The Woodward Dream Cruise will be celebrating its 30th year tomorrow (August 16, 2025). It is the largest one-day automotive event in North America, drawing nearly one million people & 40,000 classic cars every year.
pk got this shot of a 1971 Superbird dressed in Sassy Grass at the 2023 Woodward Dream Cruise. Here’s a few they have shared – see more great shots in their Wheels gallery on Flickr!
Woodward on a Friday Night by Retta Billy
The city of Detroit was founded on Sunday July 24, 1701 by Antoine de la Mothe, Sieur de Cadillac. Throughout the history of the city, Detroit’s industry has been a driving engine of Michigan and the nation, reaching its zenith with the auto industry. To my mind, there’s few things that capture the indomitable spirit of the city like Woodward Avenue. I particularly love that this photo features the new Hudson’s building as a backdrop with one of the auto industry’s more out of the box experiments and a partly people powered pedal pub from Handlebar Detroit.
Enjoy this selection of nighttime scenes of the city from Michigan photographer Coretta Billy that capture that spirit. For sure follow her on Facebook and view her portrait & event photography on her website.
Not your grandma’s Hudson’s by Andrew McFarlane
On December 31st, I will begin my 20th year of doing Michigan-focused photo blog Michigan in Pictures!! I’m going to try some new things this year to keep things fresh & fun for Michigan in Pictures regulars including yours truly like featuring more of my photos from the present day & my surprisingly extensive archives. As with today’s entry, a lot of them will be from Detroit where I live.
My first “Farlane Friday” is the brand new building at the new Hudson’s building in downtown Detroit which I am honestly a big fan of. I wasn’t alone, because this photo blew up when I shared it in the Detroit Photography group on Facebook. Hudson’s was Detroit’s signature department store and the place where I – like many Detroiters – unquestionably got my first picture taken with Santa. I also spent more than one Saturday reading dinosaur books at the lunch counter while my Grandma shopped with her friends. You can head over to Hudson’s Detroit for lots more about this new addition to Detroit’s skyline & for sure check out this post about the history of Hudson’s on Michigan in Pictures.
1939 Detroit Memorial Day Parade, photo by Buildings of Detroit
Buildings of Detroit shared this photo back in 2013 saying:
Tonight the Wayback Machine continues to show us views of Detroit’s Memorial Day Parade down Woodward, this time in 1939. Most of the structures remain as they were in the previous 1920 image (click to see it!). We can clearly see Kern’s and an expanded Hudson’s, as well as Eaton Tower, Bond Clothing, and the Majestic Building along with the Detroit Opera House, now transformed into Sam’s Cut Rate clothing store.
View the photo bigger and definitely follow Buildings of Detroit on Facebook for lots more about Detroit’s unique architectural heritage.
Lots more Detroit on Michigan in Pictures!
Michigan in Pictures 