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On the Ohio: 1910
... (ostensibly) the moon. One of many Detroit Publishing moonlight views . - Dave] Moonlight? I'm going to have to differ with ... taken a position a bit upriver, almost certainly the south tower of the Suspension Bridge. Both bridges align slightly to the west of due ... 
 
Posted by Dave - 07/29/2012 - 2:42pm -

The Ohio River circa 1910. "Nightfall on the Ohio at Cincinnati." 8x10 inch dry plate glass negative, Detroit Publishing Company. View full size.
Neither the Island Queen nor Delta QueenThis is the huge sidewheeler City of Cincinnati, built in 1899 at Jeffersonville, Indiana. You are thinking of the Cincinnati, built in 1924, which was supposed to have a twin, the Louisville. The latter boat was never completed, and her hull was sold to the Coney Island Co., who finished her as the Island Queen. 
Island Queen or Delta QueenI guess it could be one or the other.  The Island Queen used to take passengers from the public landing in Cincy up river to the Coney Island amusement park.  
I made that trip many times as a kid in the late 1940's. It was quite a thrill in the summer to sit on deck and listen to the calliope.
The Island Queen caught fire and was destroyed while in the dock at Pittsburgh in the late '40s.  The Delta Queen continued to operate and as far as I know still exists.
ClassicAnd Timeless; one of the best pictures yet!  Thank You!
The Delta QueenThe Delta Queen was a sternwheeler, not a sidewheeler like the boat in the Shorpy image.
The Delta Queen (below) is still used for river cruises, but not overnight trips since it doesn't meet the current safety requirements.

Far EastWith such air quality, I thought it was a picture of modern Beijing!
The past is so bright, I gotta wear shades.Absolutely, one one my all time Shorpy favorites! I love how when I gaze from bottom to top, the sun actually seems glaring.
[That's (ostensibly) the moon. One of many Detroit Publishing moonlight views. - Dave]
Moonlight?I'm going to have to differ with Dave on this. I can't imagine that there'd be a photographic emulsion fast enough in 1910 to capture that image by moonlight with no motion blur. It'd be good a trick even today. I mean, look at all the "ghosts" of pedestrians walking in broad daylight in contemporaneous street views we've seen here. Same with their other "moonlight views" in the LOC collection. My bet is that it's the equivalent of "day for night" movie filming, that for their postcards, Detroit Publishing printed it dark and tinted it bluish for a simulated moonlight effect.
Sidewheeler City of CincinnatiThe boat appears to be the 1899 sidewheeler  City of Cincinnati of the Louisville & Cincinnati Packet Co.,  seen in previous Shorpy post: Steam Under the Bridge: 1906.
Moonlight Photography"Moonlight photography" was a discipline of some interest to shutterbugs of the late 19th and early 20th centuries. A distinction was drawn between "real moonlight photography"  and "moonlight photographs" in general -- a stylistic genre that utilised underexposed pictures taken in daylight and then "printed deep" (a technique not available for this particular image, as it is taken from a negative without benefit of a paper print).
The ghostly personages who populate much of the era's daylight photography are a consequence not of slow emulsions but rather of the fact that most large view cameras of the era lacked timed shutters (what were known then as "clockwork shutters" -- most spring shutters lacked a timing mechanism and were opened and closed by the photographer, which necessitated one-Mississippi, two-Mississippi exposures of several seconds' duration), or any shutters at all, exposures being made by removing and then replacing the lens cover.
Photographers with clockwork shutters who wished to avail themselves of "fast plates" had a number of very sensitive emulsions available, as evidenced by the stop-motion photography of the 1890s. These were also utilised for "real moonlight" photographs.
[And indeed we have a number of stop-motion images here, this being one example. Although, after reading your references and tterrace's comment, I do have my doubts as to whether the nighttime photography of a century ago could freeze waves as seen in the Ohio River picture. Then again, one underestimates the capabilities of an 8x10 view camera at one's peril. - Dave]
1910 by moonlightOne of those references is to an article on "real" moonlight photography in American Photography dated 1910, the same year this shot was taken. In discussing exposures using "a long bellows reversible back view camera... exposures will range from ten to thirty minutes on a clear night using stop f8 and fast plates." It also mentions two methods of getting the moon itself in the image without showing the effect of its motion during exposure. One was to double-expose the plate, first a long exposure of the scene when the moon was out of the field of view, then a shorter one after aiming the camera at the moon. The other involved exposing two negatives when making the print, one of just the moonlit scene, the other of the moon itself.
Or the Moon Walking in BrightnessPerhaps enough sunlight and moonlight has already been shed on the subject, but a consideration of the location may further illuminate.
The boat appears to be commencing her run down river, approaching the old C&O RR bridge spanning the Ohio.  The camera has taken a position a bit upriver, almost certainly the south tower of the Suspension Bridge.  Both bridges align slightly to the west of due north.  The point of view is roughly WNW, perhaps tending towards NWbW.
A full moon in early winter might take up position as we see, but would necessarily put cameraman and boat on river in the hour or two before dawn.  A full moon in other seasons could not occupy the section of sky.  The few souls visible on the boat seem dressed for heat, and -- looking far for a bit of vegetation -- the gap in the truss section of the bridge frames a bluff where trees appear in leaf.
The moon appears less likely when we find that  the photograph below from Detroit Publishing bears the title Sunset on the Ohio, Cincinnati, Ohio.  Many details match precisely our photo, including the distant cloud bank low on the horizon.  It could easily have been taken just a short while before the boat floated into position.
On the OhioSerious contender for best picture on the blog. Any idea of the photographer?
[Mr. Detroit Publishing. - Dave]
(The Gallery, Boats & Bridges, Cincinnati Photos, DPC)

Up Woodward: 1908
... Avenue from Grand Circus Park." A record number of "moonlight tower" arc lamp standards on view here. 8x10 inch dry plate glass negative, ... 
 
Posted by Dave - 08/08/2012 - 7:37pm -

Detroit circa 1908. "Up Woodward Avenue from Grand Circus Park." A record number of "moonlight tower" arc lamp standards on view here. 8x10 inch dry plate glass negative, Detroit Publishing Company. View full size.
Moonlight TowersAnd all this time I've considered cell phone towers a major symbol of our modern crassness, as another reason to long for a return to the Edwardian Era of enlightened tastes!
Perhaps we're not so bad after all.
Where's a DeLorean when you need one! I wish someone would hurry up and invent a time machine so I can go back and live here. Living in the Detroit area today, and having spent a lot of time in this particular area represented in this photograph, I would give anything to be back "there" today, instead of what we have now. Even if it meant I had to shovel coal, or clean up after horses. 
View Larger Map
Who needs a nifty ESPN smart phone app?When you can get the latest baseball scores posted on the roof of a building!
Smokestacks and SpiresIndustry and faith--a winning combination in my book!
Also, I wonder who won the Detroit/Chicago game. It got cut off in the fifth inning.
Let There Be Light!How many moonlight towers does everyone count?  I can see maybe twelve, thirteen or fourteen.  If we could enlarge it even further ...
Scoreboard!I noticed that just past the first church on the left there's a partial view of a baseball scoreboard showing the Tigers and the White Stockings. That's how folks got the score back then. They were wired from the stadium to various points and posted so fans could keep up in near real-time conditions. Some of these places also served simple food and beer and were generally an all-male gathering spot.
High anxietyWho's gonna be the one to go up there and change a lightbulb?
[Note that the lights are on pulleys and can be lowered to the ground. - Dave]
High (and low) WiresHow are all these tower guy-wires anchored? Two look like they are converging in the small park on the right but I can't follow them to the end. Were they fastened to something right on the ground or perhaps out of reach on a pole?
I believe this is 1907In the 1907 World Series, Game 5, the Chicago Cubs scored a run in each inning of the first and second as shown on the outdoor baseball scoreboard in this shot.  It didn't match any scores from the 1908 series.
Baseball gameWith the trees still bare this is early in the baseball season (April or May).  If back then they used the convention of away team on top and home team on the bottom like now then this puts the picture at April 14th (season opener) or April 16th.
on 4/14/1908 Sox 15 Tigers 8.
on 4/16/1908 Tigers 4 Sox 2.
Unfortunately box scores are hard to find earlier than about 1918.
[This photo was made in the fall, not the spring. - Dave]
And in TimeThis Woodward Avenue, in about 55 years, would become famous for the fact that many Auto manufacturers would come out and compare models by running out Woodward.  And that the tradition still lives on.  
Not that they were "racing," ahem, Officer, cough.  
The lights and the pulleysThe pulleys are for raising and lowering the work platform, visible near the bottom of the tower. This feature has been disabled on the surviving towers in Austin.
Softly glowing celltowersThat would be kind of cool -- big ol' twisty CFL bulbs dotting the modern landscape.
Austin transplanted towersIn a March 1964 visit to Austin, Texas, when I first saw some of these Moonlight Towers that had been transplanted there I first thought that they were for some type of microwave relay system.  They are plotted on a USGS quadrangle map (1954) of the area and supposedly when viewed from above once made the outline of a five-pointed star.
1907 perhaps? Tigers vs. CubsI think the baseball game might not be the Detroit Tigers vs. Chicago White Sox, but rather the Tigers and Chicago Cubs. The Tigers and Cubs played each other in the World Series in consecutive years in 1907 and 1908. I think this might be Game 5 of the 1907 World Series.
World Series Game 5 Played on Saturday, October 12, 1907 (D) at Bennett Park
CHI N    1  1  0    0  0  0    0  0  0  -   2  7  1
DET A    0  0  0    0  0  0    0  0  0  -   0  7  2
The convention of listing the home team on the bottom has not always been consistent, and perhaps DETROIT was always listed on top in Detroit. www.retrosheet.org has box scores going back to 1871. To be sure, I'd have to rule out all the regular season games between the White Sox and Tigers, which I have not done...
Off seasonI suppose the picture could have been anytime after October 12, 1907 as that was the last game of the World Series, and therefore the season. I suppose they could have left it up for a while without another game necessitating the change.
Time frameNot only do the long shadows indicate a late afternoon time for the picture, the fact that there aren't any people on the balcony where the box score is displayed makes it likely that the picture was taken sometime after the end of the game (and definitely after the fifth inning).  Baseball Almanac says that the game lasted 1:42 (hah!) but doesn't say when it began.
Look at the mastLook at how the base of the moonlight tower in the foreground is anchored to the ground.  It tapers to one ordinary steel pole!  The structure has guy wire anchors to support it, but it still it doesn't look very sturdy. I wonder if they had difficulty finding enough maintenance people crazy enough to climb these things. It is interesting to note that thousands of similar structures would be used in the radio era, in the years to come.
Game 5First, I think the trees are too bare for October 12.  Second, the teams are listed the wrong way -- the Tigers were at home for Game 5, 1908.
Moonlight towers: steampunk for real!I would love to see how well those things really worked.  
A lovely September afternoon!Tuesday, Sep 8	  L DET 2 CHW 5
Wednesday, Sep 9  W DET	7 CHW 6
Thursday, Sep 10  W DET 6 CHW 5
Friday, Sep 11    L DET	2 CHW 4
Saturday, Sep 12  L DET	1 CHW 2
So tallThe towers seem so tall compared to our average street lights today. Yet, these are undoubtedly the precursors to the tall, multi-fixture light towers around today's modern expressway interchanges. Today's lights also lower to the ground with pulleys.
I wonder how far those old tall towers would throw the light, and how bright they would be compared to today?
Towers and TigersDetroit had more of these moonlight lighting towers than any city in the world - well over 100 at their peak - before they were all taken out in the 1910s in favor of modern street level electric lighting.  A few of these Detroit towers were purchased and moved and some are still in use in Austin, Texas.
More here on the evolution of this form of public lighting.
As for the baseball score on the roof on the right, I think it may be from one of the final games of the razor-close 1908 American League pennant race.  The Tigers traveled to Chicago for the final series of the season, a 3 game set starting on October 4th, with a 1.5 game lead over Cleveland and a 2.5 game lead over Chicago.  
Detroit lost the first two games of the series to the White Sox, and I think the scoreboard shown here may be from one of those 2 games, so probably Oct. 4th or 5th 1908. This set up a climactic final game for the championship. The Tigers won that game 7-0 and claimed their second consecutive American League pennant by a game over Chicago and a half-game over Cleveland.  
The AL race, however, was somewhat overshadowed by the National League race, which also came down to a final game, between the New York Giants and Chicago Cubs, necessitated by the infamous "Merkle's Boner" play.  The Cubs won, and went on to defeat Detroit 4 games to 1 in the World Series.
Austin TowersThe former Detroit towers here in Austin are still used a lighting as well as historical markers. The one in Zilker Park is turned into our "Xmas tree" each year. 
Austin moonlight towersIn the early days when Austin's moonlight towers had carbon-arc lamps, one city employee had the full-time occupation of driving around in a buggy to each tower once a day, hoisting himself up by the internal lift rigging, and adjusting the carbon sticks to their proper gap for making an electrical arc. I suppose all these towers worked that way In the Day.
Three ChurchesThe three large churches visible on the righthand side of the picture along Woodward Avenue are, from front to back: first, the Central United Methodist at 23 E. Adams at Woodward, and built in 1866 (still extant); second, St. John's Episcopal at 2326 Woodward at Fisher Freeway, and built in 1859 (still extant); and third, Woodward Avenue Baptist at 2464 Woodward, and built in 1886 (demolished).
Backward TimeI agree with you. My Grandfathers' house where I lived for a number of years is now part of the baseball park (122 E. Vernor Hwy). I attended the Boy Scouts at Central Methodist Church. My Mom and Dad worked at the Hotel Statler. I also went to the Franklin Elementary School and Cass Technical High School. We have a lot in common and your Google Earth is something for me to view.
(The Gallery, Detroit Photos, DPC, Streetcars)

