Detroit Building/address question

**NewguyTim** · March-29-10, 06:12 PM

I'm wrapping up a book on the history of WWJ. The question: I've found a 1902 reference to the Banner Laundry Building at 61 Michigan Avenue, which a participant in a meeting there referred to as across from the Book Cadillac. Anybody familiar with the Banner Laundry Building? Would it be across from the CURRENT Westin Book Cadillac?

**Wingnatic** · March-29-10, 06:31 PM

Here's a map , it could be down the street . Perhaps the Banner Laundry Building had been renamed ?
http://maps.google.com/maps?q=Banner...-8&sa=N&tab=wl

Just put 61 Michigan Avenue Detroit in the search field .

**gnome** · March-29-10, 06:31 PM

Yep, there was a pic on Shorpy that we parsed out a couple weeks back. It showed the Banner Laundry, a drug store and a couple of other things. Seems to me it was circa 1906...the current location would be the Holiday Inn Express at Washington and Michigan.

I would say that the Banner Linen place was just a store front and not what I would call The Banner Linen BUILDING.

The thread I mentioned was called Shorpy Sunday Puzzle ...here is the shorpy link:

http://www.shorpy.com/node/7779?size=_original

I just re-looked at the pic and it shows the Banner Office as being at 83 Michigan Ave., again in the same location as the Holiday Inn. Maybe there was a Banner Building at 61, but that would place it approx at the location of the newly departed Lafayette Building.

**EastsideAl** · March-29-10, 11:47 PM

Below is link to a photo on U of M's early Detroit images site of the Cadillac Hotel from what I would guess is sometime around 1900. The picture was definitely taken after 1896, since the Majestic Building at Michigan and Woodward can be seen clearly in the background. The hotel is the large white building on the left, which was renamed the Book Cadillac when it was bought by the Book family in 1917. It was torn down and replaced on the same site by the current Book Cadillac Hotel in 1923.

Picture of Cadillac Hotel:
http://quod.lib.umich.edu/cgi/i/imag...5DEB02E629.TIF

You can't see much of the building across the street from the hotel, but if you look at the roof of that building you can see a partially obscured sign that most likely says "Laundry." It appears that Banner once occupied at least part that building. The address given for Banner in the 1893-94 city directory is 73 Michigan Ave,, but the address for the main entrance to that building would have been 71 Michigan. So, there may possibly have been a mistake in the document you read.

Here is that directory listing:
http://distantcousin.com/directories...?Pages=118.jpg

73 Michigan is the same part of that building that's occupied by the Gately's store by the time of the Shorpy picture [[supposedly 1906). By then it appears that Banner had moved to just a small street-level office in the adjacent building at 83 Michigan. I don't know when exactly, but I do know that at some point they moved their plant to a location at Brooklyn and Plum near Tiger Stadium, because my grandfather knew some of their drivers and we used to park there for ballgames. They were there into the 1980s.

Here is the earlier DY thread on the Shorpy picture:
http://detroityes.com/mb/showthread.php?t=4759

You should keep in mind that none of the old addresses will correspond to current addresses. The city underwent a comprehensive addressing reform in the 1920s that changed all of them.

**gnome** · March-30-10, 07:22 AM

excellent detective work E_Al. I checked out your Burton link and while I agree there is an obsured sign on the side of the building in question, I'm not convinced it says "laundry".

I wonder what WWJ's founding and Banner Linnen have to do with one another ... especially since radio didn't come into widespread use until the 1920's.

**gnome** · March-30-10, 07:28 AM

http://quod.lib.umich.edu/cgi/i/imag...1IC-X-EB02C954 EB02C954.TIF;quality=0;view=entry;subview=detail;c c=dpa1ic;entryid=x-eb02c954;viewid=EB02C954.TIF;start=;resnum=13

Searched "Banner" on the Burton site, this came up. Certainly seems you are correct about the address.

**EastsideAl** · March-30-10, 02:10 PM

Another really nice find. That odd building on the corner appears to be brand new there.

And just to add to the body of evidence, the 1897 Sanborn map shows a "steam laundry" in the space at 73 & 75 Michigan.

**NewguyTim** · March-30-10, 11:31 PM

Thanks for the great detective work. In answer to Gnome's question: Inventor Tom Clark gave a demonstration of radio waves to Detroit News founder James E. Scripps and his son, William. That got William interested in the topic, and he got WWJ off the ground in 1920. Clark had a message sent from his office in the Banner Laundry Building to the Detroit Chamber of Commerce Building, then at State and Griswold.

**snowlodg** · December-31-11, 01:18 PM

Hi Newguy Tim,
My father worked for Banner Linen Laundry for at least 35 years. They were located on Brooklyn Ave not to far from Tiger Stadium. My older brother and I also worked there in the summers [[he worked on the first floor in Laundry and I worked in the office). I could answer some questions for you, if you still need information. I still have one of the old laundry bags that has "Banner Linen" stamped on it. We use to park there also when we went to games baseball or football. One of the Managers name was names Robey and his daughter was my high school gym teacher. Let me know ifyou need help