Discuss Detroit » Archives - July 2008 » Brick Collecting « Previous Next »
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30th_street
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Username: 30th_street

Post Number: 54
Registered: 04-2006
Posted on Thursday, February 12, 2009 - 5:57 pm:   Edit PostDelete Post   Move Post (Moderator/Admin Only)

Hey I am looking for any buildings being torn down. I have not been able to get to the four conors of the city and I don't want to miss any brick hunting opportunities. So, anyone seen any building coming down lately?
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Gsgeorge
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Username: Gsgeorge

Post Number: 710
Registered: 08-2006
Posted on Thursday, February 12, 2009 - 6:06 pm:   Edit PostDelete Post   Move Post (Moderator/Admin Only)

uh. everywhere?
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Lodgedodger
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Username: Lodgedodger

Post Number: 1452
Registered: 05-2008
Posted on Thursday, February 12, 2009 - 6:13 pm:   Edit PostDelete Post   Move Post (Moderator/Admin Only)

I have an extra Studebaker factory brick, or two...
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Jams
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Username: Jams

Post Number: 7728
Registered: 10-2003
Posted on Thursday, February 12, 2009 - 6:30 pm:   Edit PostDelete Post   Move Post (Moderator/Admin Only)

McMillan school on Westend in Delray was recently torn down, and as of Sunday there was a huge pile of rubble.

Page the expert Billybbrew for info on old brickyards.

ps My studebaker brick came from Jjaba as a prize in a trivia contest. ;)
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Johnlodge
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Username: Johnlodge

Post Number: 9409
Registered: 10-2003
Posted on Thursday, February 12, 2009 - 6:33 pm:   Edit PostDelete Post   Move Post (Moderator/Admin Only)

I have a Stroh's brick.

quote:

ps My studebaker brick came from Jjaba as a prize in a trivia contest. ;)



WTF! I got postcards! ;)
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Zimm
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Username: Zimm

Post Number: 103
Registered: 10-2006
Posted on Thursday, February 12, 2009 - 6:39 pm:   Edit PostDelete Post   Move Post (Moderator/Admin Only)

i had a Madison-Lennox brick (from the front of the Madison, painted white on 1 side.) not sure if it's still in my garage, or if i got rid of it when it started to crumble. the 5 previously unexposed sides didn't take well to the world.
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Jams
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Username: Jams

Post Number: 7729
Registered: 10-2003
Posted on Thursday, February 12, 2009 - 6:47 pm:   Edit PostDelete Post   Move Post (Moderator/Admin Only)

"WTF! I got postcards! ;)"

Me too, and photographs.

What can I say, I'm old.
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Eastsidedame
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Username: Eastsidedame

Post Number: 660
Registered: 12-2006
Posted on Thursday, February 12, 2009 - 7:20 pm:   Edit PostDelete Post   Move Post (Moderator/Admin Only)

You know, I'm surprised some enterprising person hasn't made a business in salvaged brick, stone & block. New construction with old materials is very eco friendly and will look great in an already-established neighborhood. The landfills are teeming with all kinds of good bricks as the City of D mandates that "refuse" from city demos must go into a landfill. Screwy, ain't it?

In New Orleans, where their antique building materials are in the drink (i.e. Gulf of Mex.), they would LOVE some of that to repair vintage structures.
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Jams
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Username: Jams

Post Number: 7732
Registered: 10-2003
Posted on Thursday, February 12, 2009 - 7:38 pm:   Edit PostDelete Post   Move Post (Moderator/Admin Only)

They have, check out some of the brick-stripped houses in SW
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Gsgeorge
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Username: Gsgeorge

Post Number: 711
Registered: 08-2006
Posted on Friday, February 13, 2009 - 12:05 am:   Edit PostDelete Post   Move Post (Moderator/Admin Only)

Take a drive through Jefferson-Chalmers, half the houses in the neighborhood are falling into the street. Just watch out for roaming dealers...
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Dan
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Username: Dan

Post Number: 448
Registered: 10-2003
Posted on Friday, February 13, 2009 - 1:03 am:   Edit PostDelete Post   Move Post (Moderator/Admin Only)

http://www.aswdetroit.org/
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Leannam1989
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Username: Leannam1989

Post Number: 186
Registered: 06-2008
Posted on Friday, February 13, 2009 - 2:31 am:   Edit PostDelete Post   Move Post (Moderator/Admin Only)

"You know, I'm surprised some enterprising person hasn't made a business in salvaged brick, stone & block. New construction with old materials is very eco friendly and will look great in an already-established neighborhood. The landfills are teeming with all kinds of good bricks as the City of D mandates that "refuse" from city demos must go into a landfill. Screwy, ain't it?

