north side of the block, just off 5th Avenue, and just west of Madison Square. Pre-Otis Those basement doors in the sidewalk can only lead to a stairway with possibly a wooden slider chute on one side. The later 'sidewalk elevators' didn't need the slope and were placed right up against the foundation. I loved to watch the deliverymen heaving crates and bales down those slides, it must have been rough downstairs, though. (The Gallery, DPC, NYC, Stores & Markets)
New Detroit: 1913
Detroit, Michigan, circa 1913. "Dime, Penobscot, and Ford buildings." 8x10 inch dry plate glass negative, Detroit Publishing Company. View full size. Sense of immensity ... ground level. At lunch during the 1984 World Series Champs Detroit Tiger parade, we watched the likes of Kirk Gibson, Lance Parrish, Alan ... 
 
Posted by Dave - 08/08/2012 - 2:31pm -

Detroit, Michigan, circa 1913. "Dime, Penobscot, and Ford buildings." 8x10 inch dry plate glass negative, Detroit Publishing Company. View full size. Sense of immensityThat's the feeling I have about this spectacular photo. And vertigo, also. Can even smell the smoke. I like it very much. Three PenobscotsIn the mid 1980s when I was in my early 20s, I worked on the 11th floor of the Ford Building. There was still a full-serve Sanders Cafeteria and store at ground level. At lunch during the 1984 World Series Champs Detroit Tiger parade, we watched the likes of Kirk Gibson, Lance Parrish, Alan Trammel, Lou Whitaker, Tommy Brookens, Jack Morris, and skipper Sparky Anderson travel east down Congress Avenue. The three Penobscot Buildings always confounded me as well. The J.L. Hudson Department Store had closed by the time I worked downtown. I was always disappointed that I never visited that store as an adult. A Little Early for the Penobscot? I just found out the iconic Penobscot building was not built until 1928. I can see the Dime building have identified the Ford building (at one time the tallest building in Detroit). I wonder if there was a prior building on site with that name--I doubt it after reading that the origin of the name is the Penobscot River (and Native American tribe) of Maine. [There are, in 2011, three Penobscot Buildings on this block. At the time of this photo, there were only the first two. (If you look closely, you can see the word PENOBSCOT above the entrance on the taller one.) - Dave] (The Gallery, Detroit Photos, DPC)
Please-Freeze: 1917
Detroit circa 1917. "Ice fountain, Washington Boulevard." The big icicle with a ... run all winter? Is this therefore a yearly spectacle? Detroit Still Does It Detroit still has a giant ice pile each winter, but on Belle Isle now instead ... 
 
Posted by Dave - 10/13/2011 - 5:30am -

Detroit circa 1917. "Ice fountain, Washington Boulevard." The big icicle with a small request, discreetly stated on that unobtrusive little sign near the man: PLEASE. The rest of the message is up to your imagination. View full size. PleaseDo Not Climb the Ice. PleaseDo not eat the yellow ice. Pleasedo not feed the pigeons ... albeit ones encased in solid ice. +3 (months)Much of it was still there when my great-aunt showed up several months later to have her photo taken with it! Just one questionHow did they accomplish this? Oh, so fountains caused this. Do they still let them run all winter? Is this therefore a yearly spectacle? Detroit Still Does ItDetroit still has a giant ice pile each winter, but on Belle Isle now instead of Washington Blvd. What forms the center of the pile? All the used Christmas trees from downtown! De-Ice FountainThe rest of the year. Pleaseturn off water by November 1. PleaseGet me out of here! If You See Something, Say SomethingThere appears to be an abandoned piece of luggage at the base of the ice fountain. Pleasewatch my valise until I can dig out of this mess! Spectacular!Detroit was once a most spectacular City! They still do it - elsewhereWeird NJ had a photo of the same thing outside a Northern New Jersey office building early in this century. Seemed like a good idea at the timeFor many years, the town of Bethel, Connecticut had an enormous bronze fountain, donated by its most famous native son, Mr. P.T. Barnum. The town deliberately let it run all winter, since the residents loved the appearance of ever-growing icicles. The fountain had to be scrapped in 1923 after many freeze/thaw cycles damaged it beyond repair. Later in the decade, it was replaced with the doughboy statue that still stands today. Coyote vs RoadrunnerSomehow I just I picture Wile E. Coyote on the other end of that sign. PleaseHelp yourself to some ice. Arc LightThe street light appears to be an arc light, rather than incandescent. There are steps to climb up to change the carbon rods. This is a similar source of light to the "moon light" towers in an earlier image. Incredibly, there are still areas of Detroit where these standards are in use, albeit with modern light sources. A few historic areas have even replicated this design. I took this photo in July 2011. Pleasedo not lick. (The Gallery, Detroit Photos, DPC)
The Pontch: 1910
The Hotel Pontchartrain in Detroit, seen earlier today around 1907 in this post . Now it's circa ... many years later it was torn down to make way for a bank. Detroit Publishing glass negative. View full size. Monumental Respect ... muffin top. Goodbye Motor City It's too bad Detroit went to hell in a handbasket, and now the whole state of Michigan is ... 
 
Posted by Dave - 09/11/2011 - 9:42pm -

The Hotel Pontchartrain in Detroit, seen earlier today around 1907 in this post. Now it's circa 1910-1915 and it has a few extra floors trimmed Second Empire style to look like a giant mansard roof. Not too many years later it was torn down to make way for a bank. Detroit Publishing glass negative. View full size. Monumental RespectEmbedding is beyond me but the monument remains: The Civil War dead getting a tinch more respect than below! That addition...is an architectural muffin top. Goodbye Motor CityIt's too bad Detroit went to hell in a handbasket, and now the whole state of Michigan is going down too. The difference a few years makesTo me, the main difference between this photo and the one taken in 1907 is the presence of so many more automobiles and a bit fewer pedestrians scattered throughout the scene in the later photo. Assuming a date of 1915 for this photo, this gives an insight to the rapid progress of automotive technology. It's probably not unlike the number of household computers that sprang up between 1996 and 2004. Detroit, Seattle, Pearl HarborMy father worked at this hotel. Detroit was at one time a beautiful city, a safe place to go downtown after dark. The first-run movies were shown downtown first then out to the neighborhoods. The burlesk shows were to the right of the hotel. Detroit's main street, U.S. 10, started at the Detroit River and ended in Seattle. Have pictures of my son and older daughter at the Seattle end. 67 years ago today I drove up to Bay City, Michigan, from Detroit for a Sunday drive with my future wife. We heard about Pearl Harbor on the drive back. Horses and carsActually the interesting thing about this picture is the street on the right side of the picture has only cars, but the street on left has at least 8 or 9 horse drawn carriages. The horses outnumber the cars on that street. Soldiers & SailorsThe Soldiers and Sailors Monument was dedicated in 1872 and sat in the same spot until 2002, at which time it was moved south a hundred feet or so for a park layout in the area. A copper box was discovered beneath the monument at that time, but alas, all the papers had been rotted away by seepage. A medallion was also discovered and it is now in the Detroit Historical Museum. MotownBelieve it or not, there are a few of us who are still managing to live, work and even recreate after dark in Detroit! The lights in this city aren't exactly out yet. Nice! You can see the edge of the roof of old City Hall in the right foreground and the still standing (and still beautiful) old Wayne County Courthouse in the background on the left. (The Gallery, Detroit Photos, DPC)
Detroit Iron: 1903
1903. "Detroit Iron and Steel Co. mill." One of the wonders of the Rust Belt. 8x10 inch dry plate glass negative, Detroit Publishing Company. View full size. Despite the pollution ... Zug Island The plant was located on Zug Island on the Detroit River, an artificial island formed when a canal was built for better ... 
 
Posted by Dave - 04/21/2015 - 12:11pm -

1903. "Detroit Iron and Steel Co. mill." One of the wonders of the Rust Belt. 8x10 inch dry plate glass negative, Detroit Publishing Company. View full size. Despite the pollutionDespite the pollution that Zug Island produces, it provides one of the few proven spawning habitats for the decimated Lake Sturgeon, which is now at 1% of its population since the time this picture was taken. They can live 55-60 years, and don't reproduce until they're 10+ yrs old. Apparently coal dumped in the river in deep water (50+ ft) off of the island, provides the perfect habitat for spawning. 0-4-0 ShunterAbout as small as I've seen in US practice - in Scotland these are (were) called 'pugs'. The locomotiveis referred to as a saddletank locomotive, the wheel arrangement was always followed by a "T" Zug IslandThe plant was located on Zug Island on the Detroit River, an artificial island formed when a canal was built for better access to the Rouge River. The island has been home to steel and chemical plants for over a hundred years, so it's not a pretty place. The canal acts as a moat around the island, and access is carefully controlled, so photos from on the island are hard to find. Aerial photos of the current steel plant show what might be the original building under layers of later additions. (The Gallery, Detroit Photos, DPC, Factories, Railroads)
Detroit tourism, 1930s
Two passenger boats sit on the Detroit River near downtown Detroit, MI. They likely traveled across Lake Erie between Detroit and Buffalo, ... 
 
