Edwin Denby High School

[zitro]

Here's a 1943 Denby Navigator

[Hermod]

Around 1957 if I am correct, it was an Elementary School prior to that.Ford was opened in 1957 as well.

No, the school at Marlborough and Waveney that became Finney was Andrew Jackson Intermediate School. I went there 1951 to 1953.

I think that Chester Arthur Elementary changed from a K-8 elementary school to a Jr High School so that Jackson could become a high school..

[Hermod]

Miller 99% Black [[Was a Junior High School from 1934 to 1957 to keep Eastern from integrating)

Miller was a high school that was virtually 100% black from 1934-1957. It was then changed to a jr high school.

FIFY.

[KENSINGTONY]

Finney was an elementary school at it's current location from the late1920s until it became a high school.

[kellyroad]

Here's a 1943 Denby Navigator

Are there any pics in that Navigator of the outside of the school that shows what the surrounding neighborhood and Kelly Road looked like back then?

[MikeM]

Around 1957 if I am correct, it was an Elementary School prior to that.Ford was opened in 1957 as well.

This picture of Finney from the Virtual Motor City is from 1957, so you are probably correct.

http://dlxs.lib.wayne.edu/cgi/i/imag...-57927%5D57927

[Hermod]

Finney was an elementary school at it's current location from the late1920s until it became a high school.

When I Google Mapped the old Jackson Intermediate.location on Marlborough and Waveney, the Google said that it was Finney High School. The building certainly has the Jackson footprint.

Edit to add: Flickr says that Jackson Intermediate became McNair Middle School even though Google says it is Finney.

Edit to add again. The error is in the map. If you google Mcnair, it shows you the right location, but the map calls it Finney High.

http://www.google.com/search?q=%22Mc...ient=firefox-a

[kellyroad]

This picture of Finney from the Virtual Motor City is from 1957, so you are probably correct.

http://dlxs.lib.wayne.edu/cgi/i/imag...-57927%5D57927

Wow. I would have never guessed that was Finney. I guess in all my travels to Canon Memorial Rec center on Cadieux [[they had a woodworking class via Parks and Rec) I failled to notice the building next door. I always thought Finney was the more modern looking building.

[MikeM]

When I Google Mapped the old Jackson Intermediate.location on Marlborough and Waveney, the Google said that it was Finney High School. The building certainly has the Jackson footprint.

Edit to add: Flickr says that Jackson Intermediate became McNair Middle School even though Google says it is Finney.

Edit to add again. The error is in the map. If you google Mcnair, it shows you the right location, but the map calls it Finney High.

That [[Jackson/McNair) is now Finney. Finney is slated for demolition.

http://www.detroit.k12.mi.us/schools/school/530

[MikeM]

Wow. I would have never guessed that was Finney. I guess in all my travels to Canon Memorial Rec center on Cadieux [[they had a woodworking class via Parks and Rec) I failled to notice the building next door. I always thought Finney was the more modern looking building.

This picture from 1929 was probably taken when the school first opened:

http://dlxs.lib.wayne.edu/cgi/i/imag...-75483%5D75483

You can still see that part of the building on the Guilford side of the school.

[Hermod]

That [[Jackson/McNair) is now Finney. Finney is slated for demolition.

http://www.detroit.k12.mi.us/schools/school/530

What was wrong with Andrew Jackson's name? He was a good Democrat.

[Patrick]

Jeez, Denby is by far the most discussed school on DYes. I really wonder why.

[Hermod]

Jeez, Denby is by far the most discussed school on DYes. I really wonder why.

Lots of active threads about the northeast part of the city. It was a great place to live back in the day and even now is one of the more viable parts of the city.

[Patrick]

The neighborhoods in the NE are pretty solid for the most part. Maybe due to the close proximity to shopping and burrbs?

[EastsideAl]

Are there any pics in that Navigator of the outside of the school that shows what the surrounding neighborhood and Kelly Road looked like back then?

My father went to Denby just before that. I believe he's class of 1941 [[he was there with Wally Cox, who some older TV viewers may remember). At the time he was there most of the land north of the school was still undeveloped.

In fact, when the school was constructed in 1930 it was built to get in front of the growth of the city, which was promptly stalled out by the depression, and the school was underutilized for about a decade. A lot of the streets surrounding Denby that were built out in what is now the northeast side were fitted with sidewalks and fire hydrants but sat mostly empty and overgrown until WWII spurred a housing boom.

