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Detroit circa 1908. "Woodward Avenue and Central Methodist Episcopal Church." 8x10 inch dry plate glass negative, Detroit Publishing Company. View full size.
Another stunning photo captured on 10x8 glass negative. The detail, tonal range and depth never ceases to amaze.
It reinforces that this moment in time look, and of course, was, a totally different world.
Detroit Music Co. Pianos to go along with all the other piano stores on Woodward Ave. in the 1910 & 1912 photos.
of the church in the distance may be a moon tower. In other words, an arc light that would light up a great area at night. Some still exist to this day in Austin Texas.
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Moonlight_towers_(Austin,_Texas)
I'm thinking the car visible on the far right is electric. 1908 was the year the Model T came out. Before that watershed moment electric cars seemed prevalent. I've also seen photos of some old electric cars where the rear wheels seem smaller than the front wheels. Just a guess.
There may now be skyscrapers to the left and a baseball stadium to the right, but the two churches remain. The church in the distance is St. John's Episcopal Church. The nearer church is now Central United Methodist Church. It has an interesting history - for instance, the congregation's outrage at a hanging outside the church in the 1830s led to banning capital punishment in Michigan. In between the churches, the piano and chronic buildings were replaced by buildings that were in turn replaced by Comerica Park, home of the Detroit Tigers.
JUST the time that Disneyland wanted to emulate. Fortunately I have avoided all things Disney since 1960.
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