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The Birmingham Grand Trunk Railroad Station, 1931
1931
We tend to think of suburbs as a post-World War II phenomenon, but some, such as Grosse Pointe, Birmingham, Royal Oak, Wyandotte, and Dearborn, have histories that reach back many years. In the days when train travel reigned supreme, Birmingham was an important hub between Detroit and Pontiac. In fact, according to Craig Jolly’s book Birmingham, the city’s rail service started in 1838.
The scene here, photographed on July 15, 1931, shows people either greeting passengers or ready to board the train themselves at the brand-new Grand Trunk Railroad Station, a Tudor Revival-style edifice on South Eaton that was built as a reduced version of the train station in Birmingham, England. It replaced a smaller building on Woodward. The station, constructed for $125,000 by Albert H. Aldinger and George B. Walbridge, was vacated in 1978 and, the next year, became a restaurant, Norman’s Eton Street Station. Today, it’s the site of the Big Rock Chop and Brew House. Since 1985, it’s been on the roster of the National Register of Historic Places. 
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