Posted by bhappel - 09/28/2009 - 11:09am -

Two passenger boats sit on the Detroit River near downtown Detroit, MI. They likely traveled across Lake Erie between Detroit and Buffalo, NY. The Guardian building is seen flying the American flag on its roof. View full size. Re: Greater BuffaloThanks Jimmy. I did some more searching and found some pictures of the Greater Buffalo from its heyday and as a training carrier. http://wnyheritagepress.org/photos_week_2005/greater_buffalo/greater_buf... "In 1924, the Detroit & Cleveland Navigation Company launched the 2 largest Great Lakes side-wheeled excursion steamers ever, the Greater Buffalo and the Greater Detroit. Designed by renowned marine architect Frank E. Kirby, they were built to provide "night boat" overnight service, transporting up to 1,500 passengers between Buffalo and Detroit." Greater BuffaloThe boat on the right appears to the S.S. Greater Buffalo, a sidewheel excursion boat that was converted to a small aircraft carrier during W.W.II and based in Chicago for pilot training. It was renamed the U.S.S. Sable. Late to the PartyNew to Shorpy's site, but saw you were talking about these ships. My grandfather, George J. Kolowich was the last Chairman of D&C Navigation, and my father worked for the company in the late 40's. I possess the bronze dedication plaque for the GREATER BUFFALO, which also is inscribed to reflect its requisitioning by the US Navy in 1942 as the U.S.S. SABLE, which operated off Chicago alongside the U.S.S. Wolverine (formerly the Sea&Bee) as aircraft pilot training carriers during WW2. Collecting all I can find about the GREATER BUFFALO and her sister ship, the GREATER DETROIT. (ShorpyBlog, Member Gallery)
Detroit Dental Depot: 1910
Detroit circa 1910. "Library Park, Gratiot Avenue & Farmer Street." This ... has survived you most impressively. (The Gallery, Detroit Photos, DPC, Stores & Markets, Streetcars) ... 
 
Posted by Dave - 03/28/2022 - 10:49am -

Detroit circa 1910. "Library Park, Gratiot Avenue & Farmer Street." This 8x10 glass plate was originally part of a multi-section panorama whose other parts have been lost, so we'll have to make do with the Dental Depot and its neighbors -- Rudolph Freidenburg's Woolens, and Hiram Goldberg's Union-Made "Clothes of Class," the class available in increments of $5. Also: "Nick Carter," a "Great Detective Story in 3 Parts," playing at the Theatre Royale ("Finest 5¢ Show"). Rising in the background, the domed tower of the Wayne County Building. View full size. Radio show from my youthSound of someone knocking on the door… Woman: “What’s the matter? What is it?” Man: “It’s another case for Nick Carter… Master Detective!.” Announcer: “Yes, it’s another case for that most famous of all manhunters, the detective whose ability at solving crime is unequaled in the history of detective fiction– Nick Carter, Master Detective!” — opening of radio show First appeared in New York Weekly on September 18, 1886. I had no idea that Nick was that old. More Noir for MoiI'm actually disappointed that the little strip of window glass at the right edge isn't revealing the reflection of a murder in progress, or of a tawdry rendezvous in delicto flagrante. Guess it's time to lighten up on the streaming crime dramas ... DirectionsThe view is southeast on Farmer Street, the streetcar in the foreground is on Gratiot Avenue. The Theater Royale is on the corner of Monroe Street, and Farmer veers left where is crosses Bates Street at the Cut-Rate Liquor. This photo would have to have been taken from the corner of the J.L. Hudson department store. The only things left from this picture are the actual streets and the Wayne County building in the distance; the entirety of this area is covered by the Quicken Loans / Bedrock building and it's its parking garage. Elegance on the half shellThe lady walking almost out of sight on the far right, past the Opera Cafe, is so glamorous I can hardly stand it. And she's but a blur from over a century ago. Well done, missy. Your visual impact has survived you most impressively. (The Gallery, Detroit Photos, DPC, Stores & Markets, Streetcars)
Smoke Monster: 1905
Circa 1905. "Transfer steamer Detroit of Detroit in the ice." 8x10 inch dry plate glass negative, Detroit Publishing Company. View full size. Brand new tractors I ... 
 
Posted by Dave - 01/22/2013 - 11:21am -

Circa 1905. "Transfer steamer Detroit of Detroit in the ice." 8x10 inch dry plate glass negative, Detroit Publishing Company. View full size. Brand new tractorsI love the brand new steam tractors out for delivery...can anyone see the make? IceCan some great lakers enlighten me as to how these steamers could navigate in thick ice without ruining their hulls? I thought even nowadays special ice breakers were needed to break up the ice around harbors, etc. Buffalo-Pitts TractorsThey're both Buffalo-Pitts tractors. A close up of this steamer was posted as https://www.shorpy.com/node/10517. Break The IceThe trick of breaking ice with the Lake Michigan (railroad) car ferries was their relatively shallow draft and the wide flat bottom. The boat would be driven onto the ice sheet and break through. The weight of the boat plus 30 or so railroad cars was generaly effective. Ice on Lake Michigan will sometimes "windrow" and boats could become stuck, calling for another ferry to help them get loose. Special ice breakersThe Great Lakes railroad train car ferries are also "special ice breakers," and some have even been rented out for that purpose. Some of the Lake Michigan boats, especially, even though single ended, had bow propellers, which also helped break the ice in front of them. The Detroit suckedTheir hulls were reinforced and many had prop guards of various sorts. The Detroit was considered by many to be the ultimate. She had four screws, two aft and two forward and they often ran all of them at once in ice. The forward screws would suck water out from under the ice as she headed into it, which would cause the resultant "shelf" to collapse into the void created below and break up under it's own weight without having to resort to ramming. The props on many of the car transfer river ferries were massive cast iron things that could grind up ice, rather than the more delicate (and efficient) marine bronze shapes found on some of their cross lake counterparts. Nifty tank carWe must have the granddaddy of all modern double hulled tank cars here. The reporting marks, ‘CTL,’ are a mystery, though. Cannot find any reference to such marks from the early 1900s. The “Association of Transportation and Car Accounting Officers,” Published in 1914 by the Railway Equipment and Publication Company, does list reporting marks of ‘CRX,’ for cars owned by the Cornplanter Refining Company of Warren, Pa. The X in any reporting mark represents individual or other non railroad entity ownership. My guess: the CTL marking, whatever it meant, was in place prior to the Association of Transportation and Car Accounting Officers implementing the X rule. Popular subject for ShorpyJust from memory this must be the fifth or sixth photo (at least!) of the Detroit. I remember a previous ice breaking, box car loaded photo as an interesting winter time screen saver. Also of InterestBehind the steam tractors sits a large water-tube boiler, presumably being shipped on a flat car. A better view of it is afforded in the closeup post of the tractors linked in a previous comment below. CTL = Cornplanters' Tank LineA quick Google search turns up Cornplanters Tank Line reporting to many state railroad and corporation commissions. Since on this same boat, Merchants Despatch Transportation Co. uses the reporting marks of M.D.T.Co., I think that I've solved the CTL question. The old boileris a Scotch marine boiler, which is a fire-tube type. (The Gallery, Boats & Bridges, Detroit Photos, DPC, Railroads)
Little Italy: 1900
... Street, New York." 8x10 inch dry plate glass negative, Detroit Publishing Company. View full size. Where are the people? ... fotografia, magnificent photo, thank you. Tinted Detroit Publishing also had a Photochrom (colored) version of this scene. Click ... 
 
