The first three minutes of this film takes place along Detroit‘s old Skid Row on Michigan Avenue just west of downtown. The movie Federal Manhunt is playing at the theater; it was released in 1938. Koblin’s Cut Rate is visible at 500 Michigan Ave. This whole area was subsequently cleared in an urban renewal scheme that was light on renewal. Thank you for this work. I welcome more from Detroit, but enjoy them all!
some of the white skin came out ghostish in the beginning like they were covered in Noxzema but I only noticed a little unless its that time traveler I saw
Notice how many of one type of business that you rarely see anymore? Repair shops of all kinds. Shoe, machinery. Household goods. Not a throwaway culture back then.
Jeff: I have lived in SE Asia for over 22 years now. There is a large mixture of all types of businesses on every block, just like in this video. That's because we don't have zoning commissions that tell a person where they can & can't set up a business and what type. You drive down a street looking for a place to set up your business, see a for rent storefront, and contact the owner and see if you can come to an agreement on the monthly rental. No environmental impact report, architectural sketches, how much room you'll be able to provide for off-street parking, blah blah blah! Just more govt interference/ruling/ control of your once believed "freedom's" that you've lost without even having your voice heard at a city council meeting that's now monitored by the FBI because you'll get labeled as a trouble maker/anarchist/militant.
Whoever Filmed This, WANTED To Save This City Scene For Posterity. Taking Their Time Moving More SLOWLY To Show The Crammed Shops And The Dirty Car Bottoms. VERY GOOD Restoration Of The Film Indeed.
My grandpa was born a farmer in Clear Lake, Iowa in 1905. He came back from the army in 1925 and returned to the family farm until the Depression, when the price of corn fell so badly, that they could no longer support themselves by farming. Grandpa had MANY stories about going to Green Bay, Detroit, and Chicago, and doing any job he could find, no matter how short or how menial, and send the money home to his family -My Grandma and aunts -Mom wasn't born until after the war. He ended up working pretty much full time in the Chicago Slaughterhouses from about the time of this footage until the War started. His stories about the slaughterhouse were hair-raising. He saw men get cut and bleed to death, and other guys die in worse ways. He was a tough old bird, and I was lucky enough to have him in my life until 1986, when I was 24. It is fascinating to think that he could be in some of this old footage, or maybe just someone he knew. I miss the old folks. Thanks for this....
People whine about OSHA, but for every regulation I can guarantee several people died that led to it. Factories during the Second Industrial Revolution in the U.S. were death traps.
I know what you mean about missing people from those generations! People really knew how to rely upon themselves while looking out for others at the same time. My grandfather grew up as an orphan in the early 1900’s and went on to become a millionaire sometime in the 1960’s and, because he was such a regular Joe, so to speak, I never knew that until after he died. Never drove a flashy car or had a big house. He wore regular old work clothes everyday, very, very rarely ever went out to eat. Most folks from that era just weren’t captivated by material things.
Yes sir it was these folks who raised up the greatest generation my grandfather was also from this time he was raised with morals and respect I too was lucky to have him in my life until the age of 17 but if it wasn't for the things he taught me I wouldn't be who I am today it's a shame the way our country is going and how people act today our forefathers would be disappointed
The late 1930's...Detroit was on it's way to becoming one of the great major cities in the United States. A roaring Auto Industry beckoning with job opportunities that would see people from all over the country and from all walks of life move to the city. I would give anything to time travel back and witness what it was like if only for a week or two.
Detroit's prosperity peaked in the late 1920's. Once you got past 1929 you started to have problems with Communist influence and labor unions. By 1943, you had the 1st race riot. The city's great buildings and institutions had already been built and established by 1929.
My great grandfather, along with his siblings and parents emigrated from Hungary to Detroit in the 1920s. He became a presser for Ford. I still live in mid Michigan and will never leave. This video is amazing to me! Thank you so much, as I've never been able to meet any of my family members from that side, as my grandfather killed himself whilst my mother was a toddler. This makes me feel what they lived and breathed!!
This was both amazing and heartbreaking.. everything looks so new and clean and hopeful.. would love to see an "now".. of a camera going down the same streets..., same angles..
Really enjoyed watching this. All my grandparents were living and raising families in Detroit at this time. Most of my aunts and uncles were born by the late 30's, though my parent's didn't come along for a few more years. My paternal grandmother always talked about how wonderful Detroit was back in the day.
@@elizabethowens8548 Nice, my Gramdmother worked for the Macomb Daily years ago. Not even 100% sure if that paper still exists. It was still around when my family moved away in the early 80s.
I’m French but I’ve been to Detroit several times. Since the city didn’t evolve as much as others in the country, and a lot of places have simply been abandoned, you can feel some of this energy from ancient times that hasn’t really been built over like everywhere else. Despite what everyone says about this place, I found Detroit to be one of the most fascinating cities I ever traveled to. It has some mythical aura to it especially in the center. It feels like a time portal sometimes which is really rare for a Western city. I hope you do more videos about them because it’s really a perfect fit for your work. Great job!
I truly love when people see the camera and they have no idea that one day they would be famous on this thing we call the internet & TH-cam! They are a staple in time. Thank you NASS.
What always haunts me about these old recordings is the realization that all of the adults have since passed away. It's like watching ghosts,kinda cool.
Bro that's exactly what I thought too. About 3 minutes in I realized every single human in the video has since passed away. Well, I guess there could be a few still hanging on, at like 106 years old or so. Probs not tho... But hey, everyone you know one day will die. It's one thing we all have in common I suppose.
Nass, Love your channel. The Mobsters nicknamed "The Purple Gang" ruled Detroit Underworld in the 1920's with their bootlegging, extortion and murder but sometime in the 1930's they started to fizzle out due to infighting. They had strong allies including the Al Capone syndicate in Chicago! Plus, I like the men's dress-style in the 1930's with their nice fedora hat, nice suit and nice shoes-It made a nice, snappy look! Thanks for the upload.
These remastered videos are incredible. As I looked at a portion of Michigan Ave I noticed that only one of those businesses is still there. Its Sams Pawn Shop. The automotive companies ruined the landscapre in many ways. Getting rid of the Street Car was a bad idea.
My parents were born in the very early 20th century and often spoke of the changes they saw. Hell, my wife’s grandparents were born in the late 19th century and her grandfather fought in WWI. They had stories to tell.
I grew up in Detroit, watching this was kind of shocking these people have so much class. The streets are lined with new cars and the people you see are upscale, businessman, and workers in the shops. The areas that you’re looking at the main areas are Gratiot Avenue, Grand River Ave. and Woodward Avenue. Very interesting to see the workforce, devotion, work ethic, and quality of these people, These are our grandfathers Fathers, lol, and it would be safe to say that every single one of these people that you see in the videos are deceased. I went to Detroit about a year ago, drove around. Detroit has been. “Coming Back” for 55 years. It’s a roller coaster ride. It’ll never be what it was EVER AGAIN! And with this new generation, you can forget about it.
The lowly working class filled the factories - maybe that’s why you only see a few white collar folks milling about. Today there’s no factories to fill. Whose fault is that?
@@dwayneball579 Black people didn’t cause the initial problem. Detroit was 50/50 in the 80’s, where “white flight” as the city called it was taking place, mostly because the City STOPPED caring about EVERYTHING. Anybody that cares about their house and their city would move up because the city did not enforce any zone laws. They allowed Hundreds of thousands of abandoned to sit for the following 20 years during Coleman Young’s era, then the next idiot to rape the city was our famous thug Mayor Kane Kilpatrick, as he took was Little was left. You could literally do anything in the city of Detroit and get away with it if Detroit just ran the city like a normal city issuing violations for people that abuse their own property, the city would be together in no time, doesn’t help that we have a President that could care less about inner cities, and this is one of the ones that are always suffer because of it. Detroit will never be anything ever again.
