"Foot of ________"

[Hermod]

When I was a kid, my grandfather, father, and uncles used to describe places along the river as "the foot of St Jean" or "the foot of Alter Road" when speaking of the marine facilities there. Since i have never heard these designation on DYes, was that a family affectation, or was that the way people used to refer to places on the river?

[jcole]

Nope, my dad said it all the time. I particularly remember "The foot of Jefferson" and the "foot of Alter"

[cla1945]

The foot of Alter, the foot of Lakewood, the foot of St. Jean were my old hangouts. That's the way we always heard it described.

[FormerEastsider]

My Dad always said that too. We lived a the foot of Conner then Lakewood which I assumed meant the last block before you get to the river.

[Ray1936]

The DPD Auto Pound was "At the foot of St. Jean", and that's the way they listed it on police building locations. And Mom always said you catch the BobLo boat "At the foot of Woodward". I wonder if such designations are/were used in other cities?

[BillyBBrew]

J. W. Westcott Company
Foot of 24th Street
Detroit, Michigan 48222

Still used, but I think for things like UPS they use 10 Twenty Fourth St. Post office it's still Foot of...

[Lowell]

The Coast Guard Station at the foot of Mt. Elliott.

[Gannon]

J. W. Westcott Company
Foot of 24th Street
Detroit, Michigan 48222

Still used, but I think for things like UPS they use 10 Twenty Fourth St. Post office it's still Foot of...

Heya Billy B, good to see you. Does that mean you work under the foot, then?! Sub-podiatria? Or is the river the washer of the feet...I like that better.

Cheers!

[sumas]

It was always called the foot of anything if it ended at the river in Detroit.

[canuck]

The DPD Auto Pound was "At the foot of St. Jean", and that's the way they listed it on police building locations. And Mom always said you catch the BobLo boat "At the foot of Woodward". I wonder if such designations are/were used in other cities?

Yes Ray, I can confirm we do this in another language as well. In Montreal there is an old prison near the river built in the 1835 that is called: Au Pied du Courant. "At the Foot of the Current." The prison became a HQ for the Quebec liquor commission in the 1930's.

[rhythmc]

It was always called the foot of anything if it ended at the river in Detroit.

Very true. In River Rouge, foot of Shaefer [[though it's Coolidge and only gets close to the river) and in Ecorse, the foot of Southfield and the foot of Outer Dr.

[65memories]

The Boblo boats, in their old commercials, used to say they were docked at the "foot of Woodward."

[One Shot]

My Dad [[72) says it still.

[Scottathew]

Yes Ray, I can confirm we do this in another language as well. In Montreal there is an old prison near the river built in the 1835 that is called: Au Pied du Courant. "At the Foot of the Current." The prison became a HQ for the Quebec liquor commission in the 1930's.

This thread is fascinating, especially your information. Perhaps this whole "foot of" phenomenon roots itself in our French roots.

[Wheels]

My dad used the term foot often, but in a different context. "Foot up your____"

[gnome]

I checked with different friends from around the country and the only place I was able to find where this idiomatic expression is used is down in New Orleans. Hence, I agree with others who wisely identified "at the foot of ..." as a localism and a vestigial remnant of Detroit's French heritage

[canuck]

Très cool, I had no idea this expression was French in origin, as 48307 had suggested. Thanks for the info, gnome. Maybe the inland facing ribbon farms were called the head and the riverside; the foot? I will look it up.

[ndavies]

I don't believe it's French. It's a very British saying.

[dtowncitylover]

I don't believe it's French. It's a very British saying.

Aka 33% French.

[Patrick]

I don't believe it's French. It's a very British saying.

Yes, it is very British indeed. I heard "at the foot of..." several times when I was in London. Aldo heard it down in St. Lucia.

[mtburb]

It was always called the foot of anything if it ended at the river in Detroit.

You are definitely right. In Wyandotte, we also use the term "the foot of Eureka."

[Hermod]

It might derive from the meaning of the "lowest part" like "foot of the stairs" or "foot of the hill" because we go "down to the river" and the river is at the "foot of the street". I am 76 now and just can't remember hearing it in any of the other riverside places where i have resided since I left Detroit in 1961.

[old guy]

I've always thought that was a general terminology anywhere.

[Wheels]

It goes back at least 2000 years to "The Foot of the Cross" or "The Foot of Christ".

[Hermod]

It goes back at least 2000 years to "The Foot of the Cross" or "The Foot of Christ".

I wouldn't say that as "foot" is Germanic and not too many northern Europeans were around Jerusalem 2000 years ago.