Posted by Dave - 05/09/2020 - 6:49pm -

Little Italy circa 1900. "Mulberry Street, New York." 8x10 inch dry plate glass negative, Detroit Publishing Company. View full size. Where are the people?What strikes me is the absence of people in the current view of the street. In 1900 the street is packed with people and life. In the 2009 view it's mostly a parking lot with a few people walking about. Another Shorpy MasterpieceSo much detail, a History major could write a PhD thesis on this photo alone. Who can help but think..."Give me your tired, your poor, Your huddled masses yearning to breathe free, The wretched refuse of your teeming shore. Send these, the homeless, tempest-tossed to me, I lift my lamp beside the golden door!" Madonna mia!Facce di povera gente, facce da bandito e facce da guappo. Penso che molti italiani dovrebbero guardare meglio la loro storia. Bellissima fotografia, magnificent photo, thank you. TintedDetroit Publishing also had a Photochrom (colored) version of this scene. Click to enlarge. Will Someone Please Invent....the New York Pizza? 84 MulberryLooking north. The next cross street is Canal. Fascinating glimpse into the pastSo many little details. Wonder why so many people are looking at the camera? Did he attract that much attention or maybe call out to the crowd? 201 CanalCorner building with the dark bands of ad copy. Just WowAt 86 Mulberry (here partly obscured by an awning) was my great-great grandfather's pharmacy. Thank you. A million detailsThere's even a young fellow holding a glass of beer in the middle of the street. ShorpyThis photo is the reason I am a member of the Shorpy family. A person can spend hours looking at the details of life in the early part of the century. Chinatown adjunctWas down there this weekend. Basically all Chinese now, but still a lot of small Italian specialty shops for cheese, cured meat, etc. The old "Mustache Petes" are all long gone. Beneke Bros. -- the best choice for your pedals.The New York Times said of Beneke Bros. Shoes: "They carry an immense stock of varied styles, and claim they can fit any man whose pedals are not abnormal in shape, and for misshapen feet they make to order anything that a Knight of St. Crispin can accomplish by art or ingenuity." "Jersey Shore"Those fools on MTV wouldn't last five seconds in this crowd. Signor MalzoneThe Banca Malzone was founded by Fausto Domenico Malzone. He was a banker, travel agent, wine seller as well as the Artistic Director of The Italian American Theatre club which was also at 88 Mulberry Street. Don Malzone was a respected member of the community. Alas for the departed shutters!The same buildings, but now they look like mere tenements. Amazing to thinkthat today every person here would have a cellphone. Thanks for this fascinating picture. Christmas PilgrimageMy wife's family is originally from New York and part of the holiday ritual is a trip to Mulberry Street each Christmas Eve to procure the goodies for a proper Holiday meal. Alleva Dairy, one of the oldest stores in the city, is the first stop. Next door is a great pasta shop. There's a wonderful pork store near that, but the last three years we've been there the line is about 50 people long, so we skip it. Back to Mulberry and three blocks down is the last stop, Caffe Roma on Mulberry and Broome, for fresh pastries and desserts. Our surgical strikes into the city get us in at 9 a.m. and back home to central NJ by noon. The throngs of people from the 1900 pictures is very alarming. I'm glad all of those folks weren't in the street Christmas Eve morning! Thanks for sharing this image. Where are the people today?They are all inside, at computers looking at pictures of what their streets used to look like with people on them. I Wish!How I wish I could have been born that long ago. Times were much simpler and to be born here would be great seeing that I am half Italian. What a scene!The throng of people! One has to wonder about sickness in such a crowd of people. How easily it must have been to spread disease and so little medicines to help. Not a good time to live in that respect but I'm sure everyone was thankful they were there and not in the repressive country where they came from. My grandparents were German immigrants and one French grandmother, so I'm sure they were there in the city somewhere at least for awhile. Most of them migrated to Ohio and Kansas not liking city life and having farming backgrounds. This is an incredible picture! 111 years and everyone here dead and hopfully not haunting the street. ;D The person who stated his great-great grandpa's pharmacy was on this street must be excited to see this! I know I would be! (The Gallery, DPC, NYC)
Detroit Photographic Special
... Circa 1890s. "Delaware, Lackawanna and Western Railroad. Detroit Photographic Special." Detroit Photographic Co.'s rolling showroom-darkroom. View full size. ... 
 
Posted by Dave - 08/13/2012 - 7:26pm -

Circa 1890s. "Delaware, Lackawanna and Western Railroad. Detroit Photographic Special." Detroit Photographic Co.'s rolling showroom-darkroom. View full size. What is thatpointy spiked thing, located on the front of the engine next to the guy closest to the camera? My Great Uncle's Old JobMy great uncle L.Glover worked for this railroad in the 1950's. His picture can be seen on their website. Three numbers in three yearsThe Delaware, Lackawanna & Western had the peculiar practice of numbering locomotives for the division they worked; this all changed with new management in 1899. Old 302 began its career as Buffalo Division no. 40 when constructed by Cooke in 1882. She weighed 81200' on her 57" diameter drivers, and was shop number 1238. In 1899 the new Truesdale administration renumbered all the company's locomotives into a system-wide series. Hence, Buff.Div. 40 was renumbered 302. With new locomotives coming to the road, many engines were soon renumbered. Number 302 was renumbered DL&W 288 in 1902. The Lackawanna had a very large number of these 2-6-0 Mogul types; they were used in freight service all over the system for many years. As trains got heavier and speeds increased, these old engines became obsolete all at once, whether they were thirty years or ten years old.Quite a few of these hogs were sold to other railroads or used equipment dealers all over the US and Cuba, but not our former 302; she was scrapped in 1903. [BTW, Dave, great shot. Keep the RR stuff coming...] Sprayless LocomotiveI can't say I recall seeing fenders/splashguards on locomotive wheels before! HmmThe sight of that leaky cylinder jacket suggests that we might be looking at some needed-but-deferred maintenance. Hirsute Grandeur5 out of the 7 gentlemen sport very flamboyant mustaches. I wonder if the two up front on the cow catcher were part of the Detroit crew. Front end factsThe vertical staffs on both ends of the pilot beam had two traditional uses. First, they acted as a handhold for employees to get from that tiny footboard on the bottom of the flimsy pilot to the pilot deck. Second, there was likely a slot in that staff to accommodate the flags that would be displayed during the daytime to indicate the class of the train. Note the extended center sill bracketing the coupler. It made contact with the cars it would be shoving as a helper behind a train. These buffers were mostly added to locomotives and coal cars moving the anthracite that was the lifeblood of DL&W's business. These buffers were supposed to prevent jackknifing by the helper shoving too hard. For you safety buffs, notice the short cut lever to operate the front coupler. Reaching in to "pull the pin" from that tiney footboard during inclement weather more than likely resulted in a report from the railroad that "employee died while irresponsibly moving between train." The D, L, & WAh, the Delaware, Lackawanna,& Western. My father, who was a New Jersey commuter many years ago, said the letters stood for "delay, linger, and wait." Cylinder cockThe wisp of steam near the cylinder jacket is coming from a slightly open cylinder cock. Saturated steamThe 302 ran on saturated steam like the engines from this era. The high-pressure rectangular-shaped cylinders indicate that engine preceded the super-heated steam era. (The Gallery, DPC, Railroads)
Detroit Newsies: 1905
Detroit circa 1905. "Journal building at Fort and Wayne." 8x10 inch dry plate glass negative, Detroit Publishing Company. View full size. What a Blast This is the ... a boiler exploded in the Journal Building (home of the Detroit Journal newspaper and other businesses) in downtown Detroit, killing 37 ... 
 
Posted by Dave - 01/03/2017 - 4:26pm -

Detroit circa 1905. "Journal building at Fort and Wayne." 8x10 inch dry plate glass negative, Detroit Publishing Company. View full size. What a BlastThis is the new Journal Building. Ten years earlier, on November 8, 1895, in one of the state's worst accidents, a boiler exploded in the Journal Building (home of the Detroit Journal newspaper and other businesses) in downtown Detroit, killing 37 people. The building engineer was arrested, accused of going to a saloon rather than watching the water levels in the boiler system. The building shown has been torn down and replaced with an office building that occupies the block along Second St. (FKA Wayne St.) from Fort St. north to Layfayette. Still Life OwlographyThose owls really work -- not a pigeon in sight. Reardon Parshall Printing CoBehind the Journal building is a sign advertising the Reardon Parshall Printing Company. It stayed in business until the 1970's or 80's I believe, as a financial printer. I used to do business with it when it was at 550 West Fort. Wayne StreetWayne Street is about 3-4 blocks east of Second Street. On all of the old Detroit maps I have seen, Wayne was where today's Washington Boulevard is. Back in the day, Washington was only 4-5 blocks long from Grand Circus Park south the Michigan Avenue. The road changed names - south of Michigan Avenue to the Detroit Riverfront was known as Wayne Street. (The Gallery, Bicycles, DPC, Kids)
Winter Crossing: 1900
Circa 1900. "Detroit River. Car ferry Michigan Central entering slip." 8x10 inch dry plate glass negative, Detroit Publishing Company. View full size. Who's with me? Winter break on the Detroit River! Frigid Wonder This is just a beautiful photo, of an ... 
 
