Tenney Peabody purchases land in Albion and becomes the first permanent settler at “The Forks” (1832). Rev. Gilruth, Packard, and Thompson speak about establishing a Methodist seminary in Michigan. Jesse Crowell, a one-time New York State Assemblyman, arrives in Albion for the first time (1835). CHARTER DAY : Gov. Stevens T. Mason signs a resolution … Read more
The 1976 Detroit Urban Conservation Project provides us a window into two iconic Detroit buildings just a few blocks apart from one another on Woodward Avenue. The first is what was popularly called the Motown Building just north of I-75 and Woodward. This building inauspiciously feel in 2005 just prior to the Super Bowl. A … Read more
New Center some time after construction of the New Center Building (today the Albert Kahn Building) in 1931. Our attention turns to Detroit’s “New Center.” Today this area is defined by several iconic buildings including the General Motors Building (1922), Fisher Building (1929), Albert Kahn Building (1931), Argonaut Building (1931) and others. While these … Read more
Postcard showing Moonlight Tower (to left) on Woodward Ave. near Adelaide in downtown Detroit. At first this seemed like another interesting postcard of a long-lost Detroit streetscape. Upon closer inspection, however, there was a remarkable feature. Near the left edge is a latticed tower rising through and beyond the upper edge of the postcard. Until … Read more
Homestead Heritage traces its beginnings to June of 1973. Blair and Regina Adams were living in the Hell’s Kitchen neighborhood of New York City at the time. There they started a small peace church in what was formerly the Inferno Discotheque’s bar. People of many nationalities and backgrounds began meeting. They increasingly sought to ease … Read more
Now our attention shifts to the somewhat maligned David Whitney Building in downtown Detroit. The way this postcard with a postmark from Saginaw, Michigan in August 1920 put it: Woodward Avenue enjoys the unusual distinction of being both Detroit’s leading business and residence street. It is named in honor of Judge Woodward, one of Detroit’s … Read more
Bird’s Eye View, showing the Heart of Detroit, Mich. Next our attention turns to what one postcard calls the “Heart of Detroit.” In this shot three primary buildings are shown – the Dime Building, Old City Hall, and the Majestic Building. The Old City Hall and Majestic Building are facing Woodward Avenue which is shown stretching northward … Read more
Postcard ca. 1942 showing the Townsend Homestead at 20 West Main St in Oyster Bay, New York. The original Colonial era main mass had a saltbox form.Successive generations of Townsend family members added towers to the front and side, as well as a substantial addition to the rear. In the 1950’s the front of … Read more
A building was present at this site at the time of the 1976 Detroit Urban Conservation Project. The awning of the building at that time read “The Kent Moore.” The Bulletin of the Nurses’ Alumnae Association of the University of Maryland from 1953, noted how Margaret A. Janovich from the Class of 1946 resided at … Read more
Front side of Robinson Hall postcard (ca. 1908). Anyone who really knows me understands the special connection that I have with Albion, Michigan. Not only is this the home of my alma mater Albion College, this is also the place that launched me in my career in historic preservation.Needless to say, when I ran across … Read more