Stairs to nowhere..silly question

[Wintersmommy]

I took the train from Royal oak to Ann Arbor today and i noticed something along the way while going through the city

I am not sure how to describe this but i will try

there where streets with little to no houses left on them

the streets have sidewalks and the sidewalks have stairs that lead up to ground level [[which is considerably higher than street level) but once they get to ground level there is nothing there but grass

there are multiple sets of stairs close together, and to me that indicates that maybe at one time these stairs led to houses that are no longer there. But my question is does anyone know what i am talking about and if so are there any pictures? I would like to see how these steps led up to the houses, were there sidewalks that then led up to the house? Where the houses long and narrow because the sets of stairs appear to be pretty close together. I have never seen anything like it and I would love to see how it looked with houses

I didn't catch any street signs but all the streets ran perpendicular to the tracks and where on the south side of the tracks

[ASR89]

I know what you're talking about. In the following video, you can see the stairs at the 7 minute, 40 seconds mark:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=bWYV4wduAo8

I don't have any pictures, but I thought the same thing as you, and that the stairs led up to houses.

[gazhekwe]

Try 3316 Buchanan on Google Maps, street view.

Better yet, try Bing and look at the Bird's Eye view.

[Johnnny5]

If the stairs are the same as in the video they were for a series of single family homes. Here's a grainy picture from the DTE aerial photos from 1952. Attachment 5828

[Johnnny5]

Also happens to be only a block from where my great grandparents lived up until the 67' riots.

[windsor_shane]

when i drive though detroit and i see stuff like this it really gets my imagination going... what was here? who lived here? i can almost picture myself living there and going up and down those steps everyday...

detroit can brew up intrigue like no other city..

[East Detroit]

Another question... which end of the stairs was "nowhere" to the people?

[kathy2trips]

when i drive though detroit and i see stuff like this it really gets my imagination going... what was here? who lived here? i can almost picture myself living there and going up and down those steps everyday...

detroit can brew up intrigue like no other city..

And such sweet little Victorians right around the corner on 23rd! Mmmm...

Here's a bit of the city directory from the late 20s covering the area in question. A lot of people used to live in that one block-long section of the street. Apparently, a lot of Polish and Irish.

[rodj44137]

What also fascinated me was, if you look at the site with Bing's Bird's Eye view, you'll notice that the bldg on the corner of Buchanan & 23rd has the roof collapsed.

[detroitbob]

This area was the first Polish settlement on the west side and centered around St. Casimir Church at Myrtle and 23rd. The huge church anchored the neighborhood. When Myrtle was widened in 1961 the church was demolished and a very small church replaced it. The parish closed in 1989 and the school, which catered to special education students, I believe has also closed.

The alumni association has a web site that has a lot of interesting photographs of the parish plant and some pictures of the neighborhood. The 50th anniversary book a wonderful chronicle of this long demolished church building. There is also a video featuring historical photographs and anecdotes of the neighborhood.

http://web.me.com/twozniak/St._Casim.../Homepage.html

[Wintersmommy]

Try 3316 Buchanan on Google Maps, street view.

Better yet, try Bing and look at the Bird's Eye view.

Yes that is exactly what i was talking about...on Bing I can see 2 houses on the street that give me an idea of what it must have looked like

[Wintersmommy]

when i drive though detroit and i see stuff like this it really gets my imagination going... what was here? who lived here? i can almost picture myself living there and going up and down those steps everyday...

detroit can brew up intrigue like no other city..

I very much agree! I was so intrigued, my mind was just full of questions.
I see streets like these and I just cant imagine what happened to make that all go away so that all that is left is stairs.

[Wintersmommy]

Another question... which end of the stairs was "nowhere" to the people?

I dont know, but the stairs looked lonely like they needed people...i may go walk up them some warm summer day

[Bullet]

detroitbob,thanks for the above linkage. The history of that parish is fascinating, and sad that that is what a lot of Detroit has become: History.

[detroitbob]

If anyone gets over to Chicago drive by 31st/31st Place/Halstead in Chicago. St. Mary of Perpetual Help was built from the same plans as St. Casimir Detroit and remains in its original condition, interior and exterior...a bit of Detroit in Chicago.