Posted by Dave - 08/02/2012 - 3:18pm -

Circa 1900. "Detroit River. Car ferry Michigan Central entering slip." 8x10 inch dry plate glass negative, Detroit Publishing Company. View full size. Who's with me?Winter break on the Detroit River! Frigid WonderThis is just a beautiful photo, of an otherwise thoroughly utilitarian scene, just barely romanticized by having train cars and a paddlewheeler as subject matter. The texture in the broken ice at foreground, the impressionistic smoke, and mist in the distance -- Wow. Brr.I'm getting frostbite just looking at this picture. All aboardI see the three sets of tracks, but would like to see the actual way they load and unload the box cars. I bet the guy smoking the pipe could have told us. Extraordinary!This is an extraordinarily beautiful photo. The black and white textures are remarkable. I can feel the cold air and hear the ice crunching as the ferry drifts in. The ghostliness of the image is echoed in the misty distant skylines, and the whole is anchored by the two figures. What a composition! SkylineDoes anyone know if the ferry is pulling into Detroit or Windsor? Any clue from the church in the distance? Interesting weatherCloudy, with a 100% chance of thumbprints! Link & PinThe center car seems to be fitted with a link & pin coupling. The Railroad Safety Appliance Act took effect in 1900 outlawing these hand crushers on railroads engaged in interstate commerce. Absolutely wonderful!As a person who lived in Archangelsk city, I used to see a scenes like this many many times. I feel the atmosphere, I even can feel a smell of it. Wonderful! Just great! "Michigan Central"This seems to be the same sidewheeler design as in the previous shot of a car ferry, the "Transport." The names (hard to see) are stenciled on a signboard over the wheelhouse. A ferry wonderland"The Great Lakes Car Ferries" by George Woodman Hilton has another photo of the Michigan Central on page 35. Best. Photo. Ever.I've been reading Shorpy regularly since sometime in '07 when I saw a link on either Boing Boing or Neatorama. This is abso-freakin-lutely the Best. Photo. Ever. Bless you, and keep doing what you do. Over the riverAt about this time, my grandmother may have been on a sleigh on the frozen river, on the way back to Windsor from Detroit, smuggling back cotton socks. She would have been 10 years old. Such was the family story. Great photoI am so impressed with the high contrast in the sky. If it were not clearly labeled as a scan directly from the negative, I would have assumed this was a print which had received a lot of attention in the darkroom. This image is one of Shorpy's all time greats. [All of the images on this site are adjusted for contrast in Photoshop. - Dave] 57 summers laterBelow is a scan of a 35 mm Kodachrome slide showing this same rail car ferry yard as it looked on July 6, 1957. The photo was taken from the deck of the Ambassador Bridge and its viewpoint is 180 degrees from that of the 1900 photo (the bridge was built during 1927-1929). View full size. The church steeple seen in the distance on the 1900 photo is located in Windsor, Ontario. Here's a photo of it taken from the bridge deck just seconds prior to the one of the rail car ferry yard in Detroit. Jules VerneyUntil you focus in on the rail cars, and the pictures resolves into the recognizable, there's a kind of Victorian Future-Shock quality to it. Frozen in timeThe sharpness of the broken crystal shards could kill a man, they stand pointed end up, ready to cut a careless worker or walker, like razor-edged beveled glass. Two men are seen, yet each is lost in their own solitary thoughts. Possibly thinking "damn, it's cold." Final departureIt looks like they are taking boxcars full of the damned over the river Styx. The church might be in WindsorIt looks very much like Our Lady of the Assumption Church near the foot of Huron Church Rd. It is still there, presently in the shadow of the Ambassador Bridge. If so, the view is downstream. Detroit RiverThis is the Detroit side. The river flows extremely fast, and the ferry docks were set up so the boats always entered dock facing upstream. Michigan Central was built in 1884 by Detroit Dry Dock in Wyandotte, while Transport was built there in 1880. Both were cut down to barges by the 1930's. A nearly identical boat, Lansdowne of 1884, survived in steam until 1970 for CN/Grand Trunk, until she blew a cylinder head (I remember the shock among the Detroit trainwatching community at the time). Her long survival was due to the limited size of the RR tunnels under the river, which couldn't handle hi-cubes and other large cars. Lansdowne then became a floating restaurant, with two Milwaukee Road Skytop observation cars aboard. Recently scrapped in Buffalo. I frequently went down to watch Lansdowne and an even older propeller ferry in the days of no security, "Sure, just be careful!" WindsorI live in Amherstburg, about 20 miles downriver from Windsor. I love these photos of the Detroit River. Great StuffI love these pictures of the Detroit River railroad ferries. My grandfather worked on these boats when he first came to Detroit from Pennsylvania in 1919. I remember watching them shuttle across the river during my childhood in the '60s and '70s. Does anyone know what that factory on the right is? Is it the Michigan Peninsular Car Co. (aka American Car & Foundry)? It seems to be in basically the right place on the west side of Detroit. My great-grandfather, on the other side, worked there. Building a ModelI'm building a 1/87 model of the train ferry Windsor, and these pictures and diagrams have proven to be invaluable. Thanks, Terry Jolliffe Belle River, Ontario (The Gallery, Boats & Bridges, DPC, Railroads)
S.S. Deathtrap: 1910
... in the Chicago River. 8x10 inch dry plate glass negative, Detroit Publishing Company. View full size. Media event The ... 
 
Posted by Dave - 09/24/2023 - 9:40pm -

Lake Erie circa 1910. "Excursion steamer Eastland -- Cleveland, Ohio." On July 24, 1915, 844 passengers and crew were drowned when the Eastland, which had a history of listing problems, rolled onto its side while docked in the Chicago River. 8x10 inch dry plate glass negative, Detroit Publishing Company. View full size. Media eventThe 'Eastland' disaster of 1915 was extensively recorded in both still photography and film (discovered in 2015). The images are horrific. Ironically this was the least deadly of four notorious ship catastrophes within less than a dozen years: the burning of the 'General Slocum' in New York's East River in 1904 (1,021 deaths, and mentioned in Joyce's 'Ulysses'), the 'Titanic' in 1912 (1517), and the torpedoing of the 'Lusitania' (1199) just two months prior to the 'Eastland' rollover's 844 deaths. Family TragedyHere is the Eastland Disaster Historical Society account of that fateful day: The S.S. Eastland, known as the "Speed Queen of the Great Lakes," was part of a fleet of five excursion boats assigned to take Western Electric employees, families and friends across Lake Michigan to Michigan City, Indiana, for a day of fun and fellowship. But the festivities were short-lived and quickly turned tragic. The Eastland, docked at the Clark Street Bridge, never left the Chicago River. Tragedy struck as the ship rolled over into the river at the wharf's edge. More than 2,500 passengers and crew members were on board that day – and 844 people lost their lives, including 22 entire families. The Response Months of planning and preparation for the excursion and picnic led up to the Eastland Disaster, but the tragedy itself was over in a matter of minutes. However, the rescue and recovery efforts following the tragedy went on for days, even weeks. The sinking of the SS EastlandThe listing problems were made worse in 1912 after the Titanic sank. Ships were required by law to have enough lifeboat capacity for everyone on board. To meet the requirement, they added more lifeboats to the top deck, making it more top heavy. When passengers boarded for the Western Electric excursion, many flocked to the top deck on the shore side to wave to people there, and extra weight up there caused it to capsize. George Halas, later the founder of the Chicago Bears and the National Football League, was supposed to be on that trip. That Sinking FeelingShe appears to be listing to starboard here. A horrible tragedy, which my grandparents remembered many years later as being in the news, and never forgot. Wrong lessons learned ??I've read that, post Titanic, the ship was outfitted with additional lifeboats, something which would have made the ship even more top-heavy. The original owners wanted a shallower draftWikipedia has a good rundown of the SS Eastland tragedy. Shortly after being launched in 1903, the Eastland was modified to have a shallower draft for trips on the Black River in South Haven, Michigan. At the same time, air conditioning was added, and modifications were made to increase the ship's speed. These combined modifications reduced the ship's metacentric height (I learned a new term), making it less stable. Recognizing there was now a stability problem, the passenger limit was lowered from 3,000 to 2,800. Cabins were removed and the smokestacks shortened. Alterations continued to be made to improve the ship's stability, while other alterations made it worse. During these 12 years of operation, the ship went through five different owners. No alteration remedied the listing problem and, in 1915 the approved passenger capacity was increased to 2,570 after more lifeboats had been added (post Titanic), making the ship even more top heavy. Clarence Darrow represented the Eastland's owners and officers in a criminal trial. They were found not guilty. Second LifeNot long after the horrific tragedy in the Chicago River, SS Eastland was raised and repurposed as the gunboat USS Wilmette in the employ of the US Navy Reserve. She served mostly as a training ship for Naval Reservists from 1918 until just after the end of World War II and sold for scrap in October 1945. That Sinking FeelingThe apparent list to starboard may be due to the obviously stiff wind from port as evidenced by the flags and stack smoke plus, the ship has a ton of freeboard which will subject it to crosswind. (The Gallery, Boats & Bridges, Cleveland, DPC)
Stuff It: 1922
Detroit, Michigan, circa 1922. "Balch School students." Note the bin at left marked "STUFF ME with waste paper." Detroit Publishing glass negative. View full size. Higginbotham Design ... Forum, 1922 Recent Developments in the Detroit School System The necessity of making intensive use of all ... 
 
