Old Post Office, W. Fort & Shelby

[Ray1936]

One of my favorite websites, Shorpy, has a great photo of the old post office in downtown Detroit from the 1890s. It was on the NE corner of Fort and Shelby. You can see the top of the old city hall in the background.

http://www.shorpy.com/node/6838?size=_original

[Detroitnerd]

Boy, I sure am glad we don't have those buildings anymore. Whooee. How old and obsolete! Outdated! No Class A office space in those! No parking either! How could they have been such idiots in the 19th century to build big, chunky stuff like that? Thank goodness they ripped that stuff down and built something new!

SATIRE SATIRE SATIRE

[cosine]

Buildings of Detroit recently added a great history of this building, along with dozens of nice photos. You can find it at http://www.buildingsofdetroit.com/places/post

[RickBeall]

Wow! It's amazing that we tear down those old beauties. Look at that bell tower!

[Fury13]

Torn down in the '30s...

[buildingsofdetroit]

At least they had the foresight to save the Million-Dollar Courtroom from it. Often there wasn't such vision.

I need to update the history to reflect what I've just learned from a historian of the Eastern District court: There were only two courtrooms in that entire building [[the old one). Hence, why the push to replace it.

[KarmicCurse]

It was a great building, but if it had to go then the current 1930 court house is a worthy replacement. I'm surprised it isn't mentioned with more frequency on the forum. It's a magnificent example of art deco, and the original court room from the 19th century building was reinstalled in the current one. I served on a grand jury [[one day a week for eighteen months) in that building and the experience was made tolerable because the setting gave an impression of history, gravity and grandeur to the proceedings.

[GRALR]

tear it down! Detroit is certainly amongst the most endangered place in America.

[Retroit]

The detail of that photo is incredible! There's on of those light towers on the right hand side, with the ladder leaning up against it. Looks like the tower had some type of crank-and-counterweight mechanism [[to raise the lights?). I suppose the pipes-with-T-tops in the foreground are horse hitches?

[Khartoum]

Eyesore. .

[Patrick]

I'm surprised it isn't mentioned with more frequency on the forum

We have had a number of discussions on it, espoecially with a former forum member who had worked there for years..

[Gistok]

Interesting backside view of old City Hall in the background.

Although the 1930s "Moderne" Federal Courthouse has a lot of nice detailing... unfortunately it has an uninspiring cube shape.

[Gsgeorge]

I couldn't resist this, guys... Just went out on the bike to grab an "after" photo.

Enjoy!

http://www.flickr.com/photos/gsgeorge/3935273602/

[Sandhouse]

You can't beat old glass-plate negatives for fine detail. I believe the towers held arc lights, that floodlit large portions of the city before incandescent streetlights.

[DetroitZack]

Love the photo, what a beautiful building. Thanks for posting!

[MikeM]

Found some photos of former post office branches around town. Thought this would be a good place to throw them up.

Former Harper Station, southeast corner Harper & Gratiot. Served from the mid-1920s to the mid-1960s when it moved to its current location on Gratiot, two blocks north of Harper:

Attachment 3253

Attachment 3254


Station "F", on Lyman Place east of Russell Street. I'm working from a collection of phone books and the oldest I have is 1915; it was there then. By 1918 it was renamed the Milwaukee Junction Station. Prior to 1921 the station was relocated to E Grand Boulevard where it lasted probably until the Poletown area was condemned:

Attachment 3255


Kercheval Station, Kercheval at Marlborough, serving the 48215. Established in the mid-1940s probably replacing the Fox Creek Station which was on E Jefferson at Phillip. I don't know when it closed. A new Fox Creek Station is now located on E Jefferson at Algonquin:

Attachment 3256

Attachment 3257

[MikeM]

Station "C", at 6470 E Jefferson across from Jefferson Court, just west of the former Uniroyal site. Established prior to 1915. Renamed Jefferson Station by 1918. Closed prior to 1935 and replaced by the current Jeffeson Station at 10721 E Jefferson at Montclair.

Attachment 3258


Seven Oaks Station, 17511 W Seven Mile. Established in the 1950s and relocated a block west sometime after 1970.

Attachment 3259

[cman710]

The unfortunate thing about the 1930 courthouse is that the building does not allow in much natural light. But the building is a great example of art deco architecture.

[MikeM]

Brightmoor Station, 20548 Fenkell, west of Evergreen. Relocated from a smaller office on Burt between 1926 and 1935. Closed sometime after 1967 [[my "newest" phone book) and moved across the street to its current location.

Attachment 3260

Detail behind the light pole:

Attachment 3261



Beech Station, 26050 Plymouth Rd. Established prior to 1961 and closed after 1967:

Attachment 3262

[MikeM]

Redford Station, 17260 Redford Street near Grand River. Established prior to 1940 and moved a few blocks up Grand River in the mid-1960s.

Attachment 3263

Attachment 3264



Redford Heights Branch, 18840 Woodworth, south of Seven Mile, west of Beech-Daly. There prior to 1961 and closed after 1967:

Attachment 3265

[MikeM]

Strathmoor Station was established at the corner of Grand River and Freeland in the mid-1920s, then moved across Grand River to 14300 Schoolcraft in the early 1930s, then in the mid-1940s moved a block east to the corner of Schoolcraft and Ardmore where it remained through the late 1960s when it moved to its current location on Schaefer, north of Grand River. The Ardmore location:

Attachment 3266



College Park Station, 17400 Livernois, north of McNichols. Relocated here from 7020 Fenkell, west of Livernois, in the late1930s. Sometime after 1967 moved north on Livernois to the block south of Eight Mile.

Attachment 3267



Joyfield Station, 17000 Joy, east of Southfield. Mid-1940s through at least the late 1960s. Current station is a few blocks east on Joy, at Greenfield.

Attachment 3268

[MikeM]

Delray Station, established prior to 1915 originally on W Jefferson west of Dearborn. Moved to this building at 8453 Dearborn during the 1950s. Closed post-1967.

Attachment 3273



Station "B", established prior to 1915, at the northeast corner of Michigan and 18th. Renamed Western Market Station by 1918. Closed in the 1920s, probably when Roosevelt Station opened.

Attachment 3274


Grand River Station was established prior to 1915 at the corner of Grand River and 16th. Relocated to this building in 1925, at 4600 15th Street, corner of W Forest. Still in use through the 1960s until it moved to its current location on Grand River at 15th.


Attachment 3275

[MikeM]

Kensington Station has been on Harper at Morang since the mid-1960s. For twenty years prior to that, it was located here at 16535 E Warren, just east of Outer Drive:

Attachment 3276

[Gistok]

Kensington Station has been on Harper at Morang since the mid-1960s. For twenty years prior to that, it was located here at 16535 E Warren, just east of Outer Drive:

Attachment 3276

One of the Post Offices on the national possible closure list mentioned a Harper Ave. Post Office. Is the Kensington Station the one they are referring to?

Although it is relatively new, Kensington Station beats the ugly yellow brick Grosse Pointe Post Office in looks, hands down. [[Actually the old Kensington Station looks a lot like the Grosse Pointe PO.)

[DetroitPlanner]

Joyfield was open at least through the mid-70's. I can recall mom sending me up there to get stamps as a kid around that time.