 
Gistok
Member
Username: Gistok
Post Number: 3550
Registered: 08-2004
| | Posted on Wednesday, January 31, 2007 - 10:39 pm: |    |
Talking about snooty department stores and Harrods, reminds me of ARE YOU BEING SERVED, the funny British Comedy on PBS... |
Focusonthed
Member
Username: Focusonthed
Post Number: 802
Registered: 02-2006
| | Posted on Wednesday, January 31, 2007 - 10:59 pm: | |
House of Denmark closed? That didn't last long. |
Milwaukee
Member
Username: Milwaukee
Post Number: 699
Registered: 08-2006
| | Posted on Wednesday, January 31, 2007 - 11:16 pm: | |
Thanks everyone for adding your stories. I feel terrible about it closing and getting demolished. What incompitent boob approved the demolition?
Very sad to hear about this great old place.
What is shocking, people in New York would be outraged if they tore down Macy's or even closed it. People went crazy in Chicago over a name change, at Marshall Fields. Yet there didn't seem to be a lot of opposition to demolition. Shocking.
Mtm, I love that story about the last lunch there. I felt like shedding a tear, hearing about all the tradition and history lost. The demolition of Hudson's was a serious blow to Detroit's culture and history. |
Warrenite84
Member
Username: Warrenite84
Post Number: 26
Registered: 01-2007
| | Posted on Thursday, February 01, 2007 - 1:45 am: | |
Though I don't remember going to the downtown Hudson's store, I did work at the Oakland Mall Store. A couple of older stock guys I worked with were the last two to work there. They cleaned out the store of its wrap stands and fixtures and shipped them to the other stores.
Art used to tell me about the freight elevators that could hold a whole semi trailer so it could be offloaded right from the truck at the proper floor.
He also mentioned the executive swimming pool, and that 15,000 people worked there in its heyday.
Someone please verify that I have my second hand facts straight! It's been a long time since I thought about it last. |
Gannon
Member
Username: Gannon
Post Number: 8178
Registered: 12-2003
| | Posted on Thursday, February 01, 2007 - 9:02 am: | |
Hey, if Frito-Lay over on I-94 in Allen Park could lift an entire truck (with CAB attached!), at greater than a 45-degree angle to empty it of potatoes...Hudsons could have an elevator built to move just the trailers up twenty-three stories or so.
That is a pretty cool fact that I never knew. I was only in charge of escalator tampering. |
Detroitplanner
Member
Username: Detroitplanner
Post Number: 911
Registered: 04-2006
| | Posted on Thursday, February 01, 2007 - 9:23 am: | |
"Thanks everyone for adding your stories. I feel terrible about it closing and getting demolished. What incompitent boob approved the demolition?"
The building had the fire department going in fits. Several fires were started in the building, it was essentially stripped back in the 1980's and left to rot.
Its sad to see it go, but there is not much of a need for a 2,000,0000 square foot department store. You could not even turn something like that into apartments or lofts as the building was so huge that the units would be about nine-fifteen feet wide and about 100 feet long! It would be like living in a bowling lane!
Lots of folks tried to redevelop this building, but there was no one who could put together a package that would make it workable.
Its sad. |
Aarne_frobom
Member
Username: Aarne_frobom
Post Number: 44
Registered: 10-2005
| | Posted on Thursday, February 01, 2007 - 9:45 am: | |
The truck-sized freight elevator faced Farmer Street. It did not have a cab, just an open framework, and the shaft had windows in it. It was quite a treat to accompany a truck up to the twelfth floor and rise through the city and watch the smaller buildings disappear beneath you.
Only once did I try to run a passenger elevator. The big DC motors took a while to coast to a stop, so you had to shut them off in anticipation of arriving at just the right point, using reverse to brake them to a stop faster. It had to be done differently depending on how fast the car was moving. The skill of the operators was considerable. I never did get it stopped at the right point, and had to climb up to the floor after opening the door.
None of the escalators in Hudson's were wood. I think that was Crowley's.