In New Orleans, where their antique building materials are in the drink (i.e. Gulf of Mex.), they would LOVE some of that to repair vintage structures."

Probably some of those bricks being sent to New Orleans are the ones being illegally stripped off of 100+ year old buildings in North St. Louis. Brick rustling is a big problem in St. Louis, especially on the emptier North Side. A few get caught (I read about a felony conviction last year), but most get away with it. Seems like people like the weathered brick, so an empty North Side (usually) house without a lot of other houses around is a perfect target.

Sorry, a little off-topic I know. It just struck me that you said that. A St. Louis blogger currently living in New Orleans had a blog a while back about bricks with "St. Louis" written on them being recently inserted into brick sidewalks in New Orleans. Some of them may have been from recently demolished buildings, though some buildings are stripped until they have to be demolished. And city leaders turn a blind eye for the most part. St. Louis still does produce bricks, though not to the extent it used to. St. Louis is called "Brick City" for a reason.

On a side note: St. Louis is about to have Mardi Gras. Should bring about 500k people to St. Louis' South Side.
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Gene
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Username: Gene

Post Number: 188
Registered: 10-2006
Posted on Friday, February 13, 2009 - 7:21 am:   Edit PostDelete Post   Move Post (Moderator/Admin Only)

Reclaimed brick was a popular building material in the 80s. I would suspect the cost to claim, clean and lay the brick is why it's not used much today, however not a lot of new construction these days.

I have a brick from Dodge Main.
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Big_baby_jebus
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Username: Big_baby_jebus

Post Number: 59
Registered: 09-2008
Posted on Friday, February 13, 2009 - 8:19 am:   Edit PostDelete Post   Move Post (Moderator/Admin Only)

If you don't have any Packard bricks, scrappers recently torched off a level of one of the bridges over Bellevue street. The last time I went by the alley was still covered in bricks.
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Davemarc
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Username: Davemarc

Post Number: 162
Registered: 06-2008
Posted on Friday, February 13, 2009 - 9:08 am:   Edit PostDelete Post   Move Post (Moderator/Admin Only)

BBJ,Yep still laying there as of last week.They must not buy reclaim brick anymore.I recall houses with the foundations stolen out from under them.
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Zitro
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Username: Zitro

Post Number: 2689
Registered: 04-2008
Posted on Friday, February 13, 2009 - 9:09 am:   Edit PostDelete Post   Move Post (Moderator/Admin Only)

Here are some Olypmpia bricks I scavenged during the demolition of the Old Barn.






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Mallory
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Username: Mallory

Post Number: 322
Registered: 05-2006
Posted on Friday, February 13, 2009 - 9:22 am:   Edit PostDelete Post   Move Post (Moderator/Admin Only)

The Lions have been laying bricks for years...
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Detroitnerd
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Username: Detroitnerd

Post Number: 3500
Registered: 07-2004
Posted on Friday, February 13, 2009 - 9:29 am:   Edit PostDelete Post   Move Post (Moderator/Admin Only)

There are quite a few contractors who have salvaged (and may still do it) brick in Detroit, sometimes for homes in the burbs even. And, if I remember right, there's a used brick yard on Chene or McDougall around Mack or Canfield.
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Big_baby_jebus
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Username: Big_baby_jebus

Post Number: 60
Registered: 09-2008
Posted on Friday, February 13, 2009 - 9:54 am:   Edit PostDelete Post   Move Post (Moderator/Admin Only)

That brickyard is on Chene. They pay 1 penny per brick as long as it is clean of mortar and has 3 corners in tact. It is hard to believe it is worth it for some people to clean and haul 100 bricks for a dollar.