[DetroitHabitater]

The school at St. Casimir was open until just a couple years ago. Maybe 04/05. I worked with habitat in that neighborhood for a couple years and we were friends with the principal.

Last year i got a chance to go to our lady of perpetual help, that was a trip. such a beautiful church.

[Gannon]

I know a fellow who used to live at a house at the top of one of those lonely staircases on Buchanan a few doors down from the railroad tracks. He's a local blues and jazz crooner...and boy does he have the stories! I believe he was there in the forties and fifties, I'll ask him if he has pictures...

[DetroitHabitater]

another instance in delray with houses

http://maps.google.com/?ie=UTF8&hq=&...30.18,,0,-2.21

[Wintersmommy]

another instance in delray with houses

http://maps.google.com/?ie=UTF8&hq=&...30.18,,0,-2.21

ok now another question...why is the land so much higher there? Natural elevation or man made elevation?

[DetroitHabitater]

In both instances the road was trenched out to go under the train tracks. Unlike car roads which can crown over another street, train tracks need to be kept flatter if possible. So the train is actually 'at grade' while the street below is dug out and the houses are also 'at grade'.

[Wintersmommy]

In both instances the road was trenched out to go under the train tracks. Unlike car roads which can crown over another street, train tracks need to be kept flatter if possible. So the train is actually 'at grade' while the street below is dug out and the houses are also 'at grade'.

I cant believe i couldn't firgure that out ! thank you for the explination

[prokopowicz]

What are the horses and track at Humboldt and Poplar just across the Jeffries? You can see the horses in Bing with birds-eye view zoomed in.

[Wintersmommy]

I know what you're talking about. In the following video, you can see the stairs at the 7 minute, 40 seconds mark:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=bWYV4wduAo8

I don't have any pictures, but I thought the same thing as you, and that the stairs led up to houses.

yeap those are my stairs
Had to wait till I got home to watch the video [[work doesnt like us to watch youtube go figure)

[5speedz34]

http://maps.google.com/maps?f=q&sour...2,72.72,,0,0.6

Not as dramatic but also along the railroad tracks, over by the WSU area.

I've seen other parts of the city have elevated "stairs" leading to the walkway of the house, not anywhere near RR tracks either.

[gazhekwe]

prokopowicz What are the horses and track at Humboldt and Poplar just across the Jeffries? You can see the horses in Bing with birds-eye view zoomed in.

It's Ferguson Farm at Catherine Ferguson Academy.

From the DPS Website:

When a teenaged/pre-teen girl discovers she’s pregnant, her life changes far more than she could ever have expected. Too often one of the first changes she makes is to drop out of school, sacrificing one of her most important opportunities for a good future. To help solve that problem, DPS created two special schools. The Catherine Ferguson Academy and Nancy Boykin CEC, that teach girls in grades 7 through 12.
At Ferguson and Boykin, the main goals are to educate the young mothers and prepare them for a good future. “We want our girls to know that becoming a mother in your teens does not mean you are doomed to a dead end life,� said Ms. Andrews. All students are schooled in the core curriculum of English, math, science and social studies in a family-like, accepting environment. Along with the academics there is ‘real life’ learning about raising a child and how to function as a knowledgeable, independent and productive adult. “The responsibility of providing food, shelter and other basic needs in life should not be stressful. They have the right to look forward to a rewarding life and we help them achieve it� said Ms. Durant.
Both schools offer early education classes for infants and toddlers along with business partners who can help needy students meet their child’s basic needs such as food, clothing and medical care. Social workers, counselors and other staff can also put the students in touch with community services like WIC, the Children’s Center, DHS, Alternative for Teens, Positive Images, the Detroit Health Department and Legal Aid for specialized assistance, along with career counseling, mentoring and tutoring. The all-female student body is something the students seem to appreciate.
Everything at the schools encourages young mothers to stay on the right ‘life’ track. This structure has led to a graduation rate of over 90% at Ferguson with most of the girls going on to college. It has also earned Ferguson a national award and a waiting list. Added to those is Ferguson’s Farm, complete with goats, chickens, vegetable gardens, a horse, beehives and more where the ‘city girls’ have taken to the farm like they’ve always lived there. ...