Federal Building

"Dear Wystan, since I know you will eventually stumble upon this photograph can I just go ahead and preemptively ask for information about the Masonic Temple? Thanks!" (photo and quote by Phil Dokas)

Phil, I am touched by your faith in my proclivity for stumbling . . . . I also stumbled across this page from Jim Rees, who concurs with your aesthetic assessment of the Federal Building.

Even as the Federal Building was taking shape, witnesses realized that it was not going to turn out well. Its insipid obtrusiveness compounded the felony that had been committed already in removing the Masonic Temple and several inoffensive houses, merely so that several dozen USPS trucks could be parked on a barren lot behind. The building's greatest sin was that it was not special enough for the site. As a structure, it was obviously unworthy of the sacrifice that had been made in the loss of the Temple.

Notwithstanding the negative impact that the new building made on the public mood, and on the downtown streetscape, within a few months of its completion it received awards from the Michigan chapter of the American Institute of Architects, and from some kind of academy of masonry contractors. Coincidentally, these outfits appear to have represented the only people anywhere who actually profited from its existence. I read stories about their awards in the newspaper, and snickered. Everyone could see that the emperor had no clothes.

In a memorable sally, Ann Arbor News columnist Jane Myers referred to the glassed-in staircase bay out in front as "King Kong's shower stall." (DeLaurentiis' 1976 version of the King Kong movie was still fresh in memory.)

John Baird supplies this photo of the Frehsee "Corner House" Building, on State Street at Washington, another worthy contender for your "ugliest" honors.

submitted by Wystan Stevens

Beer delivery

The Library's new Local History page now features a local history blog with contributions by local historians. Here you can discover (and comment upon) interesting facts about Tree Town, stumble across obscure bits of local lore, and learn about events, organizations, and collections relating to Ann Arbor history.

Taken by Piotr Michalowski in May 2007

Packard St. bricks before they re-paved between Main and Division

In an image in 1789, the bricks were between the parallel lines of the car tracks. When the car tracks were taken up, the space between them was also disrupted, and then sometime repaved with bricks as on Detroit Street. The original street railway line consisted of two lines- one out Packard and one up Williams street to circle the campus, both connecting to the MC Station. I do not think the original 1890 street car line went out Huron, since the interurban to Jackson in 1901 had a fight with the Ann Arbor Railroad over the crossing of tracks on Huron, which were at grade. The Ypsilanti and Ann Arbor Street Railway, which was steam operated with a "dummy engine" was built in 1890 and operated from Main and Huron out Packard to Ypsilanti, ending on the south end of town at Harriet Street, which may have been the end of the horse car line, which did go down Washington Street in Ypsilanti.

--- Mark H.

Walter P. Reuther Library, Wayne State University.

Line squall blew over trees, tree roots broke gas line, house filled with gas, exploded, burned. Visible damage to house on right as well. The Ann Arbor News in 1959 labeled this storm "The Worst Ever to Hit Ann Arbor" -- but the newspaper's historical perspective tends to be limited to the memory of the oldest person on the staff at any given time . . . .

Chris Guthe was in University School with me then (Remember ‘U High’-Kindergarten thru 12th grade, associated with the U of M from 1924 to it’s demise in 1969?-Now School of Ed.) we were at the end of first grade then—- I remember the storm, it did scare us kids. The protocol during storms at school there was to sit on the floor of the hallways or to go down into the tunnels below the school, part of the U of M service tunnels—we used to sneak down in those, it was fun. As I recall Chris was telling people that a tornado destroyed his house.

Ruthven after he retired from the UM bought a house on the Huron out there on Fuller, not the cobblestone house but another house, and started raising Morgan Horses across the street where the Huron playing fields are now. If you will remember, the school didn't have playing fields for the first couple years as they had to buy Ruthven's land separately.

This explains the spatial disconnect between the school and the playing fields. The land on the other side of the school, towards the VA, is owned by the UM and there's a medical waste dump there so Huron can't go that direction for expansion or playing fields.

I do remember the horse riding stable on the other side of the river where the tennis courts club is now. There was a barn and a lot more wooded land which I guess is the golf course now. I had my first (horrifying) horseback riding experience there at age 11 or 12.

-- Fran Wright