(Message edited by big_baby_jebus on February 13, 2009)
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Rjk
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Username: Rjk

Post Number: 1182
Registered: 11-2003
Posted on Friday, February 13, 2009 - 10:09 am:   Edit PostDelete Post   Move Post (Moderator/Admin Only)

Is that place still selling bricks? I drove by there recently and their yard was filled with wooden pallets.
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Big_baby_jebus
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Username: Big_baby_jebus

Post Number: 61
Registered: 09-2008
Posted on Friday, February 13, 2009 - 10:25 am:   Edit PostDelete Post   Move Post (Moderator/Admin Only)

As of last spring/summer they were still open. I have not been by in a little while though.
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Davemarc
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Username: Davemarc

Post Number: 163
Registered: 06-2008
Posted on Friday, February 13, 2009 - 11:24 am:   Edit PostDelete Post   Move Post (Moderator/Admin Only)

A penny per?That explains why they are still in the alley!
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Django
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Username: Django

Post Number: 2167
Registered: 10-2003
Posted on Friday, February 13, 2009 - 1:42 pm:   Edit PostDelete Post   Move Post (Moderator/Admin Only)

They usually pay 10 cents a brick around town. I highy doubt the price has dropped that much. The least Ive ever seen it was 9 cents, the highest 12 cents.

I spent a summer as a hoddie for a brick/stone mason on Nantuckett in the late 80s. We built a couple of fireplaces with brick imported from Detroit. Ive often wondered if they came from the yard on Chene.
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Big_baby_jebus
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Username: Big_baby_jebus

Post Number: 64
Registered: 09-2008
Posted on Friday, February 13, 2009 - 1:44 pm:   Edit PostDelete Post   Move Post (Moderator/Admin Only)

I got a Tiger Stadium Brick from inside the dugout, 2 actually.

Any takers?




/...Ineedmoneyz...\
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Izzyindetroit
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Username: Izzyindetroit

Post Number: 176
Registered: 07-2008
Posted on Friday, February 13, 2009 - 1:46 pm:   Edit PostDelete Post   Move Post (Moderator/Admin Only)

You can get a lot of these bricks in Detroit.

All white bricks,
Off white bricks,
Light tan bricks.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v =dAzUv83DoNE
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Detroitnerd
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Username: Detroitnerd

Post Number: 3504
Registered: 07-2004
Posted on Friday, February 13, 2009 - 2:06 pm:   Edit PostDelete Post   Move Post (Moderator/Admin Only)

One thing about Detroit. Whenever I got a flat tire and needed to chock my wheels for the jack, there were always bricks nearby for the chocking. :-)
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Navi
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Username: Navi

Post Number: 40
Registered: 09-2005
Posted on Friday, February 13, 2009 - 2:13 pm:   Edit PostDelete Post   Move Post (Moderator/Admin Only)

Zitro, those Olympia bricks are awesome. Nice work.

Izzy, LoL!
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Rhymeswithrawk
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Username: Rhymeswithrawk

Post Number: 1697
Registered: 11-2005
Posted on Friday, February 13, 2009 - 3:07 pm:   Edit PostDelete Post   Move Post (Moderator/Admin Only)

I've got a collection myself. Wish I woulda gotten a brick from the Book-Caddy when they were tearing out the north wall. I did get one from the Fort Shelby when they were doing the same thing.
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Zitro
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Username: Zitro

Post Number: 2693
Registered: 04-2008
Posted on Friday, February 13, 2009 - 3:07 pm:   Edit PostDelete Post   Move Post (Moderator/Admin Only)

Thank Navi, I had some red bricks from there too but gave them to a man who collected bricks. After he passed away I waited a couple of months to ask his wife if they were still around, I knew she didn't really want them and she had already given them away. By the paint on these they look like they make have come from one of the bathrooms. I couldn't be too choosy as security saw me and I had to high tail it back to my car with what I could.
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Gistok
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Username: Gistok

Post Number: 6142
Registered: 08-2004
Posted on Friday, February 13, 2009 - 3:17 pm:   Edit PostDelete Post   Move Post (Moderator/Admin Only)

