Waterworks Park | Detroit, Michigan

Postmarked 19 May 1908
Detroit, Michigan

Message:

Reminds me so much of Juo K's palace (?) / C.

Detroit architect Joseph E. Sparks won a competition to design the city's watertower. Fully functional by 1879, the tower also doubled as an observation deck and the surrounding 110-acre park drew many tourists. By 1895, new technology made the tower obsolete, but it remained vibrant as an attraction through the 1920s, though it was shut during World Wars I and II due to security concerns. In 1945, the structure was ruled unsafe and closed to the public and was demolished in 1962. Although some areas of the park were remained open, today the entire park is closed to visitors.

Waterworks Park Tower History

Ford Rotunda

Uncirculated
Published by Metrocraft (~1940s)

The Ford Rotunda was unveiled at the 1934 Chicago World's Fair. Later that year, the company announced it would be dismantled and shipped to the company's Dearborn, Michigan headquarters, where it would be reconstructed across from the Ford Administration Building.

Ford Online describes the reassembled Rotunda:

After more than a year of construction, the new Rotunda was opened on May 14, 1936, with Fred Waring's big band playing for the more than 22,000 visitors.  Ford expected 100,000 visitors during the remainder of 1936, but in fact, attendance averaged nearly 1,000,000 per year until it was closed to the public in early 1942.  Movie stars, celebrities, business leaders, heads of state, and millions of ordinary people came to learn about and to celebrate the Ford Motor Company.

During World War II, the Rotunda served as office space and a school for the Army Air Corps, with barracks set up across Rotunda Drive.  The theater was used as a movie hall to entertain the soldiers. Following the war, the Rotunda was used for Dealer presentations, press events and other business meetings. 

In 1953, the Rotunda underwent a major renovation in anticipation of re-opening to the public.  New displays were installed, and facilities were improved to better handle large crowds. More than 20,000 people braved stormy weather to watch as the Rotunda, decorated like a huge birthday cake, re-opened to the public on the evening of June 16, 1953 – as the culmination of the Company's 50th Anniversary celebration.

On November 1962, as crews were designing and building the annual Christmas displays, a fire ignited on the roof, where the building was undergoing repairs. Firefighters were unable to halt the blaze, and the Rotunda was destroyed.

Thanks to Beth at The Best Hearts are Crunchy for hosting Postcard Friendship Friday, and hugs to her cat, Bootz, who is under the weather.

I Keep Clean Now

Postmarked 2 December 1915
Detroit, MI

Message:

Hello Phle- / I can't play out of doors I keep clean now / Monica

The back of this card (not to mention the front) is in such bad shape, I can't bear to post it publicly, but I wanted to include a Detroit card in honor of my trip to Michigan, first to Ann Arbor for the Net Impact Conference, and then to Detroit to see my in-laws.

This postcard depicts an area of Detroit that was central in the early 1900s but later became known as a skyscraper graveyard. Constructed in the mid-1910s, the Statler Hotel was exclusive and popular, hosting such guests as Franklin D. Roosevelt and Henry Houdini. It was taken over by Hilton in 1954, but Hilton stopped managing the hotel in 1974. For a year, the hotel operated under another moniker, though was abandoned in 1975. It was vacant for 30 years, and finally demolished in 2005. The David Whitney building was constructed about the same time, and has been vacant since 1990. Sebastian Spering Kresge opened a five and dime in 1899, an operation which evolved into K-Mart. The Kresge Department Store closed in 1982, but the building is being redeveloped.

Buildings of Detroit: Statler Hotel