MAY CONTAIN NUTS
HOME

Search Shorpy

SEARCH TIP: Click the tags above a photo to find more of same:
Mandatory field.

Search results -- 30 results per page


Up Woodward: 1908
... Detroit Publishing Company. View full size. Moonlight Towers And all this time I've considered cell phone towers a major ... in the fifth inning. Let There Be Light! How many moonlight towers does everyone count? I can see maybe twelve, thirteen or ... 
 
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 ... Burned Out Guess it's a good thing we don't have moonlight towers now. The "kids today" would probably climb them and spray ... 
 
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)

Woodward Avenue: 1917
... rise again." Speaking of moonlight Farewell, good moonlight towers. Twenty years gone by the time of this photo. Is it a ... 
 
Posted by Dave - 07/24/2012 - 9:50pm -

Detroit, Michigan, circa 1917. "Looking up Woodward Avenue." Dry plate glass negative, Detroit Publishing Company. View full size.
"Mellow as Moonlight"If I was a drinkin' man, I would be sippin' some a that Cascade whiskey.
Motor city, for sure!Not one single horse in view.
Temporal AcheMan, this is one of those Shorpy photos that really make me wish I had a time machine.
Not much leftAbout the only thing still remaining is the Soldiers' and Sailors' Monument, and even it has been moved about 300 feet from where it stood for 130 years.
An amazing photo.
Casting against TypeI see the film "Somewhere in Georgia" is playing, where Ty Cobb stars surprisingly as a small-town Georgia baseball player who signs with the Detroit Tigers.
Health InsuranceAlmost 100 years later, the country is in a major pique over health Insurance and the Detroit Creamery had the answer all along. This maybe the best urban photograph yet, it certainly is the busiest.
Notice the #2 streetcar?It's got one of those fancy-schmancy 'people scoopers' on it, like this:
https://www.shorpy.com/node/4468
HodgepodgeOne of the best urban pictures yet!  Too much to take in at one sitting; The Opera House, that wonderful memorial, the traffic, those streetcars. I wonder what the tent was for in front of that fountain, just across from the Opera House.   
FascinatingThere's so much to look at in this photo. I especially enjoy seeing people going about their daily lives, not posing for a camera.
The movie theater sign says "All Next Week, Somewhere in Georgia".  According to IMDB.com "Somewhere in Georgia", starring Ty Cobb, was filmed in the winter of 1916 and released in June 1917.  Is the 1915 date on the photo in error?
[Do we know what "circa" means? - Dave]
An Edison ElectricI notice that the Edison Electric is being driven by a woman. My grandmother (who lived in Detroit) said that the only car she ever drove was an Edison Electric. She was afraid of driving a gasoline-powered car.
[Women liked electrics because there were no gears to shift, and no clutch -- shifting and clutching on cars of that era required quite a bit of muscle. - Dave]
Cloudy crystal ballCover story in Time Magazine, October 5, 2009: "The Tragedy of Detroit: How a great city fell, and it it can rise again."
Speaking of moonlightFarewell, good moonlight towers.  Twenty years gone by the time of this photo.
Is it a coincidence that Shorpy has hit upon another star of the silent screen? The theater beneath the Blackstone Cigar sign (far right)features Gladys Brockwell, who, like Kay Laurell (1890-1927), died in her thirties. Horrific 1929 car crash in California.
Merrill FountainThe Merrill Fountain in front of the Opera House still exists, too. Granted, it was moved about seven miles up the road to Palmer Park. 
Before it was called Wootwart (Woodward)The definition of the "good old days" ...
Traffic LightsGreat image.  Did traffic lights look different then, or did they not have them in Detroit?
[In 1917, traffic signals came on two legs. - Dave]
Re: An Edison ElectricLooks more like a Detroit Electric car than the very rare Edison.
The main reason the ladies like the electric car was no crank starting. Charles Kettering changed that a few years later with the electric starter motor if IC engines.
Notice the complete absenceof horse poop. And horses.
