Designerguy24 Member Username: Designerguy24
Post Number: 103 Registered: 10-2006
| Posted on Thursday, January 03, 2008 - 1:31 pm: | |
For all you that miss the Downtown Crowleys I have found some pics of the building online enjoy them! http://dlxs.lib.wayne.edu/cgi/ i/image/image-idx?sid=4c1ab948 9563be2e8e79bfd07ea7b5e3&q1=Cr owley%2C+Milner+%26+Co.&rgn1=i c_all&op2=And&q2=&rgn2=ic_all& type=boolean&xc=1&g=samplegrou pic&view=thumbnail&c=aict&c=cf ai&c=dhhcc&c=djg&c=hcc&c=heart ic&c=hfhcc&c=hmcc&c=map&c=mbd& c=rcn&c=vmc |
The_rock Member Username: The_rock
Post Number: 2071 Registered: 11-2003
| Posted on Thursday, January 03, 2008 - 3:26 pm: | |
Nostalgic old photos, 24. I can still hear that old wooden escalator in my sleep. |
Treelock Member Username: Treelock
Post Number: 256 Registered: 03-2005
| Posted on Thursday, January 03, 2008 - 3:38 pm: | |
Wow that gigantic C on the facade was super cool. Where was this building exactly? |
Eric_c Member Username: Eric_c
Post Number: 1140 Registered: 11-2003
| Posted on Thursday, January 03, 2008 - 3:45 pm: | |
Sat on the property where the Compuware parking deck sits today. |
Bobj Member Username: Bobj
Post Number: 3541 Registered: 11-2003
| Posted on Thursday, January 03, 2008 - 4:14 pm: | |
Great pictures, it does make me sad to see all the buildings lost |
Goirish1966 Member Username: Goirish1966
Post Number: 39 Registered: 02-2007
| Posted on Thursday, January 03, 2008 - 4:55 pm: | |
nice photographs. i worked downtown from june of 65 until roughly the mid 1980s. i watched the building being demolished and was able to get a hollow tile brick from it. |
Jjaba Member Username: Jjaba
Post Number: 5889 Registered: 11-2003
| Posted on Thursday, January 03, 2008 - 5:34 pm: | |
Jewish clerks like jjaba's mother were only allowed to sell in the Basement Store at Crowleys. She worked there in the 1930s. She sold sundries. Rather than fight with the Goyim, many Jews opened up on their own. In 1963-65, jjaba worked in the shoe dept. at Crowley's Grand River/Greenfield. We had a storefront right on Grand Rvier with our own door. It was connected to the main store, West. Mr. Mankow, an original piece of work, was manager. He told jjaba that starting with shoes at the bottom, someday if he was good, he'd work his way up to hats. jjaba did stocking, mostly, keeping the wall of boxes organized. In those days, the money was kept in one of the shoe boxes, only known by Mankow. On both sides of long walls in the store, 1,500 boxes. jjaba finished grad school and never made it above socks. jjaba, thanks for the photos. |
Ragtoplover59 Member Username: Ragtoplover59
Post Number: 179 Registered: 09-2006
| Posted on Thursday, January 03, 2008 - 5:50 pm: | |
"jjaba finished grad school and never made it above socks." I know a joke about The_Rock is in there somewhere? After working at Hudson's in the late 50's, Mom spent some time working at Crowley's in the early 60's |
Jjaba Member Username: Jjaba
Post Number: 5892 Registered: 11-2003
| Posted on Thursday, January 03, 2008 - 5:53 pm: | |
Ragtoplover59, that was deep on the backroads of Grosse Pointe Woods, but not in winter, eh? The Rock received the same snowfall as everybody else. Trust jjaba, he wears socks today. jjaba, on the Westside. |
Ray1936 Member Username: Ray1936
Post Number: 2502 Registered: 01-2005
| Posted on Thursday, January 03, 2008 - 6:21 pm: | |
My job during high school and WSU was at Fromm's hardware, 8670 Grand River branch. Sold hardware and paint, cut glass and glazed windows, along with sweeping and mopping the floors. Used to dread delivery of 80 lb. sacks of ready-mix. Forgot to lock the back door once and heard about it for two months. Learned more on that job that was helpful in later life than all my classes at WSU combined. |
