From the Collection

Ideal Beauty?

Charles Waltensperger in his studio, 1929.

 

Charles B. King

Do you like sitting on the left side of your car? How about shifting with your right hand? These patented designs, along with 63 others, came to market courtesy of Charles Brady King. During a long career of successful inventing, King drove the first gasoline car on the streets of Detroit. But what led up to that drive? An epicenter of activity in the early 1890s was in an around John Lauer’s Machine Shop at 620-626 St. Antoine Street.

Witherell Street: Exploring the History Behind the Name

While traversing the streets of Detroit, you may recognize some of the more prominent street names, such as Woodward, Lafayette, or Cass. All are familiar last names of historically significant people. However, many lesser-known streets in Detroit are also named after prominent Detroiters.

From Soap to Bronze

Levi L. Barbour Memorial Fountain (Robert Seiden, c. 1973)

 

Solomon Sibley and the 1798 Northwest Territory Election

1822 portrait of Solomon Sibley by Chester Harding

 

House of Remick

This proud-looking man is Jerome Hosmer Remick. While his name may not be familiar to you, the House of Remick was at one time the largest publisher of popular music in the world. Remick was born on the site of the present-day Federal Building in 1867 and graduated from the Detroit Business University in 1887.

Our Prodigious Pickle Producing Past

William Bros. & Charbonneau catalog, c. 1900

 

Hudson’s Holidays

1950s window display

 

All Roads Lead to Delray

The area in the present day shadow of Zug Island may seem like an unlikely location for “the largest building in the world erected exclusively for fair and exposition purposes.” However, in 1889, this was exactly what stood there.

Pages