Arch over street: identify this building

**Gsgeorge** · February-05-10, 06:28 PM

Wow! I came across this in an old folder of saved antique Detroit images, but I have no info on it other than that it was taken in 1955. Can someone identify this amazing street-spanning building?

Attachment 5134

**buildingsofdetroit** · February-05-10, 06:30 PM

Crowley's downtown department store. I have some photos of that bridge coming down about 20 years later.

**Patrick** · February-05-10, 06:56 PM

Anyone know the name of the architect?

**Gsgeorge** · February-05-10, 07:02 PM

I can't believe Detroit let this one go.

**j to the jeremy** · February-05-10, 07:08 PM

Me neither.

**buildingsofdetroit** · February-05-10, 07:10 PM

And the land sat vacant for decades afterward. Sound familiar? A lot of the buildings over there were razed for a mall that Taubman planned to put in that never happened. The Cadillac Square Building, the Folly's [[Family) Theatre, all bit the dust for this failed venture. It's hard to believe in the Compuware HQ era just how much land - and for how long - sat vacant for decades after the Kern's Block, old Opera House et al came down. Why I have to laugh when people say the land is more marketable sans building. They obviously haven't read their Detroit history books.

Here's a photo showing the land where Compuware is now being used for parking following the demo of the Opera House and Crowley's, which was at right. Notice the library, which is still there, to give you a visual clue:

http://i215.photobucket.com/albums/c...s/hudsons2.jpg

**mikeg19** · February-05-10, 07:29 PM

Originally Posted by Gsgeorge

I can't believe Detroit let this one go.

Me neither. I've never seen that before. It looks really incredible. I'm gonna have to find some more pictures of it.

**buildingsofdetroit** · February-05-10, 07:38 PM

Originally Posted by mikeg19

Me neither. I've never seen that before. It looks really incredible. I'm gonna have to find some more pictures of it.

Here's the building on the left: http://tinyurl.com/ybkde4a
Crowley's with the National Theatre for reference - and the vacant Kern Block in front of it:http://tinyurl.com/ycav9qg
Bridge: http://tinyurl.com/ydv79a2
Bridge being torn down:http://tinyurl.com/ydj9ce5

**Mikeg** · February-05-10, 08:51 PM

Crowley's bridge over Library Street that connected their two buildings was previously mentioned on this thread, which included a close-up photo of the rich detailing on the building's facade. There is also an aerial photo showing the location of the bridge relative to the two buildings.

**Whitehouse** · February-05-10, 10:26 PM

Originally Posted by Mikeg

Crowley's bridge over Library Street that connected their two buildings was previously mentioned on this thread, which included a close-up photo of the rich detailing on the building's facade. There is also an aerial photo showing the location of the bridge relative to the two buildings.

In danger of polluting a thread with other info, that fountain didn't last very long.

Now the spot of Ernst & Young.

**mauser** · February-05-10, 09:45 PM

Man, that building has one mf 'er of a cornice !

**56packman** · February-05-10, 09:51 PM

Man,that cabbie must of had some connections at GM to get a '58 Chevy in 1955!

Toolbox · February-06-10, 12:58 PM

Originally Posted by 56packman

Man,that cabbie must of had some connections at GM to get a '58 Chevy in 1955!

Beat me to it.

**southen** · February-05-10, 10:29 PM

progress right? i absolutely love looking at old photographs like this, but at the same time it can be pretty painful.

**RickBeall** · February-06-10, 02:35 AM

Wow! That was one big bridge between the buildings!

**Bodybagging** · February-06-10, 08:42 AM

good eye 56'

**Baselinepunk** · February-06-10, 11:26 AM

This is just as heart wrenching as watching a pure, mint condition vintage car go through a shredder.

**Patrick** · February-06-10, 11:33 AM

wasn't there a simialr bridge att Cass Tech? I think, in all, there were a number oof brudges connecting buildings in Detroit at one time. The Packard Plant as well.

**Hornwrecker** · February-06-10, 12:32 PM

Originally Posted by Patrick

wasn't there a simialr bridge att Cass Tech? I think, in all, there were a number oof brudges connecting buildings in Detroit at one time. The Packard Plant as well.

It attached Cass Tech to Commerce over Vernor[[?).

Attachment 5140
wsu/vmc

**Rocko** · February-06-10, 12:34 PM

Since there is a similar bridge [[similar in height, not in depth) connecting Compuware to the parking deck, in the exact same place, it's too bad they didn't try to incorporate any motifs from the old bridge into the new one. A clock, for example, would be sufficient. Oh well. Cool photos [[yes, even the one of the fountain at Kennedy Square), thanks for sharing!

**EastsideAl** · February-06-10, 01:55 PM

Originally Posted by Hornwrecker

It attached Cass Tech to Commerce over Vernor[[?)

That bridge was built to connect the "new" Cass Tech [[built 1917) to its old building, which soon became the High School of Commerce. The bridge, which was dedicated to the school's WWI dead, was built across what was then High St., later renamed Vernor Hwy. I believe that it, and Commerce, were torn down to make way for the Fisher Fwy. [[I-75) in the 1960s.

**mikeg19** · February-06-10, 04:51 PM

Thanks for posting up that link to the HOF thread. Looking at those pictures is absolutely incredible. I've never seen that many people walking around downtown before. [[Obviously because I'm only 23)

**EastsideAl** · February-06-10, 05:14 PM

Originally Posted by mikeg19

Thanks for posting up that link to the HOF thread. Looking at those pictures is absolutely incredible. I've never seen that many people walking around downtown before. [[Obviously because I'm only 23)

Duh, here's the link to the part of the HOF thread with the picture of Crowley's, and a ton of other pictures of downtown in 1968.
http://atdetroit.net/forum/messages/...tml?1224199937

I saw your post and realized that there must be some way to get to the part of the thread with the pictures from the link I had posted above. I finally in frustration just sort of randomly clicked the "Archive through..." link at the top of the page and there they all were. Stupid me.

A lot of great pictures there of the outside Crowley's [[including a shot of the facade from the bridge in question). And a lot of other pictures too of the downtown of my childhood. Since my father and grandmother worked downtown, and my mother worked there part-time, I used to go down there pretty much once or twice a week. I think '68 or '69 was the first year when I started taking the bus there by myself, and began exploring the area on my own.

**EastsideAl** · February-06-10, 11:48 AM

I was in Crowley's many times over the early years of my life [[although we always kind of had to sneak in, since my grandmother worked around the corner at Hudson's). Of course, like all old Crowley's shoppers I remember the high-ceilinged ground floor, and those loud old wooden escalators. I also remember the big hulking "outmoded" place coming down as part of Detroit's "renaissance" of the late '70s for the much promised, but never-to-be-built, Cadillac Center mall.

What I don't remember is ever walking across that bridge. In fact, I don't remember ever shopping in the building on the other side of Library St., which I think was used pretty much exclusively as office and warehouse space in those days [['60s-'70s). I know the Library St. building was Crowley's original store, but, once the Farmer St. building was opened, was the Library building ever used as retail space? And was that bridge that connected it with the main Farmer St. store ever open to the public?

**EastsideAl** · February-06-10, 12:21 PM

There was a good thread back in October 2008 with some very nice photos posted by Mikeg of Crowley's. I found the thread in the HOF archives, but the first part with the pictures seems to have been lopped off. Here is the rest of the thread, which does contain a little more information.
http://atdetroit.net/forum/messages/...tml?1225154874