[EastsideAl]

This picture of Finney from the Virtual Motor City is from 1957, so you are probably correct.

http://dlxs.lib.wayne.edu/cgi/i/imag...-57927%5D57927

Finney was expanded several times once it became a high school, to the point where that older building was largely hidden. The 1970s wing, with its odd stilt structure, is what you saw first from Warren or coming up Cadieux. This use of Finney was at first really intended to be just a temporary measure to reduce 9th grade overcrowding in other east side schools in the late '50s, but grade after grade was slowly added until the school was physically expanded in the mid-60s and became a full-fledged high school. The first graduating class was, I believe, around 1965.

Jackson is in an entirely different place and remained a junior high school [[intermediate school) until pretty recently. My father and later several of my cousins went there. Jackson had a huge district, and some kids coming out of there went to Finney [[or Denby in my father's time) and others to Southeastern depending on if they lived north or south of Mack.

[Hermod]

Jackson is in an entirely different place and remained a junior high school [[intermediate school) until pretty recently. My father and later several of my cousins went there. Jackson had a huge district, and some kids coming out of there went to Finney [[or Denby in my father's time) and others to Southeastern depending on if they lived north or south of Mack.

As I recall, when I went there in 51-53, the elementary schools that "fed" Jackson were Clark, Hosmer, Wayne, and Arthur.

Jackson then "fed" into Denby and Southeastern.

We were "bussed" to Jackson on chartered DSR buses. The parents at Arthur and Wayne hated the process and having their little darlings having to associate with the "street toughs" from Hosmer.

"Hosmer" might be spelled differently, I don't think I ever saw it written down. I just heard the name from my classmates as in, "Yes, I went to Hosmer".

[zitro]

Are there any pics in that Navigator of the outside of the school that shows what the surrounding neighborhood and Kelly Road looked like back then?

There's not a lot KR, but here are a few. I would imagine the guys and gals laughing it up is at the famous Denby Sweet Shop and possibly the couple at the ticket window could have been at the Civic Theatre. Love the old leather helmets on the Tars. Also a view of some out buildings that must have been used for the overflow of students.

[kellyroad]

There's not a lot KR, but here are a few. I would imagine the guys and gals laughing it up is at the famous Denby Sweet Shop and possibly the couple at the ticket window could have been at the Civic Theatre. Love the old leather helmets on the Tars. Also a view of some out buildings that must have been used for the overflow of students.

Thanks Z. I'm wondering if the stadium pic is that of U of D. By the size of the stands and the surrounding homes I don't think it's Denby.
Any of the older Tars have a guess where that stadium might be?

[Hermod]

Thanks Z. I'm wondering if the stadium pic is that of U of D. By the size of the stands and the surrounding homes I don't think it's Denby.
Any of the older Tars have a guess where that stadium might be?

The baseball pictures have the one and a half story bungalows that were typical of the Denby area. The football picture houses don't look like the area.

Denby had a string of "portables" for extra classrooms when I was there in 53-54.

[EastsideAl]

Could be Keyworth Stadium in Hamtramck. A lot of east side schools [[and Wayne St.) played games there. It definitely isn't U of D.

[EastsideAl]

Here is an interesting picture of Denby as originally constructed from Wayne's Virtual Motor City site



Looks like it's out in the country.

[scribe114]

Miller was a high school that was virtually 100% black from 1934-1957. It was then changed to a jr high school.

FIFY.

Typo, good looking out Hermod,

Miller opened as an Intermediate School in 1919 my grandmother was in the Miller H.S.January 1939 class. She and her brothers and sisters attended Russell which was made a K-8 School when Miller was converted. She also attended Duffield briefly.

[Patrick]

I was talking to some old-timers who had graduated from Mumford as well as Central and Denby and they all mentioned that the kids from Denby were always the coolest on the DPS becuase they always wore the "hippest" clothes and drove the coolest cars compared to the other schools. They said that it was known as a "bad-ass" school...whatever that means lol.

[Hermod]

I was talking to some old-timers who had graduated from Mumford as well as Central and Denby and they all mentioned that the kids from Denby were always the coolest on the DPS becuase they always wore the "hippest" clothes and drove the coolest cars compared to the other schools. They said that it was known as a "bad-ass" school...whatever that means lol.

When I went to Denby [[53-54) the area around Denby was heavily German with a dash of Scandinavian, Bohemian, Slovak, and Polish. Most worked for the auto companies and were fairly high up on the blue collar pay scale. There were very few noticeably poor kids there. I don't remember Denby being especially "cool" but the kids could probably afford it.