It doesn't take much mention of Hudson's to trigger a major nostalgia attack. Now I want a Maurice salad, or a hot dog from the 12th-floor snack bar, just down the wood-floored hall from the Christmas toy-train display. |
Walterwaves
Member
Username: Walterwaves
Post Number: 64
Registered: 01-2007
| | Posted on Thursday, February 01, 2007 - 9:49 am: | |
nostalgia kinda sucks doesn't it? But then again I can go to my grave knowing that nostalgia actually is my only comfort in life and all the memories really made it worthwhile after all no matter wht station in life we may be at. |
Smogboy
Member
Username: Smogboy
Post Number: 4427
Registered: 11-2004
| | Posted on Thursday, February 01, 2007 - 10:46 am: | |
I still remember waiting in line outside the downtown Hudson's warehouse to get in on some phenomenal deals. They'd open the big doors and the sea of humanity woould rush in. I remember I had gotten these huge speaker towers there for my bachelor pad and watching people claw and scratch for the Oriental rugs.
Marhsall Fields never seemed right. Macy's certainly doesn't. It was our very own Hudson's that felt like Detroit. I miss ALL of their stores. |
Jman
Member
Username: Jman
Post Number: 16
Registered: 10-2006
| | Posted on Thursday, February 01, 2007 - 10:55 am: | |
Aarne_frobom "None of escalators in Hudson's were wood. I think that was Crowley's."
Crowley's did have wood escalators and in the 40's and 50's the escalators in Hudson's from the 10th floor up were wooden. |
Swingline
Member
Username: Swingline
Post Number: 695
Registered: 11-2003
| | Posted on Thursday, February 01, 2007 - 11:14 am: | |
quote:why'd they tear it down again? LOL Detour. Quit stirring the pot. |
Mtm
Member
Username: Mtm
Post Number: 178
Registered: 06-2006
| | Posted on Thursday, February 01, 2007 - 11:29 am: | |
Thanks, Jman, for confirming my memory though I didn't come along until the 60's so they may still have been there later. Believe me, it scared the jeebers out of me as a kid to have the escalator sparking and snarling as it ate Mom's shoe. (Jeebers EVERYWHERE!) I was pretty hesitant about escalators for quite a while after that.
And, oooh!, something you men probably wouldn't remember much: The Woodward Shop. VERY elegant and expensive women's clothes. Years (and years) back, when digging through a box of my elder siblings' baby clothes, I came across a tiny yellow cotton dress with delicate lace that belonged to my eldest sister, now in her mid-50's. The label in side said The Woodward Shop for Babies. I pulled the dress back from being donated or tossed, cleaned and preserved it, and about 12 years, gave it to my brother for his new-born daughter. The dress, still perfect after all these years, is now a family heirloom.
(Message edited by mtm on February 01, 2007) |
Asburypark
Member
Username: Asburypark
Post Number: 2
Registered: 01-2007
| | Posted on Thursday, February 01, 2007 - 11:38 am: | |
If anyone is interested in seeing a wood escalator:
http://www.forgotten-ny.com/ST REET%20SCENES/wood.escalator/w ooden.html
The site is also good for historical pictures/information about New York City. |
Gannon
Member
Username: Gannon
Post Number: 8181
Registered: 12-2003
| | Posted on Thursday, February 01, 2007 - 12:07 pm: | |
Heya Asburypark,
Welcome, belatedly.
You ever live there? |
Focusonthed
Member
Username: Focusonthed
Post Number: 803
Registered: 02-2006
| | Posted on Thursday, February 01, 2007 - 12:14 pm: | |
I have an uncle living there currently. |
Asburypark
Member
Username: Asburypark
Post Number: 3
Registered: 01-2007
| | Posted on Thursday, February 01, 2007 - 1:00 pm: | |
Gannon,
No, I never lived in Asbury Park, though I live in New York City. Back in the spring, I found Asbury Park accidentally when I was driving in New Jersey, and I became fascinated by it. It amazed me that it was the late spring/early summer and the place (including the very nice beaches) was totally deserted. There were maybe one or two people there, but that's about it. They are trying to revitalize the city, and they put in a new Boardwalk in 2005 (which is nice, but there's not much on the Boardwalk). Ironically, there have been more people there a few times when I have visited this winter.
There is a whole set of condos opening in the spring, so that alone should mean more people in Asbury Park, but the place still has a long way to go. It's probably one of the few (if not the only) places on the Jersey Shore where you can buy a brand new condo less than a block from the water for under $500,000 or $600,000.
