Exploring the Masonic Temple of Detroit

Posted on by Michigan in Pictures

Untitled by zakzorah

Untitled, photo by zakzorah

My original thought was to remind folks of tonight’s Exposure.Detroit show at the Bean & Leaf Cafe in Royal Oak.

This photo is part of Cris’s Masonic Temple set and you can see more photos from the March 1, 2008 Exposure.Detroit trip to the Masonic Temple of Detroit (view slideshow). One of the photos linked to the History of the Masonic Temple, which says (in part):

It was on Thanksgiving day in 1920 that the sod was first turned. And with many more months of planning and labor ahead, the Craft was at work on this undertaking of worldwide interest. A great host stood in Cass Park for this occasion and flowed in human currents up and down Second Boulevard and what was then Bagg Street. It is certain that no man will forget the occasion.

George Washington’s own working tools, brought from his Virginia Lodge, were employed. The first mortar was spread with the same trowel that our first president used in the corner stone laying of the National Capitol. On September 18, 1922, thousands of Master Masons and their families witnessed the corner stone of the Masonic Temple of Detroit being placed into position.

That jogged my memory and I recalled seeing the photo below of the “Turning of the Sod” ceremony in the Library of Congress from Thanksgiving Day, 1920. There’s also an exterior view of the completed Detroit Masonic Temple from 1922.

Turning of the Sod ceremony at the Detroit Masonic Temple

The Ferry House, A Michigan Home

Posted on by Michigan in Pictures

Ferry House

Ferry House, photo by ER Post.

Most readers of Michigan in Pictures probably know about Absolute Michigan and some might know that this month we’re featuring Michigan Homes this month. In addition to highlighting a historic Michigan house museum every day, we’re also going to check out home & home design blogs & sites, explore green building and other new trends in construction and redevelopment, feature some of the great neighborhoods across the state and take a closer look at the state of the Michigan real estate industry.

As a part of this focus on Michigan homes, we’ve created a group on Flickr titled A Michigan Home, where folks are invited to add a single photo that (for them) represents what a Michigan home is. See our Michigan Home Gallery Slideshow on Absolute Michigan.

The photo above of the Ferry House in Grand Haven was added by ER Post. The house is actually for sale right now, and the owners write:

The Ferry House, as it is called on the National Registry of Historic Places, was built in 1872 by Edward Payson Ferry. This Proud Victorian is of primarily wood construction and is in the Italianate style. E.P. Ferry, son of the Rev. William Ferry (one of Grand Haven’s founders), was a local lumberman and banker…

The home features 11′ and 12′ ceilings, hardwood flooring, impressive woodwork, restored antique gas (converted) and electric light fixtures, plaster ceiling medallions and cornice moldings. The main level contains a large living room and formal dining room with bay window, 2 gas log fireplaces, as well as a family room, guest bedroom and a library on the main level. A gorgeous curved walnut stairway leads to the upper level, which features a large master suite, two bathrooms, laundry, and two additional bedrooms.

The Capture Main Street Michigan Project from the Michigan Production Alliance

Posted on by Michigan in Pictures

Downtown Houghton by aragirn

Downtown Houghton, photo by aragirn

Kyle has tons more photos of Houghton and the Keweenaw and some of his best are on his photo gallery at kyleschneider.net.

The Michigan Production Alliance is a trade organization that seeks to encourage a more stable financial environment for Michigan film and video production companies, freelancers and support services. The best way to do that is of course to get more movies filmed in Michigan. To that end, they have launched the Capture Main Street Michigan Project:

The idea is to capture ALL Michigan’s cities and towns main streets so they can be shown to producers of commercials and feature films – and entice them to SHOOT MICHIGAN!

We can’t do this alone. So we’d like to shout out to all MI Photogs and location scouts. We will give all photogs name credit as well as a hyperlink to a website. The photos can and should be low rez, named for location, city, county. and of course photog name, email, etc.

What we are looking for are shots of Main Street Blocks that show the architecture of city buildings, the flavor of the city. Day or Night – Any Season…

You can go to their web site above to email it to them and if you’re on Flickr, they have created a Capture Main Street Project group where you can share your photos. More about Michigan film& movies at the Michigan Film Office.

And No One Showed

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And No One Showed

And No One Showed, photo by Amy Palomar.

Music Hall is located in Detroit’s Theatre District. On the History page at the Music Hall Center for the Performing Arts they have some cool old photos and say:

Since Matilda Dodge Wilson opened Music Hall’s doors in 1928, our intimate downtown venue has been a significant player in Detroit’s performing arts sector. As the last remaining legitimate stage theatre, Music Hall is the only Detroit venue built for the primary purpose of presenting live performances. We have been home to the Detroit Symphony Orchestra, Michigan Opera Theatre, one of the nation’s first Cinerama screens, and a wide variety of quality performances that embody the diverse cultures of the world.

They seem to have the best schedule on their MySpace at myspace.com/musichalldetroit – yes, even 80 year old theaters have MySpaces – and you can see the location of Music Hall on the Absolute Michigan Map of Michigan.

Michigan Week Youth Photo Contest

Posted on by Michigan in Pictures

2007 Michigan Week Youth Photo Contest

The photos above are two of the winners of the 2007 Michigan Week Youth Photo Contest: Bufka Shed at Sleeping Bear Dunes National Lakeshore taken by Kyle Helwig of Leelanau County and Saginaw River Rear Range Lighthouse taken by Cody Janczewski of Ogemaw County. You can click the photos above to see all the state and regional winners and runners up.

