Sebewaing 1943 – A Quiet Street Scene — and a Very Funny Note on the Back
Sebewaing in 1943, with Pitcher’s Boat Livery in the background — and a postcard-style note that complains about fish flies and lights out at 10:30 p.m
Beet Harvest Traffic Jam — Sebewaing Style
Horse-drawn wagons loaded with sugar beets roll through Sebewaing in this vintage scene titled “Hauling Sugar Beets, Sebewaing Michigan.” Long before semis and beet pilers, harvest time in Michigan’s Thumb meant teams of horses, wooden wagons, and a steady line to …
Detroit’s Barlum Hotel at Cadillac Square – 1949
Downtown Detroit, circa 1949. The Barlum Hotel looms over Cadillac Square as buses circle the park and workers head toward the courthouse blocks. The bold wall sign faces Barlum Tower—now Cadillac Tower—built in 1927 during the city’s vertical building boom. This view likely sits a block east of Woodward Avenue, long considered Detroit’s spine. The scene is brisk, noisy, and confident, an everyday moment before the hotel’s later conversion to Cadillac Square Apartments.
Jess and Nell: Sebewaing’s Winter Work Team
Jess and Nell, a team of draft horses, stand hitched to a low winter sled in Sebewaing — dated 1910 on this photo. A bundled-up driver sits behind them, ready to haul goods across a snow-covered street before trucks and plows …
Michigan’s 2 Sky-High Irish Hills Tourist Towers – 1925
Before freeways and food courts, Michigan’s highways were lined with quirky tourist towers. These towering attractions offered sky-high views, cold milk, and bragging rights. Let’s revisit the glory days of Michigan’s roadside observation towers.
Post 1 P.L.A.V. – Hamtramck’s Veterans Hall, 1938
A 1938 postcard freezes a familiar Hamtramck corner: the Polish Legion of American Veterans’ Post 1 hall, built in the 1920s and long used as a neighborhood gathering place.
First Carriages Made In Romeo Michigan – 1844
Romeo’s Main Street, likely early 1900s. Two horse-drawn vehicles pause as flags wave. A sign on the coach at right claims it was the first carriage built in Macomb County, circa 1844. The claim is proud, if approximate. Romeo, about 30 miles north of Detroit, later became known for the Michigan Peach Festival, launched in 1931.
When Waterford Harvested Winter – People’s Ice on Huntoon Lake
A vintage view of People’s Ice Co. on Huntoon Lake shows how big the “ice business” once got in Waterford — harvesting and storing winter ice to keep Michigan cool long before refrigerators took over.
When President Taft Came to Battle Creek (1911)
President William Howard Taft’s 1911 stop in Battle Creek drew a massive crowd — and this postcard captured the flags, bunting and excitement on the platform.
John Jacob Astor’s American Fur Company Headquarters 1817 – The Robert Stewart House – Video
The American Fur Company headquarters on Mackinac Island once controlled trade across the Great Lakes. Built in the early 1800s, it shaped Michigan’s economy, society, and role in early American capitalism.