Detroit does not have a subway, despite multiple attempts. Motown just couldn't give up its love of the auto, perhaps, or the streetcars and interurban were sufficient until commuting by car became feasible.

The earliest proposal for a subway I could find was a feasibility study in 1915, That's well after this photo, so whatever they're digging for, it's not a subway. Darn.

I can't think of what else this particular activity would be -- it seems as if there's a rectangular hole being dug in the street here, but the corresponding shot in the google earth photo shows only a surface light-rail track.

[Is there a Detroit Subway? Let's do some exploratory digging, and try not to hit that water main! - Dave]

I seem to recall that at some point about 50 years later Woodward Avenue would become a notorious dragstrip.

As in, every building in this picture has gone to building heaven (or perhaps Hell, for those not fond of Victorian bric-a-brac). That's not really surprising, of course -- it is well over a century ago, after all -- but what may surprise is how long they've been gone: Kern's replaced its building just a few years after this picture, while the Hudson's structure was replaced in the late '20s.

Here's the best shot I could get from Street View. Campus Martius is to the right - if you swivel over you can see the Soldiers and Sailors Monument, a frequent Shorpy guest. The greenish building on the far left was built on the site of city hall. The black buildings are where the Majestic Building stood, and the beige and green building is where the Opera House was. The building rising in the background is the new, recently-named Hudson Building, on the same footprint as the old Hudson's.

One day, a visit there completely and permanently changed my life for the better.

I never knew JL Hudson’s flagship downtown Detroit department store was ever called “Hudson’s Big Store”. There she sits in the center background.

Spent many childhood days there. It was its own town, almost completely self-contained/sustained. Everything anyone needed, goods or services. That place remained quite robust for decades.

I met the missus there when she was one of the last four Hudson’s employees in that massive building, late 1983. By then it was way spooky there, but still very cool.

While sorry to see the building go, I am quite happy to still be with Hudson’s ex-fledgling Assistant Buyer for Children’s Wear who once again is busy buying children’s wear -- just not for a living.

Campus Martius? Opera House? The Majestic??

Am I the only person who can't see any of this? There's a tiny patch of lawn on the far right ... is that the park?

Where's Waldo???