The_rock Member Username: The_rock
Post Number: 2072 Registered: 11-2003
| Posted on Thursday, January 03, 2008 - 6:47 pm: | |
Actually ragtop, I bought a lot of socks at Crowleys, and for some reason they always seemed to be mismatched, wrong colors and wrong sizes. I returned dozens of them. Now, some 40 years later, I know why. Turns out that jjaba was stocking socks! Looking forward to his apology. Just glad I didn't buy hats at Crowleys, as I was a Hughes Hatcher man. Ray36--Fromms hardware----Haven't hear that name in years. Great garden tools, well made in the USA. |
Sharms Member Username: Sharms
Post Number: 31 Registered: 07-2007
| Posted on Thursday, January 03, 2008 - 7:48 pm: | |
I worked in the men's department (shirts, underwear etc) on the main floor at the downtown Crowley's. Worked there two summers in high school. Directly across the street (Monroe?) was the National Burlesque Theater. Right next door was a very small Greek diner owned, I think, by two brothers. Had lunch there almost everyday and got to look at some of the "dancers" who would eat there as well. I've been gone from Detroit for many years but I remember my time at Crowley's. |
Douglasm Member Username: Douglasm
Post Number: 998 Registered: 10-2003
| Posted on Thursday, January 03, 2008 - 8:11 pm: | |
Jjaba.... ....When you said "money was kept in a shoebox..." did you mean overnight? When I worked for Raff's Shoes in Seattle, that's exactly what we did. The cash box was placed in a shoe box and the pair of shoes were placed on the sales floor as if they were on display. Each store had a designated place for their "display" shoes. Find the M/T, put the shoes back in the box and place your till..... |
D2dyeah Member Username: D2dyeah
Post Number: 87 Registered: 09-2005
| Posted on Thursday, January 03, 2008 - 8:40 pm: | |
I worked for Crowley's in the early 70's in the display department. We would walk around that store and explore and find things behind walls, covered up departments, signage, props, furniture,decades of old stuff. I don't think they ever threw anything away. Crowley's gave Hudson's a run for it's money, because all the old stuff was terrific. We once did a promotion for Gloria Vanderbilt Fabrics, the store was done up beautifully for her. The windows, fabric department everything. She was very impressed, gracious and appreciative. I was given the task of finding a gift for her. When I asked her what she would like, she said, " I saw a darling raincoat in Hudson's window ....could you get it for me?" |
Amiller Member Username: Amiller
Post Number: 14 Registered: 09-2007
| Posted on Thursday, January 03, 2008 - 8:42 pm: | |
the demolition... thats a shame, a fucking shame |
Jjaba Member Username: Jjaba
Post Number: 5893 Registered: 11-2003
| Posted on Thursday, January 03, 2008 - 8:58 pm: | |
Douglasm, exactly. We had a cash register but when we closed, the register drawer was open in front of the window and the money was in a shoe box. Mr. Mankow knew where it was, but jjaba never did. Yours is a good routine, use a different box each night and put those shoes on display. That way, you could find the box by the shoe idents. jjaba loves to ask for a nice 485 when he shops shoes. If you know what that means, jjaba gives you a prize. Maybe if the Rock knew a 485 shoe, he'd get the correct socks to match. Rock's problem is easy, he only wears socks 4 months a year and he forgets which size to order. jjaba knows how to match socks with shoes, pants, and underwear. LOL, The Rock never shopped Crowleys/Grand River. That's 14 social classes removed from The Rock. Although we all knew the customer is always right, jjaba can hear Mankow now sailing into the backroom, and bitching about a customer, only to do an about-face and glide like a swan back to her. He knew how to sell but what a shithead to us. jjaba on the Westside. |
