detroit history10

Francis Gloyd Awaltbank runsdetroit history

Detroit was the original Silicon Valley - And the party ended with bank runs

On today's episode, a look back in time. I'd argue that Silicon Valley is today's Detroit in that a hundred years ago, the Motor City was the capital of innovation. But the nail in the coffin on that era were bank runs that cascaded into the rest of the country. Major players like Henry Ford had decided they'd rather rebuild their entire company than provide any support to the banks, one where his son was a head of. Obviously, there is a lot that's different now. But there are so many similar...

detroit historyNain Rouge

What's The Story Of Detroit As Told To The Nain Rouge? New Book Stuffed With Quotables From Notables

Detroit’s history and the legend of the Nain Rouge are entwined. And if you are a fan of the Nain Rouge then I have just the thing for you. Author Dave Krieger has come out with a second book from the perspective of Detroit’s red devil, the Nain Rouge. Things People Say About Detroit, A Collection of Quotes As Told To the Nain Rouge was released earlier this month. The book is a pocket-sized so it would be great for a stocking stuffer. This book is a who’s who of Detroit. Considering the...

Detroitdetroit historyThe Witch of Delray

LISTEN: Talking The Witch Of Delray, Detroit Murder Mysteries And History With Author Karen Dybis

[smart_track_player url=”http://traffic.libsyn.com/dailydetroithappyhour/DD-30-Happy_hour_Karen_Dybis_mixdown.mp3″ image=”http://static.libsyn.com/p/assets/5/7/2/b/572b926ef364f47a/daily-detroit-happy-hour-karen.jpg” download=”true” social_gplus=”false” social_linkedin=”true” social_email=”true” twitter_username=”TheDailyDetroit” ] Today, we step back to Detroit in the 1930s at a bar that was open (well, as an ice cream shop during the prohibition part) to talk to Karen Dybis. She’s an autho...

detroit historyHistoryold Detroit

Retro Motor City: Check Out Detroit's Talking Police Car From 1936

Imagine a 1930s police car with a ridiculously sized horn on top, politely but firmly giving orders on Detroit’s streets. Well, that was Detroit’s “Voice of Safety,” or their talking police car that’s featured in this neat retro film clip. There are some cool scenes of downtown Detroit in the video as well. The “Talking Police Car” (an officer, of course, was doing the talking) was a plan to lessen the amount of tickets written while educating the public. It feels like this would be useful...

detroit historyDetroit Hustles HarderFrederick K. Stearns

Detroit Has Always Hustled Harder: Meet A Detroit Hustler From The 1800s

The terms “hustle” and “hustler” are big in culture today, especially here in Detroit. “Detroit Hustles Harder” is a popular shirt and slogan. People waking up and Snapchatting “Time to rise and grind” and talking about how hard they hustle or are hustlers. But hustler? As in someone who goes after their goals and works hard? That’s a very old term. Described in an 1891 book, “Detroit in History and Commerce” our hustler we’ll talk about here was described as “ … a young man — thirty six yea...

Detroit 315th birthdayDetroit birthdayDetroit Facts

31.5 Fantastic Facts To Celebrate Detroit's 315th Birthday

Happy Birthday Detroit! 315 years is amazing – as Detroit was founded on July 24, 1701. If only we could get Al Roker on the Monday morning to wish the city a happy birthday on the Today show. But since that’s probably not happening, let’s celebrate with knowledge. Detroit over more than three centuries has a lot of history that you might – or might not – know about. So let’s get started. 1. Antoine Laumet de Lamothe Cadillac didn’t come out of the factory a Cadillac  There’s a car brand...

Belle IsleDetroitdetroit history

Check Out 11 Postcards From Belle Isle's Past

One of the fun things about the Internet is finding things that give you a window that lets you see in on the past. One of those windows are postcards. These samples are from the Detroit Publishing Company and are, according to the New York Public Library, now public domain. Digitized just last year, there’s a plethora of great images from Detroit that we’re going to share in the coming weeks. Belle Isle is one of Detroit’s jewels. Whether it’s kayaking around it, enjoying the canals in it,...

Detroitdetroit historyMichigan Avenue

Road Work On Michigan Avenue Exposes Part Of Detroit's History

On Woodward Avenue, millions are being spent installing a state of the art streetcar system. Over on Michigan less than a mile away, they’re about to re-bury streetcar tracks that have sat under the streets for decades since the trolleys left Detroit in 1956. Every once in awhile in the city you’ll see a road repair project that, for a few days or a week, reveals part of Detroit’s history. One of these times is right now in Detroit’s historic Corktown district. The road even has sections of...

Detroitdetroit historyDetroit Zoo

6 Crazy Animal Escapes And Escapades From Detroit's History

Sometimes, it seems like humans really do rule the animal kingdom. We’re at the top of the food chain. We’ve made weapons that help us maintain our place there, and we even build pretty awesome stuff to make our lives comfortable. However, animals have a way of reminding us that, despite all our accomplishments, we don’t always have our ducks in a row. In the wake of Monday’s tiger Packard Plant escapade, we’ve decided to dig into some Detroit history and find other instances where animals e...

detroit historyDetroit Renaissance CenterGM RenCen

Detroit Throwback Thursday: Photos Of The Renaissance Center Under Construction

The General Motors Renaissance Center (which was actually championed by Henry Ford II and housed some Ford offices for awhile), love it or hate it, is an iconic part of Detroit’s skyline. Announced in 1971, the first office tower opened in 1976. It’s the General Motors RenCen thanks to a purchase in 1996 where they moved from their headquarters in New Center to the Portman-designed structure on the riverfront. The GM Rencen Facebook page shared these really interesting images from the construc...