A Look Back at Old Detroit, 1900-1955

Before we take a look at the gallery of vintage Detroit photos, here's a brief timeline from DetroitHistorical.org, 1700-1945:

1701 Detroit's rumblings begin when a trading post is established on the Detroit River; Detroit's first building is the Ste. Anne de Detroit Catholic Church

1750 Population: 650

1805 Fire burns down the whole city

1806 Detroit is incorporated as a city

1809 Population: 770

1828 Capitol building is built

1831 The (Democratic) Free Press newspaper has its first edition

1837 Detroit is named the capitol of Michigan up to 1847

1840 Population: 9,102

1845 The Detroit News rolls out its first issue

1848 State capital relocated to Lansing

1850 Population: 21,019

1860 Population: 45,619

1863 Anti-draft and race riot breaks out

1865 Detroit establishes a public library and police department

1870 Population: 79,577

1871 City Hall is constructed

1879 Belle Isle becomes part of Detroit

1880 Population: 116,340

1885 Detroit Museum of Art Detroit College of Medicine

1887 Detroit Symphony Orchestra

1890 Population: 205,876

1896 Charles B. King is the first person in Detroit to drive a car

1899 Detroit Automobile Company

1900 Population: 285,704

1901 Detroit Tigers formed

1902 Cadillac Automobile Company

1911 Chevrolet's first factory opens

1915 Founding of the Kiwanis Club

1918 Flu epidemic

1921 Detroit Historical Society

1927 Detroit City Airport Detroit Institute of Arts

1928 Detroit Zoo

1929 Ambassador Bridge built

1930 Detroit-Windsor Tunnel opens
Population: 1,568,662

1935 United Auto Workers labor union is established;
Tigers win the World Series

1940 Population: 1,623,452

1943 The Detroit riot

1945 Detroit Tigers win another Series

Oh, yeah, there's much, much more Detroit history. But for brevity's sake, those were just a few of the highlights. Now let's look at this vintage Detroit gallery...more to come!

MORE VINTAGE DETROIT!