Detroit will NEVER regain its previous atmosphere until some serious attitudes are changed. There is a serious social divide that is repelling. It is a complicated and volatile issue that is hard to explain without causing violent reactions. But the truth can be brutally frank because it sometimes brings up issues that offend people, no matter how true they are. Much of the social problem can be traced back to around 1962 when Michigan had a healthy economy due to a strong tax base, particularly in Detroit. It was at that time that the State of Georgia under George Wallace wanted to take a number of Welfare recipients off the roles, and the State of Michigan took them in. There were several single parent families, mostly unwed mothers with children from different fathers on the Georgia Welfare roles. These households had no father figure/role model, and the school system provided that to a degree. But after three generations, and a succession of illiteracy, there is a generation living in poverty due to limited work skills due to poor education. This has produced anger and hostility that has seriously affected the atmosphere in Detroit. As noted in this, and previous videos, in times when we had less, there was more regarding social skills and common courtesy. Now, major store chains do not want to have their stores within the neighborhoods of Detroit because they are not appreciated. There has been theft, vandalism, and unruly conduct on the part of customers. Once there were about 100 supermarkets in the city of Detroit. Only recently have Meijer's and Aldi's invested in the city, but not to any large degree because of the risks involved. But this is not limited to Detroit. Three years ago while on a house search, I stopped in at an Aldi's on Gratiot in Hazel Park. I had to use the restroom, and it was not accessible. I had to ask for a Security Guard to unlock it, and was made to wait several minutes. In short, when people act like animals, they get treated like animals. I am NOT an animal.
Detroit was under Republican rule and politicians couldn't unite to push a transit infrastructure multiple times. In addition to the racial animosity to Black people, segregation made it worse whoch erupted into riots of 1943. White flight fled into the suburbs and built highways over neighborhoods into downtown and especially over black business neighborhoods. Companies wanted to evade city taxes, and further segregation with a disappearing industry with dwindling tax base. The more you read and learn of the atrocities that some try to hide or ignore...
What a great snapshot into the era...the businesses small and large and the people showing badges to enter the factory to the skid-row views of the depression. Thank you for sharing your excellent work.
At one point Detroit was the 3rd largest city in America. My grandmother came here in the 1940's for work. She was born on the kitchen table in a dirt floor shack in Kentucky. She only had a 3rd grade education. She worked in a munitions factory and made parts for the bombs dropped on Japan. After the war she worked at Chrysler as an inspector. Since she was short she inspected the wiring in the trunk. She owned 3 homes and retired with a full pension. She had her dream home built in Florida where she lived out her days.
@@paulgoble5678 Yeah she still had family there. She had 8 brothers and sisters. Some of them moved here some stayed there. I remember visiting her brother in Virginia. They had 1 working lightbulb and an outhouse. I'm from the city and never experienced anything like that before. My grandfather was from Kentucky too.
Okay, took a few minutes, but this is beginning of April, 1939. The Lyric movie theater at 1:12 was located at 421 Michigan Ave. and was playing Lone Star Pioneers, part of a movie series about Wild Bill Hickock starring Wild Bill Elliot. More importantly, at 1:24, the movie theater on the right is the Loop Theater, 418 Michigan Ave. Playing are Kentucky with Loretta Young, and a B-movie on the bottom half of the bill, Federal Manhunt, which played there at the beginning of April for a few days. There are some nice photos of the Loop if you search the name of the theater, Michigan Avenue, and Detroit, Michigan on Google. Virtually none of this exists anymore, not a single building. THAT'S progress.
This is one of your best reels to date, among many other excellent examples. Just the pace of the people moving around, plus the very high quality of the imaging made this one almost supernatural. My folks and most of my family lived in Detroit 1905-1940ish. Plenty remained in Detroit through the 70's.
The portion of the video with everyone hopping off the street car and going to work is (I’m 99% sure) the Ford Highland Park Plant. Designed by Albert Kahn and where over 15 million Model Ts were made. It is situated along Woodward Ave where the street cars used to run. The plant is now abandoned but some of the structures are still there in Highland Park (a city within Detroit). I drive by it all the time. It is a National Historic Landmark.
The stretch of Woodward Avenue in Highland Park is also home to the now unused McGregor Public Library. My father as a ~ 10 year old played a violin recital there in the 1930's. He was a student of Charles Ambelides, then concertmaster of the Detroit Symphony Orchestra. In any case, the bronze double doors of the library are among the most wonderful of any art deco pieces I've seen. I really hope they can reopen the library. However, H.P. is much worse off than Detroit.
Excellent observations. I believe the 4 stack factory and train sequence is the Ford Rouge plant near Michigan and Miller Road. I lived 2 miles from it in my teens. Would you concur?
Yes, really cool. Firearms where everywhere and no shootings, with only mafia types being the exception. With today's rampant mental illness, even allowing folks to drive cars or own kitchen knives is a risk
Detroit had gangsters, drugs, prostitution, gambling and juke joints.back then to!...And thirty years later a full on race riot! Ten to twenty years later yt flight because of the first African American mayor Coleman Young and in 1983 government war on urban cities invaded Detroit thru the government sponsored and directed cocaine(crack) war. To further destroy people of color. 30 years after that pills and meth hit the trailer parks and yt suburbia. When was America great?!
The 1967 riot was the straw that broke the camel's back. All the major businesses left Detroit (Uniroyal, Vernors, J.L. Hudson's) and the white flight began. It was at one time not long ago as the most polarized racial area in the world. Detroit was 90% black and 10% white while the suburbs were 90% white and 10% black.
Hello from Melbourne,.Australia! 🇦🇺 Absolutely love your work! You are beyond phenomenal. Thankyou for taking us back to these times with exceptional clarity. LOVE,.LOVE LOVE YOUR WORK. Thanks again for your hard work and dedication to bring us these gems of history.
I grew up in northwest Detroit in the early sixties , love looking at this video and seeing all the mom and pop stores from the 1930's on Michigan ave....a snippet in time.
Indeed and it's global too, people in China, Japan, Germany, France, all countries changed from formal wear to casual wear in public around the same time. It has to be one of the most fascinating changes in global culture in the 20th century.
I was trying to figure out exactly where these videos were taken. The only street sign I see in the first street clips is a sign for US-112. That is now Michigan Avenue near downtown. The other clue is a quick clip of a place named the "Triangle Cafe." There are a number of triangular lots along Michigan Avenue between 1st Street and Griswold Streets that could give rise to that name. You can also see a street number on the big pawn shop @1:12, which is 412. If we assume that they are still on Michigan Avenue, that corresponds to the northwest corner of Cass & Michigan; so, if I had to guess, it was taken heading West (assuming most people are walking towards downtown) along Michigan Avenue somewhere between Griswold and Cass. The 'low' character of many of the shops (cheap hotels, pawnshops, bars) are consistent with that area's reputation from back in the day.
Great video! Lots of very good detail in this video. Excellent quality. The signs,vehicles and people are all so very interesting. Great prices on the advertised items along the main thoroughfare. There has, however, been some inflation since this video was shot....
I am so thankful to the photographers in that time, who considered filming scenes like this. Really makes me appreciate current day photographers even more, knowing that in the future their footage might be the only way to look back at how we live now.
