Fun family history Find...Location Questions

[MikeM]

The interior picture was taken 1900-1905 according to the LOC. At that time Traub was located at 110 Woodward, which was at the corner of Congress. A Sanborn map from the era shows the building has a light well on its right side.

[gnome]

This just proves one should never mess with the Mikes.

great detective work, everyone!

[Wintersmommy]

http://www.shorpy.com/node/9674?size=_original

just realized in this pic that the burns hotel is in the shot..i can almost see someone at the hotel walking over to the Jewelry store to pick up the trophy on a sunny day such as this....amazing

[EastsideAl]

In addition to being a hotel owner, and a number of other things, James D. Burns was also the first owner of the Detroit Tigers when the American League was established in 1901.

Burns made his fortune in the brick business, and owned a brick factory and part of another hotel on Dix just past the city limits at Livernois in what was then Springwells Township. The Detroit area's main stockyards were located at the railyard just behind the hotel, and provided much of the it's business.

As owner of the Tigers, Burns took advantage of this location just past the city limits and built a ballpark [[known as Burns Park or West End Park) next to the hotel to host the team's Sunday games, which were banned inside Detroit by the city's blue laws. This also allowed him, of course, to sell a fair amount of the hotel's beer and liquor to fans who could also not drink legally inside the city on Sundays.

The Tigers used Burns Park on Sundays for their first 2 American League seasons [[1901 & 02). Games there were legendarily rowdy, with much of the crowd drinking heavily before, during, and after the game. It was the last place not located at Michigan and Trumbull that the Tigers would play a home game in the Detroit area until Comerica Park opened in 2000.

Burns soon sold his interest in the team and was shortly thereafter elected Wayne County Sheriff.