Stop sign doesn't apply...Surprised to see that pedestrains do not follow traffic signs as they crossed the streets. It seems that those signs were for trolleys and cars only. It anwered my question why my g-g-great uncle got killed by a trolley. 
ProsperityWow!  You can almost hear the hustle and bustle of prosperity in this amazing photograph -- the essence of early 20th century proud American urbanity.  Go to Google Earth or some other mapping web site and visit the corner of Woodward and Fort today -- a dreary, faceless, lifeless desert of glassy highrises without a pedestrian in sight.
HeartbreakingWhen I go through Detroit now it is a vast third world, broken down, trashed city, with gangs and thugs peering from behind collapsed buildings. How in the name of all that is worthy could this magnificent American city come to what it is today? Almost makes me want to watch Glenn Beck.
Oh what a feelingI had to smirk a bit when I opened of the intersection on Google streets and the first thing I saw was a shiny Toyota.
FABULOUSThis image is go busy and wonderful.  There is so much to notice.  I wonder what the conversations were and so much more.  
There is a tent in the middle of the square to the left of the statue.  Why?  What is the statue of?
All in WhiteI love the woman all in white crossing the street with her plaid skirted friend (near the front of the photo, just before the frontmost car). She looks so different than everyone else. 
I bet the two women just walking into the frame below them are talking about her. She's showing ankle AND calf! I'm sure she'll be a flapper in a few years!
The girl in whiteI think that the girl in white is in fact a girl - probably a young teen accompanying her mother (the lady in the plaid skirt).  Therefore she would be perfectly well dressed for her age.  However that also means that she would be in the right demographic to become a flapper once the twenties (which would coincide with her twenties) rolled around.
Great picture - Lord I could look at it for hours!
That banner over the street"ENLIST NOW! YOUR COUNTRY NEEDS YOU"
And to your left...Seems even Detroit had its requisite "Seeing..." touring bus company. I count three "charabancs" in this photo, one across the street from Bond's with "WELLS" emblazoned on the back, and two in the centre-left crammed with mostly female tourists. Wonder what they were off to see next?
I'm loving the little insignificant human moments the photographer caught and immortalized: the man at the lower left trying to make something out on a bulletin board; the hefty many putting his arm around his companion's waist next to the memorial; three ladies converging outside the theater. Fantastic.
The building on the far leftis the 1896 Majestic Building, designed by the famous Chicago architect Daniel Burnham. Among other things, Burnham also designed the Flatiron Building in NYC, and oversaw the construction of the 1893 World's Columbian Exposition. The Majestic was Detroit's tallest building until 1909, when the Ford Building (also a Burnham creation) was completed. The Ford still stands today, as well as Burnham's other Detroit creations, the David Whitney Building and the Dime Building. Sadly the Majestic was torn down in 1962 to make way for the exponentially less-interesting 1001 Woodward Building. 
“Make no little plans; they have no magic to stir men’s blood and probably themselves will not be realized. Make big plans; aim high in hope and work, remembering that a noble, logical diagram once recorded will not die, but long after we are gone be a living thing, asserting itself with ever-growing insistence. Remember that our sons and our grandsons are going to do things that would stagger us. Let your watchword be order and your beacon beauty.”
-Daniel H. Burnham
Sight Seeing in Detroit ca. 1917The Dietsche Sight Seeing Company was one of several companies that offered tours of Detroit back in this time period.  Below is a photo of their advertisement offering their services to local companies who might want to entertain their out-of-town customers with a "Sight Seeing Trip around the city, Belle Isle, or Water Works Park."
Given the description of the street banner, this photo was probably taken sometime around June 5, 1917, which was the date on which all men between the ages of 21 and 31 were required to register for the draft.
Soldiers and Sailors MonumentStill nearby, but not as nicely maintained.