This is how the streets still looked in the 50s and early mid 60s. By the late 60s and early 70s you could see the culture change, drug users and dealers were trashing everything.
You mean the culture change of investing in Detroit to stealing all the resources out of Detroit to subsidize idiotic suburbs that never could pay for themselves? Yeah, I noticed that culture change to the suburban parasites too!
As a youngster I remember going to Hudson's and to Crowley's where the escalators still had no stairs, just the wooden slats. Ladies in high heels had to stand on their toes on those escalators. Also, Olympia Stadium. Detroit was actually a real city then.
AS A CAR NUT............ this film has to be darn close to 1938/39 based on the newest car seen. Possibly a car from 1940 (behind the fence @ 4:27). The headlights are the big give-away. Exterior tear drop headlights are usually pre 1940. Little did they know how the world would change very soon.
The first 3 minutes of this is the 500-600 block of Michigan Avenue. You can see The Salvation Army Headquarters in some of the shots. But from the cars in the video, it looks more like the late 1930's than the 1920's. And, at least the first 3 minutes would be prior to 1938 when The Salvation Army's Headquarters moved to Bagley and Second.
Not quite. All the footage for the first three minutes are from the beginning of April 1939, which is when the double bill of Kentucky and Federal Manhunt played to Loop Theater at 418 Michigan Ave.
It’s a shame how far Detroit has fallen, even in the early 80s it was much nicer than it is now. My grandparents managed an apartment building in Detroit in the early 80s. On Fridays we’d go to A&W for hotdogs and root beer floats, theyd bring out the trays that hung on the windows and we’d listen to a game or the news on the radio. After I ate I’d play with the other kids that didn’t want to sit in the car anymore, love those memories. We moved out of Detroit in 1984, my grandpa said it was because it was getting bad fast and he was right. I’ve driven around those old neighborhoods and they’re nothing like I remember, I wouldn’t let a kid play where that A&W was these days.
I was just a kid in the 50s. Detroit was wonderful. I lived in a city north of Detroit. Gratiot Avenue was awesome. We'd go to Sanders and Federal's department store near 7 mile road. Woodward had/ has beautiful theatres. Since 2020 I won't go down there. Such a shame.
People Ate Less Because Of Less Income, And Were A More Normal Size During The Ending Of The Depression Years Before WWII. And The Greasy Fast Food Joints Hadn't Evolved Yet To FATTEN People Up...
You Aren't Telling Us ANYTHING That We Don't Already Know About Dietary Habits And Exercise TODAY. People Didn't Go Out Jogging In The 19390's Or Have Health Clubs. This IS NOT ABOUT MEXICO EITHER. Stay On Topic...
America from it's very founding, was and is today a deeply racist country. Institutionalized racism that favors one race over others is what spelled Detroit's doom.
All men and women wore hats, dressed modestly and mostly in black. My mother and Dad met around this timeframe in Detroit on Belle Isle. What a time to be alive. No one is heavy set, all are courteous. Working class
I can't figure out what street US/MI 112 is today and and 3minutes it looks to be a Ford plant in Highland Park. At the 7 minute mark is either Highland Park or River Rouge plant. One thing is for sure, Detroit was ALIVE and KICKING.
I'm always amazed at how tightly they parallel parked those old tubs without benefit of power assists and automatic transmissions. (Maybe it wasn't quite as taboo to touch bumpers in the process as it is today?) One nit-picky item: The whistle of the approaching steam locomotive at the end is definitely a European-style "tea kettle" engine whistle, not a full-throated American one.
These amazing films are a moving testimony to the past and we are so grateful for their production. What a rare glimpse into the history of the common population and culture. Thank you!
Ahhh yes, the once beautiful Detroit. In 1961 it was the wealthiest city in the United States, and in 1961 a particular party took over and has completely been in control ever since, and look at it today.
Yes. It's a city on the move right now. If you've driven thru it lately, you can't help but notice all the big cranes all over the skyline, with new construction happening everywhere. People are now moving back to the city instead of away from it.
@@l3eatalphal3eatalpha True, that has all happened, but to the rest of the country as well then. Very few cities are dangerous 5th world disaster zones. Baltimore quickly comes to mind though. Oh wait! That place has been run top to bottom by a particular party for the last 40+ years as well.
True statement there, duplicated among many cities. Yet you will still have people defend that party even in the light of the joke we have in office at the date I type this.
All I can say is thank you so much for the video about Michigan way back in the thirties I am an old lady now I'm 77 years old my mother was born in Allentown Pennsylvania on a farm my grandparents had seven children they came to Michigan 1939 so my mother would remember some of this stuff my mother never drove a car till she was 6 years old and she was to ride the streetcars and so my mother would remember this I remember when Michigan Avenue was paved so all those little railroad tracks in the middle I think we're just covered over I love the people walking in the streets my uncle used to wear hats like some of these men thank you all so much for the beautiful wonderful video in my mom was here she will chew you enjoy it again thank you so much for this video❤😂🥰👍
Grandparents were born in the 1910’s and 1920’s both sets. When this video was taken, it was a roaring time for their parents, I would imagine, as they were adolescents! So fascinating to see this! I was born and raised in Michigan and still live here. 2nd generation German and 3rd generation Polish. Mom is Polish, dad German. My Polish grandmother loved taking the street cars to Sander’s for ice cream puffs and shopping in Detroit. She was incredibly beautiful and classy. My Polish grandfather fought in WWII and was brought back on a Red Cross ship after being injured in Italy on the beach hit by shrapnel. He was awarded a Purple Heart. 💜 They lived on a farm only half an hour from Detroit. German grandfather owned an operated a battery business and had contracts with Ford and Chrysler. His best friend was a lawyer who my dad was named after. German grandmother worked at a school. German great grandfather who was in his prime at the time of this video was a professional wrestler (I couldn’t believe my ears when I heard that)! I wish I lived back then. Look how everyone is dressed! All about business and not so much Riffraff. Streets are clean. Life was better. I really enjoyed this. Thank you. I subscribed. ❤
Prosperity, back when everyone paid tax's and the only people receiving free money were actually handicaped. Everything sold in the US was made in the US with next to no imports of any kind. The people who don't work, don't eat and that's the way it should be, it worked.
My grandparents moved to Detroit from Texas to get a job at the new Ford and Chrysler factories and made a very good living for the times. My uncle owned a watch repair shop there. They lived in Highland Park when it was beautiful homes in tree lined streets. They had to move after the riots in the 60's.
I grew up in Detroit on the southwest side in the 70's and 80's. I always wondered what it looked like in the 20's through the 40's. Detroit was once the 4th largest city in the country. It was right up there with Chicago but, man, did it fall hard. It was tough growing up in Detroit. I'm not gonna lie about it but it had its occasional moments.
The opening sequence is from the year 1938/1939 on Michigan Avenue, traveling north by northwest away from downtown. The marquee on the movie house has "Kentucky" starring Richard Greene, which was released in December 1938 . The Triangle Cafe (later the Triangle Bar) was on the corner of Michigan and 3rd Ave.
Virtually every single car you see parked on the street was born in that city. Side note: where are all the waddling tubs of lard? Obesity is the norm today, sadly.
Scary how fat most people are today actually. I doubt most people could walk a mile or run a few blocks. Guess if they have to run, they would get caught first. I would be miles away!
@@toddaulner5393 You’re right. They don’t walk. They will drive around a parking lot for fifteen minutes looking for a close spot even if all they save is fifty steps.