For anybody who likes Detroit, I'd recommend a trip if you are ever in the area. There's a really cool ruin, the Metropolitan Hotel, if you are ever there. Do a google search on it, and you'll find some photos. Many of the historical Asbury Park buildings have been demolished or are being renovated, but there is still some solid urban decay there. |
Burnsie
Member
Username: Burnsie
Post Number: 842
Registered: 11-2003
| | Posted on Thursday, February 01, 2007 - 8:33 pm: | |
Detroitplanner wrote, "...it was essentially stripped back in the 1980's and left to rot."
The last 100 or so Hudson's office workers moved out on Halloween 1986. The gutting and vandalism didn't start until Dec. 1989, when Dayton Hudson sold the building to Southwestern of Canada. Up to that point the building was still heated, security and a skeleton maintenance crew were on duty, and the sprinkler system was maintained. And, the brass drinking fountains were still in place.
An article in the Jan. 1990 Free Press discussed how Southwestern was busily stripping the building and how firefighters responded when they detected water gushing from the tanks-- Southwestern had disconnected the sprinklers to save money. Soon, the HUDSON'S signs on the tower were taken down and sent to the scrapyard.
There is plenty of blame to go around for why that building is no longer there today, but Dayton Hudson bore a large share of the responsibility when it sold the building to a half-assed "developer" which had no track record and no real plan.
Warrenite84-- Multiple sources have confirmed the existence of a squash court and spa, but I've never read anything about a swimming pool. The highest workforce total I've heard of was about 12,000 during Christmas seasons in the early '50s. |
Cmubryan
Member
Username: Cmubryan
Post Number: 362
Registered: 11-2003
| | Posted on Sunday, February 04, 2007 - 10:54 pm: | |
I just read on Wikipedia that there was a downtown Farmington HUDSONS's that opened in 1961 and closed in 1984 (coincidentally the same year as downtown Detroit)? Can anyone confirm this location? If so, was it a typical chain Hudsons similar to Northland, Fairlane, etc? Any details would be great! |
Cmubryan
Member
Username: Cmubryan
Post Number: 363
Registered: 11-2003
| | Posted on Monday, February 05, 2007 - 11:06 am: | |
Bump, does anyone know of this??
I can't find any other info to confirm this. |
Scs_scooter
Member
Username: Scs_scooter
Post Number: 16
Registered: 07-2006
| | Posted on Monday, February 05, 2007 - 2:56 pm: | |
My Mom worked in the china dept and Dad was a stock boy. They fell in love at Hudson's! Dad enlisted in the Marine Corp and I still take pride in seeing his name on the big bronze memorial that honors WW2 Hudson employees hanging in Northland. I always enjoyed acting like a "grown-up" and getting to go shopping for my parents for Christmas up on the top floor next to Santa. When I got older and worked in the Michigan Theatre Bldg, we would walk to Hudson's for a Maurice salad and some quick shopping. Ahhh,those were the days! |
Stryker81
Member
Username: Stryker81
Post Number: 17
Registered: 10-2006
| | Posted on Monday, February 05, 2007 - 8:54 pm: | |
Cmubryan, Downtown Hudson's closed a year earlier, Jan. 28 1983. Don't know anything about the Farmington Hudson's though. |
Cman710
Member
Username: Cman710
Post Number: 240
Registered: 07-2006
| | Posted on Monday, February 05, 2007 - 11:06 pm: | |
The Wikipedia article reads as follows:
"Farmington - Downtown Farmington Center (opened 1961 as Hudson's, closed 1984, converted to TJ Maxx in 1984)"
Of course, this does not constitute confirmation, but it does indicate that the store in Farmington may have closed in 1984. |
Cmubryan
Member
Username: Cmubryan
Post Number: 369
Registered: 11-2003
| | Posted on Monday, February 05, 2007 - 11:19 pm: | |
Yes I apologize, I knew that Downtown closed in 83 as my one and only time there was Christmas of 82 when I was an infant.
I've never heard of this supposed downtown Farmington store and can't find any other info on it?