Very Nicely MaintainedThe Soldiers & Sailors monument is actually very well maintained. Notice how it's not all blackened with soot as in the old photo. When you view it up close you can also see where some very nice restoration has recently been done. Not everything in Detroit is a rotting hulk.
Still busyNot like this, but the ice skating rink at Campus Martius is already set up and would be approximately directly in front of the Detroit Opera House. Downtown Detroit is not the home of thugs or crime at all, really, but is sadly quiet when the businesses are closed. Many of the buildings are still here, and magnificent. Come visit before they tear them all down. 
I'll be ordering a large print of this image! Thank you Shorpy.  
Re. "Mellow as Moonlight"I saw this photo a few days ago, and, like GeezerNYC, I was quite struck by the Cascade Whiskey billboard. Now, I know that Geo. Dickel is still in business, and I was familiar with Dickel's Tennessee Sipppin' Whiskey and Old No. 8, but I had never heard of Cascade. It must have gone the way of the buggy whip and Lydia Pinkham, I thought.
But then today I stopped at the liquor store after work to pick up a bottle of wine, and GUESS WHAT THEY HAD?!?! shhhh...too loud. So, then
and I bought some. And do you guys know what? It's pretty goood. I';m drikning it right now. And I just wanna 
True story I swear.
Hey! do you know what? I bought some oft hat Cacsade whiskey? Or is it whishky? Aanyway, I just wanna
You know what/ You guys are greatf. I just wanna
Hudson's Grows, and...Hudson's grew with Detroit, and perhaps inevitably, declined with Detroit.  
Cascade HollowThe current Cascade Hollow Whiskey was created to deal with a shortage of the Dickel No. 8 and then just hung around.  They didn't have enough whiskey of a certain age so they made a new brand and put their younger stuff in it so that the quality of the No. 8 wouldn't suffer.  The Cascade Hollow has been discontinued, but it's still on the shelves in many places.
The name Cascade was replaced by the Dickel name after Prohibition and a number.
In order of price (& quality) the current Dickel offerings are:
(Cascade Hollow)
Dickel No. 8
Dickel No. 12
Dickel Barrel Select (which is one of the best whiskeys I've ever had.  And I've had a lot.)
Anyway, Dickel is currently owned by the evil international spirits conglomorate Diageo, which also owns Guinness, Hennessey, Smirnoff, Johnny Walker, Tanqueray, Bushmills, Cpt. Morgan, Jose Cuervo, Crown Royal and many many more.
I can't relate to this picture at allThere is no one in this picture that looks like me or anyone else in my family and for that matter most of my friends...maybe that's how most of the people making comments about it want Detroit to look like.
Movie ID helpIn the background, there appears to be a movie showing called "The Spoilers", but Wikipedia says it came out in 1914, not 1917. Just below that it looks like "Barrymore (?) as Georgia" and to the left of that is "Ty". Anyone have some ideas as to which movies are being advertised?
[The movie is "Somewhere in Georgia," with Ty Cobb, released in 1917. - Dave]
Re: Re: An Edison ElectricMy great-great-grandfather Frank Montgomery Foster was selling Kissel Kars in Detroit.  In 1913, he also had "one of the Detroit's finest garages at the corner of Gratiot Avenue and Grand Boulevard."  It looks like the two cars in the bottom left of the photo (with the barrel fronts) may be Kissels, but I don't know enough about autos of the era to ID them.
KernsMy co-worker's last name is Kerns. I showed him this picture one day and eventually forwarded it to him. He then forwarded picture to his family and learned that his mother Americanized their Polish name around 1917 after seeing that building "Kern's Children's Clothes."
One of the best!The photo is insanely busy and the comments led me on a couple scavenger hunts online.  Introduced to Gladys Brockwell, Daniel Burnham, Cascade, Dietsche company, etc.  A very entertaining hour and a half on this one pic!  Of course, being from Detroit makes it that much more interesting.  Also, Heartbreaking, Detroit is a pheonix.  You watch what she can do!  The people have so much spirit. We love our city like a member of our family.
(The Gallery, Cars, Trucks, Buses, Detroit Photos, DPC, Streetcars)

