Happy Birthday, Greenfield Village and The Henry Ford!

Posted on by farlane


Soybean Lab Agricultural Gallery – Greenfield Village, Dearborn, Michigan, photo by cmulou

You don’t really think about “light” having an anniversary, but today is the 131st anniversary of Thomas Edison’s invention of the electric light. Light’s Golden Jubilee Honors Thomas Edison and Dedicates a Museum from The Henry Ford Museum relates that today features another birthday:

On October 21, 1929, Henry Ford hosted an elaborate celebration in Dearborn, Michigan, in honor of his friend Thomas A. Edison. Known as Light’s Golden Jubilee, the date marked the 50th anniversary of Edison’s invention of the electric light. Ford also planned his event as a dedication of his own lasting tribute to Thomas Edison and to American innovation, the Edison Institute of Technology (later renamed Henry Ford Museum) and Greenfield Village. Here, Henry Ford had moved the Menlo Park, New Jersey, laboratory where the inventor made his discovery so many years before.

The RSVPs for Light’s Golden Jubilee began pouring in to Ford Motor Company by early October 1929. Prominent businessmen like John D. Rockefeller, Jr. and J.P. Morgan, scientist Marie Curie, inventor Orville Wright, and humorist Will Rogers were among those who enthusiastically accepted Ford’s invitation to be part of the landmark event.

A t 10 o’clock that morning, President Herbert Hoover, Henry Ford and Thomas Edison arrived at Smiths Creek depot at Greenfield Village on a steam- powered locomotive, much like the one on which Edison had sold papers as a youth. They were met by invited guests that numbered more than 500. The crowd roared their approval and congratulations as Edison , Hoover and Ford stepped from the train to begin the day’s festivities…

Read on and also see some photos from the opening gala at the Henry Ford.

Check this photo out bigger in cmulou’s Winter at Greenfield Village slideshow and Happy Birthday to one of Michigan’s coolest museums!!

 

legends stood here: Exploring Detroit with Absolute Michigan

Posted on by Michigan in Pictures

legends stood here

legends stood here, photo by buckshot.jones

All week on Absolute Michigan we’ve been featuring Detroit with fresh looks at Michigan’s largest city from a wide range of folks including Johnny Knoxville and David Byrne and topics that include Detroit’s art resurgence and movie-making in the Motor City.

About the photo, Scott writes:

At this very spot, some of the greatest to ever play the game, played right here. Under a blue Michigan sky they crafted their legend. From the deadball era of Ty Cobb to the steriod era of “My head didn’t get bigger, my hat shrunk” Barry Bonds, the greats of the game played.

I figure most of us folks in Detroit have a fond memory, or two, of this place. I saw Ron Leflore in the midst of a 30 game hitting streak, sitting down the first base line. Out in the left field stands I watched the Bird win a game sitting next to my brothers and our old man. I took my daughter to her first game in 1982. She was still an infant, it was early June and the old park was still as cold as a meat locker. In the last year of the park, my son and I attended a game. We moved all around the stadium, finishing up in my favorite part, the upper deck bleachers, right to the left of the flag.

I truly loved that place.

Check this out bigger and in his excellent Detroit Journal: Words & Pictures series (view slideshow).

Lots more Detroit Tigers and Detroit photos from Michigan in Pictures.

(not) A Gyrfalcon in Michigan

Posted on by farlane

NOTE: Apparently this isn’t a gyrfalcon but a rough-legged hawk. See the comments below.


photo by Angela Merz

I was showing a friend the recent post about osprey in Michigan and he said “well guess what my wife got a photo of the other day?” What Angela got was a rare (for Michigan) photo of a gyrfalcon taken at Fayette State Park.

The Rouge River Bird Observatory has a report on a sighting in Dearborn in 2005 that caused quite a stir:

The Gyrfalcon (Falco rusticolus) is the world’s largest falcon, nearly the size of a Red-tailed Hawk. This Arctic-nesting bird is rarely seen in the United States. When populations of ptarmigan, chicken-like tundra birds that are a main prey item of Gyrfalcons, fall below certain levels, some Gyrfalcons move into southern Canada and the United States in the winter. When one is found, many birders will rush to see it.

In Michigan, the most reliable place to see a Gyrfalcon is at Sault Ste. Marie (click here for a more thorough report on the occurrence of this species in the state). They are very rare in the Lower Peninsula.

Thus it was sensational when Kim Hall, Julie Craves, and Darrin O’Brien located a subadult (first year) Gyrfalcon at a Dearborn office complex while participating in the annual Detroit River Christmas Bird Count.