Craig Member Username: Craig
Post Number: 611 Registered: 02-2007
| Posted on Thursday, January 03, 2008 - 9:26 pm: | |
Money in a shoe box, with the "key" left on display for the next day's shift was a trick at Sibley's too. No idea what a 485 is (endemic to the men's department?) but our green guys sure learned what a wall stretcher was. Figure this one out and I'll loan you a bucket of steam to clean the display windows. |
Jjaba Member Username: Jjaba
Post Number: 5894 Registered: 11-2003
| Posted on Thursday, January 03, 2008 - 9:31 pm: | |
If you attach the shelf stretcher to the sky hook, you get more shoes on a shelf. Sibley has 485s. Craig, did you forget? This is a shoe store, not pants or underwear. jjaba, LOL. |
Craig Member Username: Craig
Post Number: 612 Registered: 02-2007
| Posted on Thursday, January 03, 2008 - 9:40 pm: | |
I worked Ms. Sibley's, except when the men's store (Sibley's) really needed help. Over there I only knew about China Pigs, taps, bals & blutchers. Oh, and 4% commission. |
Jjaba Member Username: Jjaba
Post Number: 5898 Registered: 11-2003
| Posted on Friday, January 04, 2008 - 12:45 am: | |
Crowley's stocked women's 485s too. Craig, I can fit you in nice 485 Navy blue pump. jjaba. |
Gistok Member Username: Gistok
Post Number: 6052 Registered: 08-2004
| Posted on Friday, January 04, 2008 - 1:18 am: | |
Speaking of shoes... I worked for 1 year at Baker's Shoes downtown on Woodward in 1976 (working my way thru WSU). Went either to Hudson's or Crowley's often at lunch time to browse. I remember we had shoes behind either side wall of the store, and in the basement. We kept other accessories on the 2nd floor. Everything above the 2nd floor was closed off, but I remember going up to the 3rd floor once, and saw pigeon poop all over the place. Never went higher. Today I believe the former Baker's Shoe store is possibly part of Merchant's Row. I fondly remember the wooden escalators at Crowley's... |
W_6_mile Member Username: W_6_mile
Post Number: 1 Registered: 01-2008
| Posted on Friday, January 04, 2008 - 5:41 am: | |
I was able to purchase something at the New Center One store before it closed...basically the last department store in Detroit. |
Douglasm Member Username: Douglasm
Post Number: 999 Registered: 10-2003
| Posted on Friday, January 04, 2008 - 7:17 am: | |
Jjaba is an 8 1/2 D, right? Remember, I started at Baker's Northland in 1965, retiring out of Kinney's Shoes in Washington state in 1995. 30 years on my knees in front of women, begging for money..... Sending the new kid out to find the borrowed wall stretcher was more fun in the 90's when I was the sender then it was in the 60's when I was the sendee. Am I correct in saying Crowley's purchased Demery's somewhere along the line? (Message edited by douglasm on January 04, 2008) |
14509glenfield Member Username: 14509glenfield
Post Number: 1443 Registered: 05-2006
| Posted on Friday, January 04, 2008 - 7:59 am: | |
Crowley's or Hudson's! Who had the best lay-out for Santa & the Easter Bunny visits at the Downtown stores/photos? |
Craig Member Username: Craig
Post Number: 613 Registered: 02-2007
| Posted on Friday, January 04, 2008 - 9:14 am: | |
485 = 8 1/2D? We'd have said "eight and a half 'David'," but that would have been for a foot shaped like a dinner plate (things were different in the land of women's shoes). Man, I do NOT miss that business. |
The_rock Member Username: The_rock
Post Number: 2073 Registered: 11-2003