Posted by Dave - 08/21/2012 - 11:19am -

Detroit, Michigan, circa 1922. "Balch School students." Note the bin at left marked "STUFF ME with waste paper." Detroit Publishing glass negative. View full size. Higginbotham DesignNote that one of the architects of this school was William E. Higginbotham (1858-1922), perhaps a distant relative of Shorpy Higginbotham. Architectural Forum, 1922 Recent Developments in the Detroit School System The necessity of making intensive use of all available school space in Detroit, for a rapidly increasing number of children of school age, led to the adoption of a school administration system of the "platoon" type which has in late months been receiving careful study by school authorities from many parts of the country. It was seen to be necessary that classrooms be made to provide for more than one set of pupils and that the idea of individual, permanent desk and seat be abandoned. To dovetail into this plan was the well recognized importance of varying the work of the school day, and as finally worked out the "platoon system" provides for two entirely separate sets of pupils, one set using the classrooms while the others are engaged with other school work, this latter set using the classrooms when the first set has begun its out-of classroom session. The intermediate school consists of six 60-minute periods, with an hour for lunch. Each period provides both the recitation and the study activities under the teacher who gives instruction in the subject. Every one of the boys and girls takes an hour daily for exercise and shower bath. An auditorium is in use each period. From 70 to 200 or 300 students assemble each period to listen to lectures on social and civic affairs. George M. Balch Intermediate School, Detroit Malcomson, Higginbotham & Palmer, Architects This is one of the recent Detroit schools to be planned for operation on the "platoon system." It is of fireproof construction, with concrete and hollow tile floors. The exterior is of mingled shades of mat face brick with Indiana limestone trimmings. The building accommodates 1,080 pupils and was erected in 1920, when the cost of building was at its height, for $608 per pupil, or 55 ½ cents per cubic foot. +89 Still Pretty Much The Same (The Gallery, Detroit Photos, DPC, Education, Schools)
Woodward at Witherell: 1907
Detroit, Michigan, circa 1907. "Woodward Avenue at Witherell Street, looking south." 8x10 inch dry plate glass negative, Detroit Publishing Company. View full size. Pony Car/Wagon ... If you're looking for a good piano, turn of the century Detroit is the place to go! Ivories tower The Schwankovsky Temple of ... 
 
Posted by Dave - 08/28/2023 - 10:31am -

Detroit, Michigan, circa 1907. "Woodward Avenue at Witherell Street, looking south." 8x10 inch dry plate glass negative, Detroit Publishing Company. View full size. Pony Car/Wagon cruisin' Woodward Avenue per Bob SegerOl Nelly doesn't look she'll smoke anybody this afternoon. F. J. Schwankovsky -- Knabe PianosNot much remains that you can see in the 1907 photo. But I believe the building with the rounded corner and the Knabe Pianos sign atop it is the building below in Street View. If you swing to the left, you'll see the intersection of Woodward Avenue and Witherell Street (at the elevated rail overpass). And if you pan down a little, you'll see Woodward Avenue still has streetcar rails. Knabe pianos are still made and are still high quality. But the F. J. Schwankovsky company is history. License platesFrom 1905 to 1909, you had to register your car with the State. They gave you a number and you had to make your own license plate (usually with house address numbers on a strip of leather). In 1910, Michigan finally began issuing plates. PianosOne thing's for sure. If you're looking for a good piano, turn of the century Detroit is the place to go! Ivories towerThe Schwankovsky Temple of Music gets high marks for architecture and naming creativity, but marketing-wise it seems to have backward thinking: the sign is only -- or at least most -- legible to outbound traffic. So rather than advertise to those entering the downtown, with the day ahead of them, it caters to those already in a hurry to get home. Hey Moe, I Can't SeeYou can buy solid gold eyeglasses and spectacles for a dollar, but you need to walk outside to see if they work because their banner covers up all the windows on the building. Streetcar rails are new(ish).As a native Detroiter I always look forward to learning something new about the old city(?). The "streetcar rails" that Doug notices are not from long ago but are from the current era of downtown Detroit. They belong to our most recent effort at mass transit called the Q-line, which runs up and down Woodward (Detroit's main drag) for a couple of miles. Like the elevated People Mover, it's another half-hearted attempt to have mass transit in a city built on the automobile. Just us gals window shoppingI notice two ladies in a window about the word "Boys." It's always bittersweet to remember that at one point somebody knew "That's me and my friend Mary. We happened to look at the window at just the right time." (The Gallery, DPC, Streetcars)
The Club: 1916
Circa 1916. "Detroit Athletic Club from the Plaza Hotel." Evidently something of a motorcar magnet. 8x10 glass negative, Detroit Publishing Co. View full size. DAC magazine Contributors to ... why there were multiple hydrants so close together in the Detroit picture. Five fire hydrants? Actually, Jimmy, I think there are ... 
 
Posted by Dave - 09/14/2014 - 12:25pm -

Circa 1916. "Detroit Athletic Club from the Plaza Hotel." Evidently something of a motorcar magnet. 8x10 glass negative, Detroit Publishing Co. View full size. DAC magazineContributors to the DAC monthly magazine in days of yore included Robert Benchley and James Thurber. I miss my days as a DAC member - great work-out facilities and superb cuisine in the dining areas. Also, not only does membership include parking for Lions and Tigers games, but you get a fairly decent view of Comerica Park from the upper floors of the parking garage. It's a storm drain@Zoreo, I disagree. I think that "behind the couple just stepping off the curve" is a storm sewer catchbasin. Note the square cement panel is similar to one directly across the street without a hydrant. Also visible is the sewer inlet drain in the gutter. Still fit as a fiddle!In fine shape after all these years: View Larger Map Never too many Hydrants!If you are a dog or an insurance underwriter! Seriously, many intersections in high-value areas had a hydrant on each corner. The "stubby" hydrant looks to me like a high-pressure hydrant, part of a separate system that supplied high-pressure water capable of supplying a heavy stream as high as 15-20 stories without a pumper. Where's the fire?Four hydrants at one intersection. It is Motown.One benefit of DAC membership is secure free parking, including parking for Lions and Tigers games. ChangeNobody locks their car. No hydrant standardizationWhen were hose connections on hydrants standardized as a result of a major Baltimore fire? Fire departments from outside Baltimore discovered that they couldn't connect their hoses to city hydrants. That could explain why there were multiple hydrants so close together in the Detroit picture. Five fire hydrants?Actually, Jimmy, I think there are five fire hydrants- I think there is one behind the couple just stepping off the curve at the top corner and the corner on the right has two. What were they expecting? Detroit Automobile ClubThe early auto pioneers made their deals in the bar in the Pontchartrain Hotel, where the tables in the "barroom were occupied with men so intent on studying blueprints spread out before them that they paid little heed to the drinks at their elbows." As they prospered, they decided to "organize a club to get them out of the saloons of Woodward Avenue." They took over the sleepy Detroit Athletic Club (founded in 1887), built the building shown in 1915, and invited in anyone important to the auto industry. There were so many that the publisher of it's club magazine made $50K a year in the 1920's, all from advertising revenue. There are many stories of the club's founding in the first chapter of Malcolm Bingay's book Detroit Is My Own Hometown. Not a hydrantFWIW, I think that the concrete slab behind the two people is a manhole cover for access to the street storm drain. Similar manhole covers can be found at two of the three other corners of the intersection. The Detroit Athletic Club is the most prominent building when looking out over the left field wall at Comerica Park where the Detroit Tigers play. Thanks to archfan for the link to "Detroit Is My Home Town". I delivered the Detroit Free Press in the late 1960's but never knew the history behind Iffy the Dopester. (The Gallery, Cars, Trucks, Buses, DPC)
Miami, Florida: 1908
... of this bustling metropolis? Extra points for Street View. Detroit Publishing Co. View full size. UPDATE: The guesses as to ... tag that says "Florida," but there's also a tag that says "Detroit." Follow up Follow up to my earlier comment about E.L. Brady; ... 
 