Moonlight Tower: 1899
... of the edifice, and forcing the full demolition. Moonlight Towers in Austin There are indeed remaining moonlight towers here in Austin. Seventeen of them are still in use, ... 
 
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
... pricing fruit perhaps on a fine summer's Sunday. Moonlight Towers: now Austin residents Those carbon-arc lamps were once very ... free-tailed bats feasting on the insects drawn to glow of moonlight towers. Austin, whose unofficial motto is "Keep Austin Weird," is a ... 
 
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)

Field of Mars: 1890
... could afford it left the city in the summer months. Moonlight Towers Austin, Texas, went in with the moonlight tower fad and ... 
 
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)

The Electric Circus: 1905
... block of Woodward is now a pedestrian and event plaza. The moonlight towers have been replaced by the United Way torch! Just ... placed as high as possible. [Shorpy and Detroit's "moonlight towers" go way back. - Dave] Penny Arcade? The Exhibit, 98 ... 
 
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)

Cadillac Square: 1902
... the pine trees and so much more, or so much less. Moonlight Towers Austin, TX still has a few working Moonlight towers - usually just called Moontowers. At Zilker Park a Moontower ... 
 
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)

Motown Noir: 1910
... Where's the Moon (Light Towers)? Were the moonlight towers all gone by 1910? I looked back at the past Detroit photos ... 
 
Posted by Dave - 08/14/2012 - 5:00pm -

Detroit, Michigan, circa 1910. "Campus Martius at night." A nocturnal view of the Soldiers and Sailors Monument. Detroit Publishing Company. View full size.
Chop Suey was popularI have noticed that in almost all of the street scenes from various cities around the U.S. shown on Shorpy, there are always large, neon "Chop Suey" signs, sometimes several in the same picture.   I see two in this photo, there may be more.  One has to wonder what made early 20th century chop suey taste so good that it merited full size, expensive, lighted advertising signs.  There are multitudes of recipes for it, all different, but there must have been a  "type" that had strong appeal to the masses.  This is a particularly beautiful picture with outstanding plays of light that could have been photographed the night my mom was born and I would love to be able to be visit this very locale at that very  time.  This is a picture than can inspire a million stories as one walks along the intriguing boulevard (of broken dreams?)  Thank you Shorpy for once again setting my imagination on high speed.
"Chop Suey" (Edward Hopper, 1929)
Where's the Moon (Light Towers)?Were the moonlight towers all gone by 1910? I looked back at the past Detroit photos that had them and they all seemed to be 1905 or earlier. Looks like they installed normal streetlights by this time.
[While they weren't on every street corner, there were several nearby [one, two, three). But they may have been removed by the time this photo was made. - Dave]
Diamond TiresTHEY WON'T SKID
THEY WON'T SLIDE
THEY GRIP
Diamond Tires won'tI was puzzled for a moment by what Diamond Tires won't do. "Skibe"? Then it dawned on me: they alternately won't skid and don't slide!
America's Heyday Beautiful.
Amazing signage. 
Chop Sueybecame a generic term for Chinese food. At least in black areas of town, such as Harlem, a Chinese restaurant was a "Chop Suey joint." Similarly, "gin" was a generic term for hard liquor. Writers often wrote of Bessie Smith's fondness for gin, based largely upon her use of the term in songs, but they were making assumptions. I asked Ruby Smith, her niece and touring companion, if Bessie really preferred gin. "no, no," she replied, "Bessie didn't like nothing but bad liquor, she said that anything sealed made her sick."
Neither Will They SlipI wondered why the "D" in SLIDE and SKID would need an extra lighted segment in the middle.  Then I found an ad for Diamond tires in a 1913 Popular Mechanics that says,
"The Diamond Safety Tread Tire is the famous Diamond Automobile Tire adapted for motorcyle - it won't slip, won't slide, won't skip - it grips and bites the pavement - it gives you sure control in every emergency and a heaping measure of mileage."
History of Chop SueyOTY, you got me thinking...
A quick Google yielded this:
http://hubpages.com/hub/Eat-Drink-And-Be-Merry
Aside from the misspellings, the short article is very interesting. Thank you for prompting me to learn something new today!
In oppositionIn both senses of the word - Diamond and Goodrich, though Goodrich seems to have the edge here in the amount of light it sheds.  A fascinating composition with lots to see.  I like all the light trails wiggling in and out from the cars, I wonder how long they had to keep the shutter open?
More modern than todayAt a glance, I’d have guessed this to be 1930 or 1940, not 1910.  I’m amazed by the number of vehicle lights and neon signs present in a year I’d have supposed to be much more like the 19th Century still.
Margaret IllingtonMiss Illington, here starring at the Detroit Opera House, had recently been divorced from theatrical manager David Frohman.  This year -- I don't know whether before or after this photo -- she married Edward Bowes, later to host "Major Bowes' Original Amateur Hour" (ancestral to the Gong Show, and indirectly to such programs as "America's Got Talent").
Another thing those Diamond Tires won't doWON'T SKID
WON'T SLIDE
and also
WON'T SLIP
Look closely at the lighted character second from right on that line.
SerendipityJust tonight my seven year old, who's crazy for "Fred and Ginger" movies, was watching "Swing Time."  Fred Astaire sings "Never Gonna Dance," a song with a lovely, catchy tune paired with these ridiculously unsingable lyrics, maybe the worst love lyrics ever, including this gem:
Have I two eyes to see your two eyes,
or see myself on my toes,
Dancing on radios
for Major Edward Bowes?
"And who the heck," I asked myself, "is Major Edward Bowes?"  Then I visit Shorpy, and here he is, mentioned in the comments!  Where else on the web could I get that kind of service? 
(The Gallery, Detroit Photos, DPC)