@@birsay123 There’s absolutely no excuse for letting your body become a tub of lard. None. This is as bad as smoking and alcoholism. We, as a society, must stop coddling abhorrent, self-destructive behaviors. YOU are giving them a pass. That makes you an enabler.
@@EmilyTienne I’m giving them a pass? I’m not a gatekeeper giving out passes for social approval, like you seem to claim to be. Stop shaming and hating.
People could walk safely on the streets of the downtown area without fear of being shot, robbed, assaulted like now. There were lots of small businesses and stores in the past. I would love to visit the 1920s in a time capsule - the good old days. My parents were in their early or mid-teens at the time.
I wonder what those people who lived through the 1930s (their numbers are dwindling) would think to hear people referring to the Depression as the "good old days".
@@P3N_sketch23 - No one is saying that the Depression belonged to the good old days. I made the mistake of writing "1930s" instead of the 1920s. My error!
The first two minutes of footage looks like the north side of Michigan avenue & third or Cass Street going westward. In the 50s, they called it skid row. The rest of the footage looks like Dodge main in Hamtramck. It can't be the Ford plant in Highland Park because there is a '39 Dodge & a '36 DeSoto parked in the management lot at 4:27 through 4:33. No way would Henry Ford allow a non-Ford product to be parked on his property. Great video.
![Detroit, Michigan 1920s in color [60fps, Remastered] w/sound design added](http://i.ytimg.com/vi/-9FptqLUrSI/mqdefault.jpg)
![Detroit, Michigan 1920s in color [60fps, Remastered] w/sound design added](/img/tr.png)
![Christmas in Copenhagen 1930s - [COLORIZED] - Restored footage in 4K - 60fps](/img/n.gif)
Which city in the world would you like to live in the 1930s?
Detroit
Duluth, MN
Berlin
Los Angeles,
@@BarryWinner2075 nah Detroit
The first three minutes of this film takes place along Detroit‘s old Skid Row on Michigan Avenue just west of downtown. The movie Federal Manhunt is playing at the theater; it was released in 1938. Koblin’s Cut Rate is visible at 500 Michigan Ave. This whole area was subsequently cleared in an urban renewal scheme that was light on renewal.
Thank you for this work. I welcome more from Detroit, but enjoy them all!
Thank you!!
😘
Nah
Why is there no litter?
@@paleocon777 there are strong winds that Day
The color restoration has a realistic "grittyness" in this 1939 footage. Great work as usual NASS.
thank you very much ;;)
Agreed I love it! 👍
Thx!! ^^@@SecretWars98
some of the white skin came out ghostish in the beginning like they were covered in Noxzema but I only noticed a little unless its that time traveler I saw
@@robert48044 And he was really studying the camera guy.
Notice how many of one type of business that you rarely see anymore? Repair shops of all kinds. Shoe, machinery. Household goods. Not a throwaway culture back then.
That was a great observation I noticed the same thing repair shops nobody repairs anything anymore how we waste resources nowadays👍🏼😎🇨🇦
Just seeing ANY business in Detroit is rarely seen anymore.
@@argopunk Well from what I understand just seeing anything in a large portion of Detroit is surprising.
Yup. Before the era of planned obsolescence and the consumer landfill economy.
Jeff: I have lived in SE Asia for over 22 years now. There is a large mixture of all types of businesses on every block, just like in this video. That's because we don't have zoning commissions that tell a person where they can & can't set up a business and what type.
You drive down a street looking for a place to set up your business, see a for rent storefront, and contact the owner and see if you can come to an agreement on the monthly rental.
No environmental impact report, architectural sketches, how much room you'll be able to provide for off-street parking, blah blah blah! Just more govt interference/ruling/ control of your once believed "freedom's" that you've lost without even having your voice heard at a city council meeting that's now monitored by the FBI because you'll get labeled as a trouble maker/anarchist/militant.
The clarity of this is amazing. You can read all the signs clearly and see lots of detail in the people and vehicles.
Whoever Filmed This, WANTED To Save This City Scene For Posterity. Taking Their Time Moving More SLOWLY To Show The Crammed Shops And The Dirty Car Bottoms. VERY GOOD Restoration Of The Film Indeed.
It won't be long, when these films will be even clearer & in 3D VR. Goggles on to be IN there!
I know what you mean. Half of those signs are still there, but they're illegible now. Feels so weird to see what they were like new.
My grandpa was born a farmer in Clear Lake, Iowa in 1905. He came back from the army in 1925 and returned to the family farm until the Depression, when the price of corn fell so badly, that they could no longer support themselves by farming. Grandpa had MANY stories about going to Green Bay, Detroit, and Chicago, and doing any job he could find, no matter how short or how menial, and send the money home to his family -My Grandma and aunts -Mom wasn't born until after the war. He ended up working pretty much full time in the Chicago Slaughterhouses from about the time of this footage until the War started. His stories about the slaughterhouse were hair-raising. He saw men get cut and bleed to death, and other guys die in worse ways. He was a tough old bird, and I was lucky enough to have him in my life until 1986, when I was 24. It is fascinating to think that he could be in some of this old footage, or maybe just someone he knew. I miss the old folks. Thanks for this....
People whine about OSHA, but for every regulation I can guarantee several people died that led to it. Factories during the Second Industrial Revolution in the U.S. were death traps.
I know what you mean about missing people from those generations! People really knew how to rely upon themselves while looking out for others at the same time. My grandfather grew up as an orphan in the early 1900’s and went on to become a millionaire sometime in the 1960’s and, because he was such a regular Joe, so to speak, I never knew that until after he died. Never drove a flashy car or had a big house. He wore regular old work clothes everyday, very, very rarely ever went out to eat. Most folks from that era just weren’t captivated by material things.
Yes sir it was these folks who raised up the greatest generation my grandfather was also from this time he was raised with morals and respect I too was lucky to have him in my life until the age of 17 but if it wasn't for the things he taught me I wouldn't be who I am today it's a shame the way our country is going and how people act today our forefathers would be disappointed
It’s amazing the stuff you are putting out lately from the source material to the restoration. Honestly, one of the best channels on YT.
thank you very much ;)
The late 1930's...Detroit was on it's way to becoming one of the great major cities in the United States. A roaring Auto Industry beckoning with job opportunities that would see people from all over the country and from all walks of life move to the city. I would give anything to time travel back and witness what it was like if only for a week or two.
Me too. I want to experience the 1930s and 1940s.
and I wouldn’t really like to go back to those years, since there wasn’t the comfort that we have now
Detroit's prosperity peaked in the late 1920's. Once you got past 1929 you started to have problems with Communist influence and labor unions. By 1943, you had the 1st race riot. The city's great buildings and institutions had already been built and established by 1929.
@@ednorton47 True, Detroit is a city of the 1920's, not so much the '30's.
Detroit would've stayed flourishing had it not been for the racism..
I've lived in metro-Detroit for 53 years. I've always wanted to go back in time to see Detroit as my grandparents did. This is very appreciated.
My great grandfather, along with his siblings and parents emigrated from Hungary to Detroit in the 1920s. He became a presser for Ford. I still live in mid Michigan and will never leave. This video is amazing to me! Thank you so much, as I've never been able to meet any of my family members from that side, as my grandfather killed himself whilst my mother was a toddler. This makes me feel what they lived and breathed!!
This was both amazing and heartbreaking.. everything looks so new and clean and hopeful.. would love to see an "now".. of a camera going down the same streets..., same angles..
