The Scarab Club

Posted on by farlane

Scarab Club Detroit

Scarab Club Detroit, photo by Vasenka Photography

The Scarab Club explains that:

The Scarab Club was founded in 1907 by a group of artists and art lovers who enjoyed meeting regularly to discuss art and socialize. The desire to form an arts organization in Detroit during the first third of the 20th century was partially intertwined with the birth of automotive design and the evolution of advertising art inspired by the burgeoning automobile industry. Although generally viewed as a heavily industrial city, Detroit’s artistic community thrived from the success of the automobile.

Many of the original founding members of the Scarab Club consisted of automotive designers, advertising illustrators, graphic artists, photographers, architects, and automobile company owners. Scarab Club members inspired each others’ artistic spirit by entering their artwork in the Annual Exhibition of Michigan Artists held at the Detroit Institute of Arts under the auspices of the Scarab Club from 1911 to 1928 and the DIA from 1929 to 1974.

The club’s themed costumed balls, which began in 1917, were a significant social event in Detroit. Life Magazine covered the 1937 Ball featuring a two-page photo spread. The Detroit News and The Detroit Free Press published two pages of photogravures of costumed guests beginning in 1917.

The energy of the Club continues to the present day, hosting events like the costumed Scarab Club balls, art lectures & openings, live music and more. Read on at scarabclub.org where you can check out some of their photos of the building and the artwork and a great timeline of the club. I dug up an old video of one of their costumed balls that was themed “Inferno” that’s pretty cool.

Check out Vasenka’s photo background bigtacular and jump into his slideshow for more great shots from this cultural treasure.

More art on Michigan in Pictures.

Message in a Bottle from Tashmoo Park

Posted on by farlane

tashmoo park

Tashmoo at the Dock, 1900, photo courtesy shorpy.com

The Daily Mail reports on an almost 100-year-old find:

Selina Pramstaller was 17-years-old and Tillie Esper was 23-years-old when they visited an amusement park on Harsens Island in Michigan alongside the St Clair River in 1915 and decided to commemorate the day with a message in a bottle.

That message- ‘having a good time at Tashmoo’- was found almost 97 years later by diver Dave Leander.

Click through for more on the find and some pictures. You can see more pictures and read something about this once popular amusement park on Harsens Island that closed for good in 1951 at waterwinterwonderland.com.

Check this out background bigtacular (or buy a print) and see many more old photos from Detroit and elsewhere at shorpy.com. About the boat, they explain:

The Detroit River excursion steamer SS Tashmoo, a sidewheeler, stopped at Tashmoo Park on the St. Clair Flats on trips between Detroit and Port Huron. A high point in the boat’s eventful 36-year life was the night in 1927 that she broke free of her moorings in a winter storm and headed downriver on her own. Her end came in 1936, when she hit a submerged rock and sank.

Celebrate Henry Ford’s 150th at The Henry Ford Museum!

Posted on by farlane

Entrance to the Museum! - HFM

Entrance to the Museum! – HFM, photo by MikeRyu

Lish Dorset of The Henry Ford museum in Dearborn writes on the Pure Michigan Blog that although summer is always a busy time at The Henry Ford, this summer is shaping up to be especially busy as they celebrate what would have been the 150th birthday of founder Henry Ford. She writes:

We’re celebrating Henry’s legacy all year at The Henry Ford, whose birthday is July 30. Starting in June and running through August, pay a visit to Miller School in Greenfield Village and step back in time to the days of Henry’s youth as he experiments with clock parts, machines and principles that challenged him.

You can also visit Henry’s T, a 15-minute dramatic play and hear how this ultimate maker was inspired to build his universal car. Follow up the play with a visit to Henry Ford Museum and learn how to build a Model T yourself.

Both Henry Ford Museum and Greenfield Village are offering guided tours to guests with an emphasis on Henry’s work.

Check out HenryFord150.com for a timeline of the legendary automotive pioneer, and you can also read more about events at the Henry Ford and keep up with everything on their Facebook.

Mike took this shot on an Exposure.Detroit photowalk at The Henry Ford. Check it out on black and see more in his Henry Ford Museum slideshow.

Also see the Henry Ford Museum slideshow in the Absolute Michigan pool on Flickr for over 400 more photos from The Henry Ford!

Detroit Water Board Building

Posted on by farlane

Water Board Building Upper Floors--Detroit MI

Water Board Building Upper Floors–Detroit MI, photo by pinehurst19475

historicdetroit.org’s page on the Water Board Building explains:

The Art Moderne-styled Water Board Building has been a familiar part of Detroit’s skyline since October 1928. The Common council provided $1 million in the 1927-28 city budget for a triangular-shaped building on a site bounded by Randolph, Farmer, and Bates Streets. Louis Kamper – a Detroit-based architect known for his work on the houses of prominent Detroiters, as well as Detroit landmarks like the Book Building (1917), the Washington Boulevard Building (1923), and the Book-Cadillac Hotel (1924) – originally planned for a 14-story building. But, “because of the high value of the site, the Board decided that … it would build a twenty story building.”

The completed building reflects the trend toward simplification of forms typical of the Jazz Age. Standing 23 stories, it is comprised of a five-story base, a 15-story shaft, and a three-story penthouse. The total cost – including the $250,000 paid for the site, and the architect’s five-percent commission – was $1,768,760.20. It was one of the last buildings designed by Kamper, who was in his late sixties during its design and construction.