Also, I don't understand how what is normally such a huge multi level department store would be converted to a one story TJ Maxx! |
Detroitplanner
Member
Username: Detroitplanner
Post Number: 943
Registered: 04-2006
| | Posted on Tuesday, February 06, 2007 - 12:11 am: | |
I'm pretty sure the Farmington Store was a Federal's not a Hudson's. I remember reading about its location in an ad while searching old microfiche for another project while in college.
I went to the Farmington Library site, where they have history of Farmington. They mention a Federals in the Downtown Farmington Center, but not a Hudson's. I'm pretty sure that Hudson's is a more recognizable name than Federal's, and would be included in this piece if there was a Hudson's. That area is too small for two large anchors, and too small for a Hudson's for that matter. I'd believe the local historians before Wikpedia.
Don't believe everything you read on the internet!
http://www.farmlib.org/fcommer ce.html |
Burnsie
Member
Username: Burnsie
Post Number: 848
Registered: 11-2003
| | Posted on Tuesday, February 06, 2007 - 12:12 am: | |
The Farmington Hudson's may have been a Budget Store (evolved out of Downtown's basement budget store). There were several of those but they're all long gone.
Hudson's closed at 5:45 PM on Jan. 17, 1983. |
Stryker81
Member
Username: Stryker81
Post Number: 18
Registered: 10-2006
| | Posted on Tuesday, February 06, 2007 - 12:17 am: | |
Ooops. Got the date wrong. Sorry!!! |
Nickstone
Member
Username: Nickstone
Post Number: 9
Registered: 02-2006
| | Posted on Tuesday, February 06, 2007 - 4:53 am: | |
Himelhoch's, in case you haven't yet gotten a response, is a very well appointed senior apartment facility... one of the few of these ideas to actually work out... it is across from my lovely apartment balcony at Trolley Plaza 1431 Washington |
Mtm
Member
Username: Mtm
Post Number: 183
Registered: 06-2006
| | Posted on Tuesday, February 06, 2007 - 11:44 am: | |
Several years ago on ebay (back when it was trustworthy), I bought eight downtown Hudson's restaurant menus from 1947. Each has a MI flower on the front such as Sweet Scented Water Lily, White Trillium, and Oswego Tea - each an artwork in itself. I'm amazed that they did such work for each DAY'S menu. They're beautifully framed and matted on the hall leading to our bedroom so I can't scan them.
The one in the center, though, I framed open with the hudson's name from a bag underneath. Dated February 27, 1947, the "Shoppers' Luncheon", at 75¢ offered
Chicken Soup Alexandrine or Chilled Pineapple Juice;
Baked Beef Loaf with Spaghetti Italianne;
Choice of 15¢ dessert (Pumpkin Pie, Toasted Cashew Pineapple Cake...) or Cherry Ice Cream;
Date Muffin, Hard Roll, or Parker Roll;
Coffee, Tea, or Milk.
ALL THAT FOR 75¢ !!!
The sales tax then was only 3% and they also offered cigars and cigarettes. Amazing that, though they had no warnings about smoking or second-hand smoke, they did note which sandwiches contained mayonnaise!
... so I'm a Downtown Hudson's junkie ... |
Southwestmap
Member
Username: Southwestmap
Post Number: 691
Registered: 01-2005
| | Posted on Tuesday, February 06, 2007 - 11:53 am: | |
I have a treasured one of those. I think it is September, 1948. I got it at John King Books. I think of my Mother perhaps downtown for the day with her Mother, having lunch in the Riverside Dining Room.
I also have a tower of Hudson's boxes - the real, ivory ones with hard, glued sides. I intended to use them to hold gifts for family who would be sentimental about the days with piles of Hudson's boxes under the Christmas tree (back when we didn't appreciate them), but I find I can't give them up.I tend to buy anything with a Hudson's label in it, too. |
Mtm
Member
Username: Mtm
Post Number: 185
Registered: 06-2006
| | Posted on Tuesday, February 06, 2007 - 11:59 am: | |
In 1947, I imagine my Mom shopping in preparation for her wedding. I also got a kick of showing them off to a neighbor and him realizing that they were from the year he was born.