| Posted on Friday, January 04, 2008 - 9:15 am: | |
If they didn't sell 485's at Capper and Capper in the David Whitney building or at Fyfe's, then I didn't wear 485's. But regarding glenfield's inquiry about Crowley's/Hudson's, I would say that most old-time Detroiters when asked that question would answer as I do: Hudson's (12th floor?) toy department was the most famous,enchanting, and magical floor in the USA, and made especially so at Christmas time. |
Xd_brklyn Member Username: Xd_brklyn
Post Number: 352 Registered: 10-2003
| Posted on Friday, January 04, 2008 - 9:48 am: | |
From the Michigan Transit Museum website
quote:Of all the buildings, Crowley-Milner was the one (I thought) had the most potential for preservation as the flagship of a downtown department store. The Hudson block was just too big. Inside, merchandise was slim and the marble had long been removed from those shallow wooden display cases (however, still in storage in the annex). What I wasn't prepared for were the escalators. They were wooden-the original escalators, in the entire City of Detroit, had never been replaced. Of course, I had to ride them. They creaked and groaned, just like everyone said they did. It was an experience, that can (probably) never be duplicated, anywhere. Following the final closure of the store, the Crowley-Milner building was demolished in June, 1978, in accordance with the original lease of the land by Pardridge & Blackwell. Was the building demolished in June of '78 according to this quote or in the '80s per the WSU site? Don't remember the Crowley building anytime during the early '80s. |
Jjaba Member Username: Jjaba
Post Number: 5899 Registered: 11-2003
| Posted on Friday, January 04, 2008 - 11:30 am: | |
Douglasm and Craig are winners. Give the people the names for A,B,C,D,E,EE,EEE. Post your email address here. jjaba will send you something. jjaba, on the Dexter bus. |
Jjaba Member Username: Jjaba
Post Number: 5900 Registered: 11-2003
| Posted on Friday, January 04, 2008 - 11:33 am: | |
Rock, everybody has 485s in lawyers tassled pumps. Try harder next time. Glad you like the Fedoras. jjaba, with Fedora on the Dexter bus. |
Burnsie Member Username: Burnsie
Post Number: 1247 Registered: 11-2003
| Posted on Friday, January 04, 2008 - 12:12 pm: | |
Xd_brklyn-- Crowley's adjacent warehouse (connected by an ornate skywalk) lasted a couple years or so longer than the store before being demolished. |
Jjaba Member Username: Jjaba
Post Number: 5904 Registered: 11-2003
| Posted on Friday, January 04, 2008 - 1:51 pm: | |
Rock, Fyfe's has six floors of 485s. Ask Bobzilla, he lives there now. jjaba, Shoe Dept. wearing 485 lace-ups. |
Craig Member Username: Craig
Post Number: 615 Registered: 02-2007
| Posted on Friday, January 04, 2008 - 2:16 pm: | |
A = Al B = Bennie C = Carl D = David E = Eddie (...double & triple) (but did you earn "spots"?) I am: craigtwice@yahoo.com |
Jjaba Member Username: Jjaba
Post Number: 5906 Registered: 11-2003
| Posted on Friday, January 04, 2008 - 2:24 pm: | |
Don't know from Spots. What is it? Thanks Craig, jjaba will email. jjaba. |
Craig Member Username: Craig
Post Number: 617 Registered: 02-2007
| Posted on Friday, January 04, 2008 - 2:30 pm: | |
"Spots" were the push monies that we earned for selling taps, polish, brushes, two pairs, a matching handbag, etc. A jar of polish was worth a dime (and this was long after Soupy was off of the air), taps a quarter, and double-header worth 50 cents. Didn't get rich pushing for spots, but they made the day more interesting. Damn boss would raid the 'spot' money when the drawer came up short. |
Craig Member Username: Craig
Post Number: 618 Registered: 02-2007