War of the Worlds: 1905
... and one of Detroit's celebrated arc-lamp standards, or "moonlight towers" -- appropriately reminiscent of Wells and Verne in a plaza ... reveals a "man basket" that hoisted a worker inside the tower, using the pulleys visible in the photograph. Moonlight towers in ... 
 
Posted by Dave - 08/14/2012 - 3:34pm -

Detroit circa 1905. "The Campus Martius." This middle section of a three-part panorama features City Hall and one of Detroit's celebrated arc-lamp standards, or "moonlight towers" -- appropriately reminiscent of Wells and Verne in a plaza named after Mars. Detroit Publishing Company glass negative. View full size.
Thanks for your SupportAt first, I thought the triangular arc lamp base was sitting on the ground.  The shadow reveals that it is perched on that single pole at the street corner.
Hats and HighballsImmediately behind the Detroit Public Works Department's exercise of infrastructure improvement was John J. Gorman's hat store.  As the roof sign shows, "that's all" was the motto of the Whiskey produced by Baltimore's Wilson Distilling Co. before and (for a short time after) Prohibition. Seagram's bought it out, closed the plant and moved what was left to Louisville.  

How Many Martians Does It Take?This has to be the place were the "light bulb" jokes started.
Now I want a highballI want one of those Wilson High Balls, with perhaps a San Telno cigar.
Burned OutGuess it's a good thing we don't have moonlight towers now. The "kids today" would probably climb them and spray paint them. Also, there would be those insisting "these things cause cancer."
False MoonlightIt would be great to see one of these in action (in a photo) at night time. I had never heard of them until now, except for use in modern movies.
It's time....Time for a Wilson High Ball.  That's All.
LinesAnd so became the wired aged. Wires everywhere. You never knew so many lines in the sky until you got that new camera and went outside to capture a scene, without the wires.
And so it begins…In an era of fine architectural detail and flowing lines of sight, the encroachment of the bland stark vision of industrial need and simplicity continues its blight on the aerial view now known only to the farmers, mountaineers, astronomers, and those who would strive to leave society and culture behind. First the telegraph, then telephone, then electricity took to the skies in coincidental trade for the odor of animal leavings in our cities and towns.
I have all my life cursed the pole and line, and welcomed those forward thinking communities that had the foresight to legislate the burial of all utilities. Perhaps someday, when in a much improved economy, and with less desire to spend on wars and trips to the moon, an investment can be made in finally putting to ground that which hangs outside our windows, standing between us and the clear blue skies with fluffy white clouds which lend our minds to daydream.
As an addendum, many millions of man-hours spent in Photoshop would be averted to more useful agendas, such as staring at the clouds and stars.
[Or you could just move to a better neighborhood. - Dave]
More TowersI see a second one way off in the distance at the right edge of the picture, and possibly a THIRD one way off beyond that!
A neat history of the "moonlight towers"Is here.
What time is it, really?I notice the two clocks appear to read about 4 minutes different, even though they are within sight of each other.
How DID they change the light bulbs?Reading the "moonlight towers" link reveals how labor intensive early city lighting schemes were. Imagine lighting and extinguishing gas lamps on every corner! It was regarded as a triumph when carbon-arc rods were developed that lasted all night. Daily servicing of a limited number of tall towers was relatively manageable - but how did they ascend to the top? Surely not via the alternating rods forming a rudimentary ladder. Close scrutiny of the link images reveals a "man basket" that hoisted a worker inside the tower, using the pulleys visible in the photograph. 
Moonlight towers in TexasThere are more than a dozen survivors in Austin, where they are local landmarks. Some sources claim they were purchased used from Detroit.
Regarding towersI find it interesting that people a century ago were so accepting of the wires and towers that brought them modern conveniences. Today we don't need towers for lighting -- but we do need them for our radios, TVs and cellphones so I find it paradoxical that so many people today oppose every new tower application. Yet they are typically the first to complain when their radio, TV or cellphone can't get an adequate signal.  
Early Detroit IronIs there at least one and possibly three early automobiles parked along the right curb?
Texas TowersRichard Linklater used them famously in "Dazed and Confused." 
http://www.dailytexanonline.com/2.8461/moonlight-towers-guide-austin-thr...
Lady in WhitePlease, no snarky comments, but I have a question.
There is a woman on the extreme right side of the photo, about 1/3 the way up the page (approaching the curb).  She's dressed all in white, and she seems to be the only figure dressed in light-colored clothing as far as I can see.  Is this "normal but rare" for the time, or is there some other explanation?
[White dresses not particularly unusual for the era. Many more can be seen on these pages. - Dave]
(The Gallery, Detroit Photos, DPC, Streetcars)

Moonlight Tower: 1899
... 1899. "Majestic Building." And a good view of one of the "moonlight tower" arc lamp standards whose base can be seen in the previous post. Some of ... 
 
Posted by Dave - 10/17/2020 - 10:35am -

Detroit circa 1899. "Majestic Building." And a good view of one of the "moonlight tower" arc lamp standards whose base can be seen in the previous post. Some of these towers are said to have made their way to Austin, Texas, where they are the sole remaining examples of their kind. View full size.
Public TransportationIt looks like you don't have to wait long for a streetcar.
The lady carries a swordI am intrigued by the statue in the lower right.  Does she still stand? And what is her story?
All gone...nearly  Corner of Woodward and Michigan Avenue.  That's the old city hall at the left side of the photo.  As in the previous photo of the old post office, nothing in this photo remains today.
  Well, almost.  You can see this cannon at the Dossin Great Lakes Museum on Belle Isle, as it was removed there when the city hall was razed in 1960.
Snap, Crackle and Pop!The early carbon arc street lamps were not necessarily as popular an innovation as one might assume. I don't know what Detroit residents thought of theirs, but a similar system was installed in San Diego in 1886, and earned many bitter complaints from the residents. The lamps were too bright for one thing, and people who had grown up with candles and kerosene lantern lights were appalled by the harsh, blue-white arc lights that cast shadows deeper than the noonday sun. The company's solution was to raise the masts to as tall as 125 feet (below, in an 1887 photo), but it scarcely helped. And the heavy carbon rods were exposed to the moist and often foggy night air from the adjacent bay, resulting in an all-night racket of pops and small explosions that kept everyone awake. San Diego's carbon arc lamps lasted only to 1889, when the lighting company failed in a local economic collapse, but their removal was unlamented by the long-suffering residents.

