Scarab Club Photo Ex Opens Today

The photo below  is on display in the Scarab Club's 2012 Photography Exhibition which opens today (No. 5 on the exhibit list), Wednesday October 17, and runs through Sunday, November 18.

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Artist reception is 6-9 pm,  Friday Ootober 19.

217 Farnsworth at John R, Detroit

(Directly behind the Detroit Institute of Arts)

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Maschinen No. 2

Detail of the Detroit River Tunnel Co. railroad crane.

This crane has no power of its own, but can be run by steam or compressed air from an external source. This is part of a new series entitled "Iron, Steel, & Steam."





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Help Save the Polar Express

Pere Marquette 1225

Owned and operated by the Steam Railroading Institue
Owosso, Michigan
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The photo above was taken on its last excursion in 2009, during which problems with the boiler were discovered. After a thorough inspection the boiler was deemed unsafe to continue operation and all remaining excursions were cancelled. The federally mandated 15-year inspection and rebuild was due soon, so the locomotive was taken out of service until it could be brought into compliance with all Federal Railroad Administration requirements. 

The rebuild, begun in 2010, is in its final stages but compliance is a monumental and expensive task and SRI still needs to raise $300,000 to complete the $900,000 restoration.

But,  a benefactor has pledged $100,000 if SRI can raise $200,000.  This $100,000 gift will not stay on the table long.  If you are able, please make a contribution. Any amount will be greatly appreciated; no gift is too small or too large. Every dollar counts.

Please help save the Pere Marquette 1225, the locomotive whose image and sound were used for the animated movie "The Polar Express." 

Scan this QR code

 

or click this link to Help Save the PM 1225 

and read more about this historic locomotive.

Then, please forward this to everyone you think will help preserve this valuable, irreplaceable, piece of Michigan and American railroad history.

Donations are tax deductible as allowed by law.

Michigan State Trust for Railway Preservation, Inc. is a 501(c)(3) nonprofit educational corporation

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Tap Room - Ypsilanti

Tap Room Bar

Ypsilanti, Michigan

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The landmark Tap Room Bar dates to 1941 and the building to 1850.

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Pegasus

 Pegasus Taverna

Greektown - Detroit, Michigan

A favorite night spot near the Greektown Casino in Detroit.

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Fishbones

Monroe Ave.
Detroit, Michigan
 

A favorite in Detroit's Greektown district.

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Now Showing at State of MInd Gallery - Northville

I'm pleased to announce that my work is now available at the State of Mind Gallery, 120 E. Main St. in Northville, Michigan. The gallery, owned by metal artists Joan Mulvehill and Lisa Robideau, showcases the work of more than 40 local Michigan artists.

Gallery Hours:

Mon -Thurs  10 am - 6 pm

Friday  10 am - 8 pm

Saturday 10 am - 6 pm

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The first Friday of every month downtown Northville comes alive and celebrates the arts during their popular First Friday Experience (formerly known as the Art Walk). As guests stroll downtown Northville's growing art district, they will enjoy a night filled with art exhibits (highlighting featured artists each month), art demonstrations and related events. Downtown Northville's participating First Friday Art galleries and stores are open until 9 pm with many of the businesses offering complimentary hors d' oeuvres and beverages for their guests as they browse or shop. 

I'll be in the gallery from 6 to 9 pm for this month's First Friday on October 5, so please stop in to say hello and see my display.

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Trail Bar - Vintage Neon

Trail Bar Vintage Neon Sign

Dearborn Heights, Michigan

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This classic neon sign with incandescent chaser on the now-closed Trail Bar in the Detroit suburb of Dearborn Heights probably dates to the post-war 1940s to mid 1950s.




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Tom's Tavern - Detroit

Tom's Tavern 

Detroit, Michigan

A favorite watering hole for students and
alumni of nearby University of Detroit Mercy.