Sorry,

But when it comes to brick collecting, no one has me beat!! :-)



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Zitro
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Username: Zitro

Post Number: 2694
Registered: 04-2008
Posted on Friday, February 13, 2009 - 3:22 pm:   Edit PostDelete Post   Move Post (Moderator/Admin Only)

Gistok, the one on the bottom right,that looks like it came from an Aztec ruins could it be?
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Gistok
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Username: Gistok

Post Number: 6143
Registered: 08-2004
Posted on Friday, February 13, 2009 - 3:27 pm:   Edit PostDelete Post   Move Post (Moderator/Admin Only)

... not unless they subcontracted it from a mid 20th century Danish plastic injection molding machine... :-)
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30th_street
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Username: 30th_street

Post Number: 56
Registered: 04-2006
Posted on Friday, February 13, 2009 - 3:38 pm:   Edit PostDelete Post   Move Post (Moderator/Admin Only)

Interesting posts. Thanks for the possible locations. Here is an example of what I am hunting for. Bricks that are stamped with names and letters.
Brick Pics

Brick Pic
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Wintersmommy
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Username: Wintersmommy

Post Number: 13
Registered: 12-2008
Posted on Friday, February 13, 2009 - 4:16 pm:   Edit PostDelete Post   Move Post (Moderator/Admin Only)

going brick collecting myself this weekend in Delray..drove by it last week and saw the treasure trove of bricks and decided to build my flower beds with them
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Hornwrecker
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Username: Hornwrecker

Post Number: 1738
Registered: 04-2005
Posted on Friday, February 13, 2009 - 4:19 pm:   Edit PostDelete Post   Move Post (Moderator/Admin Only)

Here is an incomplete list of Detroit brickmakers that I've found in the Sanborn maps.

Burke Bros.
Clippert, Conrad
Clippert, G.H. & Bros
Clippert, W
Daniel, Jacob & Bros
Daniels, Jacob
Downey, M
Haggerty, J.S.
Hyns, Francis
Larkins
Little, A.
Lonyo Birck Co
Lonyo Bros
Lonyo, Andrew
McDonald, J.C.
Mecier & Larkins
Mercier, J. A.
Michigan Pressed Brick
Porath Bros
Pratt, B.
Rochester Sand & Brick
Sass Bros & Stuve
Schneider
Walker & Frank
Wolf & Die
Wolf, F.W.
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Detroitnerd
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Username: Detroitnerd

Post Number: 3508
Registered: 07-2004
Posted on Friday, February 13, 2009 - 4:22 pm:   Edit PostDelete Post   Move Post (Moderator/Admin Only)

There was a big brick yard (Haggerty, maybe?) where the Ford-Wyoming drive in is now.
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Lodgedodger
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Username: Lodgedodger

Post Number: 1459
Registered: 05-2008
Posted on Friday, February 13, 2009 - 5:04 pm:   Edit PostDelete Post   Move Post (Moderator/Admin Only)

Guess we'll need to stop by the old Packard plant tomorrow...I need a few bricks.
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Whittier70
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Username: Whittier70

Post Number: 216
Registered: 02-2008
Posted on Friday, February 13, 2009 - 6:39 pm:   Edit PostDelete Post   Move Post (Moderator/Admin Only)

Detroitnerd, elaborate on Ford Wyoming and Haggerty. I don't get it.
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Hornwrecker
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Username: Hornwrecker

Post Number: 1739
Registered: 04-2005
Posted on Friday, February 13, 2009 - 6:59 pm:   Edit PostDelete Post   Move Post (Moderator/Admin Only)

J.S. Haggerty Brick Plant #2, 10600 Ford Rd.

J.S. Haggerty Brick Plant #1, 10624 Michigan Ave.
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Ccbatson
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Username: Ccbatson

Post Number: 18727
Registered: 11-2006
Posted on Friday, February 13, 2009 - 11:29 pm:   Edit PostDelete Post   Move Post (Moderator/Admin Only)

Burns, the owner of the Tigers in 1900, was Wayne County sheriff and brickyard owner.
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Beech_cricker
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Username: Beech_cricker

Post Number: 52
Registered: 10-2008
Posted on Saturday, February 14, 2009 - 8:07 am:   Edit PostDelete Post   Move Post (Moderator/Admin Only)

30th, you might want to check out these pix of Michigan bricks, assuming you haven't already:

http://www.tlgwindpower.com/tw eety/50states/michiganbrick%20 .htm

I have a small brick collection. I limit myself to my favorite buildings, e.g. Olympia Stadium, as opposed to finding simply old bricks or those embossed with the manufacturer's name.