White Hudson's boxes? All of mine are "Hudson's" green. |
Carolcb
Member
Username: Carolcb
Post Number: 43
Registered: 11-2006
| | Posted on Tuesday, February 06, 2007 - 12:00 pm: | |
I am so jealous of your menu and your boxes. I went to the Charm School (and no, it did not take) and I wish I still had their little book they gave us - bound, peach-colored...... |
Thedeadofnight
Member
Username: Thedeadofnight
Post Number: 12
Registered: 11-2004
| | Posted on Tuesday, February 06, 2007 - 12:11 pm: | |
Longtime lurker here and very rare poster, but love anything Hudson's. One location the Wikipedia entry on Hudson's doesn't mention was the Lincoln Park Hudson's. Here is a photo from Virtual Motor City.
http://i87.photobucket.com/alb ums/k149/johnr101/getimage-idx .jpg
Does anyone know where exactly this store was located and years it was open? |
Cushkid
Member
Username: Cushkid
Post Number: 67
Registered: 08-2005
| | Posted on Tuesday, February 06, 2007 - 12:54 pm: | |
That appears to be in the shopping center on fort st. It is now either a Farmer Jack or a J.C. Penny's |
Christos
Member
Username: Christos
Post Number: 43
Registered: 12-2006
| | Posted on Tuesday, February 06, 2007 - 2:10 pm: | |
yeah, its now a farmer jack. Its on Fort Street and Emmons (south of Southfield Road). |
Gron
Member
Username: Gron
Post Number: 4
Registered: 10-2006
| | Posted on Saturday, February 10, 2007 - 11:05 am: | |
I washed dishes at Hudson's Northland in 1972. Everyone that worked there felt like family. The 20% discount helped out a lot. |
Dan
Member
Username: Dan
Post Number: 1351
Registered: 10-2003
| | Posted on Saturday, February 10, 2007 - 1:17 pm: | |
My 91 year old grandmother, who is as I write this on her death bed, worked in the alterations department of Hudsons for 30 years. Several times a month she would take a taxi to Grosse Point to the home of Eleanor Ford. Mrs. Ford liked my grandmother because she was a great seamstress, and a Lady.
My grandmother is full of terrific stories about Detroit, and Hudsons in particular. She was honored to work there, and was heart broken when it was torn down.
At some point soon I will type up some of her stories. |
Eric_w
Member
Username: Eric_w
Post Number: 27
Registered: 02-2007
| | Posted on Saturday, February 17, 2007 - 6:06 pm: | |
My memories were of the 12th floor toy department & Santaland. To a little kid is was incredible. The huge displays of model trains, racecars and all the other toys was amazing. I remember the brass drinking fountains and the elevator operators that wore uniforms & white gloves. When we went downtown to shop we often wore our" Sunday Best". As a youngster I wore a white dress shirt, tie and suitcoat when we went there. We did not have a car and rode the bus down. During Christmas they would have a kid's only shopping department. Store employees would escort us youngsters in a specially set up shopping area where we could shop for special gifts for Mom & Dad. It was really something.
The sporting goods department had all the best equipment-golf,baseball,hunting or fishing. They carried it. There was nothing like it. Sad the Hudson's name is no more.
(Message edited by Eric W on February 17, 2007) |
Gtat44
Member
Username: Gtat44
Post Number: 10
Registered: 02-2007
| | Posted on Saturday, February 17, 2007 - 6:57 pm: | |
My Dad was a buyer for Hudson's for 28 years. His last stop was the warehouse downtown. Not many people know there was also a Hudson's on Michigan Ave. and Greenfield. That was strictly a budget store. It was right across the street from Camp Dearborn. BTB is that camp still there? |
Charlottepaul
Member
Username: Charlottepaul
Post Number: 519
Registered: 10-2006
| | Posted on Saturday, February 17, 2007 - 7:47 pm: | |
Yes |
Gargoyle
Member
Username: Gargoyle
Post Number: 48
Registered: 04-2006
| | Posted on Saturday, February 17, 2007 - 7:52 pm: | |
Like so many others, I have many memories of Hudson's. Mom got dressed up to go (hat and gloves were apparently required) and if it was summertime I would groan because a shopping trip to Hudson's was an all day deal. If she wore less fancy clothes it meant we were not shopping downtown, and the trip would be shorter. The stores in Wyandotte and River Rouge did not offer to deliver purchases, so Mom was limited to what she could carry.