Really enjoyed watching this. All my grandparents were living and raising families in Detroit at this time. Most of my aunts and uncles were born by the late 30's, though my parent's didn't come along for a few more years. My paternal grandmother always talked about how wonderful Detroit was back in the day.
Thank you
My Grandparents too, my father was born in ‘36
My great grandfather was an editor and foreign correspondent for the Detroit News
@@elizabethowens8548 Nice, my Gramdmother worked for the Macomb Daily years ago. Not even 100% sure if that paper still exists. It was still around when my family moved away in the early 80s.
I was looking for my grandparents in the crowds. No dice.
I’m French but I’ve been to Detroit several times. Since the city didn’t evolve as much as others in the country, and a lot of places have simply been abandoned, you can feel some of this energy from ancient times that hasn’t really been built over like everywhere else. Despite what everyone says about this place, I found Detroit to be one of the most fascinating cities I ever traveled to. It has some mythical aura to it especially in the center. It feels like a time portal sometimes which is really rare for a Western city. I hope you do more videos about them because it’s really a perfect fit for your work. Great job!
thank you very much
It has nothing to do with not evolving. It was mismanaged with stupid democrat policies in the city itself and throughout the country.
@@ban80Yes, destroyed by Democrats like other once great American cities
@@ban80 Its multifactorial. But yes, very poor management.
Great description. It feels just enough that way, that it makes you yearn to see what it was really like at its zenith. So close, yet so far.
I truly love when people see the camera and they have no idea that one day they would be famous on this thing we call the internet & TH-cam! They are a staple in time. Thank you NASS.
Thank you
I thought the same thing!
Amazing !!!!!!!!!!!
What always haunts me about these old recordings is the realization that all of the adults have since passed away. It's like watching ghosts,kinda cool.
Bro that's exactly what I thought too. About 3 minutes in I realized every single human in the video has since passed away. Well, I guess there could be a few still hanging on, at like 106 years old or so. Probs not tho... But hey, everyone you know one day will die. It's one thing we all have in common I suppose.
I wonder where all those dead bodies ended up
Detroit was one of the wealthiest cities in the country back then. Nice video.
Atleast it's got diversity now, so much better
Most diverse cities are worse off in many countries. Look what the black population have done to all these great cities. Just facts!
I wonder what happened that made it so terrible today?🤔
@@ban80the jobs left
@@ban80 90% black, I wouldn't call that diverse
Nass, Love your channel. The Mobsters nicknamed "The Purple Gang" ruled Detroit Underworld in the 1920's with their bootlegging, extortion and murder but sometime in the 1930's they started to fizzle out due to infighting. They had strong allies including the Al Capone syndicate in Chicago! Plus, I like the men's dress-style in the 1930's with their nice fedora hat, nice suit and nice shoes-It made a nice, snappy look! Thanks for the upload.
Hi!! Thank you
@@NASS_0 You are very welcome my friend. 😊
Were they Italian?
@@chickenalaking1319 The Purple Gang were mostly Jewish Mobsters. They were the Detroit dominant gangsters in the 1920's and early 1930's.
These remastered videos are incredible. As I looked at a portion of Michigan Ave I noticed that only one of those businesses is still there. Its Sams Pawn Shop. The automotive companies ruined the landscapre in many ways. Getting rid of the Street Car was a bad idea.
Crazy how a lot of these folks seen the turn of the century from wagons and horses to automobiles and airplanes.
And broadcast radio.
My parents were born in the very early 20th century and often spoke of the changes they saw. Hell, my wife’s grandparents were born in the late 19th century and her grandfather fought in WWI. They had stories to tell.
Some lived to see spacecraft too.
@@MajorSeventh Indeed and television too.
There were even still a few veterans of the Civil War alive at that time, too.
I grew up in Detroit, watching this was kind of shocking these people have so much class. The streets are lined with new cars and the people you see are upscale, businessman, and workers in the shops. The areas that you’re looking at the main areas are Gratiot Avenue, Grand River Ave. and Woodward Avenue.
Very interesting to see the workforce, devotion, work ethic, and quality of these people,
These are our grandfathers Fathers, lol, and it would be safe to say that every single one of these people that you see in the videos are deceased.
I went to Detroit about a year ago, drove around. Detroit has been. “Coming Back” for 55 years. It’s a roller coaster ride. It’ll never be what it was EVER AGAIN!
And with this new generation, you can forget about it.
This before the blacks moved in
The lowly working class filled the factories - maybe that’s why you only see a few white collar folks milling about.
Today there’s no factories to fill. Whose fault is that?
@@dwayneball579 Black people didn’t cause the initial problem. Detroit was 50/50 in the 80’s, where “white flight” as the city called it was taking place, mostly because the City STOPPED caring about EVERYTHING. Anybody that cares about their house and their city would move up because the city did not enforce any zone laws. They allowed Hundreds of thousands of abandoned to sit for the following 20 years during Coleman Young’s era, then the next idiot to rape the city was our famous thug Mayor Kane Kilpatrick, as he took was
Little was left. You could literally do anything in the city of Detroit and get away with it if Detroit just ran the city like a normal city issuing violations for people that abuse their own property, the city would be together in no time, doesn’t help that we have a President that could care less about inner cities, and this is one of the ones that are always suffer because of it. Detroit will never be anything ever again.
Detroit will NEVER regain its previous atmosphere until some serious attitudes are changed. There is a serious social divide that is repelling. It is a complicated and volatile issue that is hard to explain without causing violent reactions. But the truth can be brutally frank because it sometimes brings up issues that offend people, no matter how true they are.
Much of the social problem can be traced back to around 1962 when Michigan had a healthy economy due to a strong tax base, particularly in Detroit. It was at that time that the State of Georgia under George Wallace wanted to take a number of Welfare recipients off the roles, and the State of Michigan took them in. There were several single parent families, mostly unwed mothers with children from different fathers on the Georgia Welfare roles. These households had no father figure/role model, and the school system provided that to a degree. But after three generations, and a succession of illiteracy, there is a generation living in poverty due to limited work skills due to poor education. This has produced anger and hostility that has seriously affected the atmosphere in Detroit.
As noted in this, and previous videos, in times when we had less, there was more regarding social skills and common courtesy. Now, major store chains do not want to have their stores within the neighborhoods of Detroit because they are not appreciated. There has been theft, vandalism, and unruly conduct on the part of customers. Once there were about 100 supermarkets in the city of Detroit. Only recently have Meijer's and Aldi's invested in the city, but not to any large degree because of the risks involved. But this is not limited to Detroit. Three years ago while on a house search, I stopped in at an Aldi's on Gratiot in Hazel Park. I had to use the restroom, and it was not accessible. I had to ask for a Security Guard to unlock it, and was made to wait several minutes. In short, when people act like animals, they get treated like animals. I am NOT an animal.
Detroit was under Republican rule and politicians couldn't unite to push a transit infrastructure multiple times.
In addition to the racial animosity to Black people, segregation made it worse whoch erupted into riots of 1943.
White flight fled into the suburbs and built highways over neighborhoods into downtown and especially over black business neighborhoods.
Companies wanted to evade city taxes, and further segregation with a disappearing industry with dwindling tax base.
The more you read and learn of the atrocities that some try to hide or ignore...
What a great snapshot into the era...the businesses small and large and the people showing badges to enter the factory to the skid-row views of the depression. Thank you for sharing your excellent work.