The exception is refractory brick, especially those from General Refractories Co. ("Grefco") which had brand names like BEECH CREEK, WYNN, ORVIS and BC BUNG embossed. These bricks are significantly heavier than building bricks. They make for great door stops, if anything.
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Jimg
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Username: Jimg

Post Number: 504
Registered: 10-2003
Posted on Saturday, February 14, 2009 - 12:07 pm:   Edit PostDelete Post   Move Post (Moderator/Admin Only)

I have a couple of non-Detroit bricks. One from the Subway club in Kansas City, the second is an original paver from Beale Street. Also have couple from BoMac's Lounge, "friendliest place in town." Missed out on a Graystone Ballroom brick.
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Lowell
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Username: Lowell

Post Number: 2198
Registered: 09-2003
Posted on Saturday, February 14, 2009 - 12:44 pm:   Edit PostDelete Post   Move Post (Moderator/Admin Only)

Here is one I shot at Packard last summer...

Belden Brick Packard Plant Detroit
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Barnesfoto
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Username: Barnesfoto

Post Number: 3557
Registered: 10-2003
Posted on Saturday, February 14, 2009 - 2:39 pm:   Edit PostDelete Post   Move Post (Moderator/Admin Only)

Eastern/Southeastern Ohio once supplied much of the brick pavers, as well as ceramic downspouts/drainpipes for much of the midwest. There are some interesting, half abandoned towns in SE Oh. that were built entirely around the manufacture of bricks.

Other "Brands" frequently found in the ruins of Detroit:
Nelsonville Block, Athens Block (from Athens, OH, where I attended Grad School), Hocking Block and Logan Block.
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Rhymeswithrawk
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Username: Rhymeswithrawk

Post Number: 1698
Registered: 11-2005
Posted on Saturday, February 14, 2009 - 3:14 pm:   Edit PostDelete Post   Move Post (Moderator/Admin Only)

30th street, did your J.A.M. brick come from the Grande Ballroom, by chance?
I always found it fascinating that "Kick Out the Jams" was recorded in a building made of J.A.M. bricks.
I'll take a look in my garage when it warms up. The previous owner scavenged a TON of bricks from an old apartment building that was torn down across the street from my house decades ago. I'm pretty sure they have stamps.
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30th_street
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Username: 30th_street

Post Number: 57
Registered: 04-2006
Posted on Saturday, February 14, 2009 - 8:57 pm:   Edit PostDelete Post   Move Post (Moderator/Admin Only)

Beech_cricker, I belong to the IBCA, I have about 300 different stamped bricks. Unfortunately I do not have all the ones from Mich. That's why I am looking for buildings in rumble around Detroit. It is a lot of fun to dig around hoping to find a brick I don't have or even discover one nobody knows about. :-) My JAM brick could have come from any random structure in the city.It was a pretty common brand.
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Rhymeswithrawk
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Username: Rhymeswithrawk

Post Number: 1722
Registered: 11-2005
Posted on Saturday, February 14, 2009 - 9:44 pm:   Edit PostDelete Post   Move Post (Moderator/Admin Only)

30th: How best to contact you with my bricks once I get a chance to look at the stamps?
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Detroitnerd
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Username: Detroitnerd

Post Number: 3511
Registered: 07-2004
Posted on Monday, February 16, 2009 - 10:24 am:   Edit PostDelete Post   Move Post (Moderator/Admin Only)

Hornwrecker got it: There was an old brick yard operated by Haggerty where the Ford-Wyoming drive-in is now. From what my dad told me about walking around there as a kid, brick yards were environmentally devastating. He described open fields of toxic water leaching into the ground. (Now the area is only polluted with cheap entertainment.)

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