…The BOWC’s new building was constructed in a record-breaking seven months. It was considered state-of-the-art and fireproof by 1928 standards.

Click over to Historic Detroit to read a whole lot more and see a couple of old photos. Also check out the Water Board Building at Detroit 1701 where I found a link to this 300 year history of the Detroit Water Board.

View the photo big as the building and see more in pinehurst19475’s water board building slideshow.

More architecture on Michigan in Pictures.

Happy 101st Birthday, Tiger Stadium

Posted on by farlane

Tigers at night

Tigers at night, photo by baklein62

101 years ago today on April 20, 1912, Tiger Stadium opened at the corner of Michigan & Trumbull in Detroit’s Corktown Neighborhood. Last year Eric Adelson of Yahoo Sports observed that this milestone passed largely unmarked:

It was 100 years ago this weekend. Ty Cobb scored the first run by stealing home. From that day until 1999, this very spot rumbled with din and greatness. Pretty much every legend that played in Fenway in the 20th century also played here. Lou Gehrig sat himself down for the first time in 2,130 games here, ending his incredible ironman streak. Babe Ruth hit his 700th home run here. Reggie Jackson hit one into the right field light tower here during the ’71 All-Star game. The Tigers won World Series titles here in 1968 and again in 1984, with Kirk Gibson launching a late-inning home run off Goose Gossage that no Tigers fan alive to see it will ever forget. Fair to say this was the most exciting place in the history of Michigan.

And now there’s hardly a trace. Fans committed to honoring the old stadium in some form maintain a home plate, a pitcher’s mound, two chalk lines for base paths and two benches where the dugouts used to be. The 125-foot flagpole from the old center field is still standing.

While the old ballpark’s birthday is definitely passing unmarked again this year, mLive hadan article about the uncertain future of the site a couple of weeks ago. If you’d like to do a little remembering, head over to 100 years at Tiger Stadium on Absolute Michigan for a whole lot more about this beloved ballpark and links to videos including the intro to the DVD Michigan & Trumbull featuring Ernie Harwell. (a 2 1/2 minute stroll through Tiger Stadium)

Check Barney’s photo out on black and see a whole lot more in his great Baseball as Art slideshow.

Lots more Detroit Tigers pictures on Michigan in Pictures!

Spring storm in the “D”

Posted on by farlane

Spring storm in the "D"

Spring storm in the “D”, photo by Malena †

Check this out on black and see more in Malena’s Detroit slideshow.

More Detroit on Michigan in Pictures.

Belle Isle Bolt!

Posted on by farlane

Belle Isle View1D

Belle Isle View1D, photo by TroyMich (fferriolo)

BLAM!! Who’s ready for some spring storms? FYI, this is actually not a lighthouse off Belle Isle, it’s the Detroit Waterworks Intake Crib. You can have a look at on Google Maps.

Check this out big as the sky and in see more Frank’s slideshow.

More wicked weather on Michigan in Pictures!

La Marche du Nain Rouge

Posted on by farlane

Ms Nain Rouge

Detroit MI, photo by billyvoo

Over 300 years ago, around the same time the city of Detroit was founded, an evil was discovered in and around the city. An evil that has plagued the people and the city, and even wrecked havoc upon the founder of Detroit, Antoine de la Mothe Cadillac. This ‘evil’ was said to have been a Nain Rouge, other wise known as the “red dwarf of Detroit.”
~La Marche du Nain Rouge

La Marche du Nain Rouge is held every year on the Sunday following the spring equinox. That’s Sunday March 24, 2013, and they explain:

La Marche du Nain Rouge is an annual Detroit tradition that purportedly dates back to shortly after the city’s founding by the French in 1701. Annually held on the Sunday closest to the Vernal (Spring) Equinox, it is parade and street theater similar in sensibility to Mardi Gras and other Carnival celebrations. However the impetus for La Marche is different.

La Marche drives Le Nain Rouge (The Red Dwarf) out of Detroit, preventing its evil spirit from plaguing the people of the city for the rest of the year. By forcing Le Nain Rouge from the city (and into the spirit plane), Le Nain is banished, transforming Detroiters’ fears and doubts into the hopes of new life and the coming Spring season.

Tradition holds that a citizen of Detroit dresses up as Le Nain Rouge, temporarily embodying its spirit, wearing a mask to conceal identity. As Le Nain Rouge, this person accepts responsibility for leading people through the streets of Detroit to La Marche’s final destination.

Read on for more including pictures and definitely head over to Absolute Michigan to learn much more about one of Michigan’s spookiest stories, Nain Rouge: The Red Dwarf of Detroit.

Billy took this in March of 2011 at the 300th anniversary of La Marche. See it bigger and see more in his La Marche du Nain Rouge slideshow and also check out billyvoo.com.

More portraits on Michigan in Pictures.

city

Posted on by farlane

city

city, photo by buckshot.jones

Check Scott’s photo out background big and see more in his slideshow.

More Detroit on Michigan in Pictures

NAIAS: 2013 Detroit Auto Show roars into town

Posted on by farlane

LFA

LFA by JSFauxtaugraphy, photo by JSFauxtaugraphy

Snapshots from the 2013 North American International Auto Show aka NAIAS 2013 aka the Detroit Auto Show started yesterday for media & industry. The public show runs Saturday, January 19 through Saturday, January 26. Here are a few quick hits:

Check this out background bigtacular and see more in Joseph’s NAIAS 2012 slideshow.

More NAIAS on Michigan in Pictures.