Detroit's Last Depot - Article from 1975

**mcsdetroitfriend** · June-09-10, 11:49 PM

Hey I have a bit of a treat for you, since I've been sailing the high-seas in my downtime I've copied two articles from the 1970's regarding the Michigan Central Station.

They are both from Rails Magazine and written by local architect Garnet Cousins and Paul Maximuke.

https://docs.google.com/document/edi...6QDwoubw&hl=en

It's 14 pages, quite a read, but very informative

**Cincinnati_Kid** · June-10-10, 01:12 AM

Very good information, thanks for the read.

Retroit · June-11-10, 10:06 AM

I wonder what Henry Ford had in mind for his business center across the street. That's the first I've ever heard of that.

**mcsdetroitfriend** · June-13-10, 02:12 PM

Yeah all those empty parcels around the place are probably the result of Ford's purchase and just holding on to them afterward...though I think a lot of it was around the I-75 area behind the depot

**Huggybear** · June-13-10, 02:40 PM

I cruised through this quickly - but there was one really interesting point in there - that the grand foyer had been closed for more than a decade when Amtrak went in there. That explains why, when you see the Amtrak-era pictures, it already looks like holy hell with some Amtrak stuff plastered over it.

**1KielsonDrive** · June-14-10, 01:22 AM

Originally Posted by Huggybear

I cruised through this quickly - but there was one really interesting point in there - that the grand foyer had been closed for more than a decade when Amtrak went in there. That explains why, when you see the Amtrak-era pictures, it already looks like holy hell with some Amtrak stuff plastered over it.

I used to go in MCD with friends and family who worked there for ConRail and Amtrak. I also took Amtrak from there to A2 and Chicago. Amtrak ran frequently enough to be a commuter train, back then. The Great Room was closed off by a wall constructed of plywood which funneled passengers directly under the tracks to the sheds and boarding platforms. I don't remember seeing the Great Room in it's entirety until Preservation Day in the late 80's, when the building was opened to the public. A woman I knew at the time, was in charge of preparing it for the public. MCD was being rebranded as something like the 'Great Lakes World Trade Center'. MCD was still solid, clean and secure, though contents had been removed. Some of the seating from the Great Room had been removed to a restaurant in Toledo, called Mancy's. And I'm quite sure, a lot of other places.

**mcsdetroitfriend** · June-14-10, 09:27 AM

Originally Posted by 1KielsonDrive

I used to go in MCD with friends and family who worked there for ConRail and Amtrak. I also took Amtrak from there to A2 and Chicago. Amtrak ran frequently enough to be a commuter train, back then. The Great Room was closed off by a wall constructed of plywood which funneled passengers directly under the tracks to the sheds and boarding platforms. I don't remember seeing the Great Room in it's entirety until Preservation Day in the late 80's, when the building was opened to the public. A woman I knew at the time, was in charge of preparing it for the public. MCD was being rebranded as something like the 'Great Lakes World Trade Center'. MCD was still solid, clean and secure, though contents had been removed. Some of the seating from the Great Room had been removed to a restaurant in Toledo, called Mancy's. And I'm quite sure, a lot of other places.

A lot of the wooden benches were sold off for a sum of $25. Though rumor has it a warehouse near the depot has a boat load of furnishings, including the great clock that was mounted over the ticket booth.

The great waiting room was reopened in 1975 with the completion of the Amtrak renovation, and from what I gather it was open until the end, judging from the Sunday Times video from 1987, and from talking to people.

Not sure what you mean by the wooden shack, though I can see from some pictures there were quite a few temporary structures on the property including this one: http://www.flickr.com/photos/railohio/4568463068 though there is no date, but judging from the school buses it's in the late 70's early 80's. I wish there were more records about the tearing up of track because that would further help date this, and I have photograph I still need to scan from 1984 of this angle that doesn't have the temp. structures.

In a thread from the old board a user talks about the whole process of trying to get it to be a trade center and how the design firm he works for took up a floor but left after the then owner stopped paying, stopped fixing the ac....which is what happened to the security firm hired to protect the building.....they just left....

**Rocko** · June-14-10, 10:24 AM

That photo of the Conrail 6325 with another locomotive behind [[Reading paint) is likely from the late 70s. By the early 80s almost everything on Conrail was in their blue and white colors. Maybe that'll help.

Unfortunately, though rumor may indicate the clock is intact and stored in a warehouse, I believe it was removed and broken into pieces. Every now and then a portion of it comes up for sale as a local antique dealer.

It would be awesome if every person who owned a portion of the clock would donate it to say the Detroit Historical Museum if they'd put it on display.

Somewhere I've seen some photos of the Great Hall when the plywood walls were in place from the main entrance to the ticket windows....I'll have to see if I can locate them.

It's amazing that the building was restored quite nicely only a few years before it was completely vacated.....there was hope then. Damage yes, but a mere drop in the bucket compared to now.

**mcsdetroitfriend** · June-14-10, 11:42 AM

Originally Posted by Rocko

That photo of the Conrail 6325 with another locomotive behind [[Reading paint) is likely from the late 70s. By the early 80s almost everything on Conrail was in their blue and white colors. Maybe that'll help.

Unfortunately, though rumor may indicate the clock is intact and stored in a warehouse, I believe it was removed and broken into pieces. Every now and then a portion of it comes up for sale as a local antique dealer.

It would be awesome if every person who owned a portion of the clock would donate it to say the Detroit Historical Museum if they'd put it on display.

Somewhere I've seen some photos of the Great Hall when the plywood walls were in place from the main entrance to the ticket windows....I'll have to see if I can locate them.

It's amazing that the building was restored quite nicely only a few years before it was completely vacated.....there was hope then. Damage yes, but a mere drop in the bucket compared to now.

Man you train guys are awesome! I have a photo of the main front entrance blocked off, which was inspiration for what they put up recently [[though I had been hoping all three entrances would be blocked off in a similar fashion).

As far as the clock goes, that goes against what I was told by the owners security chief, but who knows, I've heard it was broken up too, maybe that's what he meant were that pieces of it were there...he also said some of the chandeliers and other pieces are there too.

You can also see the lights from the elevator lobbies at the Gandy Dancer in Ann Arbor, Chuck Muer purchased those at an auction in 1990 so the story goes.