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Future Friday: Century Box Prophecies

Posted October 12, 2012 by DHSdigital
Mayor William C. Maybury

 

Lost Poletown

Posted October 4, 2012 by DHSdigital
Dodge Main Plant (Santa Fabio)

 

Future Friday: It’s a Robot!

Posted September 28, 2012 by DHSdigital

The 1939-40 New York World’s Fair introduced many innovations to the public, such as fluorescent lighting and nylon, which have become important parts of daily life today. An oversized humanoid domestic robot named Roll-Oh is decidedly not one of them.

Future Friday: The Detroit that Never Could Have Been

Posted September 21, 2012 by DHSdigital

Over the past few weeks, you’ve been reading about the Detroit that never was. These novelty postcards depict a whole different kind of Detroit that never was. Rudimentary composite imaging techniques became popular in the early 20th century.

Future Friday: The Detroit That Never Was, Part IV

Posted September 14, 2012 by Brendan Roney
Aviation Town and Country Club Building

 

Future Friday: The Detroit That Never Was, Part III

Posted September 7, 2012 by Brendan Roney
The 1892 Masonic Temple as it actually once stood.

 

Future Friday: The Detroit That Never Was, Part II

Posted August 31, 2012 by Brendan Roney

In the second part of our series on unrealized projects proposed for Detroit we first explore another proposed redesign for the city’s waterfront.

The Treaty of Detroit

Posted August 28, 2012 by DHSdigital

One question we get asked frequently is “what is the oldest artifact in your collection?”, though it isn’t always easy to come up with an answer. The oldest Detroit-related artifact in the collection is a 250 year-old wampum treaty belt.

Future Friday: The Detroit That Never Was, Part I

Posted August 24, 2012 by Brendan Roney

One need not look far to find images of Detroit as it once was. But what of the Detroit that never was? Hidden within the Detroit Historical Society’s collection of objects from our past are hints at possible futures which never came to fruition-- renderings of buildings which were never built or proposals for projects which never came about. This is the first in our FUTURE FRIDAY series of entries exploring such material.

Alarm! Alarm!

Posted August 14, 2012 by DHSdigital

Being a fireman isn’t all guts and glory. Before saving lives and buildings, these brave men have to put their pants on – one leg at a time, just like the rest of us. This photograph, dating to circa 1895, was taken inside an unidentified firehouse in Detroit. Note the man to the right with his arm wrapped around a sliding pole.

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