1957 Harper Woods Eastland Movie

**polaar** · August-12-09, 03:19 PM

Just uploaded a recently unearthed home movie of Eastland Center taken in 1957, the year it opened:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=YCSjjWbbb0Y

**zitro** · August-12-09, 03:45 PM

Originally Posted by polaar

Just uploaded a recently unearthed home movie of Eastland Center taken in 1957, the year it opened:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=YCSjjWbbb0Y

Very cool Polaar. Brings back a lot of memories. Great Argyle socks on the gentleman. Was that walkway with the cutouts coming out of Hudson's? At first I thought it was the bus stop but now I'm not so sure.

**kellyroad** · August-16-09, 12:12 PM

Originally Posted by zitro

Very cool Polaar. Brings back a lot of memories. Great Argyle socks on the gentleman. Was that walkway with the cutouts coming out of Hudson's? At first I thought it was the bus stop but now I'm not so sure.

I thought that was the walkway coming out of Hudson's on to the Grand Court near the lion and mouse. The movie really shows the beauty and unique architecture of one of the nation's first shopping malls.

**Bobl** · August-16-09, 12:37 PM

Nice clip. I had forgotten about the ponds.
The opening of Eastland created a Christmas shopping dilemma at our house. The custom was to bus or streetcar downtown Thanksgiving weekend and stay until the evening in order to see the lights. We could walk to Eastland, which had the more modern twinkle lights.
One small example of commerce leaving the City, I guess.
Time marches on...

**polaar** · August-16-09, 09:43 PM

I just added a sequel today, more Eastland film two years later in 1959, same photographer. This one shows the Lion & mouse & some cool old Chevys.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=zPWwuoEQL7g

**Maof** · August-17-09, 07:36 AM

thanks polaar. forgot how nice eastland was. ran in there a few weeks ago and it was so dead, you could roll a bowling ball down the mall and wouldn't hit a thing. what a shame. anyway, the gentleman with the argyle socks reminds me of floyd from the andy griffith show!

**kellyroad** · August-17-09, 09:59 AM

Originally Posted by polaar

I just added a sequel today, more Eastland film two years later in 1959, same photographer. This one shows the Lion & mouse & some cool old Chevys.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=zPWwuoEQL7g

Great footage: The movies appear to be shot using a tripod and kodachrome film. Is the man or woman an Eastland exec. The Chevy appears to be set right in the shopping area. They either knew someone at Eastland or were very daring. Can you give us some background info on the two videos. Thanks

**kellyroad** · August-17-09, 10:04 AM

The Lion and Mouse revisited
http://info.detnews.com/dn/history/marsh/images/4.jpg

**kellyroad** · August-17-09, 10:11 AM

Article on the Lion and Mouse:
http://www.detnews.com/apps/pbcs.dll...395/1003/METRO

**Onthe405** · August-17-09, 12:48 PM

Originally Posted by zitro

Was that walkway with the cutouts coming out of Hudson's? At first I thought it was the bus stop but now I'm not so sure.

Originally Posted by kellyroad

I thought that was the walkway coming out of Hudson's on to the Grand Court near the lion and mouse.

Polaar, thanks for the great nostalgic clips. It unleashed a flood of idyllic childhood memories. If you look at the 2nd [[1959) clip, at 0:43, the cutout pass-through can be seen in the background in relation to the "Lion & Mouse". I believe it was on the Vernier [[north) side, running eastward from the Hudson's door toward the B. Siegel & Stouffer's wing of the Center. Zitro, I do seem to recall some type of cutouts near the bus stop, but the busses stopped on the opposite side. They approached via Kelly or Vernier, then turned on Webber Drive and stopped on the south side of the Center.

I also know that the "Lion & Mouse" was moved at least once or twice, so its position in 1959 may not have been the same as it was in 1966, or by 1976, when they started the enclosure.

**polaar** · August-17-09, 01:17 PM

Originally Posted by kellyroad

Great footage: The movies appear to be shot using a tripod and kodachrome film. Is the man or woman an Eastland exec. The Chevy appears to be set right in the shopping area. They either knew someone at Eastland or were very daring. Can you give us some background info on the two videos. Thanks

These movies were shot by my grandfather Fred W. Boegelein, who at that time lived nearby in Harper Woods and probably just saw it as an interesting filming opportunity. The woman is my grandmother Josephine [[Van Laere) Boegelein. Fred was not an exec; he was a pyrometer technician at the Bower Roller Bearing plant on Hart Ave. But he was always a snappy dresser. He shot 16mm film with a Bolex movie camera, but I do not know what brand of film he used. He did use Kodachrome for his slides, and since the color in these old movies has not faded much I'd guess that he used Kodachrome film as well. The green Chevy in the shopping area is not his - I do not know why it is there. The white Chevy in the parking lot at the end is his, with my grandmother getting into it. Fred was an amateur movie buff, and took many color movies in the Detroit area in the 40s and 50s. If you look through my other posted YouTube videos you will find some of his other work such as Detroit Zoo movies from the 40s and recently posted scenes from Detroit's 250th birthday shot in 1950. I will be posting more of his movies as I get them transferred from film.

**kellyroad** · August-18-09, 08:51 AM

Originally Posted by polaar

These movies were shot by my grandfather Fred W. Boegelein, who at that time lived nearby in Harper Woods and probably just saw it as an interesting filming opportunity. The woman is my grandmother Josephine [[Van Laere) Boegelein. Fred was not an exec; he was a pyrometer technician at the Bower Roller Bearing plant on Hart Ave. But he was always a snappy dresser. He shot 16mm film with a Bolex movie camera, but I do not know what brand of film he used. He did use Kodachrome for his slides, and since the color in these old movies has not faded much I'd guess that he used Kodachrome film as well. The green Chevy in the shopping area is not his - I do not know why it is there. The white Chevy in the parking lot at the end is his, with my grandmother getting into it. Fred was an amateur movie buff, and took many color movies in the Detroit area in the 40s and 50s. If you look through my other posted YouTube videos you will find some of his other work such as Detroit Zoo movies from the 40s and recently posted scenes from Detroit's 250th birthday shot in 1950. I will be posting more of his movies as I get them transferred from film.

Poolar: Thanks for sharing. The quality of the movies is incredible, especially after 50 years. The footage really depicts the beauty and "modern" architecture that most eastsiders enjoyed in the 50s-70s at that shopping center.

**Danny** · August-18-09, 12:43 PM

Back then all malls were outdoors complete with trees, hippie arts, mom and pop retails and corporate owned department stores. Now our malls are primary indoors, filled with Disney arts, food courts, corporate retails and dead department stores and new thrift marts destined to become 'grey fields'.

Eastland once like that now its joining the chain a dead malls even through its going through a remodling phase.

**zitro** · August-18-09, 03:33 PM

Originally Posted by Danny

Back then all malls were outdoors complete with trees, hippie arts, mom and pop retails and corporate owned department stores. Now our malls are primary indoors, filled with Disney arts, food courts, corporate retails and dead department stores and new thrift marts destined to become 'grey fields'.

Eastland once like that now its joining the chain a dead malls even through its going through a remodling phase.

I didn't know the Hippies were around in 1957. Thanks for enlightning us!