1904 Detroit Convention Beauru Booklet

[izzyindetroit]

Imma just gonna leave this here...

Enjoy!

[Detroitnerd]

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Kbz-acpX1Zc

[1953]

Page 11: One of the best street lighting systems in the country!

[izzyindetroit]

page 22, detroit is compared with washington and san fransico as one of the three most beautiful cities in the country

[canuck]

page 22, detroit is compared with washington and san fransico as one of the three most beautiful cities in the country

Not hard to believe when you look at the old pictures of downtown, the leafy streets, the layout of neighborhoods and the prosperous residential architecture. There was a lot to engage a tourist or a resident. I think one of the tougher things about latter day Detroit is that many buildings disappeared to make way for parking lots. But then again that has been the fate of so many other cities and towns.

[Modusvivendi]

That brochure is a pretty depressing read becaus Detroit really looked like a great place. I would have loved to live in a city like that.

One question though-- what happened to all the beautiful trees from these photos? Were they likely victims of dutch elm disease or just ignorant city planning?

[Ray1936]

The vast majority of the trees in Detroit neighborhoods were, indeed, elms, and fell to the Dutch Elm disease starting in the 1960's. They were beautiful; streets took on a cathedral-like appearance as you looked down the road. The city was also very good about trimming them regularly; at least every other year for any particular street. I remember them so well.

For what it's worth, the only negative thing about elms is that they are very blah when autumn comes along. The leaves just turn an ugly yellow-brown [[mostly brown), and don't contribute to what you generally picture as Michigan fall colors. Folks also tended to rake the leaves and just burn them at the curb. Some late-October days had so much smoke in the air you could cut it with a knife. That's one tradition that needed to go.

With rare exception, the elms were planted in that stretch of lawn between the sidewalk and the curb. Thus, the trees were on city property; individual property lines end at the sidewalk. Current city planning has new developments locating the sidewalk along the curb; no 'boulevard' strips as are common in Detroit and the near 'burbs.

Dang, I'm rambling. But you just triggered such fond memories!!!!

[EastsideAl]

Page 11: One of the best street lighting systems in the country!

That's because Detroit had far more of these than anyplace else in the country:





There's a rather lengthy thread about Detroit's moonlight towers [[some of which are still standing, but in Austin, Texas) here:
http://www.detroityes.com/mb/showthr...rbon-arc-Lamps