My great-grandparents left the brutal Detroit winters in January 1906 for California, where they made their new home in Santa Barbara. They met on the Woodward Avenue trolley in 1902. My great-grandmother got off near Jefferson Avenue where she lived at 497 Jefferson. My great-grandfather took the trolley all the way up to 2050 Woodward Ave. where he lived with his mother and sister.

I am curious regarding the steel girder tower in the background that is in line roughly with the center of the street. What would have this been used for in 1907?

[It's one of Detroit's famous moonlight towers. -tterrace]

Based on the massive increase in manufacturing output of vehicles that began the year the photo was taken and would increase dramatically in 1908 as well, this is likely one of the last views anyone has of busy Woodward Ave in Detroit devoid of the automobile.

General Arthur Cigars are advertised on the white sign to the far left of the frame just above street level. At the time, they were marketed as the "healthy" cigar brand with just the right amount of "intoxicants" as this ad from 1899 illustrates.