1964 Downtown Detroit Movie Just Discovered - Please Help ID

**polaar** · May-30-11, 09:35 AM

Just this morning I discovered this home movie of random shots of downtown Detroit. It is apparently a test roll shot by my father - the film box was just marked "April 1964." I'd appreciate it if anyone could ID the locations where it was shot, either in this forum or directly to YouTube. Thanks and enjoy!

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=hFbSi4lZ-eM

**rjk** · May-30-11, 09:45 AM

That was fun to watch.

I got a kick out of the woman with the double crutches.
I'll bet she was a tough old broad.

**noenaim** · May-30-11, 09:55 AM

The first part is Washington Blvd. I can see the Book building and the back of David Whitney building

**Kathleen** · May-30-11, 10:08 AM

Thanks for posting!! Great to see the snapshot of the city, and the cars and the people of 1964!!

Is the man that we saw twice your dad?

Definitely Washington Boulevard at the beginning. The United Airlines building is at the nw corner of State. The Bank was located at Clifford [[now an empty parking lot). The JM Citron store is at the ne corner of State.

Other shots are taken along and from Michigan Avenue. I saw the Lafayette Street side of the Federal Courthouse, the Lindell AC at Cass, the Penobscot Building, the Lafayette Building [[demolished in 2010).

**fluffy mimi** · May-30-11, 10:11 AM

The Lyndall AC was at Cass and Michigan Ave, the Book Tower on Washington and J.M. Citron on Washington and State. Hope this helps...

**gazhekwe** · May-30-11, 10:17 AM

That was cool. I was fascinated by the styles. Notice how we all had to get dressed up to go downtown? It looks like a chilly day, as everyone has coats and all the ladies are wearing babushkas or wind bonnets. Yet, there was the guy with his convertible top down. And I really liked those two cool cats on the corner in the really skinny pants.

I was trying to figure out which building[[s) were getting demolished and what was the construction. First that big building, and then the digger on the corner.

**polaar** · May-30-11, 10:24 AM

Originally Posted by Kathleen

Is the man that we saw twice your dad?

No, I have no idea who that gentleman is!

**Whitehouse** · May-30-11, 12:08 PM

Even though I'm at the other side of the world, I like a great investigation!!

Manufacturers National Bank was a forerunner of Comerica Bank and it was founded in 1933.

First part is indeed on Washington and State, looking in the direction of GCP. Scenes at the end of this video are also from this corner but deeper into Slate. Streetview and Bing view could not enter that street due to construction.

Not quite the same location since Google streetview doesn't do "pavement view"

.
Washington and State.

The low building with the United Airlines commercial is still there, which can not be said about the building rightr behind it, which can be seen in the next picture.
Link.

What has been lot here?? It's now the location of the People mover Times Square station.
Same location, almost spot on.

The digger is doing some work in front of the courthouse on Shelby. The video was take from Washington Boulevard somewhere between Michigan avenue and Shelby.

Almost the same location.

Looks like Tiger stadium in the distance. Cherry street?

The sadly lost Lafayette Building.

Won't be long before she's also gone from Streetview.... The building is already erased in the aereal shot.

My contribution.

**stromberg2** · May-30-11, 02:32 PM

^^^^

Now that's a hell of a contribution....from across the pond. Cool!!

Stromberg2

**douglasm** · May-30-11, 07:19 PM

Didn't the "United Airlines" building house a music club called Mothers in the late 60's?

**detroitbob** · May-31-11, 12:21 AM

The United Airlines bldg is the Book Bldg annex, where the 70 story tower was to be built. There was a nightclub/restaurant called the WonderBar in that annex on the north end.

**rid0617** · May-31-11, 12:58 AM

Originally Posted by rjk

That was fun to watch.

I got a kick out of the woman with the double crutches.
I'll bet she was a tough old broad.

She wasn't even phased by the Corvair that swung around her

**Danny** · May-31-11, 10:00 AM

That was old Downtown Detroit before the mess. I like miss the old Washington Blvd skyline and all the shops.

**Joseph C. Krause** · May-31-11, 01:24 PM

As someone who never experienced 1964, I must say that while I wish we still had many of the buildings taken down since then, it looks pretty dismal. Being after the elimination of transit and before the riots, I imagine a pervasive anxiety.

**j to the jeremy** · May-31-11, 02:10 PM

I agree with Joseph. I was also struck by the amount of Parking lots back by Cass. It looks pretty similar to today...

**ismoakrack** · May-31-11, 06:22 PM

With a few exceptions, downtown today looks more or less the same. The buildings were already caked in soot by then too. You always see historic photos of downtown bustling, but this is far from cry from those. In the next to the last scene it looks like the shot is looking north on clifford, then turns around to show the back of the michigan theater. If that's correct, it was already all parking lots over there.

**polaar** · June-01-11, 07:30 AM

Thanks to all for their responses, especially Whitehouse for his careful research. I would eventually like to include some of this most basic info in the YouTube description if nobody objects. I have to laugh thinking about how my Dad would have felt if he had been told that someday this mundane test reel would someday find such an audience!

**Whitehouse** · June-01-11, 10:51 AM

Originally Posted by polaar

Thanks to all for their responses, especially Whitehouse for his careful research. I would eventually like to include some of this most basic info in the YouTube description if nobody objects. I have to laugh thinking about how my Dad would have felt if he had been told that someday this mundane test reel would someday find such an audience!

Or better still, totally re-enact the whole trip. Try to make your own story with the footage and try to find the very same spots from where that old footage was taken. Anymore reel boxes hidden in the attic?

State street must have been a normal street. Nowadays if you don't brake in time you'll end up in the Rosa Parks Transit center.

Got another addition. Washington and State, looking east into the direction if the Kern's shop, or in present day, Compuware...

Here's the same corner in an old postcard.

This corner still looks very attractive. Granted, this picture was taken with a much better quality camera and probably also in a different season. I bet Detroit was looking very bright in the summer back then as well. the corner building seems to be new to the location, or the facade has been altered. It still looks nice.