Peninsular ElectricThere's another tower at the next intersection. It must have been successful because I can't see any remains of the gaslights that must have preceded it. The Peninsular Electric Light Company was founded in 1891 to run Detroit's street lights. It seems there were 142 of them (but probably not 142 towers).
Aglow in AustinI live about two miles from one of the "moon towers" in Austin. It's very high up, and shines brightly every night. Of course, there's lots of other light around, so it's hard to tell just how much it's casting. I've often wondered what it would look like if it were the only light source.
Austin memoriesI'd forgotten all about these.  I moved to Austin for college 40 years ago and lived near a light tower myself.  It wasn't "the only light source," but Austin in those days was a much, much smaller town with far less light pollution than today.  The artificial moonlight was noticeable from almost anywhere in town, as I recall.
Check the Plaque DaveLooks like they bought them new in Austin.
[Hello? The plaque doesn't have a thing to say about new or used. There are, however, plenty of references describing how the city of Austin bought 31 used towers from Detroit in 1894. - Dave]
Sword carrying ladyThe lady is on the Soldiers and Sailors Monument, dedicated in 1872 to honor Michigan's Civil War veterans.  The monument was moved about 100 feet a few years ago.
RE: circaI know the Library of Congress says circa 1880-1899.
But I think this might be 1902. Because the sale signs say, "A BUSINESS REVOLUTION Change of Ownership-Management".
Which jibes with this, from 1902:
Pardridge & Walsh, dry goods merchants, for many years at the corner of Woodward avenue and Congress street, purchased the immense stock and fixtures of C. A. Shafer in the Majestic building for about $140,000, and continued the management of both stores until the end of the year.
[Finish reading the signs and you'll see that the photo shows C.A. Shafer moving into the building, not out of it. This negative is listed in the 1899 Detroit Publishing catalog. - Dave]
Cadillac SquareIf that's the Soldiers and Sailors Monument in the lower left right (as identified in earlier posts of Cadillac Square), then I'm guessing this photo was taken from the Hotel Pontchartrain.
Eight Storeys in the Naked CityFrom Printer's Ink, July 5, 1899:
"The finest commercial structure in Michigan is the Majestic Building, Detroit, occupied by the department store of C.A. Shafer ... Mr. Shafer uses eight floors and the basement."
In 1901 Shafer was bought out by Pardridge & Blackwell. This photo must date from between 1896, when the building was completed, and 1901, when P & B took over. Also, General William Booth (as advertised on the street banner) did a tour of U.S. cities in 1898.
Appearing at the AuditoriumGeneral William Booth wasn't just any Salvation Army speaker, he founded the organization in 1878, after the 13 years that he and his wife Catherine spent leading his East End (London) organization, The Christian Mission, nee The Christian Revival Society, itself formed after his four unhappy years as a Methodist (they wanted him to take a pastorate, he wanted to travel and evangelize). Initially regarded as a crank, by the time of this photo both William Booth and his Salvation Army were highly regarded.
I am wondering if The Auditorium refers to the Auditorium of the Detroit Museum of Art, which at the turn of the century was criticized for booking "shallow" speakers, not aligned with the "purposes for which the art museum was organized." (see: "Museum on the Verge," by Jeffrey Apt, Wayne State Press, 2001)  
1896-1962The Majestic was Detroit's second skyscraper.
Soldiers and Sailors MonumentThe lady in the lower right stands atop the Soldiers and Sailors Monument, which commemorates the civil war. The statue, as mentioned above, was recently moved about 100 feet, to accommodate the re-creation of a park in Campus Martius. Its still there and looks as good as the day she was unveiled. Stop in sometime and have a look. Its at the heart of downtown Detroit. 
Demolition of City HallThe corner of old Detroit City Hall is seen at the left edge of the photo.  In one of the most notorious incidents in the history of Detroit, as preservationists and boosters alike fought to save the old city hall, an injuction was filed to stop the demolition.  The contractor snuck a bulldozer into the site at midnight and demolished the portico on the front of the building, compromising the structural integrity of the edifice, and forcing the full demolition.
Moonlight Towers in AustinThere are indeed remaining moonlight towers here in Austin.  Seventeen of them are still in use, retrofitted with incandescent bulbs in, I think the 1950's. 
More info here. lick below to enlarge.

So little trafficLots of streetcars. Some commercial drays. A handful of private coaches. 
And many pedestrians. Looks something like Moscow would have until the end of the Soviet Union. Plenty of space on those broad boulevards.
Austin TowersSee all 15 Moonlight Towers - http://www.andymattern.com/moonlighttowers/
Majestic DemolitionI was one of the two crane operators that participated in the demolition of the building in 1962.  We hoisted a small 10 ton Bantam crane and a small John Deere loader-dozer atop the building and slowly worked our way to the third floor where the building was becoming unstable. We removed the equipment and finished the demolition from the ground.  I worked for Arrow Wrecking Co. for nearly 20 years and am now retired to Upper Michigan. The photos of the demolition brought back many fond memories of my old home town.  Thanks.
I wonderWho can read THIS from the street.
Not all goneRDown3657 stated that everything in this photograph is gone.  There are at least two buildings on Merchant Row that are still standing.  The Vapley Building (look for Vapley Brother Shoes in the photograph) is currently being renovated into loft apartments, and the building immediately south with the arched windows (I do know know of a name for it- it is at 1401 Woodward at the corner of Grand River.  There may be others still standing, but those are the only two I can identify with 100% certainty.  And, of course, the Soldiers and Sailors statue still remains.
(Technology, The Gallery, Detroit Photos, DPC, Streetcars)

Welcome to Detroit: 1900
... Monument; rising to the right is one of the city's "moonlight tower" carbon-arc lamps. Palm trees and bananas strike a tropical note. 8x10 ... 
 
Posted by Dave - 08/13/2013 - 3:50pm -

Detroit, Michigan, circa 1900. "City Hall and Campus Martius." To the left, the Soldiers and Sailors Monument; rising to the right is one of the city's "moonlight tower" carbon-arc lamps. Palm trees and bananas strike a tropical note. 8x10 inch glass negative by Lycurgus S. Glover, Detroit Publishing Co. View full size.
American IdyllI think any city would be glad to have such a civic building. Interesting French (Second Empire?) style architecture.
I love the two men languidly conversing on their bicycles, oblivious of the surrounding traffic. Try that today! In toto the pedestrians look like a idealized Hollywood scene representing city life at the turn of the 20th century; people running, promenading, talking, pricing fruit perhaps on a fine summer's Sunday.
Moonlight Towers: now Austin residentsThose carbon-arc lamps were once very common ways to light a city, much more economical than a lower-wattage streetlight every 100 feet. The light they gave off was by all accounts glaring and harsh, though.
In 1894 Austin TX bought a bunch of the towers from Detroit and moved them southwards. Through a fluke of history, half of them survive to the present day, making them the only remaining functional towers in the world. One played an important cameo in "Dazed and Confused." All the remaining towers (17 of the original 31) are protected historic monuments, though two were recently removed. Austinites, myself included, are strangely fond of them.
The rest of the story: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Moonlight_tower
Idyll Over"I think any city would be glad to have such a civic building. Interesting French (Second Empire?) style architecture."
You might think that, but Detroit tore this building down in 1961. It was seen locally as embarrassingly old-fashioned soon after the turn of the 20th century. 
The editor of the Detroit News described it thus: "It is an architectural monstrosity. It belongs back in the twilight zone of American development. … It belongs to the era of the whatnot and the putty vase and the ship carved in a bottle. It is not Colonial, it is not Gothic, it is not Byzantine. It just ain’t nuthin’. It’s been standing there these 70 years or more, a lumpy, gloomy, ugly pile of curlicued stone. No artist has ever painted a picture of it. No artist would. No lover of beauty has ever found a single line of grace or dignity in it."
And not a car in sight. I think this photograph shows the destruction wrought on the American landscape, and social fabric, especially in urban settings, by the advent of the automobile a short time later. 
The Motor City!Where are the cars?
(Always interesting to me how long it took for automobiles to take hold.)
Moonlight Bat BuffetLiving in Austin in the 80's I used to frequent a cafe in the Clarksville section of town where I would often see some of Austin's famous Mexican free-tailed bats feasting on the insects drawn to glow of moonlight towers. Austin, whose unofficial motto is "Keep Austin Weird," is a Mecca for bats, batty moonlight tower protectors, and all things odd and different.  I'm glad to hear from Kevin M. that the towers are still there.
All those people are deadbut yet, when I put this on full screen, I still get the feeling I could just step into the scene and walk or ride my bike amongst them. I love these pedestrian/scenic pictures. Sure glad somebody invented the camera when they did. 
CinematicThis does look like a Hollywood scene!  Now we have our cars, our phones, our iPods, etc., and you would never see people out strolling about and chatting like this!  We (myself included) are always in our cars and in a hurry!
Wayne County BuildingOne of the previous commentators mentioned that this building was torn down.  It is actually still standing.
[You're confusing City Hall with the Wayne County Building. City hall is long gone. - Dave]
(The Gallery, Bicycles, Detroit Photos, DPC, Streetcars)

Detroit Landmarks: 1908
... Hall." Also the lower section of one of the city's famous "moonlight tower" arc lamps. And: Someone stop that hat! 8x10 inch glass negative, Detroit ... 
 
