Photos of Old Hamtramck Homes

[Pcm]

Looking for some historic photos of homes in Hamtramck as they were originally built.

Mostly curious about exterior styling, especially considering the lack of variety of styles on most blocks.

[Hamtragedy]

Here's the interior of one where I just refinished the floors.

[Hamtragedy]

Hope you like Pewabic

[Hamtragedy]

Attachment 26256

How about an original kitchen?

[Hamtragedy]

Don't know if the first one took, and I realize you preferred exteriors, but these I couldn't pass up. Here's the exterior facade.

[Pcm]

Actually, the second two photos didn't take. But, hey, nice floors.

And stop me if I'm wrong, but your building looks a tad more ornate than the homes of Hamtramck I'm thinking of.

[canuck]

What's the facade look like now HamTradge?

[Hamtragedy]

See if the middle two worked. The facade has been stripped of the cornice, and the lower portion's limestone probably crumbled and has been replaced with cinder-block. That being said, those windows above the displays may still remain. Unearthing to be done by the new owners. To maintain some confidentiality, I won't post a current picture, but the columns between the upstairs windows are still intact.

While, in fact, this may be a little more ornate than some, I've seen paneling in addition to a fair share of columns in Hamtramck, some with partitions, others standing alone. The moorish arches are usually nearby. The kitchen sink is typical. The built in cabinets in the kitchen more or less resemble something I'd find in a butler's pantry in Boston Edison, as the country cabinets in most Hamtramck houses were paneled.


As for the fire-place, this is the only Pewabic I've seem in Hamtramck, but the built in bookcases with the leaded glass are not that uncommon.

[Hamtragedy]

Finally, PCM, I'll look around at some current stock, but most of the old wood clapboard siding in this region is long covered by vinyl, or in Hamtamck's case, that horrible "shingle-brick." I can think of a few houses on my block alone that looked pretty close to original up until the last decade, including roof-brackets on the two story house down the the street from me, with the original patterned railings on both floors, which still survive on several hamtramck homes, and look something like this:

Attachment 26270

[EASTSIDE CAT 67-83]

Attachment 26256

How about an original kitchen?

Brother Hamtragedy
Man I dig that house, I love that they never updated the kitchen or painted the built-ins next to the fireplace...They just don't build em like they used to.

[1953]

I just toured my neighbor's house - it's all still original, but in need of a solid restoration! Funniest thing about that house is that the stairs to the upper floor come down into the bathroom!

At my house in Hamtramck, I'm taking after Eugene Voillet le Duc and introducing the best features of 1915, the year my place was built. I'm fixing to get some Pewabic, stained glass, a fireplace, and some built-ins.

What else can I introduce?

1953

[Hamtragedy]

Since I dabble, repair and install vintage plumbing, to stay fairly true to your 1915, a drainboard sink, also known as a farmhouse sink, available with our without the "high-back" [[where the 8" spread for the faucet comes from the wall) . Sometimes the drainboard is only on the right or the left, one side bracketed into the corner wall, and the other side held up by a peg-leg.

They are available on the intertube, but $$$ and there are three problems with them: the enamel around the drain is shot, and reglazing them is not really a decent option, unless you plan to do it every few years or so [[there is a place in Canton that does all the hotel tubs nationally, I would only use them). I have also seen some at re-sales on the east cost that are vitreous china, so that fixes the enamel issue; problem 2) is the drain itself, as many were only 2" holes in the bottom of the sink. There are 2" drains baskets out there [[I keep one in the truck), but they're getting harder to find. Problem 3 is the "high-back" mentioned above. Your rough in for your water lines has to come thru the wall at just the right height, and you only get 1/4"-3/4" play combined horizontally to come into the back of the sink. Most plumbers won't do that these day, and those people like myself who do this type of work aren't cheap, because of the planning and effort, having to find [[or fabricate) brackets, and trial and error installation.

The other thing you can introduce to keep your house true would be an outhouse, as many of the houses in Hamtown built before '20 did not have indoor bathrooms. Which also explains why in most Hamtramck houses, the bathroom is located next to the kitchen, where there might have originally been a pantry converted to a bath. If that is not an option, original toilets had wall-hung tanks with either a 90 degrees 2" chrome elbow that connected the tank to the back of the bowl [[still common, although parts are getting harder to find), or a straight or "offset" tube that connected the tank to the top of the bowl [[that offset tube is impossible to find new). For either, your drain rough-in needs to be a minimum of 12" from the finished wall. 1" hexagon flooring was the standard then, sometimes 2", and I have seen the occasional "basket-weave" in Hamtown as well.

And then there's the clawfoot tub, available in 54", 60", 66", or 72". Problems with the rough-in there are the 8" spread on the supply that has to be 2" in front of the center of the drain, as all come out of the floor. And the problem here is used tubs where the drain hole is made for an 1 3/8 tub shoe and drain assembly [[impossible to find, easy to service), not for the standard 1 1/2" .

[EastsideAl]

Aside from the siding issue, do houses in Hamtramck today look much different from when they were built? Pictures of Hamtramck streets that I've seen from decades past look remarkably like what is still there today.

As for the lack of variety, I assume that's for the same reason that houses on many blocks in City of Detroit look very similar. They were either built all at once by a developer or speculator, or built on a limited set of plans and options offered by developers to the original buyers.

[1953]

Thanks for the tips!