Washington Park: 1907
... is gone. Now appearing in Austin Some of the Moonlight Towers wound up being sold to Austin, Texas, where they're still ... 
 
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)

Start Your Engines: 1903
... Tall Tower This shot gives us a good look at one of the moonlight towers and its proportions compared to the buildings around it. ... #6? In 1896, Austin, Texas bought 31 of the Detroit moonlight towers. 17 are still standing, including one a block from my home ... 
 
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)

Swim Teem: 1917
Detroit, Michigan, circa 1917. "Bathing beach at Belle Isle Park." 8x10 inch dry plate glass negative, Detroit Publishing Company. View full size. Find it Where is Wally? Could've been a great picture But someone moved. ... 
 
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)

Detroit: 1897
... 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)

No Left Turn: 1948
... Yard had floodlight towers, similar to the Detroit moonlight towers, and that might be one of them down Honeywell Street on the ... 
 
Posted by Dave - 06/30/2013 - 12:18pm -

April 20, 1948. "E.R. Squibb & Son, Northern Boulevard, Long Island City, New York. Harold Burson, client." Note the abundance of antique traffic signals and signage. Large-format acetate negative by Gottscho-Schleisner. View full size.
Nice ChryslerI dig the black Chrysler parked on the corner in front of the American Tire & Battery Co.
BenchesI have seen many of those benches around and about. I think the WPA built quite a few of them. A really good idea because there was no need to replace the whole thing when one board was bad but I believe nowadays they have to bolt the boards down. 
Cross-streetsTo the left, 39th Avenue. To the right, Honeywell Street. Behind the photographer, 32nd Street. 
And if it wasnt sunny,one could still find their way around because Sunnyside Yard had floodlight towers, similar to the Detroit moonlight towers, and that might be one of them down Honeywell Street on the left. At one time Sunnyside Yard was the largest coach yard in the world. 
Also In Long Island CityThe Van Iderstine Rendering Company, founded in 1855 and at the time of this photo at 37-30 Review Ave, was the factory that rendered the fat and bones of the slaughter houses into tallow and grease. The worst by-product was an odor that infested not only Queens but the East Side of Manhattan as well.
It's Always SunnyThe two big buildings on the right are still there. Not so the small building on the left. Looks like the Transit Authority replaced the below ground electrical works with an above ground facility on the triangle.
The Honeywell Avenue bridge crosses over the Sunnyside Rail Yards, used today extensively by Long Island Railroad, NJ Transit and Amtrak (including a car washing station). A few hundred feet to the west are the Pennsylvania RR (now Amtrak) tunnels under the East River to Manhattan's Penn Station. The East Side Access Project is adding a direct link from Sunnyside Yards to Grand Central Terminal.
View Larger Map
Left to Right1946 Chevrolet Fleetwood Town Sedan, maybe a '46 Mercury in background, '46 Chrysler 4 door sedan, '41 Chevrolet Special Deluxe Sports Sedan (at center island), ?? Chevy 2 door, '48 Pontiac Deluxe Streamliner 4-Door Sedan.
The former Squibb buildingIt's now known as the Center Building and will be 100 years old in a couple of years.  It recently sold for $85 million, which may seem like a low price for a half-million square feet of Class A office space, but much of it is leased to city agencies at relatively low rents.  
The building to the right doesn't quite merit a name, and is known simply as 32-04* Northern Boulevard.  It was built in 1931.  Today it houses a self-storage warehouse, a rather low-value-added usage that is increasingly out of place as Long Island City becomes ever trendier.  If present trends continue it'll probably be redeveloped into something else before long, such as expensive condominiums or a boutique hotel.  Come to think of it, when the city agency leases in the Center Building expire they're not likely to be renewed.  
* = the 32 in the 32-04 address indicates the nearest cross street.  To facilitate this address scheme the names of most Queens streets were changed to numbers in the 1920's.  The old street names live on in some of the older subway stations, for example a nearby station on the 7 train, known as 33rd Street-Rawson.
Van IderstineI currently work around 15 blocks from this location, it is amazing how LIC has and is still changing. Most of the industrial base is now gone and is being replaced with high end residences. I still remember Eagle Electric, where perfection is not an accident as per their enormous skeleton sign. Swingline stapler under the El that shook the entire block when their punch press came down. As far as Van Iderstines as mentioned by another poster their plant was on Newtown Creek ,their stack was under the Kosciusco bridge and if you were unlucky enough to be stuck in traffic on a hot summer day on the bridge you were in for quite a treat as the malaria yellow smoke that emanated from their plant enveloped your car. After close to 100 years of complaints the city finally managed to shut them down in the late 70's. But not to worry they have reopened in Newark under the Jersey Turnpike near the airport.
That Triangular Tractis a gore.
Cars1946 Chevrolet "Stylemaster" Town sedan in front of the Chrysler.
The Chevy next to the '48 Pontiac Streamliner looks to be a 1947 Stylemaster town sedan. 
32-04 Northern Blvd.the building to the right, was bought by food wholesaler John Sexton and Company in 1946.  Now doing duty as a Public Storage location.  As some of the other posters mentioned, will more than likely become high-end condos.
(The Gallery, Cars, Trucks, Buses, Gottscho-Schleisner, NYC)