Posted by Dave - 05/19/2023 - 12:32am -

Detroit, 1908. "Cadillac Square, Soldiers' and Sailors' Monument and Hotel Pontchartrain from City Hall." Also the lower section of one of the city's famous "moonlight tower" arc lamps. And: Someone stop that hat! 8x10 inch glass negative, Detroit Publishing Company. View full size.
A Spindly AffairThis is my first time to see one of those moonlight arc lamp towers up close.  Seems kind of flimsy - though I notice all the guy wires.  Climbing one of those for maintenance was surely a risky business and there doesn't seem to be anything to prevent anyone from doing so.
[The lamps probably come down to street level for maintenance. Hence the crank. - Dave]
Moonlight ElevatorDave, the lights didn't travel down to meet the man. The man used a hand-cranked elevator to travel up and service the lights. This is depicted and described in the following NY Times news article:
https://www.nytimes.com/2014/02/16/travel/austins-moon-towers-beyond-daz...
(The Gallery, Detroit Photos, DPC, Streetcars)

The Heart of Detroit: 1907
... much illumination did they actually cast? Is a radio tower in the center of the picture? It appears to be a large tower. ... Starbucks be far behind? Seedy Just sayin' Moonlight Tower I believe that the structure in the center foreground of the ... 
 
Posted by Dave - 08/29/2012 - 10:13am -

Detroit circa 1907. "The Campus Martius." Landmarks include the Detroit Opera House, Soldiers' and Sailors' Monument, Cadillac Square, Wayne County Building, Hotel Pontchartrain. Panorama of three 8x10 glass negatives. View full size.
A calamity?Something big must be going on behind the Pontchartrain! A fire engine speeding left to right and dozens of men appear to be running toward the same destination. Or is it happy hour at the establishment proclaiming Kentucky Whiskey available here? Even the group of folks standing at the corner of the Hotel have their attention turned in that direction! So much going on here!
High speed photographyNo Shorpy spirits, except the sprinters already mentioned.
Concerning those lights, how much illumination did they actually cast?
Is a radio towerin the center of the picture?  It appears to be a large tower.
[It's a street light. -Dave]
Horse SenseThe Motor City with more horses than motors!  In back, the classic sign of economic progress -- smokin' chimneys.  
Rajah CoffeeCan Starbucks be far behind?
SeedyJust sayin'
Moonlight TowerI believe that the structure in the center foreground of the photo is a moonlight tower. It was an early form of street lighting where there would be one tall tower with bright, probably carbon-arc, lights instead of multiple smaller lights closer to the ground. Austin, Texas is the only city that still has these in operation, although they have been updated to use a modern light source.
[A Shorpy favorite, seen in many of our Detroit photos, for example, here, here and here.]
re: SeedyThe Ferry Seed Warehouse seen in the background is at the western end of what is now Greektown. It's now an office building.
Women downtownI have noticed over and over on Shorpy that almost every city street scene in the northern states features women bustling about, presumably doing their shopping, having lunch with their friends, walking with their daughters, etc. In the photos of southern cities, you almost never see women on the streets. Nearly every southern city street scene comprises pretty much entirely men. Why is this? Heat? No place for "a lady" to be seen? Has anyone else noticed this? 
"Man of the Hour," againAlso playing on Shorpy at https://www.shorpy.com/node/11486
The NYT called it a "Virile Melodrama," and said: "A youthful Mayor who cannot be bribed or intimidated, a financier who wants to get control of a street railway franchise in perpetuity, and a pair of political bosses, who are at odds with each other and who are fighting to gain supremacy in their organization -- these are the chief characters in George Broadhurst's play "The Man of the Hour.""
D.M. Ferry and U of Michigan sportsDexter M. Ferry, the man behind the seed company in this picture, donated the land in south Ann Arbor on which today's U of M athletic venues stand. One of which, the outdoor track and field venue, is named Ferry Field. Before today's Michigan Stadium, Ferry Field was the home of the football Wolverines, and the iron gate with the "FERRY FIELD" name remains in place on south State Street.
True CrimeAnother fantastic pic of the Campus Martius area, giving the rare view up Monroe Street where Gies's European Hotel operated (the attached building to the left of the Hotel Fowler, center of pic). In 1894, the infamous H. H. Holmes lodged Mrs. Pitezel there for a few days, the poor woman never knowing her daughters Alice and Nellie were but five blocks away.
(Panoramas, Detroit Photos, DPC, Streetcars)

Field of Mars: 1890
... 1890s. "Campus Martius, Detroit." Down the street, a "moonlight tower" arc-lamp stanchion. Detroit Publishing Co. glass negative. View full ... 
 
Posted by Dave - 07/26/2012 - 4:55pm -

Circa 1890s. "Campus Martius, Detroit." Down the street, a "moonlight tower" arc-lamp stanchion. Detroit Publishing Co. glass negative. View full size.
Oh, boy!This is so beautiful. What a glimpse at the past! Dave, I'm from Brazil, and I'm a huge fan of your site. Thank you so much for sharing this amazing pictures! Best regards!
EmissionsIf you want to know what it smelled like to live in those times, just visit Mackinac Island. Horses are the main transport there, and you begin to get a whiff of it a mile offshore, and it's a lot cleaner than the street in this photo.
Austin TowersThis very tower could now be residing in Austin, TX, as 31 used towers were purchased and relocated there in 1894-95. 
17 are now still in use and listed as historical sites by the State of Texas.
re: The writing on the wellThe visible side says FOR THE PEOPLE FROM.
The four sides say:
TESTAMENTARY GIFT
FOR THE PEOPLE FROM
JOHN JUDSON BAGLEY
A.D. MDCCCLXXXVII
The writing on the wellWhat does is say on the steeple above the well in the front of the picture? Something about fortune? Or is it some latin phrase I can't decipher?
Also, there is some really beautiful architecture in this picture. Sort of looks like a Sunday to me, with everyone dressed up in their best clothes.
TowerI wonder what that tower on the left side of the street with the guy wires is for? Surely this was some time before any wireless transmissions were practical on such a scale.
[It is, as noted in the caption, a carbon-arc lamp. - Dave]
EmissionsThe sheer quantity of horse urine and manure is striking.
Street HeatStreet car #497 looks like it has a chimney for a stove on the roof.  #288 doesn't seem to have a chimney.  Were some of these cars heated?
[They both have the same chimney. - Dave]
Progress schmogressIt's the loss of wonderfully articulated buildings like the old City Hall that make progress a dirty word. Grand details wherever you look.
Campus MartiusThe Bagley fountain in the foreground is the only existing work of H.H. Richardson in Michigan. Richardson also built an armory in Detroit, but it is long gone. Today the fountain sits in a different location in Cadillac Square.
All the buildings in this photo have been demolished except for the Fort Street Presbyterian Church (spire just left of the lighting tower)  The Hammond building is the large structure to the left. It was one of Detroit's first skyscrapers.  The Second Empire building on the right is the old city hall. it was demolished c. 1960 to build a underground parking garage.  in the last 5 years a modern office building has been built on the site.
Before the automobile ruledIt's interesting to see all the various offices for different types of transportation in Detroit...except for cars. Less than halfway through the decade, Henry Ford's quadricycle would emerge from his humble backyard workshop to change all that.
Brand new building and new age lightingAccording to the information on the front of the building, it was completed in 1889. Brand new! 
In keeping with new innovations, the "moonlight tower" was evidently quite the fad for a while. I had never heard of such a thing, but see the attached clip. I'm surprised that everybody didn't go blind from staring at the devices! 
Department of SanitationNo wonder people thought that cars (when they came along) were "clean"!
I'm not a youngster, to say the least. My father, who grew up in NYC, told me how awful the cities were in the summer. Horse waste was only part of the problem but a big one. The "better neighborhoods" always got cleaned up but the poorer sections were last on the street cleaner's list. Manure would dry up an blow around onto people, into houses and onto laundry.
No wonder anyone who could afford it left the city in the summer months.
Moonlight TowersAustin, Texas, went in with the moonlight tower fad and originally installed them in 1895.  Growing up there, I was always told that we put them up because it was the rage in Paris.  Then everyone tore theirs down, but we kept them.
One of them, in Zilker Park, gets strung up like a Christmas tree every year.
http://www.aroundaustin.com/2004/03/austin_moonligh.html
Bagley Memorial FountainDetroit's first public drinking fountain was built in 1887 with money from the estate of John Judson Bagley. Recently refurbished and moved to Cadillac Square.
Bagley was a New York tobacconist who came to Detroit in 1846. He helped organize the Michigan Mutual Life Insurance Co. and the Republican Party, and served as Michigan's governor from 1872 to 1876. The four sides say:
TESTAMENTARY GIFT
FOR THE PEOPLE FROM
JOHN JUDSON BAGLEY
A.D. MDCCCLXXXVII
AstonishedThank you Dave for that wonderful picture! Never knew anything about light masts like this one! It's definitely absolutely new experience to me! I personally was confused as I thought it looks like cell phone base station. Live long - study forever! Thank you once more!
(The Gallery, Detroit Photos, DPC, Horses, Streetcars)

Russell House: 1900
... rate it looks to have been an interesting day for him. Moonlight Tower Sighting! It's been a while since we've seen one. Timeline TIL ... 
 
