I was impressed this week by a map of the Cass Corridor made in 1971 by the Detroit Geographic Expedition Institute, a short-lived but influential coalition of citizen geographers. (Thanks to Detroitography for collecting and reproducing a smattering of the maps that the DGEI produced, and to Model D for helping spread the word about Detroit cartography this week.) There’s a lot […]
The Cass Corridor in black & white Read More »
During the first decades of the 20th century, the El Moore changed from a luxury building with eight large and luxurious apartments to a building that was subdivided several times. By the mid-1920s, there were almost 30 apartments (more like single or double rooms with shared bathroom facilities) in the same space. Things went from
Voices of Detroit: The Great Depression Read More »
When the redeveloped El Moore’s first residents start moving in in early June, they might notice something interesting about the historic flooring in their apartments: See that distinct line at the bottom of the photo above? That’s where a wall used to be, before we removed it during construction. It’s now become a kind of remnant, a visual reminder of
What the floors say Read More »
The El Moore Project includes the renovation of the El Moore Building—an unique example of sustainable living, located at 624 W. Alexandrine in Detroit, Michigan, and the ongoing efforts of a private/public partnership between the Green Garage—whose mission is to offer opportunities for a sustainable workplace in Detroit, the City of Detroit, and local community
Voices of Detroit: Industrial Detroit and the El Moore History Read More »
During the 1840’s, Detroit’s population was around 2,000 people. Not exactly a bustling, booming metropolis like New York City, which boasted a population of 312,710 residents at the time. Not surprisingly, New York City was by far the largest, but even Charleston, South Carolina, which ranked as the nation’s 10th largest city in 1840, had
The El Moore was “Old Detroit” Read More »
At the time the El Moore was being designed and built at the end of the 19th century, Detroit was one of the leading manufacturing areas for railroad cars, including trolleys. Now, just a few blocks from the El Moore, rail transportation is coming back to the city. If you ask the developers who have
The M-1 Railway; what does this mean for Midtown? Read More »
As we chronicle the restoration of the El Moore and the development of the community around it, we often give the old building its own voice. It’s too bad Old Main doesn’t have a voice, because no doubt it would have quite a few stories to tell about how the surrounding neighborhood that is now
Old Main stands tall in a new Detroit Read More »
The El Moore is a residential apartment complex that is designed to be a model of urban sustainable living. The El Moore building, which was named the “El Moore Flats” at the time, is a carefully restored structure that was designed by renowned local architect A.C. Varney and built in 1898 by developer Charles W.
Voices of Detroit: The Arts and Crafts Movement in the Early 20th Century Read More »