The Detroit 200
... the Majestic Building and one of the city's celebrated "moonlight towers." Detroit Photographic Co. glass negative. View full size. ... 
 
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)

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 ... 
 
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
View Larger Map
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.
View Larger Map
(The Gallery, Detroit Photos, DPC, Streetcars)

East From Majestic: 1903
... This view includes a couple of the city's arc-lamp "moonlight towers." 8x10 inch glass negative, Detroit Publishing Co. View full ... 
 
Posted by Dave - 07/20/2012 - 7:17pm -

Detroit, Michigan, circa 1903. "Wayne County Building, looking east from Majestic Building." This view includes a couple of the city's arc-lamp "moonlight towers." 8x10 inch glass negative, Detroit Publishing Co. View full size.
EmptySo few people in a huge industrial town. The shadows say early morning, I think we are looking on a Sunday.  
Sooty Air*cough cough*
Pre-heavy metalHmph. The Vizcaya cannon isn't on the lawn yet, nor are the heroic bronze chariots up on the roof. 
Looking east The photo shows west side of the Wayne County Building in full sunlight, so it's afternoon.
Wayne County Building Is in Good ShapeBuilt 1895-1902, it was added to the National Register of Historic Places in 1975.
"William E. Metzger Automobiles"Faintly in the distance, a couple of blocks from the Detroit River, is the dealership of William E. Metzger - the pioneering auto dealer. In 1903, his luck was about to peak. After 1908, he shifted from selling Oldsmobiles and Cadillacs, and put his money into brands that time has now forgotten. After trying to recapture the magic in the aircraft business, he died in 1933.  
Off in the distance, a glimpse of the futureIn the distance on the right of this photo you can barely read the sign - "William E. Metzger, AUTOMOBILES" - but it provides a view into this city's swiftly onrushing future. This business, which was only six years old then, was the first automotive retail dealership and showroom in the U.S. But Metzger was up to even bigger things, and in the year of this picture would help to found the Cadillac Motor Car Co., which was the first of many such automotive ventures that Mr. Metzger was involved in. Within the decade automobile manufacturing would be the largest business in Detroit, Detroit would be the motor capitol of the country, and THE American boomtown of the early 20th century.
(The Gallery, Boats & Bridges, Detroit Photos, DPC, Streetcars)

The Illuminating Co.: 1900
... similar discharge lamps atop super tall poles. The Moonlight Towers of Detroit and Austin are also examples of this type of ... 
 