Posted by Dave - 01/05/2021 - 4:14pm -

Detroit circa 1900. "Russell House, Woodward Avenue and Cadillac Square." Razed in 1905 to make way for the Hotel Pontchartrain. 8x10 inch dry plate glass negative. View full size.
We'll never knowOn the far left of the photo, approaching the street corner, is a gent who seems to have a generously hatted Gibson girl slung over one shoulder while he propels a smallish child with his other arm. Or maybe he was just toting something unwieldy -- oversized oars? tent poles? dinghy masts? -- while the kid trotted patiently by his side. On third thought, the youngster is more likely a fire hydrant, and in the gent's free hand is a giant pinwheel. At any rate it looks to have been an interesting day for him.
Moonlight Tower Sighting!It's been a while since we've seen one.
TimelineTIL there were three hotels on this site. Here's the timeline:
1836 - 1857:    National Hotel
1857 - 1905:    Russell House (pictured)
1907 - 1920!: Hotel Pontchartrain
1922 - now:      First National Building (see below)

Signs of the TimesThe hotel is a billboard of its own.  
As the world speeds by, two boys stand to pose for the camera while two men, almost identically arm-in-arm, walk past them going the other way. It looks a bit poetic.
Is that a pipe ladder reaching above the top of the hotel?
Re: QuestionMark P - Here is an example that may address your question https://youtu.be/b3rE3zimt4Y
QuestionBack then in 1905 how did you go about taking a building this size down and dispose of it? How many times have posts on Shorpy said that the building pictured was replaced but this time my question came to mind. Was steam wrecking ball equipment available?  Was it shoveled into carts and hauled away by horse power? Lots of questions.
Neatness doesn't countWow, nice video find, TimeAndAgainPhoto! They didn't so much demolish that building as un-build it. I bet most of those bricks could be reused, too.
Safety MinusIn answer to the amazing video clip of the 1902 time lapse filmed of the demolition of the Star Theater NY, and posted by TimeandAgainPhoto. Not much effort went into safety. No gantry or any public protection, workers hardly ever wore gloves, let alone hard hats, goggles, safety harnesses etc. The life of many buildings is surprisingly short as evidenced by the first three incarnations on the Russell site.
(The Gallery, Detroit Photos, DPC, Streetcars)

Snow Globe: 1902
... the building. Knabe Pianos is still in business. Moonlight tower The framework at upper right is the base of a moonlight tower. There ... 
 
Posted by Dave - 01/22/2013 - 10:36pm -

Detroit circa 1902. "Winter study, Grand Circus Park." 8x10 inch dry plate glass negative, Detroit Publishing Company. View full size.
Schwankovsky Temple of MusicThe sign at the middle right is for the Schwankovsky Temple of Music and Knabe pianos. F. J. Schwankovsky sold pianos from the Queen Anne-style building until 1920, when Wright-Kay Jewelers took it over. You can still see little gold treasure chests (their trademark) on the side of the building.
Knabe Pianos is still in business.
Moonlight towerThe framework at upper right is the base of a moonlight tower.  There is another one in the distance, next to the buildings to the right of the image.
EBANK SONAIPThe Pianist rises, with his back to the Knabe keyboard, and announces "now I will play  'Minuetto al Roverso' by Haydn, backwards".
FrostingIn Nevada that dusting of every inch of limbs, etc., is called Pogonip.  Never heard the term used anywhere else.
(The Gallery, Detroit Photos, DPC)

Cadillac Square: 1902
... and Wayne County building." The rigging is for one of the "moonlight tower" arc lamps that provided nighttime illumination, an example of which can ... 
 
Posted by Dave - 02/13/2013 - 12:14pm -

Detroit circa 1902. "Cadillac Square and Wayne County building." The rigging is for one of the "moonlight tower" arc lamps that provided nighttime illumination, an example of which can be seen behind the Rajah Coffee sign. View full size.
Smoke gets in your eyesMaybe we've got global warming today, but once again here's a skyline with lots of soot and smoke on the horizon, thanks to the nearly 100% of energy being made from burning wood or coal. Life wasn't all rosy then, either.
Pass my inhalerOh my, us that really smoke/smog hovering in the middle background? Gives me an asthma attack just looking at it.
No QuadrigasBeautiful shot of the Wayne County Building minus Victory and Progress.
ImpactIn my shorpy-inspired daydreams of travels through time, I often imagine it would be the olfactory sense that would be the first to be impacted.  Much like the experience encountered when traveling south out of Michigan in the dead of winter and you first experience the smell of the earth and living things as you cross into Tennessee.
A good 5c Cigarperhaps some of that smoke is from those cheap cigars.
To be fair about MichiganEsteemed fellow Shorpy-ite FotoFantasist correctly mentions clean air found leaving the Mitten State and entering other states.
To be fair, however, one can encounter the same (literally) breath-taking change in air quality, smell and beauty about the time one traverses the Mackinac Bridge between Michigan's two peninsulas, and enters the pristine Upper Peninsula. You can always smell the pine trees and so much more, or so much less.
Moonlight TowersAustin, TX still has a few working Moonlight towers - usually just called Moontowers. At Zilker Park a Moontower is used as the frame for the Holiday Tree of Lights in December. 
Vast amounts of pollen spewing from one kind of tree after another can be pretty breathtaking so it's good to have one tall tree that doesn't set off allergies. 
Cadillac nowSome of these buildings are still standing today although the church steeple cloaked in good old Detroit pollution is behind the apartment buildings and the ornate building on the right has been seriously foreshortened.
View Larger Map
The ornate building on the rightis one of Detroit's grand old hotels, the Russell House, first opened in 1857. The hotel has since been replaced with two successive buildings, each bigger than the last. First came the Hotel Pontchartrain (a great favorite of both the Detroit Publishing Co. and the viewers at Shorpy), built 1906-1907 to the designs of George D. Mason; then came the First National Bank Building, designed by the great architect Albert Kahn, built 1920-1922 and still standing.  
(The Gallery, Detroit Photos, DPC, Streetcars)

The Electric Circus: 1905
... signage and electric streetcars, as well as two giant "moonlight tower" lighting standards. 8x10 glass negative, with water damage at the edges. ... 
 
Posted by Dave - 01/20/2022 - 1:45pm -

Detroit circa 1905. "Woodward Avenue, looking north from Jefferson" -- vantage on an abundance of bulb-studded signage and electric streetcars, as well as two giant "moonlight tower" lighting standards. 8x10 glass negative, with water damage at the edges. View full size.
Can't get there from hereAll of the nearby buildings have been replaced since this picture - some more than once. There may be a few survivors farther along Woodward. This photo must have been taken on a clear day - I think the first church spire is the extant Central United Methodist Church, about a mile up Woodward.
You can no longer drive from Jefferson to Woodward, because the first block of Woodward is now a pedestrian and event plaza. The moonlight towers have been replaced by the United Way torch!

Just enough informationI chuckled audibly over CHEAP R.R. TICKETS ... let's get right to the point, shall we? They're cheap and that's all you need to know, so come on in and get yours.
Meanwhile across the street, while I perceive that the symbol between the T in EXHIBIT and the C in CENT is meant to be a spacer (and what the sign advertises is, I think, Exhibit Center, but please do correct me if I have taken a wrong turn), I read EXHIBITICENT. Strikes me as a portmanteau of "exhibit" and "magnificent" ... as in, exhibiting magnificence. And as I am enamored of both the word and the concept, I have made a mental note to adopt it into my vocabulary. "Your rendition of 'Walk Right In' on the alto spoons is nothing short of exhibiticent, Morris!" Morris, while gratified by my praise, will no doubt conclude that I have been imbibing something other than A&W Zero Sugar Root Beer.
"Exhibiticent"JennyPennifer, that was my first thought too, until I realized it say "Exhibit 1 Cent." But what was the exhibit?
Exhibit?It may be "Exhibit 1 Cent"
Cheers
ExhibiticentI was guessing Exhibit 1 Cent.
I read the sign as "Exhibit 1 cent."Although that does sound awfully cheap for an exhibit (depending of course on what they're exhibiting).
A pennyWhile I do like the new word Exhibiticent, JennyPennifer, is it not possible the sign reads Exhibit One Cent?
Re: Just enoughIf you have 1 cent you can see the exhibit.
Streetcar Switch IronThe lad front and centre is leaning against a metal rod called a switch iron. This is used to set the points on the track switches for the streetcars. He would adjust the switches for streetcars turning left, right or heading straight ahead. Electric switches operated from inside the streetcar by the motorman at busy locations mostly replaced the need for manual switching.
Queen Anne SoapApparently a Detroit thing in King Edward VII's time.
That's it!Exhibit 1 Cent ... now why couldn't I see that? Thanks everyone. Exhibiticent work.
Where's Waldorf?Right next to Penny a Peek. And all this time, I thought it was in New York.
Electric Arc Light TowersSpeaking of electric. Think those two towers in the background are for arc lights. Early on, the idea was to illuminate an area by arc lights placed as high as possible.
[Shorpy and Detroit's "moonlight towers" go way back. - Dave]
Penny Arcade?The Exhibit, 98 Woodward Avenue
William Rosenthal, Manager
Home: Kirby Apartments
(1905 Detroit City Directory)
Cheap R.R. TicketsI believe this is the earliest incarnation of Priceline. In fact, isn't that William Shatner walking into the building? He was young then. Probably looking for a job.
(The Gallery, Detroit Photos, Kids, Stores & Markets, Streetcars)

Washington Park: 1907
... is the base of an arc-lamp standard, part of the city's "moonlight tower" municipal lighting system. 8x10 inch glass negative. View full size. ... 
 
Posted by Dave - 02/06/2012 - 9:29am -

Detroit circa 1907. "Washington Boulevard Park." Adjacent to the Hotel Cadillac, at right, and the site of the ice fountain seen here in several wintertime views. Rising at center is  the base of an arc-lamp standard, part of the city's "moonlight tower" municipal lighting system. 8x10 inch glass negative. View full size.
The view todayFountain is gone.
Now appearing in AustinSome of the Moonlight Towers wound up being sold to Austin, Texas, where they're still working today.
Truth In Advertising?
I have a real but conquerable fear of dentists but no way would I believe a trip to a dentist would equal a trip to Utopia.
Plus I'm almost sure that below Utopia that is not an ad for Crook Detective Agency but I do like the idea of the name.
(The Gallery, Detroit Photos, DPC)

Savannah: 1905
... looking north. This corner is now the home of Drayton Tower, an apartment building built in the late 40's. You can see the long ... a smaller and more widely used version of the larger "moonlight tower" lamps used in Detroit and other cities. Brush arc lamps were ... 
 