Posted by Dave - 10/14/2014 - 12:58pm -

Circa 1908. Who would care to hazard a guess as to the location of this bustling metropolis? Extra points for Street View. Detroit Publishing Co. View full size. UPDATE: The guesses as to the location of "Anytown, USA" (this post's original title) were, quite literally, all over the map -- from Deadwood to Buffalo to Whitehouse, Ohio. Many incorrect guesses for Titusville, Florida. The correct answer, and original caption: "12th Street, looking east, Miami, Florida." Cigars, anyone?It looks like the main street of Ybor City near Tampa, Florida. [Close, but no cigar. - Dave] Titusville, FloridaMain Street Titusville FloridaTitusville was the home of E.L. Brady Groceries! GuessingI'm guessing it is Titusville. Miami, 1200It would appear the MacArthur highway removed this locale: View Larger Map Location is.Titusville Florida Titusville, FLTitusville. FL? A grocer with the same name had a building there: I have to admit I'm not too confident; the bank building looks wrong. Florida?Google search suggests that this may be early Miami, with E.L. Brady Groceries on right, and Frank T. Budge Hardware on the left. Miami, FLI believe this is Miami, Florida, corner of 12th Street (now Flagler Street) and Avenue D (now Miami Avenue). View Larger Map I know, I know!It's the home of the Ace Novelty Company in Walla, Walla, Washington. What do I win? Miami Map 1919This map shows Avenue D (now Miami Avenue) and 12th Street to be somewhere under the pilings for MacArthur Freeway. Too bad about the grand old house on the left a few blocks up. That shoulda been a keeper. E.L. Brady's grocery storetells me this is Titusville, Florida. Miami, FloridaThis is 12th Street, looking east, Miami, Florida. Miami?A guy named E.L. Brady was a grocer in Miami around that time. Wild GuessBrooklyn, New York IdentityWashington Avenue, Titusville Florida. Possible answerI cheated and Googled "E.L. Brady" grocery store" and got Titusville, FL. Did I win? MiamiSome research indicates Flagler Street and Miami Avenue , although street view is hard to recognize. MiamiAvenue D (now Miami Ave.) and 12th Street, Miami, Fl. It looks like it's beneath the MacAurther Causeway now. Titusville FLA.Main Street? Is it KC?It could be my eyes playing tricks, but I think I see a reference to Kansas City in the banner stretched across the street. I'm guessingTitusville, Florida? Taking a guessI think the location is somewhere in Titusville, Florida. Titusville, Florida?Okay, here's my detective work. I Googled C.W. Schmid's Restaurant to no avail, but then I saw the E. L. Brady and Co. Groceries sign and tried that. It took me to this site, which mentions a store by the same name in Titusville. Am I right? Brady Grocery, Titusville, Florida407 S. Washington Avenue, Titusville, Florida "Titusville's first grocery store, L.A. Brady Grocery Store, was built in 1880. This and other buildings immediately south were occupied by Jackson Garage, Coca Cola, Bryan-Conway Realtors, Grower's Supply and Sears. The building was renovated and reopened in 1988 as the Granada Building, housing several government agencies and businesses including Gulf Atlantic Title, Cathedral Holdings and Loys Ward Surveying and Engineering." I had not a clueBut I thought maybe somewhere up north because of the awnings, which I thought might protect from the harsh winter snow. Duh! I could not have been more wrong. Turns out they were protection from the hot sun of Florida! Having lived there for a tortuous 6 months, I should have known better. I'm guessingTitusville,FL. Jacksonville, Florida.It has to be Jax. There's crap in the street and it looks like a slum. Nothing has changed. My guess is MiamiSearching for E.L. Brady's lead me to this conclusion based on this page, and this quote: On March 3, Flagler dispatched John Sewell and twelve of his best black workers from Palm Beach to Miami to begin work on the townsite. They began by grading the site of Flagler’s hotel. (72) By late March the railroad extension had reached a point just below Arch Creek near today’s Northeast 135th Street. (73) Increasing numbers of people were coming to Miami. In order to provide them with a place to stay, Harrington and Tyler leased the Miami Hotel from Julia Tuttle — even before it had a roof over it. Located on today’s South Miami Avenue near the river, the hotel contained a dining room on the first floor and rooms on the second which only could be reached by ladder, since a staircase had not been completed. (74) A former steamboat, the Rockledge, was converted into a floating hotel by E. E. Vail, towed to Miami and docked at the foot of Avenue D (today’s Miami Avenue). (75) Several new businesses had just opened or were about to open as March drew to a close. These included Frank Budge’s hardware store, Frank Duren’s meat market and green grocery, E.L. Brady’s grocery store, and the Lummus Brothers’ general store; additionally, a drug store, candy shop and pool room looked out over Avenue D. The lumber to build the Bank of Bay Biscayne building was being hauled to its lot next to the Brady grocery store. (76) Survey saysI believe this is Brooklyn, NY. I took the easy way out and just searched for 1200 Avenue O from the side of the grocers wagon Joe from LI, NY View Larger Map Miami?A Google search for "e l brady" grocer 1200 ave d turned up this link. On page 69 of which is mentioned a small grocery in Miami, run by an E.L. Brady. A guessIs it Titusville Florida? It's downtown MiamiThe Historical Museum of Southern Florida puts E.L. Brady Grocers, 1200 Avenue D, in Miami at that point. Avenue D is now South Miami Avenue. I'm not familiar with the area to know if the street numbering was retained. Schmids Furniture, Whitehouse, OhioWhitehouse, Ohio? There is a reference to a "Schmids Funiture" still there in 1937 when this was written. An updated guessIs it Miami, Florida? MaybeTitusville, Florida? TitusvilleStill working on the street view. Miami, Florida?Miami, FL, 12th Street. Anytown USA = Whitehouse OHIf you google "Schmid's Furniture" and have google uncorrect it, there's a PDF link to a report on Early Whitehouse History. In there is a reference to Schmid's Furniture on Toledo Ave (which looks very different today in Street View) Some leadsA search for E.L. Brady's grocery brought up a couple things. This page mentions the cart part of the business, which would place this in Titusville, Florida, to the East of Orlando. This link contains a picture of an historical marker in Titusville, which mentions that the building where Brady's grocery would have been housed in 1908 still stands, and is to the right of the sign. I'm pretty sure I've located the sign in street view here: View Larger Map The gardening has changed from the pictures, but the background matches up perfectly. The only step from here would be to go a few ticks over on street view and turn around, but this is where I stopped. Either I have the wrong spot or the view has changed considerably. Found it?I found reference to E.L. Brady's grocery store which leads me to believe this is Titusville, Florida. The building was home to E.L. Brady's grocery store. He first established his business in LaGrange, but moved to Titusville in 1886, occupying a wooden building at Main Street. The 1895 fire destroyed his store and many wood structures in the commercial district. Brady rebuilt his grocery in this building Is this it?Not much left from 1908. View Larger Map No DoubtThat's downtown Anytown. (Read the heading.) Titusville?Looks like E.L. Brady's Grocery store was located in Titusville, FL. That could be the site of this shot, perhaps... Fort Pierce / St. Lucie, FLMan, is this a depressing indicator of change. View Larger Map ETA: Darn, not correct! Miami, Fl ?http://www.hmsf.org/collections-south-florida-birth-city.htm On March 3, Flagler dispatched John Sewell and twelve of his best black workers from Palm Beach to Miami to begin work on the townsite. They began by grading the site of Flagler’s hotel. (72) By late March the railroad extension had reached a point just below Arch Creek near today’s Northeast 135th Street. (73) Increasing numbers of people were coming to Miami. In order to provide them with a place to stay, Harrington and Tyler leased the Miami Hotel from Julia Tuttle — even before it had a roof over it. Located on today’s South Miami Avenue near the river, the hotel contained a dining room on the first floor and rooms on the second which only could be reached by ladder, since a staircase had not been completed. (74) A former steamboat, the Rockledge, was converted into a floating hotel by E. E. Vail, towed to Miami and docked at the foot of Avenue D (today’s Miami Avenue). (75) Several new businesses had just opened or were about to open as March drew to a close. These included Frank Budge’s hardware store, Frank Duren’s meat market and green grocery, E. L. Brady’s grocery store, and the Lummus Brothers’ general store; additionally, a drug store, candy shop and pool room looked out over Avenue D. The lumber to build the Bank of Bay Biscayne building was being hauled to its lot next to the Brady grocery store. (76) Anytown, USA is Titusville, FloridaAnytown, USA is Titusville, Florida "E.L. Brady and Brother Grocery Store, a well established business located on Washington Ave. in downtown Titusville, put into use a delivery wagon in order to provide better customer service." Judging by the number of wiresI would say: NYC. Miami, Florida ...perhaps the corner of D (now Miami) and 12th Avenues? After Titusville, FLAfter Titusville FL Mr. E.L. Brady, Grocer, moved to Miami and opened up his grocery store on Avenue D. Not sure what that is called now though. Titusville Fla. Probably S. Washington St. That was funThat was fun. I was one of the Titusville people. Got it wrong. Oh well. How about doing something like this once a week? Not a palm tree in sightThe grocer E.L. Brady originated in Lagrange, Florida and relocated to Titusville, Florida in 1886. He would eventually became the first grocer in Miami, Florida at Ave. D and 12th Street. Today, this intersection would be Flagler Street and Miami Avenue. An interesting 1901 photo of the mustachioed Mr. Brady can be seen here. A guessBuffalo, NY. Found a reference to a wedding in the NY Times where Mr. and Mrs. E.L. Brady from Buffalo attended. Brooklyn?Probably wrong, but I'll hazard a guess at Brooklyn; 1200 Avenue D is near the intersection of Flatbush, which would make that little side street on the left E. 23rd St. View Larger Map Is it Louisville?I think this may be Avenue D in Louisville, KY. Miamihad an Avenue D in 1908 and a grocer called E.L. Brady. Welcome to MiamiLooks like it's somewhere on what is now South Miami Avenue - possibly where the Route 970 overpass is now located? FoundView Larger Map Stop 17 on the historical walking tour. Historical marker north of the building. Hazarding a GuessI'm going to guess we're looking at Old Miam, South Miami Avei? Just a GuessTitusville or Miami, FL. Titusville, FLJust a guess. Titusville, FLI think I see an atlas rocket taking off from the cape in the background. Florida townI believe this is Titusville Florida. LocationThis was taken in Miami, Florida at the corner of what is now Flagler Street and Miami Avenue. Everything in the original photo is gone, even the street names! Flagler and Miami used to be 12th Street and Avenue D, respectively. Titusville, FloridaHome of E.L. Brady, Grocer. Doesn't Look Like Florida to MeMy guess is Titusville FL, because that is the only place I can find a E L Brady that is a Grocer on the 1900 and 1910 census. Am I correct? Miami, FloridaThat's my guess. Deadwood, SD?Shot in the dark guess. Just seems very western. Gag! I was wrong, wrong, wrong. Embarrassing since I was born and raised in Fort Lauderdale, and my grandparents + my mother moved to South Florida in 1917. Miami, FL?Possibly Miami, as per an obituary for E.L. Brady (pulled from the "E.L. Brady and Co" store on the right, beyond the real estate agent). That would make this shot somewhere in the vicinity of Flagler and Miami Avenue. Miami FloridaAvenue D and 12th Street. Now Flagler Street and Miami Avenue. See if I can get a Street View. Definitely MiamiFrom "Early Miami Through the Eyes of Youth" by William M. Straight, M.D., p.69: "How did you get your dairy products and your groceries? Well, there were two grocery stores, little things. I think the first one was operated by a Mr. Brady, E. L. Brady, who moved here from Titusville." On Page 63, there's mention that Avenue D is now Miami Avenue. 1200 Miami Avenue: View Larger Map MiamiE. L. Brady opened one of the first grocery stores in Miami, Florida. In 1908, the Bank of Bay Biscayne was located next door. I think this is the intersection of Miami Avenue and Flagler Street. Let's see nowThere's a tag that says "Florida," but there's also a tag that says "Detroit." Follow upFollow up to my earlier comment about E.L. Brady; according to the same obituary, E.L. Brady was an earlier settler of Titusville, FL, and started a grocery there, too. So this could be Titusville, FL. E. L. Brady Co. GrocersAt the corner of Avenue D and 12th Street in Miami: Titusville, FLLooks like it's in Titusville, FL, though I'm having trouble pinning down the exact location for a Google Street View. Halcyon HometownFinally, a shot of MY hometown, Miami! When Miami scrapped its old street naming system in 1921, they threw out the house numbers along with the street names for the present day quadrant system. The shot was taken on today's Flagler Street (formerly 12th Street) looking east at Miami Avenue (formerly Avenue D). The lions on the left guarded the Bank of Bay Biscayne, which stood on the northwest corner of Miami Avenue and West Flagler Street. The Halcyon Hotel, with its distinctive turrets, stood at East Flagler and 2nd Avenue (formerly 12th Street and Avenue B). It can be seen down the street on the left side. It'd be great to see some more Old Miami shots! Thanks, Shorpy! Let me guessI'm gonna go out on a limb here and guess that this city is in Florida? I'm thinkingTitusville, FL Thank you, Mr. Brady the grocerIt's Miami. HOW COULD YOU TELL????I enlarged the photo, combed all the print details, how can you possibly recognize it a hundred years later????!! (Thanks for the fun though.) Bay Biscayne BankAccording to the Sanford Fire Map of 1899, the Bay Biscayne Bank was around the corner on D Avenue, on the NE side of the intersection, up the block on D Avenue slightly. Of course, it may have moved across the street to the NW corner by 1909. In the 1909 edition of Florida East Coast Homeseeker, it ran an ad noting it had moved to new digs in the Fort Dallas Bank Building; the one with the columns on the immediate left, and just west of the bank building, would have been the Biscayne Hotel in 1899. The weather bureau opened a station in the Bank of Bay Biscayne Building at that same location in 1911, so by then the building seems to have dropped the Fort Dallas appellation. The picture of the bank building provided by the NOAA website must be looking NW at it catercorner across the intersection. (The Gallery, DPC, Florida, Miami)
B. Altman: 1906
... Last seen here . 8x10 inch dry plate glass negative, Detroit Publishing Company. View full size. Carriage 123, Where Are ... 
 