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Prohibition was in full effect and W. Seven Mile Rd. in Detroit was a dirt road when founder Tom Lucas bought this little frame building and opened his "house bar" in 1928.

During its more than 80 years of existence, Tom's still stands, still thrives, despite a seemingly never-ending series of problems. Over the last dozen years it has endured and overcome deterioration from age and weather, fire, break-ins, cut water and gas lines, vandalism by scrap metal scavengers, and most recently an automobile crashing into the front wall that fataly injured a woman on the sidewalk. Its miraculous, yet always tenuous, survival is largely due to the steadfast loyalty of its customers. Whenever the place's existence has been threatened, they have come to its aid providing funds, materials, labor, or whatever was needed. The fragile frame has been repaired and rebuilt so many times that there isn't anything plumb, square or level in the place.

During the 1950s all the neighboring businesses on Seven Mile Rd.called it an eyesore and wanted it demolished. Today, they're all gone, and Tom's has outlive them all. One of the most popular times of year at the bar is the annual celebration of Babe Ruth's birthday. On other - more quiet and less auspicious - days, current owner Ron Gurdjian, who bought the bar from Lucas in 2001, is fond of retelling stories he heard from Lucas about prohibition, like how the infamous Purple Gang would supply its booze in a black limousine.




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Bronx Bar - Detroit: Just the Basics

The Bronx Bar

Detroit, Michigan

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Best guesses estimate that the Bronx Bar dates from the late 1930s, possibly 1937. That's the only uncertain thing, though, about this Second Ave. mainstay of the Wayne State University / Cass Corridor area. You can be certain of everything else about the completely unpretentious Bronx Bar. 

You can be certain to find:

No designer decor. Just an unassuming and mismatched assortment of stained glass hanging lights, fringe, and table lamps on the wooden bar along with other odd items collected through the years.

No dress code. They only require that you be clothed, even if it's only pajamas.

Nothing special at all.
  No special event nights
  No karioke
  No drink or food specials
  No happy hour
  No dancing
  No television
  No entertainment, save for one small pool table and one juke box.

No big prices. Beer starts at $2.00 and drinks run $3.50 to $5.50. If you want wine, it's served in a highball glass. Martini glasses? Forget about it!

Reasonably good bar food staples like burgers, fries, onion rings and sandwiches reasonably priced from $3.50 to $7.00 with reasonably sized portions.

Friendly people on both sides of the bar.

The best shot / beer / burger joint in the area. 




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Kowalski Kowality

Kowalski Headquarters

Hamtramck, Michigan

In 1920, Agnes and Zygmund Kowalski, who emigrated from Poland to pursue the American Dream, opened a small grocery store on Chene St. in Detroit. They wanted to bring their favorite Polish keilbasa and other sausages from the old country so a smokehouse was added to the store. Demand grew and new plant was built on Holbrook Street in Hamtramck.

The business has grown as it has passed to each succeeding generation. Adhering to Kowalski tradition, their secret family recipes and hardwood smoking process have not changed. Today, ninety years later, the company employs more than 100 people and Kowalski products can be found not only in the Detroit area, but as far as Indiana, Ohio, and Kentucky.

Vintage Kowalski Sign

on the closed Nortown Bakery & Deli building in Hamtramck.

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Spiralfeder

Spiralfeder

A detail study of the Detroit River Tunnel Co. railroad crane. 

This photo is part of a new series entitled "Iron, Steel, & Steam."

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Maschinen No. 1

 

Maschinen No. 1

A detail study of the Detroit River Tunnel Co. railroad crane. This crane has no power of its own, but can be run by steam or compressed air from an external source. This photo is part of a new series entitled "Iron, Steel, & Steam.

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Scarab Club Photo Exhibition

Maschinen No. 2

Detail of the Detroit River Tunnel Co. railroad crane.

This crane has no power of its own, but can be run by steam or compressed air from an external source. This is part of a new series entitled "Iron, Steel, & Steam."