| Posted on Friday, January 04, 2008 - 3:28 pm: | |
That damn address of mine blew up. Want to try craigthrice@yahoo.com ? |
Jjaba Member Username: Jjaba
Post Number: 5909 Registered: 11-2003
| Posted on Friday, January 04, 2008 - 5:34 pm: | |
jjaba mostly stocked the shoes and ran boxes for the salesguys. Lemme tell ya, you kept in shape working there. After he sold a pair of shoes, the salesman would signal jjaba to restock 15 rejected pairs. They'd start with a tower of boxes out of the backroom and then hand pluck in the showroom. Sometimes, we fished for matches on the display table. As jjaba recalls, all display shoes were the same size, like 7 Bennies. If the salesman said "DISplay, you'd spot a Kentuckian. The softer "display" was a native. jjaba, Crowleys/Grand River. |
Jman Member Username: Jman
Post Number: 97 Registered: 10-2006
| Posted on Friday, January 04, 2008 - 6:32 pm: | |
The summer of 1954 I worked at Fyfe's as a stock boy. The higher the floor, the larger the shoe. If I recall correctly, I was on the 12th floor. $1.00 per hour sure beat packing groceries at 45 cents per hour. |
Margaret Member Username: Margaret
Post Number: 248 Registered: 06-2007
| Posted on Friday, January 04, 2008 - 7:03 pm: | |
anyone remember the charm school at Hudson's downtown, in the late 60s? LOL LOL I actually attended!! hot pink loose leaf notebook manual, homework of sewing clothes, learning etiquette, omg! |
Jjaba Member Username: Jjaba
Post Number: 5911 Registered: 11-2003
| Posted on Saturday, January 05, 2008 - 12:50 am: | |
OMG! Margaret, that's a classic post. While jjaba was in Hebrew School studying for Bar Mitzvah, Margaret is in Hudson's charm school. jjaba, Westside torah bukkor. |
Leoqueen Member Username: Leoqueen
Post Number: 1707 Registered: 07-2004
| Posted on Saturday, January 05, 2008 - 12:56 am: | |
I remember the clackclack sound that came from the wooden escalator steps in Crowleys. Was always a little apprehensive to step on them. Boy I havent thought about that for a long time.... |
Reddog289 Member Username: Reddog289
Post Number: 168 Registered: 08-2007
| Posted on Saturday, January 05, 2008 - 1:37 am: | |
my mom shopped at crowley,s alot after christmas mostly. went to westborn alot and livonia mall. she shopped at the store in westland on ford rd when it was open, don,t think for very long though. |
Jjaba Member Username: Jjaba
Post Number: 5914 Registered: 11-2003
| Posted on Saturday, January 05, 2008 - 2:48 pm: | |
Margaret-omg, describe what you use from charm school in everyday life. Teach us some "charm." jjaba, got his first haircut in a horsie chair at Hudsons in 1944. |
Dannaroo Member Username: Dannaroo
Post Number: 176 Registered: 05-2006
| Posted on Sunday, January 06, 2008 - 3:05 pm: | |
This is only semi-related but my parents just bought a bedroom set yesterday at an antique store in Marine City that was originally made for the Crowley Milner & Co. back in the 1930's. When my dad told me where the set came from, it reminded me of this thread. |
Jjaba Member Username: Jjaba
Post Number: 5918 Registered: 11-2003
| Posted on Sunday, January 06, 2008 - 3:26 pm: | |
Dan, good report. A lot of Detroit history has ended up in antique stores. Detroit makes, the world takes. A huge volume of today's furniture comes from Asia. Like Detroit, Hickory, NC is a ghost of its former glory. jjaba. |
Reddog289 Member Username: Reddog289
Post Number: 181 Registered: 08-2007
| Posted on Monday, January 07, 2008 - 1:29 am: | |
antique stores or estate sales, got a box fan in the cardboard box at an estate sale, not from crowleys but korvettes. had shiping label to telegraph rd store. hey for 4bucks couldn,t pass that up. haven,t looked in awhile but does the sign on the value city at livonia mall still say 'crowleys' on top? (Message edited by reddog289 on January 07, 2008) |