Posted by Dave - 07/22/2012 - 2:45pm -

Savannah, Georgia, circa 1905. Detroit Publishing glass negative. View full size.
The chairmanAppears to be handing out pamphlets or broadsides.  Wish I could read one ... I do seriously believe he knows the secret of a good life.
Corner of Liberty and DraytonYou can barely make out the street signs on the corners of the two buildings on the left, noting this as Liberty Street. If you download the uncompressed archival version you can read "TON" on the street sign for the cross street, the rest being hidden underneath the shutter. That would make this the corner of Drayton and Liberty, looking north. This corner is now the home of Drayton Tower, an apartment building built in the late 40's. 
You can see the long gone tracks for the cable cars along the median on the bottom there. 
On the left side towards the top you can see "Big Duke," the three-ton firebell that used to stand on Oglethorpe Street, it is now part of a fireman's memorial on the same site. 
Farther up on the left are the masts of a tall ship at the River Street ports. 
The domed building to the far right is the old County Jail, on Habersham street, now one of the buildings owned by the Savannah College of Art and Design. 
Boy this makes me homesick!
FascinationThese views, with their startling clarity, give us an unparalleled opportunity to look into our own past. Thanks are due to the Detroit and Washington firms as well as others that gave us so many views of our past and that of our nation. Thanks, too, to Dave for his excellent selections.
Brush Double-Carbon Arc LampThe street lamp suspended over the intersection at bottom center of the photo is a Brush double-carbon arc lamp, a smaller and more widely used version of the larger "moonlight tower" lamps used in Detroit and other cities. Brush arc lamps were named for their inventor, Charles Francis Brush (1849-1929) of Cleveland, who made a fortune from this and other electrical inventions. The Brush street lamp is recognizable by its pair of carbon node rods in their open glass sphere, as in this period engraving. 

More astonishing perhaps was Brush's wind turbine generator, the world's first, which he invented in 1888 to provide electrical power to his large mansion in Cleveland, built in 1884 with the proceeds from his arc lamps. The immense wind turbine charged a dozen large storage batteries that reliably powered the residence for 20 years.
Even Savannah Has ChangedIt's likely this picture was taken from the De Soto Hotel that used to stand on this corner. That old building was Romanesque Victorian, and was ripped down in the 60s, to be replaced by a Hilton.
If you google streetview the corner of Liberty and Drayton, you realize that almost none of the buildings in the foreground of the picture remain. The last building on Victory (the boulevard with trees) that can be seen is still there. 
On a positive note, the rather bleak patch of grass before the large building dominating the right side of the picture, has filled in with trees. It is part of the famous Colonial Park Cemetery, which, just a few years before, narrowly missed being the site of a new courthouse.
Re: Liberty and DraytonThe tracks are for electric streetcars, not cable cars.
Different time...The old man and the dog, pulling up a chair to watch the world goes by. Also appears to be a purple martin birdhouse. And I wonder what the two phantoms are carrying there?  
Liberty Street tracksThe streetcar tracks were used by the E&W Belt Line.  The E referred to East Broad Street and the W to West Broad.
In addition to their  "E&W Belt" destination sign, cars on this route carried a dash sign indicating that they served Union, Central, and Tybee Depots.  They basically looped via West Broad, Liberty, East Broad (with a deviation that I guess served Tybee Depot), and (I think) Bay Street.
I do not know if the loop was operated one way or two way (the cars obviously did not pass at this corner!).  When I moved to Savannah and went to the grade school of which Ms. Romana Riley was Principal, the only streetcar lines left were Habersham, Isle of Hope, East Savannah, and Thunderbolt-BonaBella.
(The Gallery, DPC, Savannah, Streetcars)

Welcome Hay Dealers: 1900
... Building; also note the National Hay Association sign and "moonlight tower" arc lamp. View full size. Dapper Daredevil He seems to be on ... 
 
Posted by Dave - 07/18/2012 - 7:29pm -

Detroit circa 1900. "Campus Martius and City Hall." Other landmarks in this panorama of three 8x10 glass negatives include the Soldiers and Sailors Monument, Detroit Opera House and the Majestic Building; also note the National Hay Association sign and "moonlight tower" arc lamp. View full size.
Dapper DaredevilHe seems to be on the 13th floor and neither superstitious nor terribly concerned about his choice of perch.
[In this enlargement from the original LOC tiff, it appears he has a safety belt. - tterrace]
Out of place towerJust to the left of dead center almost hidden in front of the center white building, there is quite a tower positioned on a corner pole.  Any ideas what it was used for??
[It's the moonlight tower mentioned in the caption; a regular feature of Detroit photos here on Shorpy, for example, this one. - tterrace]
OK, now I understand what it is for.  The text on the posting didnt 'make light' *snicker* to me what the "moonlight tower" was, but seeing it on your link with the description helped cement what it was.
More Moontower InfoWe've still got moon towers here in Austin. Here's a link.
PanoramaI don't see any artifacts from the stitching. Were the 3 images together in the original file or did you put them together?
[Dave joined them using Photoshop. - tterrace]
(Panoramas, Detroit Photos, DPC, Streetcars)

Start Your Engines: 1903
... E. Metzger, pioneering dealer in Automobiles. Also: a "moonlight tower." 8x10 glass negative. View full size. Very Tall Tower This ... 
 
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)

Woodward in Winter: 1910
... in front of the church is one of the city's arc-lamp "moonlight towers." View full size. What is the tower? I noticed a radio looking tower in the background, but there looks ... 
 
Posted by Dave - 08/02/2012 - 5:24pm -

Detroit, Michigan, circa 1910. "Woodward Avenue in winter attire." Rising in front of the church is one of the city's arc-lamp "moonlight towers." View full size.
What is the tower?I noticed a radio looking tower in the background, but there looks like something unique at the top. Does anyone know what the tower is all about?
[As noted in the photo caption, it's an arc lamp. - Dave]
Back of the trolleyBitter cold and men standing on the rear boarding platform.  The trolley is headed for the ladies who will ride inside.
Deja Vu all over againThere is a movement afoot in Detroit to reintroduce a trolley back onto Woodward Avenue.
Of Little UseWoodward Avenue was America's first paved road, as you can't see in this vintage photo.
Yep, I recognize that tower.The city of Austin, Texas, received 31 of these from Detroit in 1894, in trade for railroad track used to build our ill-fated Granite Dam, which was to provide power for the lights, among other things. The dam was destroyed in a flood a few years later. How long did Detroit hang on to the ones they had left?
Woodward near East MontcalmJust a few miles North West from the shot in this thread
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Organ CrawlThe church in the background is St. John's Episcopal. The pointy turreted church is no longer there (like so many of Detroit's old churches gone or abandoned). St. John's, however, it flourishing.
I visited on an "organ crawl" organized by the conference of music directors for the Unitarian Universalists, visiting church organs all over Detroit.
SpottingThe first church on the left was the Woodard Avenue Baptist, at Woodward and Winder. It was demolished in 1990. I've lived in these condos for 10 years.
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(The Gallery, Detroit Photos, DPC, Streetcars)

Base Ball To-Day: 1908
... triples, RBI's, insolent people slapped ... Moon Tower? Is that moon tower in the background one of the thirty one that was ... stand at Zilker and parts of the downtown? [It's a moonlight tower. - Dave] & Blackwell It's possible that this photo ... 
 
Posted by Dave - 12/09/2018 - 7:40pm -

Detroit circa 1908. "Woodward Avenue looking north from Opera House corner." Our title is lifted from the streetcar. 8x10 inch glass negative. View full size.
Not Much Left, Except ...The distinctive arched upper windows of the Elliott Building, built in 1894 and home for decades to the S.S. Kresge store, are a dead giveaway for the handsome building back to to the left. Now home to pricey condos and spacious urban apartments. And today, Base Ball is one word and you would not need the streetcar. It's played close by at Comerica Park, just four blocks away by foot.
Bumpy roadOn the left is Fred Sanders' Pavilion of Sweets. Sanders is an institution in Detroit, known for its candy, hot fudge and cream puffs. Although their claim as the inventor of the ice cream soda is unlikely, they did invent the Bumpy Cake - chocolate cake with buttercream ridges, covered in chocolate ganache.
Ty Cobb led the league in several categories that year.    Doubles, triples, RBI's, insolent people slapped ...
Moon Tower?Is that moon tower in the background one of the thirty one that was purchased by Austin and still stand at Zilker and parts of the downtown?
[It's a moonlight tower. - Dave]
& BlackwellIt's possible that this photo is slightly misdated. All the way to the left you can see the end of a sign for the Pardridge & Blackwell department store.  Near the end of 1906 though, Pardridge & Blackwell moved into their brand new store building a block east of this scene. Unfortunately, they soon ran into significant financial trouble and were forced to go out of business and give up that store to new owners, Crowley, Milner & Co. "Crowley's" would remain a core part of downtown Detroit for the next 70 years.
Art Not So NouveauBy 1908 that Art Nouveau script in the Wright Kay Jewelers sign on the far right would have been getting a little passe.  I'm impressed by the width of the sidewalks!  They are roads on their own!  And I feel sorry for the two ladies crossing right to left from the corner in front of the Wright Kay Jeweler as they are having to navigate some "deposits" left by the horses while wearing those long skirts.  Women of the time must have had to deal with stained and dusty clothes quite a bit, I suppose!  No doubt they were relieved when the horses were phased out over the coming 10 years.  I often forget how dirty (and foul smelling) cities were at the time.
Trolley signI have a book on the Detroit Street Railway system, and in it is a picture of a very similar trolley.  The only difference is the destination sign, in this case it is "Third".  Otherwise, it is the same down to the "Baseball To-day" sign.  Date is 1912.
Credit to Detroit's Street Railways, by Kenneth Schramm.
(The Gallery, Detroit Photos, Streetcars)

Detroit: 1897
... 1892. If she is not quite in fashion, then 1893. Moon tower! That looks exactly like one of the "moonlight towers" of Austin, Texas -- and according to Wikipedia, they were ... 
 
