November 13, 2009 by Amy Elliott Bragg
Woodward Avenue, circa 1917
Shorpy — the online archive of vintage photos from the 1850s to the 1950s — ran this photo yesterday of downtown Detroit looking north/west on Woodward across Campus Martius.
Take a look at this photo full-size: I love the streetcars and early Model Ts, the incredible clothes, the electric signs and billboards. (Also, apropos of yesterday’s post, you can see the long-gone Old Andrew’s Hotel/Schubert Opera House, and a commenter on the post tips off that the Merrill Fountain in front of it is now in Palmer Park.)
Favorite details:
The size of the pants on this Army uniform;
This girl’s boots;
Early pedestrian traffic control devices;
A comforting declaration from the dairy industry.