Detroit at night, 1910

[Ray1936]

Another beautiful presentation complements of Shorpy.com. If you look in the lower right hand corner, you'll see my car parked in front of the Pontch hotel, with that shadowy figure being my alter self.

http://www.shorpy.com/node/9719?size=_original

[Detroitnerd]

Is that a roach coach at far right?

[canuck]

Yes, and your Private Eye [[alter self) was paid to protect the dainty lady singing at the
Detroit Opera House, beautiful Margaret Illington below;

http://digitalgallery.nypl.org/nypld...os=2&snum=&e=w

[Mikeg]

Another beautiful presentation complements of Shorpy.com. If you look in the lower right hand corner, you'll see my car parked in front of the Pontch hotel, with that shadowy figure being my alter self.

http://www.shorpy.com/node/9719?size=_original

Looks like your car is blocking that fire hydrant - are you writing yourself a ticket?

[Ray1936]

Looks like your car is blocking that fire hydrant - are you writing yourself a ticket?

Good eye, Mike, but have ya heard of the Statute of Limitations?
[[Whew, dodged one!)

[downtown_racine]

Beautiful, love the electric signage.
What a great time to be in Detroit and America, if you were a worker anyway.

[Jimaz]

Beautiful, love the electric signage.
What a great time to be in Detroit and America, if you were a worker anyway.

Yeah, it looks like that Diamond Tire sign was flashing "WON'T SKID" "WON'T SLIDE."

[Don K]

Beautiful, love the electric signage.
What a great time to be in Detroit and America, if you were a worker anyway.

Cool time, but not such a great time to be a worker, IMHO. The $5 day was a few years in the future, there was no unemployment insurance, and once you got too old or infirm to work you'd better hope your kids were willing to take you in, because there was no Social Security.

Probably a good time to have a middle-class job [[could probably afford a couple of domestics), and a really good time to be stinking rich [[no income tax), but then it's pretty much always a good time to be stinking rich.

[old guy]

Amazing photograph. I'll take that over a mall any day. I love the huge billiard hall next to the Opera House. I'm always amazed by how many Chop Suey Restaurants you see during that time period. There are two just in that photo.

[downtown_racine]

I guess for the factory worker like myself it was probably a lot like todays time in today's non union marketplace [[fighting for peanuts and scraping by) in 1910 and its still a decent time to be a middle rich and of course still great to be filthy rich.

Not near as many local barons like back then, seemed like there were more of those during the industrial revolution. You had many there. We had many here.
My Grandmother says My great Grandpa made a dollar a day paving brick streets when he came here from Denmark in 1920.

[Packman41]

Yeah, it looks like that Diamond Tire sign was flashing "WON'T SKID" "WON'T SLIDE."

Yes, exactly. The advertising slogan at the time for the Diamond Rubber Co. [[Akron, OH) was, "They Grip, Won't Skid, Won't Slide.

As this was a long term exposure, the camera captured all 3 parts of the slogan at once as opposed the sign flashing the 3 parts individually.

[Jimaz]

Yes, exactly. The advertising slogan at the time for the Diamond Rubber Co. [[Akron, OH) was, "They Grip, Won't Skid, Won't Slide.

As this was a long term exposure, the camera captured all 3 parts of the slogan at once as opposed the sign flashing the 3 parts individually.

Ah! Interesting. So there was probably another phase where the middle line was blank. It's amazing that the dynamic display can be deduced from a static image plus the slogan!

I'd bet the circle [[tire) was spinning from the dust being kicked up to the left.

[Packman41]

Ah! Interesting. So there was probably another phase where the middle line was blank. It's amazing that the dynamic display can be deduced from a static image plus the slogan!

I'd bet the circle [[tire) was spinning from the dust being kicked up to the left.

I'll correct myself - the slogan had 4 parts and flashed 4 different times.
1) Won't SLIP
2) Won't SLIDE
3) Won't SKID
4) It GRIPS

Yes, and you can imagine the tire spinning and kicking up the dust/dirt

[Jimaz]

I'll correct myself - the slogan had 4 parts and flashed 4 different times.
1) Won't SLIP
2) Won't SLIDE
3) Won't SKID
4) It GRIPS

Yes, and you can imagine the tire spinning and kicking up the dust/dirt

Yes, makes perfect sense.

[Packman41]

Forgot to mention that the Diamond Rubber Co. [[Diamond Tires) had an office in Detroit at 310 Woodward in 1910. So would this sign be at that address?

[jtf1972]

This is now my laptop background pic.

[Don K]

I guess for the factory worker like myself it was probably a lot like todays time in today's non union marketplace [[fighting for peanuts and scraping by) in 1910 and its still a decent time to be a middle rich and of course still great to be filthy rich.

Not near as many local barons like back then, seemed like there were more of those during the industrial revolution. You had many there. We had many here.
My Grandmother says My great Grandpa made a dollar a day paving brick streets when he came here from Denmark in 1920.

Wasn't trying to say today's factory workers have it easy... especially in the non-union plants. Just saying that as picturesque as it was back then, it was really pretty crappy if you were a working Joe. Got laid off? Sorry, buddy, you're living in a box, along with your wife and kids. If there was a Golden Age for Detroit, it was in the 50's, and the Golden Age for the Metro area was the 50's-70's.

And I say this as someone who loves these pics of the Detroit that was. Just don't confuse the pics with some kind of Valhalla for the working stiffs.

[Ray1936]

I created a folder on my puter labeled "shorpy", and saved all those old Detroit photos to that folder. Makes a great slide show. Currently have 23 such photos after going through Shorpy's archives.

By the way, even the non-Detroit photos posted on that site are just magnificent.