Posted by Dave - 08/20/2012 - 10:22am -

Circa 1897. "Post Office, Detroit." Sign on utility pole: "Please do not spit on the sidewalk." 8x10 glass negative, Detroit Publishing Co. View full size.
Not in AustinThe ones in Austin were built in Indiana.
[They may have been manufactured in Indiana, but, as noted below, they were purchased used by Austin from Detroit. - Dave]
1892From the woman's attire in the right background, (white blouse, dark skirt--not quite in an "A" line, probably a boater hat), I guess that this was taken in 1892. If she is not quite in fashion, then 1893.
Moon tower!That looks exactly like one of the "moonlight towers" of Austin, Texas -- and according to Wikipedia, they were purchased used from Detroit in 1894.  I wonder if that's one of the ones residing in Austin now.
Fort and ShelbyThe old post office in Detroit was on the northeast corner of West Fort and Shelby.  Nothing in this photo remains today.  
Alright, alright, alright ..."Party at the Moon Tower."
Sidewalk Sign EnvyI would like to time travel and swipe some of the polite requests to refrain from spitting on the sidewalk, and bring them to current day Boston to be posted. The sidewalks are covered with spit and gum, and there is nothing quite like walking behind a spitter. That is particularly true on a windy day.
Back to the photo, the post office is magnificent! I wonder if it had spittoons inside.
A short tripSeems ironic that there should need to be a letterbox across the street from the world's largest post office.
High SteppingWhat's with the man high stepping in the street, a block back?
[He's getting on a bicycle. - Dave]
Smooth pavementI can't help feeling a bit of envy by looking at that smooth pavement on the street. Notable that this was taken at a time when the automobile was still considered a fad, a mere toy for the idle wealthy, and was not still being used as a regular means of transportation. 
Federal BuildingThere's quite a history of this place, as well as more photos, over at:
www.buildingsofdetroit.com/places/post
M.O.S.W.Looks like John Cleese doing his Silly Walk in front of the library.
It is quite odd to find nothing at all remaining from this wide swath.   Many buildings from this era are still in place - any drive through Detroit shows that.
Then & NowHey guys, I couldn't resist this one, I just went out on the bike to get an "after" photograph of this view.  Enjoy!
http://www.flickr.com/photos/gsgeorge/3935273602/

(The Gallery, Detroit Photos, DPC)

The Detroit 200
... the Majestic Building and one of the city's celebrated "moonlight towers." Detroit Photographic Co. glass negative. View full size. ... around the square were from the 1890s. Moon Tower If I'm not mistaken, that is a "moon tower," in the background. ... 
 
Posted by Dave - 04/15/2022 - 11:24pm -

July 25, 1901. "Cadillac Memorial Parade -- Detroit bicentenary celebration. Floats in civic & industrial parade." Looming over the Campus Martius, the Majestic Building and one of the city's celebrated "moonlight towers." Detroit Photographic Co. glass negative. View full size.
Extent of extantThe only structure that still exists might be the oldest in the photo - the Michigan Soldiers and Sailors Monument. Its cornerstone was laid in 1867, and most of the buildings around the square were from the 1890s.

Moon TowerIf I'm not mistaken, that is a "moon tower," in the background. 
[Just like it says in the photo caption! - Dave]
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Moonlight_tower
Sorry, Dave!  I was so excited to see the moon tower, I didn't read your caption.  My mistake!
Detroit 300I found out the Soldiers' and Sailors' Monument was repositioned during a reworking of the Campus Martius plaza and rededicated at the end of that project in 2005.  I'm guessing this was part of Detroit's 300 year celebration in 2001.  Detroit has had a few different opera house buildings.  The one in the photo now has the address of One Campus Martius, and was replaced by the building in the Google Street View with the Meridian (health insurance) name over the entrance.  But Woodward Avenue still has streetcar rails.

(The Gallery, Detroit Photos, DPC, Horses)

Swim Teem: 1917
... by now if still living! Waiting for the Night The tower that a couple of people are climbing on here is a sort of miniature version of Detroit's "moonlight" towers. An opposite view from the water, including the beautiful ... 
 
Posted by Dave - 07/25/2012 - 3:11pm -

Detroit, Michigan, circa 1917. "Bathing beach at Belle Isle Park." 8x10 inch dry plate glass negative, Detroit Publishing Company. View full size.
Find itWhere is Wally?
Could've been a great pictureBut someone moved.
The sea was empty that day, my friend.Yes, I know it's a lake, but what a spectacle. Speaking of, to the left of the guy in the horizontally striped swimsuit (also on the left) is the one beachgoer I see wearing glasses. The crowd's median age appears to be under 25. Many have around their necks what I am certain are storage locker keys. The abundance of attractive faces is striking, and my personal Best of Da Beach pick are these three bonneted lovelies, who surely occupy the A Table back at their school cafeteria.
LookThat guy in the middle looks just like George Michael.
Water worksThe spires and standpipes of Water Works Park are seen in the background. What a time to be alive, eh? 
!!!Gimme an "R"!!!Pictures like this look so current it's hard to believe they are all dead except for the very youngest and even they are in their mid-90s by now if still living!
Waiting for the NightThe tower that a couple of people are climbing on here is a sort of miniature version of Detroit's "moonlight" towers.  An opposite view from the water, including the beautiful old bathhouse, that clearly shows the entire light tower can be seen here.
Carpe DiemAnother one of those shots that whisper to you.  That's why I like Shorpy.
Waist SizeI love all these beach and swimsuit photos on Shorpy. Goes to show that the misconception that everyone was stick thin compared to people today is so far fetched. You can see all shapes and sizes then and now. Granted there are far more  morbidly obese people now. Still I'd say if we took a bunch of people at a modern beach, made them change in to those old wool bathing suits, and took a shot it wouldn't look too different from this.
Largest beach crowdToo bad Guinness World Records wouldn't be published until 37 years later.
All those peopleYes, they probably are in fact nearly now all gone. But seeing pictures like these collectively nudge us into acknowledging that once they were very much alive and went on to become our grandparents and great-grandparents. My childhood memory of my own grandparents is of them being old and sickly; photos like these help us kind of know them as we may never have had the opportunity.
My Kinda TownSo great to see the last few postings featuring my Detroit. With the Detroit Publishing Company associated with so many photos, it's difficult to search for those featuring Detroit. Keep 'em coming!
MissingIt's amazing how many people are in this picture and yet there is not one person of color.
Seriously?  All shapes and sizes?With the possible exception of the blurred woman in the foreground, please find me one in the entire group who would be considered overweight.
People of Size & vice versaLooking at this photo I would come to the opposite conclusion. I can't find any obese people and if there any they are certainly in the minority. A photo of today's beachgoers would surely not look like the people in this photo.   
(The Gallery, Detroit Photos, DPC, Swimming)

Infrastructure: 1910
... rose here still stands, if just barely. Note the two "moonlight tower" carbon arc lamp standards in the distance. 8x10 inch glass negative, ... 
 
Posted by Dave - 08/21/2012 - 4:52pm -

Detroit circa 1910. "Excavating for the new Union Station." A century later, the mammoth Michigan Central Station that eventually rose here still stands, if just barely. Note the two "moonlight tower" carbon arc lamp standards in the distance. 8x10 inch glass negative, Detroit Publishing Company. View full size.
Short Handled ShovelHated by laborers everywhere through the years. They appear in numerous folk and blues songs and the dislike is justified. I had to use one in a summer job as a kid and they are back breakers.
Evolution of earthmovingThis photo shows the past and the future of earthmoving: men shoveling the earth to the steam-powered shovel at the left of the photo.
But no bulldozers. Perhaps diesel/gas engines had not yet developed a power/weight ratio suitable for the needs of a bulldozer - but you had the idea on the front of locomotives: the cow catcher (and snow plow).
Everyone wore a hat, but no protective headgear. Why wear a vest during such strenuous activity?
Re: Short Handled shovelsThe trick is to take small shovel-loads, quickly. Too often, one tries to make the job easier by taking big "bites." Harder work, and less effective in the long run! What my dad always referred to as "a lazy man's load."
One goes up, another comes down.It looks like the building to the right just suffered a fire on the second floor.
How Are The Mighty FallenHere is a website showing the degradation of this once-magnificent structure.
http://www.seedetroit.com/pictures/mcsweb/
Track JacksIn the foreground, on the wooden planking there are two track jacks and a pair of "Texas Toothpicks" used to operate them. The ones I've encountered were rated at 100 tons, I on the other hand wasn't.
Well EmployedForty four men working. Today: possibly two for the same job.
Real ManpowerAlthough the topic is "excavating," it appears these men are moving gravel or road base off the flatcars and spreading it as a foundation. There is a similar running pile alongside the tracks on the right that is being attacked. Regular Shorpy readers know about the evolution of the steam shovel, which is working its way along the distant bank, whose curvature reflects the swing of the shovel arm. Presumably the weather is brisk enough to dress warmly. 
I Believe in the Communion of SaintsAre the two fellows in the foreground "waterboys" (or perhaps more appropriately, watermen) for the crew?  If so, it appears the fellow holding the ladle is an unhappy customer, who seems to be a little suspicious of the cleanliness of their wares.  In 1910 I suppose they weren't as keen on hygienic issues and had no qualms about sharing the common cup with their fellow workmen.
Date is incorrectGround was broken May 1912, there is a photo set from insurance company Manning Brothers that resides in the Avery Collection at Columbia University NYC in the Warren and Wetmore Collection.
[Excavation had commenced at least by the spring of 1910. Below, headlines from May 16 and Oct. 17, 1910. Also, "circa 1910" does not necessarily mean "in 1910." - Dave]
(The Gallery, Detroit Photos, DPC, Railroads)

Tubular Lanterns: 1905
... cans illustrated between the windows, and the arc-lamp "moonlight tower" to the right. 8x10 glass negative, Detroit Publishing Co. View full ... 
 
