On this day 60 years ago, downtown Detroit stood still. Well, jammed at least.
From the Free Press December 25, 1956:
"Downtown Detroit was jammed Monday with last minute shoppers who clogged the stores and merged with early-leaving office workers to create one of the biggest traffic snarls of the year."
This minute detail of Detroit's history came to light for me while pouring over Michael Hauser's 20th Century Retailing in Downtown Detroit, where he makes a fleeting mention of it. He does say there were half a million people downtown! The article doesn't give an estimate at all. Simply put, wow!
I found the Free Press article, short and sweet, while pouring over the Free Press archives on Newspapers.com. Cars, trucks, and buses were bumper to bumper, double-parkers also blamed. Even with the massive crowds, sales were predicated to be down over the year prior. Extra police forces had to be brought in for crowd control.
As a millenial, such an image of a bustling Woodward Avenue is now only found in photos of the era. I hope for the day where it is bustling once more. But for now we can only wonder in amazement what that afternoon must have looked and sounded like!
If you were there or remember relatives talking about this day, do tell.
Merry Christmas, everyone!
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