Thank you ;))
At one point Detroit was the 3rd largest city in America. My grandmother came here in the 1940's for work. She was born on the kitchen table in a dirt floor shack in Kentucky. She only had a 3rd grade education. She worked in a munitions factory and made parts for the bombs dropped on Japan. After the war she worked at Chrysler as an inspector. Since she was short she inspected the wiring in the trunk. She owned 3 homes and retired with a full pension. She had her dream home built in Florida where she lived out her days.
Great story!. I wish i could have lived back then.
She truly lived the American Dream! May she Rest In Peace🙏👍💪👌😎
@@terrypikaart4394you really don't
She ever make it back to Kentucky?
@@paulgoble5678 Yeah she still had family there. She had 8 brothers and sisters. Some of them moved here some stayed there. I remember visiting her brother in Virginia. They had 1 working lightbulb and an outhouse. I'm from the city and never experienced anything like that before. My grandfather was from Kentucky too.
Okay, took a few minutes, but this is beginning of April, 1939. The Lyric movie theater at 1:12 was located at 421 Michigan Ave. and was playing Lone Star Pioneers, part of a movie series about Wild Bill Hickock starring Wild Bill Elliot. More importantly, at 1:24, the movie theater on the right is the Loop Theater, 418 Michigan Ave. Playing are Kentucky with Loretta Young, and a B-movie on the bottom half of the bill, Federal Manhunt, which played there at the beginning of April for a few days. There are some nice photos of the Loop if you search the name of the theater, Michigan Avenue, and Detroit, Michigan on Google. Virtually none of this exists anymore, not a single building. THAT'S progress.
Hi!! Thank you ;)
Thank you for providing the timestamps. But just as important is the in-depth knowledge you provided. Your extra efforts are appreciated.
@@MeMyselfAndUs903 You appreciating the effort is appreciated :)
From 1946 thru the early 1950~s we used to go to the loop and the time square but never the lyric.
DEMO C RATS got control - the LITTLE MAN and his demands killed Detroit - to bad - thats why you never vote for Communist!!!
Toda mi admiración por lo que hacen. Recopilando y emitiendo éstas imágenes. Muchas gracias.Desde España 🇪🇦
What a beautiful solid cars! The nice memories of old cities. A lot of little private business. I love that!🤔🥹As always historical footages,thanks!
Thank you very much
It's proven that these "solid cars" were more dangerous. Not enough crumple zone. In fact, the Tesla Cybertuck is thought to have the same problem.
@@13MAM13 lol
@GFY11 you are what is wrong with the country
You could get a car in any color you wanted as long as you wanted the black one...
i love these videos man. thank you for the work
thank you very much ;))
This is one of your best reels to date, among many other excellent examples. Just the pace of the people moving around, plus the very high quality of the imaging made this one almost supernatural. My folks and most of my family lived in Detroit 1905-1940ish. Plenty remained in Detroit through the 70's.
The portion of the video with everyone hopping off the street car and going to work is (I’m 99% sure) the Ford Highland Park Plant. Designed by Albert Kahn and where over 15 million Model Ts were made. It is situated along Woodward Ave where the street cars used to run. The plant is now abandoned but some of the structures are still there in Highland Park (a city within Detroit). I drive by it all the time. It is a National Historic Landmark.
The stretch of Woodward Avenue in Highland Park is also home to the now unused McGregor Public Library. My father as a ~ 10 year old played a violin recital there in the 1930's. He was a student of Charles Ambelides, then concertmaster of the Detroit Symphony Orchestra. In any case, the bronze double doors of the library are among the most wonderful of any art deco pieces I've seen. I really hope they can reopen the library. However, H.P. is much worse off than Detroit.
Excellent observations. I believe the 4 stack factory and train sequence is the Ford Rouge plant near Michigan and Miller Road. I lived 2 miles from it in my teens. Would you concur?
@@MrFullServiceH.P. is a corrupt SHITHOLE
That is definitely a Kahn building. It looks just like one in my home town, a little further north...
@@revon0521 I do concur. It is unmistakable.
Love the sign "Guns-Typewriters"
Yes, really cool. Firearms where everywhere and no shootings, with only mafia types being the exception. With today's rampant mental illness, even allowing folks to drive cars or own kitchen knives is a risk
Remington made typewriters and pistols in WWII.
Wow, what a fantastic job, Nass. Keep up the great work. JoAnn
Thank you ;)
At 1:28 - “Kentucky”, starring Richard Greene and Loretta Young, released December 1938.
yes 1938!!
Which could mean this was filmed in the winter, maybe as late as February 1939.
Richard Gere went on to a successful career
Detroit was beautiful and safe back then.
Detroit had gangsters, drugs, prostitution, gambling and juke joints.back then to!...And thirty years later a full on race riot! Ten to twenty years later yt flight because of the first African American mayor Coleman Young and in 1983 government war on urban cities invaded Detroit thru the government sponsored and directed cocaine(crack) war. To further destroy people of color. 30 years after that pills and meth hit the trailer parks and yt suburbia. When was America great?!
Yes safe for the purple gang
Yes and like most big cities, from the 1800's on, we had the occasional riot.
Ha, it was never safe. The 47 riot was just one of them.
The 1967 riot was the straw that broke the camel's back. All the major businesses left Detroit (Uniroyal, Vernors, J.L. Hudson's) and the white flight began. It was at one time not long ago as the most polarized racial area in the world. Detroit was 90% black and 10% white while the suburbs were 90% white and 10% black.
Hello from Melbourne,.Australia! 🇦🇺
Absolutely love your work! You are beyond phenomenal. Thankyou for taking us back to these times with exceptional clarity.
LOVE,.LOVE LOVE YOUR WORK. Thanks again for your hard work and dedication to bring us these gems of history.
thank you very much!!
Thank you for posting this. My father was born in Detroit back in 1929. I can't help but feel what I've seen today he saw back in the 1930's .
My dad was too, back in 1928 at Herman Kiefer Hospital.
Thank you again for everything you do and cheers from New Brunswick Canada👍🏼😎🇨🇦
Thank you
I grew up in northwest Detroit in the early sixties , love looking at this video and seeing all the mom and pop stores from the 1930's on Michigan ave....a snippet in time.
Skid row -- yet even there, everyone has a suit and hat on.
Indeed and it's global too, people in China, Japan, Germany, France, all countries changed from formal wear to casual wear in public around the same time. It has to be one of the most fascinating changes in global culture in the 20th century.
Interesting how few women were out. Men went to work and provided, women kept up the home and raised the family.
The coloring looks unnatural. But still cool to see
Better class of people back then. Even the poor had common sense and a sense of decency.
@@warmonger1362 It was also that punishment was handed out by the community where today it is handed out by authority which is very light handed.
Aside from the superb restoration, the audio is just the ticket. I imagine that part takes quite an effort to recreate. Well done and SUBSCRIBED!
I was trying to figure out exactly where these videos were taken. The only street sign I see in the first street clips is a sign for US-112. That is now Michigan Avenue near downtown. The other clue is a quick clip of a place named the "Triangle Cafe." There are a number of triangular lots along Michigan Avenue between 1st Street and Griswold Streets that could give rise to that name. You can also see a street number on the big pawn shop @1:12, which is 412. If we assume that they are still on Michigan Avenue, that corresponds to the northwest corner of Cass & Michigan; so, if I had to guess, it was taken heading West (assuming most people are walking towards downtown) along Michigan Avenue somewhere between Griswold and Cass. The 'low' character of many of the shops (cheap hotels, pawnshops, bars) are consistent with that area's reputation from back in the day.
I was looking for familiar places, too - but all I really absorbed were signs for Altes & Stroh's!
