The Way It Was — The Book-Cadillac Hotel, 1924
1924 During the Roaring '20s, 100 years ago this Dec. 8, the majestic 33-story Book-Cadillac Hotel opened at the corner of Washington Boulevard and...
The Way It Was — Grosse Pointe War Memorial, 1949
1949 Following the end of World War II, a number of memorials dedicated to those who sacrificed their lives in the name of freedom...
The Way It Was — The Detroit Lions, 1934
1934When WJR Radio owner G.A. Richards bought the NFL’s Portsmouth Spartans 90 years ago and moved the fledgling franchise from Ohio to the Motor...
The Way It Was — Marshall Fredericks Sculptures
1963
The renowned sculptor Marshall Fredericks was commissioned to create numerous sculptures, reliefs, and memorials throughout metro Detroit, the United States, and the world. However,...
The Way It Was — Roostertail Supper Club
1958 Built by Joseph Schoenith as a 50th birthday gift for his wife, Millie, the Roostertail supper club became one of Detroit’s most celebrated...
The Way It Was — Motorboat Racing on the Detroit River
1968 For over 100 years, motorboat racing on the Detroit River has been a celebrated summer tradition, with the Gold Cup at the center...
The Way It Was — Michigan Central Station
1913 In an undated photo, a stationmaster checks the ticket of a passenger ready to board a train at one of the 10 track...
The Way It Was — Detroit Historical Museum
1951Dozens gathered at the corner of Woodward Avenue and Kirby Street for the dedication of the new Detroit Historical Museum on July 24, 1951,...
The Way It Was — Bozo the Clown
1961From the early days of television in the ’50s through the ’70s, numerous children’s shows produced by Detroit stations and Windsor, Ontario’s CKLW had...
The Way It Was — The Wedding of Martha Parke Firestone and William Clay...
1947As reported in newspapers across the country, on June 21, 1947, at St. Paul’s Episcopal Church in Akron, Ohio, two of the most powerful...
The Way It Was — Esther Gordy, Michael Jackson, and Stevie Wonder
1998Esther Gordy Edwards, the sister of Motown Records founder Berry Gordy, stands on the steps of the Motown Museum with Michael Jackson and Stevie...
The Way It Was — Coleman A. Young’s Oath of Office
1974
A half-century ago on Jan. 2, former state Sen. Coleman A. Young was administered the oath of office as Detroit’s first Black mayor by...
The Way It Was — Christmas at Hudson’s
1952
Five-year-old Skip Shaw was one of thousands of children over several generations who would relish cherished memories of meeting Santa Claus in the 12th-floor...
The Way It Was — Civil War Veterans Marching at Campus Martius
1891
Although Veterans Day has long been observed on Nov. 11, an earlier significant acknowledgment of the sacrifices of military personnel began at the end...
The Way It Was — Charlie Chaplin at Michigan Central Station
1923
On Oct. 15, 1923, world-renowned silent-film star Charlie Chaplin made a whirlwind visit to the Motor City, arriving at Michigan Central Station to...
The Way It Was — Iconic Detroit Athletes
1963
Sixty years ago, on Sept. 8, The Detroit News published a cover story in its Sunday pictorial magazine that featured these future Hall of...
The Way It Was — Eastern Market
1937 For 132 years, farmers like the ones shown here on Aug. 14, 1937, working tirelessly at the crack of dawn, have hauled tons...
The Way It Was — Suwanee Steamboat
1958 For several decades, a favorite summer pastime for visitors at Greenfield Village in Dearborn was taking a ride on the Suwanee steamboat that...
The Way It Was — Navin Field
Of all the visitors who came to Detroit in the first half of the 20th century, perhaps none was more famous than the New...
The Way It Was — Trumbull General Hospital, 1967
The medical center opened in the 1940s and was one of several area hospitals that cared for Black patients then
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