Get more information about Gyrfalcon (Falco rusticolus) from the UM Animal Diversity Web and click the photo to the left for another view of this rare Michigan sighting!

It’s your birthday Detroit, how about a history lesson?

Posted on by farlane


Hotel Pontchartrain and Cadillac Square from City Hall, 1916, photo by Detroit Publishing Co, via Shorpy

Hello Detroit, it’s your birthday!*

History Detroit tells the story of Cadillac and the founding of Detroit on July 24, 1701. They explain how Antoine de la Mothe, Sieur de Cadillac made a plan with his mentor and Governor General of New France, Louis de Buade, Comte de Frontenac, to found a new settlement at the south of Lake Huron to increase security of French interests on the Great Lakes. Frontenac died, and his successor was not fond of Cadillac so:

Cadillac set sail for France in 1698 in order to convince King Louis to allow him to found a new settlement lower in the Great Lakes. Specifically, he was interested in the area south of Lake Huron known as le détroit, or the straits.

The area known as le détroit was ideal for a new settlement because the land was fertile, the location on the river was felt to be easily defended against the British and the climate was more hospitable than that in the more northern settlements like Michilimackinac.

Cadillac returned to Quebec, then travelled to Montreal where he gathered canoes, farmers, traders, artisans, soldiers, and Native Americans to accompany him on his quest. The men set sail on June 4, 1701.

Cadillac and his men reached the Detroit River on July 23, 1701. The following day, July 24, 1701, the group traveled north on the Detroit River and chose a place to build the settlement. Cadillac named the settlement Fort Ponchartrain du Detroit in honor of King Louis’s Minister of Marine.

Read More About Fort Ponchartrain and Cadillac.

You have to check this photo from Shorpy (a great blog where you can also buy these old prints) background bigtacular to see the amazing detail and activity captured including the Soldiers and Sailors Monument in the bottom left corner. Here are earlier views of the hotel circa 1907, minus the upper floors, and 1910, minus most of the cars, and here’s Shorpy’s entire Detroit Michigan historic archive.

Need more? There’s a whole lot more Detroit on Michigan in Pictures and at absolutemichigan.com/Detroit.

* I feel a little weird giving a history lesson as a birthday present.

Miguel Cabrera and your 2010 Detroit Tiger All Stars

Posted on by farlane

Homerun!
Homerun!, photo by Curtnrod

With top vote getter  Justin Morneau of the Twins suffering a concussion, the Detroit Tigers Miguel Cabrera will start for the American League at first base (batting third) in tonight’s All Star Game. As a reminder, Major League Baseball’s celebration of its superstars actually has meaning – the winner gets home field advantage in the World Series.

Cabrera makes his fifth All-Star appearance in seven seasons, and although he finished second to Morneau with 2,586,207 votes, he’s second in the majors with 20 home runs and 68 RBIs, has a 19 game hitting streak going and is having a great season. In addition to Cabrera, the Tigers Jose Valverde has been named the closer for the game by AL manager Joe Girardi and 11-5 Tiger ace Justin Verlander will be on the team as well. The Tigers roar into the break 25-5 since June 9th and although a loss to the Twins put them 1/2 game out, you have to like their performance so far.

See this photo from Cabrera’s first season as a Tiger bigger in Sam’s Detroit Tigers slideshow and go AL!

The People of Detroit: Journaturalist

Posted on by Michigan in Pictures

The People of Detroit: Journaturalist

The People of Detroit: Journaturalist, photo by Noah Stephens.

I briefly mentioned Noah Stephens’ project, The People of Detroit, a few weeks ago. If you haven’t checked it out yet, you need too – it’s one of the best blogs in Michigan right now. He says that his ongoing photo essay series is dedicated to the motor city’s residents. It’s not meant to be positive or negative, simply to examine the people who played in serrated crabgrass and never got cut. (too badly, at least).

About this photo he writes:

jour·nat·u·ra·list (jur-nāch’ər-ə-lĭst), noun

1. A portmanteau word formed from “journal” and “naturalist” commonly used to describe a young woman who grew up in South America, lives in Detroit, works as a journalist and has a strong affinity for nature (exemplified by the ability and willingness to milk goats and weed urban gardens with a machete).

see also: Minehaha Forman.

Check out his whole People of Detroit set on Flickr or view the slideshow.