This photo will be shown in the Scarab Club Photography Exhibition, 

October 17 - November 18, 2012. 

Artists reception is 6-9 pm,  Friday Ootober 19.

217 Farnsworth at John R, Detroit

(Directly behind the Detroit Institute of Arts)

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Elias Bros. Big Boy Drive-In

Big Boy Drive-In
Livonia, Michigan

Curb service at the Big Boy on Plymouth and Farmington Rds. was "curbed" long ago, but this sign remains as a dim, flickering reminder of the days of hot rods and car hops. This little-noticed sign at the Farmington Rd. entrance is probably the last Elias Bros. sign in existence. 

                      

In 1936, Bob Wian sold his prized DeSoto Roadster to purchase a small hamburger stand in Glendale, California which he named Bob's Pantry. One night one of his regular customers asked for something different. Bob went to work and created the first double-decker hamburger.

Customers couldn't get enough of Bob's burgers. One fan in particular was a chubby six-year-old boy in droopy overalls, little Richard Woodruff (1936–1986), also of Glendale. One day as Wian was trying to cook up a name for his new sensation, in walked Richard. Always happy to see him, Wian said, "Hello, big boy!" and the name stuck. Another frequent customer was Warner Bros. animation artist Ben Washam who sketched Richard's caricature on a napkin which became the Big Boy mascot.


Wian sold his very successful brand and chain to Marriott Corp. in 1967. By 1979 there were more than a thousand Big Boy restaurants in the U.S. and Canada, and about 20 franchisees. Shoney's, Elias Brothers and Frisch's—charter franchisees—controlled the vast majority.

Detroit's Elias brothers, Fred Sr., Louis, and John, who became the first Big Boy Restaurant franchisees in 1952, bought the chain from Mariott in 1987 and moved the headquarters to Warren, Michigan. They were exclusive worldwide franchisers of the Big Boy Restaurant system, which operated 925 Big Boys in the United States, Canada and Japan until declaring bankruptcy in 2000.

After bankruptcy, investor Robert Leggett, Jr. bought the chain and became CEO.  Immediately after the purchase, Liggett Restaurant Enterprises, dba Big Boy Restaurants International, negotiated an agreement with the other large franchise operator, Frisch's Restaurants, which granted Frisch's exclusive, perpetual ownership of Big Boy marks in Kentucky, Indiana, and most of Ohio and Tennessee. All other Frisch's territories transferred to Liggett. Big Boy International and Frisch's now are co-registrants of the Big Boy name and trademark. Thus, Frisch's is no longer a franchisee but essentially an equal owner with Liggett. Frisch's is the owner or franchisor of 118 Big Boy restaurants in the United States.

Still headquartered in Warren, Big Boy Restaurants International is franchisor for 126 Big Boy restaurants - including Bob's Big Boy - in the United States.



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Sanders - Ice Cream, Candy, Bakery

Sanders Ice Cream, Candy, Bakery

Detroit

Ghost sign on a long-closed Sanders store in Detroit.

Sanders candy has been a Detroit favorite since its founding in 1875.

Fred Sanders was a child when his family immigrated to the United States, but returned to Germany as as a young adult to learn the confectionery trade. He later settled in Illinois and started his first business in Chicago. After the Great Fire of 1871 destroyed his business - and most of the city - he moved to Detroit.

 On June 17, 1875 he opened Sanders Candy on Woodward Avenue. The business grew to be one of Detroit's largest companies, and Fred Sanders became one of the city's most prominent businessmen by the turn of the 20th century. Eventually, there were more than 57 stores and soda fountains in the Great Lakes states selling their candy, fudge toppings, and baked goods, as well as light lunches. Sanders soon became the leading confectioner in the region and started selling directly to national supermarket chains, as well as to other retailers in the area. 

In 2002 Morley Candy Makers, Inc. purchased the company. They continue to make Sanders candy, ice cream and baked goods using the Sanders recipes and operate several Sanders stores and soda fountains.


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