I took in a bit of the Boston-Edison Historic District, traveling east down West Boston Boulevard just west of the Cathedral of the Most Blessed Sacrament. Chicago Boulevard and some other streets compose the large neighborhood, where some of the most important figures in Detroit history, including automobile executives, lived. As would be expected, the…
Tag: Michigan
East Grand Boulevard, Detroit
Terminating at the MacArthur Bridge, which leads out to Belle Isle, East Grand Boulevard stretches to the north-northwest, and is lined with fine houses that date to the early Twentieth Century. It makes ninety degree turn to become West Grand Boulevard, which we briefly looked at yesterday as part of our larger discussion of Grand…
The Grande Ballroom and Grand River Avenue, Detroit
One place I wanted to visit in Detroit was the Grande Ballroom on Grand River Avenue, northwest of downtown. While the building has been abandoned for decades, it once played a pivotal role in the development of rock and roll, particularly as it was where the band MC5 played early in their career. Other very…
Former Herman Kiefer Hospital, Detroit
Herman Kiefer Hospital sits vacant nowadays, but once it served as the contagious disease treatment facility for the City of Detroit. It’s a massive complex, sitting just to the west of the John C. Lodge Freeway on Taylor Street. It was designed by George D. Mason and opened in 1911. Albert Kahn later added buildings…
River Rouge
I’ll be blunt: I was deeply concerned by my visit to the famous River Rouge area, a short drive just south of Detroit. First, a bit of clarification is in order; there is the actual town of River Rouge, which is located along the banks of the Detroit River, and includes the mouth of the…
Former Packard Plant, Detroit
A visit to the former Packard automobile plant is de rigueur for any architectural historian or any lover of abandoned buildings. While Packard closed in 1956, the complex was never truly abandoned, as far as I could find, until 1999. As so often has happened, a manufacturing plant with an august history was relegated to…
Former Ford Piquette and Fisher Body Plants, Detroit
Henry Ford’s Piquette Avenue Plant remains one of the most important locations in industrial and consumer history, serving as the factory where the famous Model T, as well as a whole other alphabet or earlier prototypes were manufactured. While not the first place Ford operated, it is still of critical importance. Located north of downtown,…
Belle Isle, Detroit
As I drove onto Belle Isle, connected to the City of Detroit by the MacArthur Bridge, I blew by a small booth. Thinking I should stop after all, I backed up and talked to the woman and realized I had to pay $11 for the honor of driving my car around the park for around…
Woodlawn Cemetery, Detroit
Founded in 1895 on Woodward Avenue, Woodlawn Cemetery relieved pressure on the smaller cemeteries such as Elmwood or Mount Elliott cemeteries deeper into the city. It is big, clocking in at 140 acres, and is placed strategically close to the border with the suburbs. It is huge, and boasts over one hundred mausolea, which in…
Mount Elliott Cemetery, Detroit
For some reason, Mount Elliott Cemetery, part of a constellation of other cemeteries, no longer promotes itself as a Catholic burial ground, though it opened as one in 1841, making it the oldest in Detroit. It’s a beautiful cemetery, and I only discovered its existence when I noticed a barbed wire-topped fence on the eastern…