The Dime Building in Detroit

Posted on by farlane

Inside the Dime Building Dime Building
Inside the Dime Building and Dime Building, photos by Adore707

Detroit 1701’s page on The Dime Building relates how Daniel Hudson Burnham found fame as a city planner and was influential in the founding of the City Beautiful Movement. His architectural firm, Root and Burnham, designed the 20-story Masonic Temple Building in Chicago in 1893, one of the nation’s first skyscrapers, and they were tapped by Dime Bank:

The Dime Bank wanted an appropriate building for their facilities. The first floor was to serve as a banking floor where patrons would make their deposits and withdrawals. The higher levels in this 23-story building provided the many offices the bank needed for business, undoubtedly growing as the vehicle industry boomed in Detroit. Burnham designed the attractive lobby that you see with its skylight and numerous decorations. Electric elevators for tall buildings were first successfully installed in the 1890s, so they were still a new invention when Burnham designed this Dime Building…

Air conditioning was unavailable in 1910 and electric lights were, apparently, less efficient than the ones we have today. This motivated Burnham to incorporate a design that provided a window for ventilation and light in every office. You will notice the light well as soon as you enter the lobby of the Dime Building. This one faces Griswold and clearly illustrates this typical feature of Burnham’s Chicago style skyscrapers. Just to the east on Griswold, you will see the Ford Building that Burnham designed for its 1909 opening. In that one, Burnham’s light well is invisible from Griswold.

The Dime Building has its own web site and there’s a little more about the Dime Building on Wikipedia. You can see an old photo of the Dime Building from Wikipedia and another of the Dime from the early 20th Century at Shorpy.

See these other other photos bigger in his Detroit MI slideshow.

How about a little independence for Independence Day?

Posted on by Michigan in Pictures

elevator watching

elevator watching, photo by gsgeorge.

Geoff writes: Renaissance Center elevator, holding at the 72nd floor for fireworks spectators. They passed out 3D glasses for whatever reason. Maybe the future was so bright it needed to be in 3D? See this bigger in his Detroit slideshow and also check out the Independence Day slideshow from the Absolute Michigan pool.

Wikipedia says that Independence Day alias Fourth of July alias The Glorious Fourth alias The Fourth is a federal holiday commemorating the adoption of the Declaration of Independence on July 4, 1776. Of the signing of the Declaration, John Adams wrote to Abigail:

I am apt to believe that it will be celebrated by succeeding generations as the great anniversary festival. It ought to be commemorated as the day of deliverance, by solemn acts of devotion to God Almighty. It ought to be solemnized with pomp and parade, with shows, games, sports, guns, bells, bonfires, and illuminations, from one end of this continent to the other, from this time forward forever more.

Thomas Jefferson, served with Adams on the Committee of Five that drafted the Declaration of Independence and observed that a groups of people from great nations to town councils will always have disagreements. He nonetheless spent much of his life serving the cause of creating an enduring nation. He made a point that I think could serve governments who are locked in petty disagreements while our country and citizenry face serious threats at home and abroad, economically and environmentally that require action immediately:

Do you want to know who you are? Don’t ask. Act! Action will delineate and define you.

Hope you all get out and have fun, and if you have a chance to talk to an elected official at a parade, let them know what you’re looking for. And whether you have that chance or not, take some time to work to make the world become what you think it should.

Michigan Loves Fireworks

Posted on by farlane

{j & t} by caterpillars
{j & t}, photo by caterpillars

As the 4th of July approaches, it’s a good time to dust off the link to MichiganFireworks.com. From Adrian (July 3)  to Ypsilanti (July 2&3), the Michigan Fireworks guy chick! remains dedicated to one thing and one thing only: letting you know when and where the sky is going to light up with professional pyrotechnics!

Speaking of lighting up, that’s some kiss! Check it out bigger in Laura’s slideshow and see hundreds more pics in the Michigan fireworks slideshow in the Absolute Michigan pool!

Have a happy & safe Fourth of July!

The Bus Stops Here: Detroit’s Rosa Parks Transit Center

Posted on by Michigan in Pictures

The Bus Stops Here

The Bus Stops Here, photo by Mike Darga.

Mike writes:

Located at Michigan and Cass Avenues, the Rosa Parks Transit Center is a 25,000-square-foot indoor facility with over two acres of exterior transit access. It enables customers to make connections to 21 DDOT bus routes, the SMART suburban bus system, Transit Windsor for international connections, and taxi access in a single downtown transportation hub. It also provides pedestrian connectivity to the Detroit People Mover stations at Michigan and Times Square, and was planned to eventually connect to the city’s future light rail transit system.

You can learn how the Transit Center fits into a wider plan for transforming Detroit’s transportation system from Tushar Advani of Parsons Brinkerhoff — one of the architects behind the Rosa Parks Transit Center.

See this bigger in Mike’s Structures/Buildings slideshow.