Every year, Michigan State University Extension’s 4-H Youth Development, the Michigan Department of History, Arts and Libraries and Michigan History for Kids magazine (with additional financial support from the Michigan Barn Preservation Network) sponsor the Michigan Week Youth Photo Contest. The contest is for photographers between the ages of 9 and 19 and challenges photographers to take a photo of their favorite Michigan historic site. The deadline for photo submission is Feb. 15, 2008.

If you’re looking for historical sites that would qualify, check out the Michigan State Historic Preservation Office’s Historic Sites Online website.

The Octagon House

Posted on by Michigan in Pictures

wash up

wash up, photo by n.elle.

Nicole writes:

a few of us from exposure detroit took a road trip up to the northern burbs and further. some poked fun that i wanted to stop at the octagon house, but i think it’s a pretty cool building.

tucked behind the octagon house were a few old barns. sitting out it front of one of them was this old claw foot tub and sink. just in case you need to wash up.

The Friends of the Loren Andrus Octagon House say that in 1828, Loren traveled with his father to find a new home in the Territory of Michigan, settling in Washington Township in Macomb County. In 1858 with the help of prominent architect and brother-in-law David Stewart and using Orson Squire Fowler’s book about the wonders of 8-sided houses, A Home For All, Andrus built the Octagon House as his entry in a home-for-show contest between several families to see who could build the most unusual house. He won.

The Octagon House is Italianate in style, surrounded on six sides by a Corinthian-columned porch. A cedar shake shingled roof, with elegant scrolled brackets, supports the octagonal cupola. The house has eight sides with eight-foot windows letting daylight fill the interior. The interior is centered around a dramatic, 55-step cantilevered spiral staircase which winds from the first floor to the third story cupola.

The Friends of the Loren Andrus Octagon House was formed to preserve this structure (which is on the National Register and you can learn a lot more about it, see a slideshow and help them to save the old barns.

Here’s an entry for The Octagon House on the Absolute Michigan map of Michigan.

what do YOU value?

Posted on by Michigan in Pictures

what do YOU value?

what do YOU value?, photo by artsy_T.

Tina writes:

was driving home from work yesterday. the sun was shining (it rarely does that anymore here). so i spotted this, which i drive past everday. it looked different to me. so i shot it. and of course, immediately started thinking of all the things in my life i value. there are LOTS. how ’bout you?

So … what do YOU value?

She also has a spiffy new web site (complete with a happy song).

Newaygo Mill … and Newaygo County

Posted on by Michigan in Pictures

Newaygo Mill

Newaygo Mill, photo by evanfarinosi.

Evan started the Newaygo County group on Flickr and he’d love it if you’d share your photos on the area there.

The City of Newaygo’s history page says:

The City of Newaygo is the oldest community in Newaygo County. The Penoyer and Brooks families were among the first settlers to Newaygo. They founded Newaygo’s first saw mill known as the “Big Red Mill” … The proximity of the Muskegon River was the driving force of Newaygo’s early economy, with mills, lumbering, and recreation developing near by.

I also found a cool gallery of historical photos of logging in Newaygo County in the Newaygo County Historical Archives.

Since I don’t know when we’ll pass this way again, I should say that Wikipedia’s entry on Newaygo says that the population was 1,670 at the 2000 census. I also added Newaygo, MI to the Absolute Michigan map of Michigan.

The Heidelberg Project in Detroit

Posted on by Michigan in Pictures

More from the Heidelberg Project

More from the Heidelberg Project, photo by DetroitDerek.

I have been planning to write something about The Heidelberg Project in Detroit for quite a while now. This morning, I read an unsettling report about fires at the project from Derek that tipped my hand.

At heidelberg.org you can learn all about this amazing project:

The Heidelberg Project, bearing the name of the street on which it exists, was started in 1986 by Tyree Guyton. He was assisted by his grandfather, Sam (Grandpa) Mackey (deceased), and his former wife, Karen Guyton. Tyree was raised on Heidelberg Street and, at the age of 12, witnessed the tragic effect of the Detroit riots – from which he claims the City of Detroit never recovered. Though once racially integrated, many neighborhoods have become segregated urban ghettos characterized by poverty, abandonment, and despair

Armed with a paintbrush, a broom, and neighborhood children, Guyton, Karen, and Grandpa began by cleaning up vacant lots on Heidelberg and Elba Streets. From the refuse they collected, Guyton began to transform the street into a massive art environment. Vacant lots literally became “lots of art” and abandoned houses became “gigantic art sculptures.” Guyton not only transformed vacant houses and lots, he integrated the street, sidewalks, and trees into his mammoth installation and called his work on Heidelberg Street, the Heidelberg Project.

I don’t think there’s any way that you can get a sense of this from one photo. Fortunately Derek has more photos from the Project (slideshow) and you can see a whole lot more photos of the Heidelberg Project on Flickr including those in the Heidelberg Project pool.

Be sure to also check out the video of Tyree Guyton explaining the Heidelberg Project and the new book from Wayne State University Press, Connecting the Dots: Tyree Guyton’s Heidelberg Project.

metropolis

Posted on by Michigan in Pictures

Metropolis

metropolis, photo by SOUTHEN.

Ryan writes:

This is the Renaissance Center in Detroit. The views of this place across Jefferson Avenue often have a futuristic look to them, especially at night. I like the streaks of the cars in the foreground with the streak of the people mover from above on the track.

You can metropolis on black and see other photos from his Nights in DETROIT set (slideshow). He has photos for sale through his Ryan Southen Photography web site.

“Detroit” and “Night” reminds me that there’s something to do with Detroit photography tonight.