Another amazing 'Shorpy' Detroit photo

**Ray1936** · September-25-09, 07:54 PM

Looking down Fort Street from Woodward, 1890. Old City Hall is on the right. Note: If you're on dial-up, this may take a while to load.
http://www.shorpy.com/node/6873?size=_original

Buy American · September-25-09, 08:11 PM

Great picture, thanks for posting it Ray...

**jcole** · September-25-09, 08:20 PM

Ray, I saw that this morning on Shorpy. Is that Fort St. Presbyterian on the left? It looks to close to Woodward I wasn't sure

**Ray1936** · September-25-09, 09:05 PM

Yes, that would be Fort St. Presbyterian on the left hand side [[spire only). It's the only thing that still exists from this photo.

**EastsideAl** · September-25-09, 09:23 PM

Originally Posted by Ray1936

Yes, that would be Fort St. Presbyterian on the left hand side [[spire only). It's the only thing that still exists from this photo.

Well, except for the Bagley Fountain [[designed by H.H. Richardson!) in the lower foreground. It still exists, but few hundred feet away over by Cadillac Sq.

That's a hell of a shot there Ray. Thanks for bringing it to our attention. They always have such beautiful stuff on that site.

It begs a few more questions though. I see the old post office quite clearly, but does anyone know what the spire on the same side of Fort behind it is [[the one roughly across from Fort St. Presbyterian)? And what is that building directly behind City Hall? It looks like some sort of theater or armory.

Sludgedaddy · September-25-09, 09:27 PM

The photo is simply fantastic ! The amazing thing is that there are no "ghetto bars" on any of the windows in the photograph. Truly a glimpse of another time.

Retroit · September-25-09, 10:14 PM

Originally Posted by EastsideAl

And what is that building directly behind City Hall? It looks like some sort of theater or armory.

Second Brick Baptist Church, built 1859, used till 1872
Used by Detroit Musical Society, approx. 1881
The Whitney Grand Opera House was also on that block, but I'm not sure if it was that particular building, first used 1875.

Retroit · September-25-09, 10:29 PM

Originally Posted by EastsideAl

but does anyone know what the spire on the same side of Fort behind it is [[the one roughly across from Fort St. Presbyterian)?

Grace Episcopal Church, built 1870.

**jackie5275** · September-25-09, 10:35 PM

That's cool Ray, thanks. So often I wish I had a time machine to go back & see how Detroit once was.

**Gsgeorge** · September-25-09, 11:08 PM

Stunning. Again, hardly anything remains. Only Fort Street Presb. is the only recognizable structure. I will attempt to retake this view shortly.

**PCE** · September-25-09, 11:19 PM

Originally Posted by Gsgeorge

Stunning. Again, hardly anything remains. Only Fort Street Presb. is the only recognizable structure. I will attempt to retake this view shortly.

That would be great! I'd love to see "then and now".

Ray1936 Great site. I've got it bookmarked.

**Todd_Scott** · September-26-09, 01:47 AM

Awesome. I love seeing all the "safety" bikes, including that rack of them in front of the Hammond Building. Notice the complete lack of street signs?

**buildingsofdetroit** · September-26-09, 12:45 PM

Originally Posted by Retroit

Second Brick Baptist Church, built 1859, used till 1872
Used by Detroit Musical Society, approx. 1881
The Whitney Grand Opera House was also on that block, but I'm not sure if it was that particular building, first used 1875.

The Whitney Grand Opera House was torn down to make way for the old Federal Building [[aka Post Office) pictures in the center of that photo.
www.buildingsofdetroit.com/places/post

I've never seen some of that detail on the Hammond Building. Absolutely fascinating. I've seen many of the high-res photos on Shorpy, but this one is my favorite so far. I also like the "horseschitt catchers" on the trolleys.

**DetroitZack** · September-26-09, 12:47 PM

Thanks for posting! I love old pictures like this, I always liked the Hammond Building.

**eriedearie** · September-26-09, 01:44 PM

Really neat Ray - thanks for bringing our attention to this one. Great photo!

**gnome** · September-26-09, 05:48 PM

Thanks Ray, ...great pic, looks like very early spiring/late winter with the bare trees, no leaves in the gutters and no snow on the ground. Couldn't have been too cold as the bike riders were out in force and few men had anything other than suit jackets.

If the street runs roughly east/west, guessing from the shadows it looks to be early afternoon.

Love that horse poo all over. Easy to think everything was better in the good ol days.

So Ray, what was it really like back then?

**Ray1936** · September-26-09, 06:44 PM

"So Ray, what was it really like back then?"

Wasn't that bad. Price of crude was way down. I remember Hazen Pingree complaining about the horse poop alongside City Hall, though. He said it was getting more and more like going to a City Council meeting. A guy working over at Edison's didn't like the droppings, either, and I think it gave him an idea for a poopless carriage. Fella named Ford.

Good times, except ya never saw any T & A.

**gnome** · September-26-09, 08:17 PM

Attachment 3315

Just as I suspected.

**Ray1936** · September-26-09, 08:52 PM

Aw, I remember that photo. Me 'n Bud was walking a beat on Bagley, way before Mexican town ever thought of bein' there. Was a nice blacksmith shop at 8th street, though, that always had a coffee pot goin'. Coffee sometimes tasted kinda funny, tho.

[[Nice job, gnome, and absolutely ROFL!)

**Gistok** · September-26-09, 10:52 PM

Sadly an very nice block of old buildings [[likely including the 2 on the left of that image)... came down for the old NBD HQ... now known as the Chase Tower [[a.k.a. Cheese Grater)....

The color image on that webpage labeled "Sadly lacking bicycles and horses"... is basically the same view... but taken from the north side of W. Fort St., while the old 1890 image was taken from the south side of W. Fort St.

**Sandhouse** · September-28-09, 10:55 AM

Fantastic image. I love the open rear boarding platforms on the trolleys. I wonder why the modern trolley-car proposals never have fenders on the front like the ones in this picture?

**kahnman** · September-28-09, 03:49 PM

In case some of you aren't familiar with the origin of many of Shorpy's images, try this link:

http://memory.loc.gov/ammem/browse/L...ure,+Landscape

and select the "Turn-of-the-Century America" link for the Detroit Publishing Company photo database. The HABS/HAER/HALS database link on the original link I posted is another architectural goldmine.

The Library of Congress is my favorite website for historical research. You can easily spend months there!

**Gsgeorge** · September-28-09, 04:06 PM

Anyone work in the First National Building? I would have to get on the third or second floor to retake this photo to see the "after" view.

**buildingsofdetroit** · September-28-09, 04:07 PM

Originally Posted by kahnman

In case some of you aren't familiar with the origin of many of Shorpy's images, try this link:

http://memory.loc.gov/ammem/browse/L...ure,+Landscape

and select the "Turn-of-the-Century America" link for the Detroit Publishing Company photo database. The HABS/HAER/HALS database link on the original link I posted is another architectural goldmine.

The Library of Congress is my favorite website for historical research. You can easily spend months there!

Every time I click on an image from that link, it's always tiny and fuzzy. Is there a search term to find the amazing-quality images?

**kahnman** · September-28-09, 04:16 PM

Yes. Once you click on the small image a second page will display a link in blue up at the top as part of the digital ID that will say: "Retrieve uncompressed archival TIFF image" [[or JPEG, etc.).

The info tells you how large the image is. Warning - some of them are huge - 20 to 30 megs each is not uncommon. A high speed internet connection is mandatory.