From the Collection

Looking Back at 1967 at 24 Frames per Second

Soldiers watch as flames swirl and rise from storefronts along the southwest side of 12th Street, near Taylor Street--one block away from where, days earlier on July 23, 1967, an early morning police raid sparked the unrest.

 

Isiah at the Joe

This April, the Detroit Red Wings—and their fans—bid farewell to Joe Louis Arena.  The team had called the Joe home since 1979.  However the arena had always been a shared home—often with hoops and boards replacing the ice and nets.  The very first event held at the Joe had in fact been a basketball game between the University of Michigan and the University of Detroit.  The stadium has also hosted professional basketball games on several unusual occasions.  In 1984, a scheduling conflict with a motocross event resulted in the Detroit Pistons’ nail-biting loss in the decisive fifth game in t

Flashback to the 2002 Detroit Electronic Music Festival

Hart Plaza's sign invites attendees to "Dance to the Beat of Detroit Techno" at the 2002 Detroit Electronic Music Festival.

 

Cobo's First Bloom: The First Convention in 1960

A "Welcome Florists" sign greets attendees to FTD's 50th anniversary convention at the newly opened Cobo Hall in 1960.

 

Thanksgiving Leftovers

A group in pilgrim costumes and a clown with a spring-shaped hat march ahead of an elephant float in this still from a film of one of Detroit's first Thanksgiving Day parades.

 

An Olympic Hopeful

No, this pin doesn't come from an alternate universe.  This pin was manufactured to promote Detroit's sixth bid for the Summer Olympics.  Although Detroit was viewed by many as a sure bet for host city, the city lost out to Mexico City for the 1968 games.

 

Detroit's Streetcars: Past and Present

(Above: A streetcar travels down Woodward Avenue at Alexandrine, 1925; Below: Artistic rendering of the new M-1 Rail, 2014)

 

The Detroit River Tunnel Few Have Seen: The Michigan Central Railway Tunnel

 

Color postcard depicting the Michigan Central Railway Tunnel, 1910.

 

Roman Gribbs, 1925-2016

Mayor Roman Gribbs presents Leonard Simon of the Detroit Historical Museum with the Mayor's Medal of the City of Detroit in a 1971 ceremony.  The partially visible sign behind museum director Solon Weeks proclaims, "Detroit, City for the '70s."

 

Amelia Earhart Introduces the Terraplane

A city monument at Detroit's Earhart Elementary Middle School recognizing the aviator's many accomplishments.

 

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