That’s US 12 (not 112) at least today
Its bc all of this is AI generation bro
Like another world compared to today. I love these vintage clips. Film resolution is surprisingly good.
Great video! Lots of very good detail in this video. Excellent quality. The signs,vehicles and people are all so very interesting. Great prices on the advertised items along the main thoroughfare. There has, however, been some inflation since this video was shot....
Thank you
I am so thankful to the photographers in that time, who considered filming scenes like this.
Really makes me appreciate current day photographers even more, knowing that in the future their footage might be the only way to look back at how we live now.
Thank you for making these video's
Thank you very much
@@NASS_0 Great work, A+ to you! 👍😀❤️😺
That was one of your very best clip ever. Sharp, evocative, informative and vivid. Thanks!
This is how the streets still looked in the 50s and early mid 60s. By the late 60s and early 70s you could see the culture change, drug users and dealers were trashing everything.
Drugs exploded around the mid 60s EVERYWHERE
You mean the culture change of investing in Detroit to stealing all the resources out of Detroit to subsidize idiotic suburbs that never could pay for themselves? Yeah, I noticed that culture change to the suburban parasites too!
Called blacks
As a youngster I remember going to Hudson's and to Crowley's where the escalators still had no stairs, just the wooden slats. Ladies in high heels had to stand on their toes on those escalators. Also, Olympia Stadium. Detroit was actually a real city then.
@@brandonbell5357 What is the weather like in Moscow today, comrade?
Thank you for posting these.
Very realistic!!! Great restoration job, man! ❤😊👍👍👍
thank you very much
This was so relaxing and soothing on top of being interesting. Ty so much for no commentary or music. That was such a treat.
A rarity. Stock footage FACING FORWARD in the vehicle instead of looking back. And what clarity. Your work gets better and better.
thanks!! ^^
AS A CAR NUT............ this film has to be darn close to 1938/39 based on the newest car seen. Possibly a car from 1940 (behind the fence @ 4:27). The headlights are the big give-away. Exterior tear drop headlights are usually pre 1940.
Little did they know how the world would change very soon.
yes 1938! thank you very much
Madre mía!!! Es un experto,!!!!
It's April 1939 to be exact.
@@NASS_0 1939, April to be exact. See my post up top.
just curious......how did you know......what was the give-away@@haineshisway
The first 3 minutes of this is the 500-600 block of Michigan Avenue. You can see The Salvation Army Headquarters in some of the shots. But from the cars in the video, it looks more like the late 1930's than the 1920's. And, at least the first 3 minutes would be prior to 1938 when The Salvation Army's Headquarters moved to Bagley and Second.
thank you very much!
You're welcome. Always happy to help. @@NASS_0
Cuánto sabe!!! Es usted de allí, supongo. Qué interesante. Yo soy de 🇪🇦 , me encanta la historia, el cine, todo...todo me interesa.
Not quite. All the footage for the first three minutes are from the beginning of April 1939, which is when the double bill of Kentucky and Federal Manhunt played to Loop Theater at 418 Michigan Ave.
You're right. The cornerstone for the Bagley building was laid in 1938, the dedication was 1939. @@haineshisway
Wonderful work on the colourisation, definitely adds to the ambience. Felt as if I could step into the scene. Thanks so much for sharing.
Thank you
I love the Altes Beer truck in front of the liquor store at 1:56 and the Stroh's Bohemian Beer sign on the street car at 3:45.
Yeah that's pretty cool I have an altes beer opener.The only Eastern Beer Made in the West
@ihave35cents95 Strohs was a OK Beer.Altes was Belly wash,Nasty.
@@richardtrudeau7363 never had one, but the bottle opener is very nice
It’s a shame how far Detroit has fallen, even in the early 80s it was much nicer than it is now. My grandparents managed an apartment building in Detroit in the early 80s. On Fridays we’d go to A&W for hotdogs and root beer floats, theyd bring out the trays that hung on the windows and we’d listen to a game or the news on the radio. After I ate I’d play with the other kids that didn’t want to sit in the car anymore, love those memories. We moved out of Detroit in 1984, my grandpa said it was because it was getting bad fast and he was right. I’ve driven around those old neighborhoods and they’re nothing like I remember, I wouldn’t let a kid play where that A&W was these days.
Love your videos, thanks!😊
thank you very much ;)
Check out that old AAA tag at 0:16! This is really high quality footage
Thank you for posting , loved it 💯🧐🤨😆🤣 but was that George Baily , AKA Jimmy Stewart crossing the street?
thank you very much
Sure was and Violet was a few steps ahead of him!! 😄
Wow,being a big History/Sociology buff,I find this utterly fascinating!
Thank you for sharing this gem of a video!
They really hit alot of peaks with style that era
I was just a kid in the 50s. Detroit was wonderful. I lived in a city north of Detroit. Gratiot Avenue was awesome. We'd go to Sanders and Federal's department store near 7 mile road. Woodward had/ has beautiful theatres. Since 2020 I won't go down there. Such a shame.
People were thinner back then. My grandparents lived in Detroit during that time.
People Ate Less Because Of Less Income, And Were A More Normal Size During The Ending Of The Depression Years Before WWII. And The Greasy Fast Food Joints Hadn't Evolved Yet To FATTEN People Up...
Dirty Rockefeller chemicals weren't introduced yet to the public. UN codex Alimentarius.
@@davemckolanis4683 People ate better quality food, they eat too much and eat too much processed food today. They are also far less active today.
@@davemckolanis4683 People in Mexico today have far less income then Americans but have a worse weight problem. Income does not equal healthy diet
You Aren't Telling Us ANYTHING That We Don't Already Know About Dietary Habits And Exercise TODAY. People Didn't Go Out Jogging In The 19390's Or Have Health Clubs. This IS NOT ABOUT MEXICO EITHER. Stay On Topic...
Oh my, this was wonderful to watch, love this so much. Such talent to create this.
Thx ;))
Incroyablement enrichissant !! 👍🏻👍🏻👏🏻👏🏻 Merci ! 🙏🏻
Merci à vous 😊
It's amazing we can restore these
I see a certain Demographic in this video that left Detroit a long time ago. The one that remained tore it down.
America from it's very founding, was and is today a deeply racist country. Institutionalized racism that favors one race over others is what spelled Detroit's doom.
All men and women wore hats, dressed modestly and mostly in black. My mother and Dad met around this timeframe in Detroit on Belle Isle. What a time to be alive. No one is heavy set, all are courteous. Working class
Like And Share Please!
Anything in the works for the Wash. DC area thats not just statues and historic sites but actual business or neighborhoods.
I can't figure out what street US/MI 112 is today and and 3minutes it looks to be a Ford plant in Highland Park. At the 7 minute mark is either Highland Park or River Rouge plant. One thing is for sure, Detroit was ALIVE and KICKING.
Would absolutely love to see the exact same video today. What a great era to live in. Imagine a Qline that went everywhere.
I'm always amazed at how tightly they parallel parked those old tubs without benefit of power assists and automatic transmissions. (Maybe it wasn't quite as taboo to touch bumpers in the process as it is today?) One nit-picky item: The whistle of the approaching steam locomotive at the end is definitely a European-style "tea kettle" engine whistle, not a full-throated American one.
Just wow. So amazing to have footage of this in such clear quality.
Thank you!!
This is Detroit before section 8 housing destroyed it...
These amazing films are a moving testimony to the past and we are so grateful for their production. What a rare glimpse into the history of the common population and culture. Thank you!
