Diagonal alley in Hamtramck

[Király]

In the Hamtramck block bounded by Gallagher, Evaline, Charest, and Holbrook, the alley that runs down it goes diagonally. At the north end of the block, the west lot has a huge long yard and the lot across the alley has hardly any. At the south end of the block it's the opposite. Anyone know the how or why of this curiosity?

[mtburb]

You mean that guy behind Disneyland Hamtramck is now creating a Harry Potter-themed version in that exact alley you described?

[G-DDT]

You mean that guy behind Disneyland Hamtramck is now creating a Harry Potter-themed version in that exact alley you described?

Zlupic Garncarz: "Zupa Ogorkowa Eructo!"

[Jimaz]

In the Hamtramck block bounded by Gallagher, Evaline, Charest, and Holbrook, the alley that runs down it goes diagonally. At the north end of the block, the west lot has a huge long yard and the lot across the alley has hardly any. At the south end of the block it's the opposite. Anyone know the how or why of this curiosity?

Satellite View

[RickBeall]

I don't see the alley. But Hamtramck is layed out the old fashioned, ribbon farm way, at a 90% degree angle from the River. Around the edge, and even intruding a bit are streets laild out in the later North South orientation. That creates some "slices of pie" like properties.

[dtowncitylover]

I don't see the alley. But Hamtramck is layed out the old fashioned, ribbon farm way, at a 90% degree angle from the River. Around the edge, and even intruding a bit are streets laild out in the later North South orientation. That creates some "slices of pie" like properties.

You have to put it on satellite view to see the full effect. It is bizarre. I'm not sure the ribbon farm past would be the reason here because it's a simple alley.

[Sandhouse]

My guess is a reconciliation of two surveys that didn't line up, or matching the system of lots to an old long-lot property line. Note that the off-kilter alley lines up with Gallagher Street to the north. Without the aerial photo you'd never know this was there. But now I want Polish food and cold piwa.

[RickBeall]

Oh! Now I see it! That is a cool little street layout obscurity! And it is not explained by the 90 degree to the river theory. I will have to walk it to see if there are any old, odd details in the alley.

I am not sure if it is that alley or not, but there is an alley in that general area that has a cool brick back fence that looks like it once was part of a building or something ... if my memory is at all accurate.

[Scottathew]

I found it on the 1949 gigapan, no clues. All the houses were already there, as was the alley.

http://www.gigapan.com/gigapans/147450

[MikeM]

Sanborn maps show it as far back as 1915. Additionally, the lot lines to the north and south seem to follow the extended centerline of the alley, up to Trowbridge, and down to Holbrook.

[Scottathew]

Sanborn maps show it as far back as 1915. Additionally, the lot lines to the north and south seem to follow the extended centerline of the alley, up to Trowbridge, and down to Holbrook.

Wow, I'm at a loss. Why would this also affect the lot lines to the north! I've gone on Google Earth and extended the line north and south and I can't find any modern day clues.

Thanks for digging up that info, MikeM!

[Király]

Wow, I'm at a loss. Why would this also affect the lot lines to the north! I've gone on Google Earth and extended the line north and south and I can't find any modern day clues.

I extended the centerline of the alley with a ruler on my screen up to Gallagher and Trowbridge [Street View], and there is still evidence of it there. The line looks like it would run up right against the houses at the end of the block. The house on the southeast corner is wide enough for a side driveway right on the line. The house on the northeast corner has an addition built right on the line.

[Király]

I extended the centerline of the alley with a ruler on my screen up to Gallagher and Trowbridge

Sorry, bad link to Google Street View. Better link to Gallagher and Trowbridge.

[wolverine]

Very bizarre

[Jimaz]

Could it be some kind of archaic infrastructure right-of-way like a telegraph line or something?

These mysteries are why I love DetroitYES! It seems they never end.

[EastsideAl]

I had a look at the 1876 Wayne County atlas. I though there an obviously glaring reason for this anomaly might show up there, as it often does for this kind of thing. But what I found was just a subtle variation in the platted property lines, for no discernible reason. Almost like some kind of surveyor's error.

You can see it here between lots 30 and 31.



For orientation, Holbrook is the road marked with "Ditch" to the south, Conant is on the right before the Carpenter property, where the orientation changes from the river orientation of the 10,000 Acre Tract to the directional orientation of the Northwest Ordinance Survey.

[mwilbert]

I had a look at the 1876 Wayne County atlas. I though there an obviously glaring reason for this anomaly might show up there, as it often does for this kind of thing. But what I found was just a subtle variation in the platted property lines, for no discernible reason. Almost like some kind of surveyor's error.

You can see it here between lots 30 and 31.



For orientation, Holbrook is the road marked with "Ditch" to the south, Conant is on the right before the Carpenter property, where the orientation changes from the river orientation of the 10,000 Acre Tract to the directional orientation of the Northwest Ordinance Survey.

OK, I have an unrelated question about that picture from the Atlas. Inside the lots a number is written which I would expect to be the area of the lot, but I don't know what the units are. Square rods?

[MikeM]

Probably acres.

[mwilbert]

It can't possibly be acres. Look at the size of the lots.

[MikeM]

Sure, Holbrook up to Caniff is nearly a half mile, and Jos Campau to Conant is just short of a half mile. A square mile has 640 acres, so this is just shy of a quarter square mile.

[mwilbert]

Sure, Holbrook up to Caniff is nearly a half mile, and Jos Campau to Conant is just short of a half mile. A square mile has 640 acres, so this is just shy of a quarter square mile.

Most of the lots shown are marked as 10 or more of whatever the units are. Do you really think Hamtramck is or ever was a town subdivided into 10 acre lots? Also, if this were acres, there would be more than 160 acres in just one block. It isn't acres.

[MikeM]

Those aren't indivdual home lots. Lot 28 covers from Jos Campau to Mitchell, from Holbrook up to Evaline. It's about 300' x 1400'. That's 420,000 square feet which is ~10 acres.

I went back to the same atlas and picked out a section in a rural area [[Huron Twp) where the land isn't so divided up. A standard township section is 640 acres. For example, section 13 is divided into two 160 acre farms, three 80 acre farms, and two 40 acre farms.

[RickBeall]

This info is irrelevant for the question at hand but I know from reading the Hamtramck Review section written by Kawalski, that there use to be a creek running beside Holbrook, so the ditch was really a creek. There used to be a bridge going over it at Jos Campau.

[Brock7]

That section wasn't subdivided yet in 1855. Curiously, adding up the numbers of acres in all sections of the Ten Thousand Acre Tract only comes to 9,139.92 acres.

On the 1885 map the dimensions of the subdivided small-farm size parcels are given in feet and they still haven't been further subdivided into city house lots.

[Llama]

In the diagram immediately above, that alley line looks like it could be drawn along the true north-south axis, whereas everything else would just be parallel to surrounding streets.