Posted by Dave - 08/08/2011 - 10:18am -

Detroit circa 1905. "Buhl Stamping Co., 3rd Ave. and Larned." Note the "Cheese Factory" milk cans illustrated between the windows, and the arc-lamp "moonlight tower" to the right. 8x10 glass negative, Detroit Publishing Co. View full size.
Rough Road?What is the road surface made of? Is it brick that just has dirt and perhaps "wintertime" stuff on it? Or is it actually a dirt road. I've seen this in other pictures and have wondered.
[Brick pavers are probably somewhere under there. - Dave]
Relatively new buildingArchitecturally, I'd guess that's a fairly new building.  It has pretty simple/plain lines, and more importantly it's probably using iron or steel window headers (rather than brick arches as was used in older buildings.)  Compare to the building on the left, where there are those arches above the windows.  (Still, I'm not sure if those arches are decorative or structural.)
What's the building to the right?  It's much fancier, and could be a post office, courthouse or railroad station.  I'd guess the latter, just because this plant needs rail service presumably going into the back of the structure (raw materials in, finished milk cans out.)
[That's the Fort Street Union Depot. - Dave]
Rail RoadI have always loved Milk Cans.
CannedAll of the buildings in this picture are long gone. I'm in my early 50s, and am just old enough to remember using the Fort Street depot. The depot was a truly beautiful Richardsonesque red sandstone building with a large blocky clock tower that loomed over Fort Street for over 80 years.
These buildings were replaced by Wayne County Community College, its parking lot, and the Lodge Freeway. Although their domination over the milk can business has long since faded away, the Buhl family remains one of the Detroit area's most prominent families, with one of downtown Detroit's most beautiful skyscrapers named for them. 
Buhl Tinning Plant


Iron and Steel Works of the United States, 1910.


Tinplates and Terne Plates.
Michigan

Buhl Stamping Company, Detroit. Tinning plant erected in 1888; product, tinplates, all consumed by the company in the manufacture of milk-can stock, tubular lanterns, etc. A galvanizing plant is connected with the works. Fuel, coal. Buys back plates.




The World Almanac & Encyclopedia, 1901,
The Press Publishing Co., NY. 

Perfect Milk Cans are essential to profitable dairying. A Milk Can is not perfect unless it can be kept absolutely clean and free from germs and unless it will last five or ten years without repairs.
The highest award at the Paris Exposition of 1900 was granted to the Buhl Cans on these two points, Buhl Cans have the patented "Victor" Can Breast, smooth as glass and free from spinning marks.
Buhl Cans have no crevices within where milk can lodge, and sour, and smell.
Buhl Cans are perfectly tinned and free from blemish of any kind.
Buhl Cans are heavily and smoothly soldered within and without and every can is tested.
Buhl Cans will not break, leak, or rust like common cans.
Buhl Cans are indorsed by the highest dairy authorities for their cleanliness and great durability. They are used by the United States Government and the largest creameries in the country.
They cost a little more than other cans, but will last twice as long without repairs, and are easier to clean.
If these points appeal to you, send for our book of
testimonials "From Mexico to the Top of the Earth,"
and price list.
We caution can buyers against imitation Buhl Cans
offered by some supply houses. Every genuine Buhl
Can bears our labels, and is stamped with the Milk
Can Trademark.
It is a pleasure to answer inquiries in regard to
these goods. Send your order direct to the makers.

BUHL STAMPING COMPANY,
Cor. Third and Larned Sts., Detroit, Mich.

Sufficient capacity to make every Milk Can used in the
United States.

Not to be confused with RR lampsTubular lanterns are characterized by vertical tubes that flank the globe, as shown by the illustration at right. Although one line of railroad lanterns, the Dietz "Vesta", used this design, the vast majority of tubular lanterns were manufactured for general domestic, farm, and industrial purposes. There were many variations on this general style using both the "hot blast" and "cold blast" combustion design. Many different manufacturers, including R.E. Dietz, Embury, and C.T. Ham, produced tubular lanterns, and some production continues to this day for domestic and specialty markets.
Tubular lanterns are frequently misidentified as railroad lanterns.
 more info ...
Fort Street DepotAl, your command of the history of Detroit is amazing.  One thing I never realized, even though I have looked at both buildings dozens of times, was the similarity between the Fort Street Depot and Old Main (for those unfamiliar - old Central High now part of Wayne State).  
I see there is a plug for the Evening News on the side of the building next door too.
(The Gallery, Detroit Photos, DPC, Factories)

The Public Square: 1901
... and Sailors' Monument and Detroit Opera House. Plus a "moonlight tower" super-streetlight. 8x10 inch glass negative, Detroit Publishing Company. ... 
 
Posted by Dave - 07/23/2017 - 12:23am -

Detroit circa 1901. "Woodward Avenue at the Campus Martius showing Bagley Fountain." Other landmarks include City Hall, the Majestic Building, Soldiers' and Sailors' Monument and Detroit Opera House. Plus a "moonlight tower" super-streetlight. 8x10 inch glass negative, Detroit Publishing Company. View full size.
Majestic's signage obscured?Has the sign on the Majestic Building (C.A.SH_EER)(?!?) been intentionally obscured in post-production, or is there something going on with it that I just can't figure out?
[C.A. SHAFER, a department store. - Dave]
Also, I love the observation deck.  I wish more buildings today offered that feature.  If I traveled back to the day this was taken, I would be up there looking around to see how long it took me to spot an overweight person.  Of the 80 or so people that I can clearly gauge in this photo, there are zero.
On the verge of becoming Motor CityNo automobiles in the 1901 photo, and just nine years later, most of the vehicles will be autos - Shorpy - Detroit: 1910.
Moon towers? Mind blown.What an amazing thing. And just as with all these sorts of crisp cityscapes, I love all the vignettes you can see when you zoom in.
There's no Good Humor hereAt first I took the white cart to the right to be a horse-drawn ice cream wagon, realizing that the frozen treats would have been packed in blocks of ice in 1901. On closer inspection it appears to be an ambulance for Grace Hospital. 
Grace Hospital AmbulanceI was born at Grace Hospital a few years after this photo was taken. OK, many years after.
(The Gallery, Bicycles, Detroit Photos, DPC, Streetcars)

Boiled Dinners: 1910
... Building (and, rising behind it, the Ford Building), a "moonlight tower" arc lamp stanchion, and the bunting-bedecked City Hall. 8x10 glass ... 
 
Posted by Dave - 02/10/2017 - 7:42pm -

Detroit circa 1910. "Monroe Avenue and City Hall." Points of interest include, starting from the left, Pittsburg Dairy Lunch, Considine's (serving Budweiser Imported Pilsner Beer), McNamara Sign Co. (SIGNS, ELECTRIC SIGNS), the Detroit Billiard & Pool Room, McGough's Restaurant (Boiled Dinners 25¢; "We Draw the Best Glass of Beer in the City"), Gies's Restaurant, Sweeney's Billiards, the Hotel Fowler, the Soldiers' and Sailors' Monument, the Hammond Building (and, rising behind it, the Ford Building), a "moonlight tower" arc lamp stanchion, and the bunting-bedecked City Hall. 8x10 glass negative. View full size.
Like Mother used to makeBoiled dinners were a common meal in my childhood home as we all loved them and they were easy to make.  Most common was the ham, cabbage and potato combo (Polish soul food), but you could also use corned beef, cabbage, carrots and spuds (Irish soul food), or the seafood version of a summer supper boil with shrimp, kielbasa, corn on the cob, potatoes, etc.
My mom was born in that year, 1910, and I never ate in a restaurant until I went on a class trip to NYC when I was fourteen. Years later, when I moved to the Southwest, I was amazed to see babies in high chairs eating chips and salsa in  Mexican restaurants.  How privileged I was to have a cooking mother who fed our faces as well as our souls.
The Johnson BlockThis is now an empty lot across from the CompuWare building. The lower profile buildings are part of the Johnson block and dated from the 1850s. All of these buildings were demolished about 1990.
Unelectric "Electric Sign" signIt's interesting that the sign company's "Electric Signs" sign is not an electric sign. 
Picking Over the RemainsAlmost all of the buildings in this photo have disappeared. I believe that all that remains now are the Ford Building, the early part of the Penobscot Building peeking above City Hall, and the Soldiers and Sailors Monument (although that has been moved several hundred feet to the west). 
As Strasbourg16 says below, all of the buildings on the left were torn down in 1990. They were cleared, after a lengthy preservation struggle and years of neglect, for a shopping center that was never built. here is some more information on these buildings and some photos of them both in their heyday and in their sad last days before demolition.
Also, looking at the stores on the Monroe block on the left (as well as the thorough lack of cars), I think the dating of this photo may be a little late and that it's more likely to be 1908 or '07.
(The Gallery, Bicycles, Detroit Photos, DPC, Streetcars)

The Lookout: 1910
... in place, indeed Meanwhile, in the background, a moonlight tower stands ready to give just enough light for a nighttime escape. (The ... 
 
Posted by Dave - 06/03/2014 - 1:24pm -

Detroit circa 1910. "House of Correction." With everyone in place for the big jailbreak. 8x10 glass negative, Detroit Publishing Company. View full size.
The PlanMugsy, that nosy screw on the ramparts is going to get it when we make our break!
House of CorrectionKnown to Detroiters as DeHoCo. This appears to be the original location on Russell Street near Winder. The jail sat on what would now be known as Sheds 4 and 5 in the Eastern Market.
Famous Residents?Belle Starr of Wild West fame spent 8 months as a model prisoner, and David Udall - grandfather to Mo Udall - chilled his heels in DeHoCo for perjury. Seems he fibbed on a land deal for Mitt Romney's great-grandfather. Mr. Udall was able to post bail thanks to Barry Goldwater's grandpa.
Yup, Mitt, Mo and Barry each ran for President and their ancestors were pals.
All the best scandals start in DeHoCo.
Everyone in place, indeedMeanwhile, in the background, a moonlight tower stands ready to give just enough light for a nighttime escape.
(The Gallery, Detroit Photos, DPC, Kids)
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