Ahhh yes, the once beautiful Detroit. In 1961 it was the wealthiest city in the United States, and in 1961 a particular party took over and has completely been in control ever since, and look at it today.
Yes. It's a city on the move right now. If you've driven thru it lately, you can't help but notice all the big cranes all over the skyline, with new construction happening everywhere. People are now moving back to the city instead of away from it.
@@riverraisin1 So the crime has gone down and its now booming? Oh, news to me and I think everyone.
Surely the US takeover by neoliberals, the Vietnam war, fiat currency, popularity of overseas car manufacturers, industrial decline might be factors?
@@l3eatalphal3eatalpha True, that has all happened, but to the rest of the country as well then. Very few cities are dangerous 5th world disaster zones. Baltimore quickly comes to mind though. Oh wait! That place has been run top to bottom by a particular party for the last 40+ years as well.
True statement there, duplicated among many cities. Yet you will still have people defend that party even in the light of the joke we have in office at the date I type this.
Saw a 39 Ford coupe in there unless it was an early 40 model. they look alike. Excellent video as usual!
Hi!! thank you very much!
Some of the people walking on the sidewalk turn black and white for few seconds, it’s kinda trippy
It happened a lot back then....😋
All I can say is thank you so much for the video about Michigan way back in the thirties I am an old lady now I'm 77 years old my mother was born in Allentown Pennsylvania on a farm my grandparents had seven children they came to Michigan 1939 so my mother would remember some of this stuff my mother never drove a car till she was 6 years old and she was to ride the streetcars and so my mother would remember this I remember when Michigan Avenue was paved so all those little railroad tracks in the middle I think we're just covered over I love the people walking in the streets my uncle used to wear hats like some of these men thank you all so much for the beautiful wonderful video in my mom was here she will chew you enjoy it again thank you so much for this video❤😂🥰👍
Excellent video as always.
This video is truly amazing!
Thx!
To the person or people who decided to do a this to the old grainy black and white films .....
WE THANK YOU SO MUCH.
Grandparents were born in the 1910’s and 1920’s both sets. When this video was taken, it was a roaring time for their parents, I would imagine, as they were adolescents! So fascinating to see this!
I was born and raised in Michigan and still live here. 2nd generation German and 3rd generation Polish.
Mom is Polish, dad German.
My Polish grandmother loved taking the street cars to Sander’s for ice cream puffs and shopping in Detroit. She was incredibly beautiful and classy.
My Polish grandfather fought in WWII and was brought back on a Red Cross ship after being injured in Italy on the beach hit by shrapnel. He was awarded a Purple Heart. 💜 They lived on a farm only half an hour from Detroit.
German grandfather owned an operated a battery business and had contracts with Ford and Chrysler. His best friend was a lawyer who my dad was named after.
German grandmother worked at a school.
German great grandfather who was in his prime at the time of this video was a professional wrestler (I couldn’t believe my ears when I heard that)!
I wish I lived back then. Look how everyone is dressed! All about business and not so much Riffraff. Streets are clean. Life was better.
I really enjoyed this. Thank you. I subscribed. ❤
Prosperity, back when everyone paid tax's and the only people receiving free money were actually handicaped. Everything sold in the US was made in the US with next to no imports of any kind. The people who don't work, don't eat and that's the way it should be, it worked.
Beautiful work, everyone's movement is so fluid, like it was filmed yesterday.
3:50 the amount of people coming out of that streetcar is insane.
What An Amazing Video, How I Miss It,Not That Old But Got Out in 98'Shame Really, What Great Footage, Happy Holidays 🎄👍
I’m from Detroit area. That era would’ve been when my dad began his big band musical career. He played in Detroit and all over the country.
Maybe he bought an instrument in that music shop in the video?
@@riverraisin1 I thought the same thing when I saw the trumpet in the window of that shop.
My grandparents moved to Detroit from Texas to get a job at the new Ford and Chrysler factories and made a very good living for the times. My uncle owned a watch repair shop there. They lived in Highland Park when it was beautiful homes in tree lined streets. They had to move after the riots in the 60's.
Geez, how many people fit into those trolleys??? It was like unloading a clown car 🚗🤣🤣🤣
They Really CRAMMED Them Inside Like Sardines Indeed.😂😂😂😂
Unbelievable! 48 people in that tiny little trolly, ...I counted 😊
@@ITcanB You May Have Missed The Midgets That Got Trampled Down Still Laying On The Floor.😂😂😂😂😂😂
Fellow Detroiter here; This footage in incredible!!! Great vibes. Loved the “open AI” hidden placement 😊
I grew up in Detroit on the southwest side in the 70's and 80's. I always wondered what it looked like in the 20's through the 40's.
Detroit was once the 4th largest city in the country. It was right up there with Chicago but, man, did it fall hard.
It was tough growing up in Detroit. I'm not gonna lie about it but it had its occasional moments.
Really wonderful clarity to this one and all those wonderful neon signs. I could almost feel like I could jump out onto that sidewalk.
The opening sequence is from the year 1938/1939 on Michigan Avenue, traveling north by northwest away from downtown. The marquee on the movie house has "Kentucky" starring Richard Greene, which was released in December 1938 . The Triangle Cafe (later the Triangle Bar) was on the corner of Michigan and 3rd Ave.
yes! 1938
My pops was born here in 1930. Amazing video recreation!
It’s crazy to think that maybe a viewers relative is getting off that trolly and they don’t even know it..
Woww Everything looked so clean prideful laid back n happy
Virtually every single car you see parked on the street was born in that city. Side note: where are all the waddling tubs of lard? Obesity is the norm today, sadly.
Scary how fat most people are today actually. I doubt most people could walk a mile or run a few blocks. Guess if they have to run, they would get caught first. I would be miles away!
@@toddaulner5393 You’re right. They don’t walk. They will drive around a parking lot for fifteen minutes looking for a close spot even if all they save is fifty steps.
The fact that you would refer to your fellow human beings as “waddling tubs of lard” says a lot more about you than it does about them.
@@birsay123 There’s absolutely no excuse for letting your body become a tub of lard. None. This is as bad as smoking and alcoholism. We, as a society, must stop coddling abhorrent, self-destructive behaviors. YOU are giving them a pass. That makes you an enabler.
@@EmilyTienne I’m giving them a pass? I’m not a gatekeeper giving out passes for social approval, like you seem to claim to be. Stop shaming and hating.
Interesting that almost 99,9% of the men have hats on. Also love how everyone is always dressed nicely.
People could walk safely on the streets of the downtown area without fear of being shot, robbed, assaulted like now. There were lots of small businesses and stores in the past. I would love to visit the 1920s in a time capsule - the good old days. My parents were in their early or mid-teens at the time.
I wonder what those people who lived through the 1930s (their numbers are dwindling) would think to hear people referring to the Depression as the "good old days".
@@P3N_sketch23 - No one is saying that the Depression belonged to the good old days. I made the mistake of writing "1930s" instead of the 1920s. My error!
This is awesome, love the nostalgic sceneries of Detroit
The first two minutes of footage looks like the north side of Michigan avenue & third or Cass Street going westward. In the 50s, they called it skid row. The rest of the footage looks like Dodge main in Hamtramck. It can't be the Ford plant in Highland Park because there is a '39 Dodge & a '36 DeSoto parked in the management lot at 4:27 through 4:33. No way would Henry Ford allow a non-Ford product to be parked on his property. Great video.
thank you very much
Really cool film full of interesting detail. I especially like all the advertisement!