Posted by Dave - 06/29/2015 - 10:33am -

Cleveland, Ohio, circa 1900. "Public Square -- Cuyahoga County Soldiers' and Sailors' Monument." 8x10 inch glass negative. View full size.
Interesting historyOf the Cleveland Electric Illuminating Co.
CanopiedThose erratically open, closed and nearly closed awnings on the face of the Illuminating Company's Building are a disgrace to Canvashood.
Brush and his Arc LampThat huge pole in the left of the photo is probably part of the demonstration by Charles F. Brush on April 29, 1879, showing the advantages of his DC arc lamp.
History has come full circle seeing as how many of the major highway junctions of today are illuminated with similar discharge lamps atop super tall poles.
The Moonlight Towers of Detroit and Austin are also examples of this type of "towering" lighting.
ToweringIs that monster pole on the corner supporting an arc lamp?
The Days Before Air ConditioningThere's not a single ugly window air conditioner in sight! Instead, the buildings have windows which (gasp!) actually open. Many canvas shade awnings are in use, including on upper floors.
In the 1970's an old-time office worker told me about working summers in a hot office: He said your paperwork would stick to your forearms because you'd always be damp with perspiration.
On the left is pair of open-bench "toast rack" trolley cars, possibly one powered and the other a non-powered trailer. (Can't be certain because of the way the scene is framed.) These were very popular with the riding public - people would take a ride in an open trolley just to cool off.
The open trolleys were not, however, favored by traction company management. They sat idle half the year. The response was the "convertible" trolleys with removeable window panels, one of which can be seen in front of the Illuminating Company building.
Businessmen had to wear hats in those days, so there are plenty of summertime-only straw "boater" hats in evidence. It was a different time. 
Last Full Measure of DevotionRiding the St. Clair Avenue line to Nottingham School in the late '40s, I am sure I was conveyed on trolleys precisely like those depicted, if not the very same ones.  Clearly, they were an capital investment that was fully amortized.
And during shorts season, the varnished straw seats embossed the backs of one's legs most fetchingly.
Both goneThe adjacent structure is the Williamson Building seen before on Shorpy. It was imploded on a Sunday in 1982 with a large crowd on hand to see it brought down and to be engulfed in its dust cloud.
About the pole"TheGeezer" was wondering if it had an arc lamp on top.
 The 1907 photo at https://www.shorpy.com/node/9820?size=_original shows only a small wind-vane at the top. In some other vintage photos I found it appears to have a flag. None showed arc lamps so my guess is it was an remarkably tall flag pole. Photos since the 1950s show the pole is gone. 
(The Gallery, Cleveland, DPC, Streetcars)

Austin Statesman: 1913
... and could fill in nicely. Austin Newspaper Like the Moonlight Towers, the Statesman is still Austin's daily newspaper, now known as ... 
 
Posted by Dave - 07/17/2012 - 7:55pm -

October 1913. Austin, Texas. "Sunday morning. Paul Luna, 9-year-old newsie who is up at 4 a.m. Sundays." Photo by Lewis Wickes Hine. View full size.
Well it's still betterthan working in a Coal Mine, but then, what isn't.
The ReplacementIn the event that Shorpy ever retires as the face of this website, I believe young Mr. Luna captures the spirit and could fill in nicely.
Austin NewspaperLike the Moonlight Towers, the Statesman is still Austin's daily newspaper, now known as the Austin American-Statesman.
Looking at a barefoot kid like thatI wonder how many rusty nails and glass shards had been hiding in those mud roads. 
Poor kid.Being a barefoot newsie, even in South Texas, had to be tough.  Hope he ended up having a good life.
(The Gallery, Kids, Lewis Hine)
Syndicate content  Shorpy.com is a vintage photography site featuring thousands of high-definition images. The site is named after Shorpy Higginbotham, a teenage coal miner who lived 100 years ago. Contact us | Privacy policy | Accessibility Statement | Site © 2024 Shorpy Inc.