Little old Detroit had no idea what was coming in 1906. Can you imagine if someone then could have seen into the future to the forthcoming glory days of Detroit, its pride and wealth and on to the present collapse. It sure makes you wonder what is ahead for all of us, each city, each region of this big country. The exciting changes always seem to come from the inventors. It certainly is tempting to yearn for the quieter days of horse and buggy and the much slower pace. Thank you Shorpy for archiving the past. It is so comforting to visit even if we can't stay.

According to the 1906 Detroit city directory, Sarah J. Farly (widow of Stephen M. Farly) was the proprietor of the Farly Tailor shop at 83-85 Michigan Avenue, on the southeast corner of Wayne Street (now Washington Boulevard).

On the right side of the photo, Wayne runs away from the camera toward the Detroit River.

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I wonder how much different the sound, the timbre, the echo of city streets was before motor cars assaulted the auditory canals? Being "in the city" must have been a very different sensory experience. When the only sounds were the clop clop of horses and the clang of trolleys on those wide, empty streets. Perhaps the zzzzzt of the trolley electric wires overhead, too. And a cop whistle now and then. The swish of a woman's long dress as she whisked into a store. The jangle of the bell hanging on the door. When you could HEAR everything with a vividness that has been lost to time.

It must have made the city seem larger, calmer, more majestic, more austere, more vivid. And, as they say, like "in the movies."

My family used to shop at Gately's Peoples Store in Tinley Park, Illinois, when I was a kid, until it closed in the 80s. Some Gately's photos from another store.

A photo from the Roseland (Chicago) store remnants:

And a closeup of that same logo on the building, on a souvenir plate from the '50s.

"We furnish the home. We clothe the people." So noble!

I like the concept of a "credit parlor."

"Come in. Have a seat. Care for a cup of tea? How much can we loan you?"

And is that a newsgnome on the corner?