Mom stayed home and Dad did the honors in December when it was time to see Santa Claus, probably because he had more patience for waiting in line than she did. I would get my picture taken with Santa and then we would wander around on the 12th floor while Dad made mental notes of what seemed to catch my eye toy-wise. Looking back, he did a pretty good job.
Hudson's always had the most exotic toys on display: HUGE stuffed animals and dolls, trucks and trains that functioned like the real thing. I remember one year being particularly intrigued by some Japanese dolls with blue porcelain faces. It was a magical place for kids.
My Mom was hospitalized in the fall of '98 when the store came down. I put her in a wheelchair and rolled her to a window on Harper Hospital's 10th floor to watch. She was 83 and confused, and asked me what we were doing. I told her we were going to watch them bring down Hudson's. She started to cry so I turned her around to face me and watched over her shoulder. What a sad day that was for all of us. |
Jimaz
Member
Username: Jimaz
Post Number: 1572
Registered: 12-2005
| | Posted on Saturday, February 17, 2007 - 8:12 pm: | |
Gargoyle, that last paragraph may be the most poignant I've ever read here. It sums up everyone's feelings about the event, and at such a personally touching moment.
Please don't hesitate to post more often! |
Eastside_charlie
Member
Username: Eastside_charlie
Post Number: 21
Registered: 02-2007
| | Posted on Saturday, February 17, 2007 - 11:55 pm: | |
you missed it!
webber st house in grosse pointe estate sale
many remnants from the hudsons store
many very awesome items for sale indeed.
top 3rd floor was a lika a play stage with seats from the state fair theater and inside was upgraded to the max. it was worth 10 x's the price of admission, free |
Eastside_charlie
Member
Username: Eastside_charlie
Post Number: 23
Registered: 02-2007
| | Posted on Sunday, February 18, 2007 - 12:06 am: | |
gargoyle, i feel you pain |
Cmubryan
Member
Username: Cmubryan
Post Number: 378
Registered: 11-2003
| | Posted on Sunday, February 18, 2007 - 4:09 pm: | |
Was that Lincoln Park Hudson's a full service store?
So interesting, I never knew there were other Hudson's that were closed up besides the Downtown one! |
Sstashmoo
Member
Username: Sstashmoo
Post Number: 14
Registered: 02-2007
| | Posted on Sunday, February 18, 2007 - 4:55 pm: | |
Downtown Hudsons back in the 60's and 70's was really nice inside. All marble, polished wood, polished brass. It looked like everyone should be wearing dress clothes to just be in there. I went with my Dad and he wore a suit that day. And he made me put on good clothes. It was truly a classy place. That was probably the first elevator I ever rode. There are no dept stores that I've seen that even come close to the atmosphere there. |
Gargoyle
Member
Username: Gargoyle
Post Number: 51
Registered: 04-2006
| | Posted on Sunday, February 18, 2007 - 5:42 pm: | |
The Lincoln Park store was way too small to offer even a tenth of what the downtown store had. As I recall, it closed at about the same time as the store at Southland Mall opened. |
Messykitty
Member
Username: Messykitty
Post Number: 201
Registered: 03-2006
| | Posted on Sunday, February 18, 2007 - 5:44 pm: | |
The Lincoln Park store was a 'basement' store. |
Hysteria
Member
Username: Hysteria
Post Number: 2472
Registered: 02-2006
| | Posted on Sunday, February 18, 2007 - 7:30 pm: | |
One of my neighbors is a son of the owner of a successful old Chrysler/Plymouth dealership here in South Bend called Modern Motors. In the early 1950's, his family purchased a huge mansion, built by the Studebakers, just east of downtown SB.
Anyway, my neighbor is now close to 70 years old and told me a couple of years ago of his memories of Detroit and the downtown Hudson's store.
