Detroit 1942

[cman710]

Considering that the first visible house on the left side of the street has almost certainly been modified, I do think that the number of window match. The problem is that the house with the higher peak is further down the block relatively in the original picture. It is difficult to tell in the new picture, however, whether the house with the higher peak is newer and perhaps changed since the 1940's.

[Detroitnerd]

It is difficult to tell in the new picture, however, whether the house with the higher peak is newer and perhaps changed since the 1940's.

My gut tells me that this was the original house on the street, due to the 19th century style of it [[non-bungalow).

Well, I guess it's off to the map division to check the fire insurance maps then!

[Detroitnerd]

I want to see the "Detroit vortex" thread again! How can I find it?

[old guy]

You can find the "Midtown Vortex?" thread here.

Here I believe.

[old guy]

Does this name ring a bell with anyone.
The photo is titled, Jack Dwyer playing castanets in beer parlor, Detroit, 41./FSA
Attachment 3956

Attachment 3957

[Detroitnerd]

I think I've seen Jack Dwyer's mustache on several 20-somethings lately.

[Stosh]

I'm going to go with MacCay street and Halleck. Home there is the same as the one in the photo, 3 windows in peak. 3 missing homes in between, then a house then a space then another house. The continuity in the arcitecture fits, in my opinion. But, I am doing this long distance.

[Detroitnerd]

I dunno, Stosh. I don't think there's enough extant of MacKay north of Halleck to say conclusively, though it could be. I'd want to look at the Sanborn maps to be sure.

As for Charest: Those dormers get changed or added, windows get switched, etc. With that in mind, is there anything in that picture of Charest that is a deal-breaker for you?

[Detroitnerd]

Also, is that a fire hydrant in the original picture? Those never change, and could be another good clue, if they vary enough in placement from street to street.

[Stosh]

Here's a sanborn of Halleck and Maccay. MacCay is running up and down. Note the vacant lot on the corner. Count houses till you get to the 2 story mid block.

Attachment 3960

[Detroitnerd]

Well I'll be ... that's a neat trick, Stosh!

Is that the 1950s series?

Also, do hydrants show on your map? If so, the plug across the street about five houses in would clinch it for me.

Looks like a keeper. Great work, and I'll snap a shot this weekend if I can find the time!

[Stosh]

I don't think it is a hydrant. Look at an enlargement:

Attachment 3961

It doesn't look like a hydrant. More like garbage or something else.

If you check the house, look at the side where that little window should be. The Bing view showed a discolored area where the window should be.
And the Sanborn is Detroit 1910-July1951vol.10,1915-Mar.1951, Sheet 101

[Detroitnerd]

OMG! It's the virgin Mary!

You're probably right that it's not a hydrant. I'll roll by and see if I can snap a shot next few days. Thanks again, Stosh.

[EastsideAl]

Nice work Stosh. Certainly seems plausible. On a slightly different note, man, that neighborhood west of Joseph Campeau disappeared quickly.

In trying to locate this picture I've been concentrating, like Detnerd, on the east part of the neighborhood over by Klinger, Gallagher, Charest, etc. So I was pretty surprised just now when I cast my Google Map eyes over to the other side of JC in response to Stosh's post and saw the emptiness. I haven't been over that way in a while, but I had friends who lived there into the early '90s on the Detroit side of Carpenter and it seems to me that that area was pretty much intact then. Damn.

[MikeM]

Do Sanborn maps show McClean Street open at Klinger? Do the houses match?

[Stosh]

OMG! It's the virgin Mary!

You're probably right that it's not a hydrant. I'll roll by and see if I can snap a shot next few days. Thanks again, Stosh.

Actually the more I look at that, it looks like a seated man.

[old guy]

Shopping at Crowley Milner Department Store, Detroit 1941/FSA photos
Attachment 3965

Attachment 3966

Attachment 3967

Attachment 3968

[Sludgedaddy]

The photo of the Polish neighborhood is probably most definetly the corner of Klinger and Halleck. Most of the newer homes were of the same style and built in the 1920's. The vacant lot across the street was filled in by two upper/lower duplexes which were moved there from Hamtramck. One was once owned by a Detroit Policeman of Ukrainian descent and used as a rental property into the 1980's before being sold to Bangledeshis. The policeman in question was a helicopter pilot for the DPW, whose name escapes me, but who attended my wedding in 1982.

Maybe Ray 1936 might know his name? His son was badly beaten by Albanians in the early '80's.

[1953]

Actually, that looks like a pretty good match. Assume the vacant lot became the store at far left. Next, presume the porch columns all became metal supports. Now, assume the second house in from the left in the original got a face lift of got rebuilt [[it looks smallish). Look at the rest of the peaks going to the right. They match almost dead on. Seven houses in [[or so) is the pitched roof we see at far right in the old and new shots alike. I'd guess this is a match, unless someone has some compelling evidence otherwise.

[Sludgedaddy]

Excuse my typo....in the above post DPW should read DPD...a police helicopter pilot.

[Sludgedaddy]

As the mists of memory have finally cleared, the officer's name is Joseph Golabek.

[Stosh]

Here's the other two contenders for the Polish housing race:

First is Klinger and Halleck.

Attachment 3970

While there is a vacant lot there in the photo, the lot on the corner of Halleck and Klinger is too far out of the scope of the photo to be in the 1941/2 shot. And McLean avenue intersects where there is a home in the original.

Next up is Charest and Halleck:

Another vacant lot, which seems to be a must. Right place for inclusion in the photo. 2 story home in original is not in the right place for the Sanborn.

Attachment 3971

I'm thinking that it's really a stretch to think that people modified their porches and dormers so much, especially when the modifications would have been more or less cosmetic. Pay attention to brick detail and porches as well. Those big brick porches would not have been torn out easily, if at all. Charest and Halleck seems to have a whole lot of remodeling going on, if that was the place of the original photo.

Have fun figuring it out.

[gregster]

I'm still not convinced that the photo is Charest or Klinger. I have been studying the Bing aerial maps, comparing house by house, and cannot convince myself that there is enough resemblance to the original 1941/2 photo.

By the way, at the beginning of this thread was another neighborhood street photo, but without the Halleck St sign visible. Is that photo of the same street? The houses in each photo appear different.

When this mystery is finally solved, one of us has to drive over there, stand on the exact same spot as the original photograph, and then snap the picture. I can then overlay the two with translucent effects, which makes for a very interesting comparison. I have done with with pics from 1930s vs. early 2000s.

[MikeM]

I'm still not convinced that the photo is Charest or Klinger.

I'm not either. I think it's farther west like MacKay. Good work Stosh!

By the way, at the beginning of this thread was another neighborhood street photo, but without the Halleck St sign visible. Is that photo of the same street? The houses in each photo appear different.

Yes it is. The first house in the first photo, with the dark siding and the shrub next to the steps, is the second in the close-up version in Old Guy's post #16 [[or the third house in the original version in my post #26).

[Jman]

Forgive me for wasting time and space as I had cataracts and now glaucoma but the first name that came to mind looking at the street sign is Wallace which is also in that general area. Anyone care to research Wallace?