Lmr Member Username: Lmr
Post Number: 113 Registered: 03-2007
| Posted on Monday, January 07, 2008 - 12:27 pm: | |
Fyfe's shoes! My mom loved that store. She only wore a size 5 though so I think her shoes would be on a low floor! She also went to a place named "Sample Shoes" in the downtown area but I don't know the location. Sample Shoes' name said it all, they sold samples, overstocks, etc. |
Jjaba Member Username: Jjaba
Post Number: 5925 Registered: 11-2003
| Posted on Monday, January 07, 2008 - 12:38 pm: | |
I love the name Cancellations Shoes on Roosevelt Rd. in Maxwell St. area of Chicago. Now that's a name. Fyfe's, tallest shoe store in the World! jjaba in a 485 Oxford. |
Jman Member Username: Jman
Post Number: 101 Registered: 10-2006
| Posted on Monday, January 07, 2008 - 1:40 pm: | |
Richards Cancellation Shoes on east side of Woodward, couple of blocks north of Grand Circus Park. |
Ray1936 Member Username: Ray1936
Post Number: 2529 Registered: 01-2005
| Posted on Monday, January 07, 2008 - 1:58 pm: | |
Jjaba said, "A lot of Detroit history has ended up in antique stores. Detroit makes, the world takes." Sitting in our bedroom here in Las Vegas is a beautiful old rocking chair. The label underneath the seat states: "Murphy Chair Co. Detroit, Michigan. No. 385". It's been in the family at least since the early 1930s. There's a few Google hits on Murphy Chair Co., but none that describe our chair. I don't know if it's particularly valuable or not, but it's priceless to us for being a real bit of Detroit in our far-away home. |
Detroitplanner Member Username: Detroitplanner
Post Number: 1509 Registered: 04-2006
| Posted on Monday, January 07, 2008 - 3:18 pm: | |
I remember the following Cancellations Shoe Stores: Broadway/Randolph (site of the Well) Hamtramck Michigan Schaefer |
The_rock Member Username: The_rock
Post Number: 2074 Registered: 11-2003
| Posted on Monday, January 07, 2008 - 3:59 pm: | |
How did that old radio program begin? "I'm Buster Brown, I live in a shoe, That's my dog, Tigh, he lives here too". Well, something like that. O.K. bump....but I might start an Ernst Kern's thread. Let's not forget where we met under the clock. |
Jman Member Username: Jman
Post Number: 102 Registered: 10-2006
| Posted on Monday, January 07, 2008 - 4:58 pm: | |
Rock, Buster Brown? We're talking Allen Edmond, Stacey Adams. LOL. You know, shoes that have a need for socks. (Thanks Jjaba) (Message edited by Jman on January 07, 2008) |
Jjaba Member Username: Jjaba
Post Number: 5928 Registered: 11-2003
| Posted on Monday, January 07, 2008 - 7:12 pm: | |
Now Jman gets on The Rock's case. Careful. The Rock gets testy when he has to wear socks like normal people in Winter. jjaba. |
The_rock Member Username: The_rock
Post Number: 2075 Registered: 11-2003
| Posted on Monday, January 07, 2008 - 7:42 pm: | |
Never trust Forum posters whose handles begin with J. And with todays balmy weather, it was nice letting my feet have a little breathing room. |
Jman Member Username: Jman
Post Number: 103 Registered: 10-2006
| Posted on Monday, January 07, 2008 - 10:57 pm: | |
.. (Message edited by Jman on January 08, 2008) |
Quickdrawmcgraw Member Username: Quickdrawmcgraw
Post Number: 103 Registered: 10-2005
| Posted on Saturday, January 12, 2008 - 4:59 pm: | |
Thanks for the pics. I wish our former politicols could have seen the re-use of that building. Could have made a great mixed-use office & residential complex. Especially the wooden escalators. All tore down for the proposed Cadillac Center downtown mall that never materialized. Auuugggghhhh |