Posted by Dave - 10/10/2023 - 6:06pm -

New York circa 1906. "B. Altman store, Fifth Avenue and East 35th Street." Last seen here. 8x10 inch dry plate glass negative, Detroit Publishing Company. View full size. Carriage 123, Where Are You?Note the carriage call for #123 at the 35th Street entrance. And in this photo, #232. It is 1906The poster at lower right offers Blanche Ring singing on Monday October 8, which was indeed a date in 1906. Ring was known for In The Good Old Summertime, and slightly bawdy The Belle of Avenoo A, which you can hear in this 1970s revue version https://youtu.be/BeIVf9k2zgg?si=MssupKhNEMFS_3EI Shop carefullyreturns may be more involved than you think: that construction - demolition? - site in the foreground is occupied by a 1908ish building that goes by the name of New York Accessories Exchange (and people today think shopping is an ordeal!) Just be sure to keep your receipt. Nice architectureA good history of this retailer and building can be found here. The bronze canopy on the 35th Street side was removed in 1914 after it caused a woman's death. Below is a street view of the B. Altman & Co. emporium building today. The retail powerhouse held its final sale in November 1989. Today the building is a mixed-use structure. Swing to the right in Street View to see the building Notcom referenced, under construction across the street in 1906. In the two photos of B. Altman posted, the construction site is pretty much the same, leading one to think the photos were taken on the same day and near the same time. But, the window displays have been changed. So, probably not taken on the same day. They sure used a lot of fabric. (The Gallery, DPC, NYC, Stores & Markets, Streetcars)
Drs. K & K: 1910
Detroit, 1910. "Michigan Avenue at Griswold Street and Lafayette Boulevard." ... a leather base. Do yourself a favor If you get to Detroit, find this corner for some delicious Detroit Coney Island hotdogs . The brightly-painted triangular building is the ... 
 
Posted by Dave - 03/24/2023 - 1:19pm -

Detroit, 1910. "Michigan Avenue at Griswold Street and Lafayette Boulevard." Where Drs. Kennedy & Kergan's giant electrified sign advertises their MEN CURE. And, across the street, we have Stereopticons and Reflectoscopes. 8x10 inch glass negative. View full size. VD? KK!Ad from 1907, when K&K (Kennedy & Kergan, later Kennedy & Kennedy) were at the other end of the block: Lustful Practices > Gleet"At 15, I learned a bad habit ... " Ad from the Ann Arbor Argus 4/5/1895: New ideaThose cars are sporting 1910 Michigan license plates; the first year the state issued them. For the previous five years, you had to register your car with the state and make your own plates with the number they gave you. Most were house numbers put on a leather base. Do yourself a favorIf you get to Detroit, find this corner for some delicious Detroit Coney Island hotdogs. The brightly-painted triangular building is the home of the American (1917) and Lafayette (1924) Coney Island restaurants, two of the earliest to offer this style hotdog. Also, do yourself a favor and don't look up any of the obscure medical terms in the advertisements Dave posted. (The Gallery, Cars, Trucks, Buses, Detroit Photos, DPC, Medicine, Streetcars)
Bon Voyage: 1903
... bound farewells." 8x10 inch dry plate glass negative, Detroit Photographic Company. View full size. O Captain! My Captain! ... 
 
Posted by Dave - 10/08/2023 - 8:33pm -

New York, 1903. "R.M.S. Majestic -- outward bound farewells." 8x10 inch dry plate glass negative, Detroit Photographic Company. View full size. O Captain! My Captain!Commanded at this time by Edward Smith, who served as captain from 1895 to 1904. In 1904, White Star started assigning Smith as captain on their newest (and largest) ships as they were launched: the Baltic in 1904, the Adriatic in 1907, the Olympic in 1911, and of course, the Titanic in 1912. The Majestic snaps backOn the upper deck an officer, in white, is snapping a photo of the crowd bidding the Majestic bon voyage. On the deck below him there are only working-class men who, to me, look more like crew members you don't normally see during the voyage than third-class passengers. Click to embiggen: She Lives OnAfter being scrapped in 1914, parts of her interior were sold off, with the skylight of the first-class dining room eventually ending up at the Smithsonian Institution. https://americanhistory.si.edu/collections/search/object/nmah_1342683 The handsome tug shown wresting the behemoth Majestic from its wharf is the R.J. Barrett, built 1893 at Athens, New York, by Peter Magee for E.E. Barrett & Company, a prominent New York harbor towing firm founded by the father of Captain Richard J. Barrett, the vessel's namesake, Hoboken resident, and then the firm's head. For its time the Barrett was a large and powerful ship handling tug with a single cylinder steam engine and a firebox boiler, all of which it would retain its entire life. If the year is 1903, the location is Pier 48. The Barrett had a remarkably long life for a wooden tug, operating for Barrett until 1943 when sold to the Mathiesen Shipping Company of another well known New York tug family, renamed Mathiesen. The end came in 1947 when the Mathiesen was abandoned, probably at the graveyard of tugs at the east end of Arthur Kill. (The Gallery, Boats & Bridges, DPC, NYC)
Start Your Engines: 1903
Detroit circa 1903. "Wayne County Building, looking east across Detroit River from Majestic Building." Opposite the Detroit Carriage Goods factory at right we find a sign advertising the business ... 
 
