Tahquamenon Falls, photo by A. Runyon.
Well, about a month ago I blogged this photo of the Mackinac Bridge.
Apparently, Amanda found this on the other side. She has another equally amazing photo right here, and you can read more about the Tahquamenon Falls on Michigan in Pictures.
I have to add that it’s a beautiful thing when someone makes a photo like this available in “background size”. ;)
The introduction to Detroit’s Michigan Central Station says the Michigan Central Station was designed by Warren & Wetmore and Reed & Stem, the firms who were the architects of New York’s Grand Central Station. It opened in 1913, and by the time this 1921 photograph (above) was taken, the Beaux Art ideal had been reached. The unique road configuration leading up to the Michigan Central, as well as the fine ambiance Roosevelt Park contributed to the scene, reveals itself to be absolutely necessary to complete the designers’ vision. (Courtesy of Manning Brothers Historical Photographic Collection)
By 1967 the main waiting room (right, click for larger view) was closed to travelers and used merely for storage; it is difficult to conceive of these splendid benches being relegated to use as a mere shelving system. Hanging on by a thread, the Michigan Central continued to operate without its restaurant or even the main park entrance. (Dave Jordano, Courtesy of the Burton Historical Collection)
In case you’re wondering, here’s a photo of the waiting room in its current state and here’s another.
The photos and captions are reprinted with permission from Detroit’s Michigan Central Station by Kelli B Kavanaugh. In addition to some history on Michigan Central Station and great old photos of the station and activity, the book includes some floorplans of MCS. It’s available from the publisher online at www.arcadiapublishing.com or by calling 888-313-2665.
View other excerpts from Arcadia Publishing’s Michigan books at Michigan in Pictures and also be sure to check out MCS 7.2.7: Transformers co-star Michigan Central Station on Absolute Michigan for more photos and some great videos too!!
Lake of the Clouds by Night, photo by SpringChick.
Spring Chick writes: Lake of the Clouds at dusk. I love the mirrored, mystic look to the lake in this photo. I also found it interesting that the sky colored in the east. I could visit this place every day and never tire of it. Porcupine Mountains, MI.
This photo is part of her Porcupine Mountains set (best as a slideshow) and yes, it makes an amazing background for your computer.
Lake of the Clouds is in the Porcupine Mountains Wilderness State Park, which was established in 1945 and is Michigan’s largest state park. The “Porkies” are located 15 miles west of Ontonagon in the western Upper Peninsula, and the 60,000 acre park features virgin timber, secluded lakes, and miles of wild rivers and streams. If you it that link above you can get trail maps (they allow mountain biking too) and backcountry camping information.
The Wikipedia Porcupine Mountains entry says that the Porcupine Mountains were so named by the native Ojibwa people because their silhouette had the shape of a porcupine. Also see Exploring the North’s Porkies page, this cool Ski the Porkies site and a map to the Porcupine Mountains Wilderness State Park.
Soo Locks Celebration – 1905, photo by Detroit Publishing Co.
The fantastic American Memory feature of the the US Library of Congress had this picture titled Reviewing stand, Saint Marys [sic] Canal celebration. It was taken in 1905, the very first year of a celebration that continues today: the annual Soo Locks Celebration (also known as Engineer’s Day). It’s held every year on the last Friday of June between 10 AM and 4 PM. For those following along, that’s tomorrow, July 29, 2007.
You can click for a whole gallery of shots from the Soo Locks – Sault Ste. Marie Canal on the St Mary’s River from American Memory, see some photos of the Soo Locks and past celebrations from Joel Dinda and tune into the locks via the Soo Locks SkyCam.
modern day Detroit, photo by paulhitz.
Paul says that this photo of Comerica Park and the Detroit skyline was shot Sunday from a helicopter tour around Detroit during the Detroit International River Days Festival (held late June every year). I was going to ask Paul how the heck he managed a helicopter ride, but apparently helicopter rides from Walton Helicopter Charter were part of River Days this year.
Paul encourages you to view this picture bigger (yes, it makes a great computer background). You can also view more helicopter-eye photos of Detroit.
main_street_looking_east_part2_9_27, photo by jacksonista.
Looking east, looking west, this set of old Jackson postcards is the best (you can also view the slideshow).
From the roller coaster at Hague Park to the casino at Wolf Lake to cell block 11 at the “new” state penitentiary to things that it’s hard to even describe, this set of over 150 old photos will take you way back.
Blair and the Capitol, photo by Apocaplops.
On the statue of Austin Blair “War Governor of Michigan” at the Michigan Capitol in Lansing it says “He gave the best years of his life to Michigan and his fame is inseparably linked with the glorious achievements of her citizen soldiers.” (check it out in the super-biggie-sized view and Michigan Governor Austin Blair on Wikipedia)
It’s hard to ask that anyone give the best years of their life to anything as large as a state, but it might be good to take a few moments sometime during Michigan Week (May 19 – 25, 2007) to consider the massive challenges that people of our state have fought through in the past. From hundreds of thousands of lives given to preserve the Union to hundreds of thousands of hours labored to carve farms from forest, Michiganians have a history of standing tall and staring down and battling through adversity.
While saving our state from today’s troubles is beyond any one of us, there’s little doubt that each one of us has some measure of the solution with our grasp.
Muted, photo by Jessie Turner
This is the view of Little Glen Lake (foreground) and Big Glen Lake from atop the Sleeping Bear Dunes. It’s part of a great set of photos of the Sleeping Bear Dunes National Lakeshore.
I don’t have time to do a full history on the Sleeping Bear Dunes, but I can say that if you visit, you will not be disappointed. More information at the Sleeping Bear Dunes National Lakeshore web site and also the Unofficial Sleeping Bear Dunes Homepage. There is a shot from here in this YouTubed 1949 travelogue of Northern Michigan.
self reflection, photo by Bridget Johnson
Bridget relates that this photo was taken at the Frandor Mall in East Lansing … or Lansing … or right between the two. I am a bit depressed that there is no entry for Frandor at Wikipedia (yet at least). The Lansing entry says that in 1954, Frandor Mall was the first in the area and the second in the state.
On second thought, Joey Harrison’s photo of the old FRANDOR sign on Flickr is lots better than any Wikipedia entry probably would be because it has a bunch of people’s reflections on the history of the mall, including his mom, who says:
What I’m about to say can’t be certified, but this is what I seem to remember: Frandor was developed by Francis and Doreen Corr in 1954 from a former golf course. It was the second outdoor mall, the first being Northland in Southfield.
Bridget Johnson is a Traverse City based photographer who will be among the over 150 women artists of all media whose work will be on display at the 5th annual From Women’s Hands art show, sale and benefit for The Women’s Cancer Fund from April 27-29 at the Hagerty Center in Traverse City.
Renaissance, photo by irinuchka.
…in the Renaissance Center, Detroit.
Kind of amazing what can be accomplished when you try to accomplish something amazing. More at Detroit Marriott at the Renaissance Center from SkyscraperPage.com, Renaissance Center from Wikipedia and Flickr’s RenCen slideshow.
Michigan in Pictures 