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Future Friday: The Detroit that Never Could Have Been

Over the past few weeks, you’ve been reading about the Detroit that never was. These novelty postcards depict a whole different kind of Detroit that never was. Rudimentary composite imaging techniques became popular in the early 20th century.

Future Friday: The Detroit That Never Was, Part IV

Aviation Town and Country Club Building

 

Future Friday: The Detroit That Never Was, Part III

The 1892 Masonic Temple as it actually once stood.

 

Future Friday: The Detroit That Never Was, Part II

In the second part of our series on unrealized projects proposed for Detroit we first explore another proposed redesign for the city’s waterfront.

The Treaty of Detroit

One question we get asked frequently is “what is the oldest artifact in your collection?”, though it isn’t always easy to come up with an answer. The oldest Detroit-related artifact in the collection is a 250 year-old wampum treaty belt.

Future Friday: The Detroit That Never Was, Part I

One need not look far to find images of Detroit as it once was. But what of the Detroit that never was? Hidden within the Detroit Historical Society’s collection of objects from our past are hints at possible futures which never came to fruition-- renderings of buildings which were never built or proposals for projects which never came about. This is the first in our FUTURE FRIDAY series of entries exploring such material.

Alarm! Alarm!

Being a fireman isn’t all guts and glory. Before saving lives and buildings, these brave men have to put their pants on – one leg at a time, just like the rest of us. This photograph, dating to circa 1895, was taken inside an unidentified firehouse in Detroit. Note the man to the right with his arm wrapped around a sliding pole.

Just What is the Davis Hillmer Collection?

Online visitors to the Detroit Historical Society’s Digital Collection may notice something called the  the Davis Hillmer Collection. Crowley’s, Kern’s, B. Siegel Company, S. L.

Burger Paradise

Top Hat

 

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