Posted by Dave - 09/08/2014 - 12:27pm -

Detroit circa 1903. "Wayne County Building, looking east across Detroit River from Majestic Building." Opposite the Detroit Carriage Goods factory at right we find a sign advertising the business of William E. Metzger, pioneering dealer in Automobiles. Also: a "moonlight tower." 8x10 glass negative. View full size. Very Tall TowerThis shot gives us a good look at one of the moonlight towers and its proportions compared to the buildings around it. Is that #6?In 1896, Austin, Texas bought 31 of the Detroit moonlight towers. 17 are still standing, including one a block from my home (listed as Tower No. 6 on Wikipedia). Just this morning I chatted with a neighbor snapping photos of the pair of redtail hawks who overlook their domain from the top. The steamerLooks like it could be Columbia, launched by Detroit Ship Building in Wyandotte in 1902. Along with Ste. Clair (Toledo, 1910), she carried Detroiters to and from Bob-Lo Island amusement park near Amherstburg, Ontario, until 1991. Wonderful memories. I believe that both vessels are still around, in the hands of foundations dedicated to their restoration. Hey, I know that building!The white building upper left is The Palms apartment building. Gorgeous building inside in the early 1990's. I have always been so intrigued by it. Bob-Lo boats were so cool. Beautiful woodwork. A very soot-y city back then. Thanks for this photo. ColumbiaBoth ships have been laid up for years rotting away. Columbia was shrink-wrapped for a time, but now its all tattered and ignored. There has not been any activity or talk of restoration for years now. Belle IsleOut in the river, behind City Hall, you can see Belle Isle in the mist. Being that Bob-Lo is in the opposite direction downriver and the Bob-Lo boat docks are south of the area in this picture, I think the steamer you're seeing is one of the Belle Isle ferries and not the Columbia; there would be no reason for her to be so far upriver. I think many years after this photo, the Columbia and her sister would do moonlight cruises that would take them upriver, but only in the moonlight and years after this. Steamerbobzyerunkl, I thought the exact same thing when I saw that ship on the river. I have many happy memories of riding on the Columbia and the Ste. Claire while on my way to fun and sun on Bob-Lo Island. As for the Wayne County Building, in July 2014, the Wayne County Commission approved the sale of the building along with a county-owned parking lot at 400 E. Fort Street to a New York investment group for $13.4 million. The building is expected to be renovated for single tenant occupancy. Here is a more recent shot of the Wayne County Building: The PalmsThanks to kstan for identifying The Palms, an outstanding engineering achievement in its day. I was once told that it was the world's first air conditioned apartment building, but I cannot confirm this. Peche Island + ColumbiaThere was a reason for the Columbia to sail that far up the river. Peche Island. The island was at this time owned by the Detroit, Belle Isle & Windsor Ferry Co, which also owned Boblo island. I the attached picture from the Detroit publishing company, you can see the same boat docked at Peche Island. Palms restoredThe Palms apartments, brand new in this photo, were recently restored. Other buildings that I recognize as still standing are SS. Peter and Paul church and rectory, and the little triangular building next to the courthouse. SS Columbia finally leaves DetroitI was wrong in a previous post. They just towed the Columbia out of Detroit Tuesday September 16th. Looks like it is going to be restored and moved to the Hudson Valley. (The Gallery, Detroit Photos, DPC, Streetcars)
East Grand: 1910
Detroit, Michigan, circa 1910. "East Grand Boulevard." 8x10 inch dry plate glass negative, Detroit Publishing Company. View full size. Expected to See More Cars ... Comparing the last couple of Shorpy pics of Detroit versus recent Google street view, I can't help but notice that there ... 
 
Posted by Dave - 04/26/2018 - 12:56pm -

Detroit, Michigan, circa 1910. "East Grand Boulevard." 8x10 inch dry plate glass negative, Detroit Publishing Company. View full size. Expected to See More CarsThe Packard Motor Car Co. relocated from Warren, OH to 1580 East Grand Boulevard in 1903 - cannot be that far away. Here it is 7 years later in 1910 and the car to horse ratio is about even. And it appears that a model T and not a Packard is heading our way. ObservationsComparing the last couple of Shorpy pics of Detroit versus recent Google street view, I can't help but notice that there almost seems to be more activity (people, vehicles) in the old pics versus recent Google street views. I just traveled down East Grand Boulevard on Google and couldn't help but notice an amazing number of vacant lots and empty streets for a city the size of Detroit. Where is everybody? Sad but Simple Explanation"Where is everybody" Much of Detroit has been depopulated over the last 50 years. Entire neighborhoods can have just one or two occupied houses per block. The city wants to consolidate the remaining residents in fewer neighborhoods and return the vacant areas to their natural state to save money on city services such as public transport and street lighting. Detroitrayray asks where is everybody in Detroit? Detroit's peak population was 1.8M in 1950. Starting in the 50s, people began moving out to the suburbs. Now, the population is around 700K. That means Detroit needs just over a third of the homes it had in 1950, so you get vacant lots and abandoned buildings. There are the same number of city streets, but just over a third of the folks to populate them. There are interesting things happening in Detroit now. We'll see if it's enough to reverse a 60+ year trend of declining population. (The Gallery, Detroit Photos, DPC)
Wayne County Building: 1908
Detroit, Michigan, circa 1908. "Wayne County Building." The Motor City before it got very motorized. 8x10 inch glass negative, Detroit Publishing Company. View full size. On the plus side, it's ... in the upper right - did they call them White Wings in Detroit as in NY? Wayne County Cannon My curiosity was piqued by the ... 
 
Posted by Dave - 11/12/2022 - 3:52pm -

Detroit, Michigan, circa 1908. "Wayne County Building." The Motor City before it got very motorized. 8x10 inch glass negative, Detroit Publishing Company. View full size. On the plus side, it's still thereOn the minus side, they replaced the spire and got rid of the awesome statues on the roof. (Wonder what they did with those?) Amusingly, the cannon appears to now be a playground. Creeping mechanizationI count 10 horse drawn vehicles and 11 motorized, so the tide is rising. [Actually 11 horse-drawn. See lower right between the cars. - Dave] Interesting that all of the steering wheels that can be seen are still right hand drive. Also another white clad street sweeper in the upper right - did they call them White Wings in Detroit as in NY? Wayne County CannonMy curiosity was piqued by the cannon on the lawn. Was it connected with a significant battle, fort or warship (if it is a naval weapon)? Not there now, and the most recent photo showing it that I've found online is from the late 30s or early 40s. No other mentions that I've located, unlike the War of 1812 cannon formerly on the grounds of the old Detroit City Hall. Wonder if it was a victim of wartime scrap drives? Ben-HurThose are incredibly large chariot sculptures on the roof. Only 46 StarsThe flag flying over the courthouse in 1910 would only had 46 stars. [And indeed they are 46-star flags. - Dave] Something Else is MissingIn recent photos, not only is the cannon missing, but so are the rather large and detailed triumphal statues once mounted above the entrance pediment. I have yet to even see mention of that in any of my Detroit links. Many of the statues and the bell tower etc. from the old Detroit City Hall have been "stored" out in the elements for decades at Fort Wayne. War prize from the cruiser Vizcaya"The prized cannon was taken from the Spanish ship Vizcaya during the battle of Santiago, Cuba, in 1898." (Detroit: A Postcard History.) It was a 5½-inch (140mm) cannon. Apparently there is a 140mm cannon at Fort Wayne, so maybe that's where it was taken after it was removed from this site. Several of the ten 140mm guns went to places like West Point and Annapolis, according to this page. [Everyone's grabbing cannons off the Vizcaya, or melting down bits of the ship to make cannon covers! I had no idea of the connection when I posted the very next photo. What an odd coincidence. Which we never would have found out about if tterrace hadn't asked his question. - Dave] Hey buddy, you wanna buy a building?Unfortunately, the Old County Building, as it's called in Detroit, is now restored but empty. Wayne County moved its remaining offices to the nearby (and breathtakingly beautiful) Guardian Building a few years ago, and the place has been the subject of an ongoing legal dispute between the county and the developer to whom it was sold several years ago. In recent months a sign has been posted in front of the building that states "Historic building, for sale or lease." The statuesThe sculptures were restored and and are back as of 2009. Left and RightDuring the early years of the automobile in America, right-hand drive cars were popular for those who had chauffeurs. Having the driver on the right enabled the chauffeur to quickly get out of the vehicle and open the back door where they passengers would be seated. It would have also enabled someone who was driving his own car to get out on the curb without stepping into muddy streets and also into traffic. In many places it was illegal for the driver to get out of a car from the traffic side, in some places, this law lasted well on into the 1960s. Interestingly, the habit of exiting on the curb side even from cars with left hand drive, and even in situations where it is perfectly safe to do otherwise can be seen in a number of films. "Psycho" for instance. In almost every scene where a driver exits the car, the do so by sliding across the seat to the passenger side. Quadriga RestoredThe two sculptural bronze charioteer groups of figures were removed for restoration, which took several years. They were hoisted back into place last December. http://www.detroityes.com/mb/showthread.php?t=3763 The Statues are BackThe rooftop statues were returned a year or so ago - they had been removed for cleaning and repair. See them being installed (and close-ups) here. (The Gallery, Detroit Photos, DPC)
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