Across the river today to the north shore for an interesting look at Hart Plaza and the RenCen under construction in this photo taken in March, 1976. Visible in the foreground is the fairly recently demolished Ford Auditorium.
Have a great weekend everyone, see you back here Monday.
Wow, the Ren Cen main tower is under construction, too. This was a major re-shaping of Downtown Detroit.
From this side of the river I always thought that the Ford Auditorium looked like a big speaker (eg should have Fender written in the upper corner). I never knew what it was until your post, and didn’t realize it has since been taken down. 2011 apparently.
Thanks for the image…did the curling roadway in mid frame used to attach to the parking section for Cobo Hall? I seemed to remember it either gazing cross the river or on the occasional tunnel trip.
In a way I miss the old “working” waterfront. My memory goes back far enough to remember things like the D&C liners tied up at the foot of 3rd St. (at the old Michigan Central freight house) after the line went out of business, the S.S. South America and North America in winter layup at the Georgian Bay dock on Atwater, and the CN ferries shuttling freight between Brush Street station and Windsor. It’s just not the same……
Nice picture of the evolving waterfront. Did rail lines run along the entire riverfront at one time?
They may have at one time, but I don’t remember them doing so. I believe from downriver, they stopped at the old MCRR freight house on Third, and from upriver, rails ran for a short stretch to GTW’s Brush Street Depot, serving the ferry dock and the Robin Hood Flour Mill.
I’ll need a memory check on this, but I believe upriver from Brush Street it was mostly residential, with the major industrial activity all being downriver.
WAY after the fact, but I was correct. Very little rail activity along the upriver side because the Belle Isle Bridge blocked most access to lakers.