His father would bring him and his sister and brothers to the Chrysler headquarters in Highland Park when he attended meetings there. While their father was in meetings, a Chrysler associate and chauffeur would take them in a Chrysler Imperial limousine to Hudson's where they could pick out all the toys and clothes they wanted - courtesy of Chrysler Motor Co.! They would have lunch in The Dining Room - he always ordered the Deviled Egg, Tomato and Smithfield Ham Salad and a Chocolate Malted Milk. When the meetings were over, Chrysler HQ would call someone at Hudson's, alerting them that the meetings were over and the children were taken back to Highland Park. He never told me if they stayed overnight there but I am guessing they did. I will have to ask him that.
The glory days of the auto industry were certainly something. |
Jasoncw
Member
Username: Jasoncw
Post Number: 343
Registered: 07-2005
| | Posted on Sunday, February 18, 2007 - 10:27 pm: | |
If anyone has taken any good photos of the building, and if you have a flickr.com account, can you please upload them? There aren't a lot of Hudsons photos on there. |
Ccheski
Member
Username: Ccheski
Post Number: 3
Registered: 02-2007
| | Posted on Monday, February 19, 2007 - 9:24 am: | |
I had my first communion photo taken at the studio at the downtown Hudson's. They asked if one of my pictures could be enlarged and hung as part of their display, and I remember we went back to see it there. That was probably 1963.
My mother and I would go downtown on the bus that we caught on Outer Drive near Mound. I can't remember where we transferred. Maybe someone else has a memory of that. I remember Hudson's and eating at the lunch counters in old dime stores with creaky wooden floors. Nizner's, I think? |
Gargoyle
Member
Username: Gargoyle
Post Number: 54
Registered: 04-2006
| | Posted on Tuesday, February 20, 2007 - 7:12 pm: | |
Ccheski, our mothers must have thought alike. When we went downtown to shop we left home around 7:30 am and had our breakfast in Neissner's. Mom would linger over her coffee until Hudson's was about to open, then drag me by one arm across the street when the nice uniformed doorman appeared out front. If I was well-behaved (which meant I didn't whine or complain) we would have lunch at Hudson's as a treat. If I was bad, I didn't get lunch. Mom didn't need lunch; she lived on cigarettes and black coffee. If I had been REALLY good, she'd finish the shopping trip with a spin around the 12th floor so I could gape at the toys. She didn't buy any, mind you, but she let me look. |
Ccheski
Member
Username: Ccheski
Post Number: 4
Registered: 02-2007
| | Posted on Wednesday, February 21, 2007 - 3:56 pm: | |
Gargoyle, they were very much alike, right down to the black coffee and cigarettes!
So, Neissner's was right across the street from Hudson's? I Googled "Neissner's" and found someone reminiscing about eating there in downtown Denver in the '50s and '60s. |
C_p
Member
Username: C_p
Post Number: 10
Registered: 11-2006
| | Posted on Wednesday, February 21, 2007 - 5:35 pm: | |
Living in Windsor, on every second Saturday, we took the tunnel bus to Detroit to go to the Motor city to shop, hang out, and with any luck meet some American girls. We always visited
Hudsons as part of our exciting day trip to Detroit.In the 60's we would buy the latest 45's at Hudsons. We could buy the latest hits on the 13th floor ( if memory serves me correctly), then if we found a record we had to have we would always go to the basement where sometimes we could find a current hit for 2 cents less. So for 69 cents on the 13th or a bargain price of 67 cents in the basement. We also loved Ross Records, Grinnels, and United shirt. Man what a paradise for us Canadiens to be able to buy a yellow or cranberry button down shirt for $9.99. At that time the our dollar was actually worth more, however the merchants would hardly ever offer the exchange. We didn't care cause we could get all the big city stuff and then take the tunnel bus home wearing 3 or 4 shirts and 2 pairs of pants( in the hot weather) and when we walked thru customs dripping sweat, would tell the customs guy, "Nothing to declare". They would look at us and with a kind of smirk say go ahead. |
Gargoyle
Member
Username: Gargoyle
Post Number: 56
Registered: 04-2006
| | Posted on Wednesday, February 21, 2007 - 6:57 pm: | |
Ccheski, I'm not sure if it was Neissner's or Woolworth's across the street. I do know that Mom like Neissner's better, maybe because she frequently patronized the one in Wyandotte. She always referred to that store by its name, whereas Woolworth's was simply the "dime store".
But whichever it was, they had the creaky wooden floors, the popcorn/peanut smell, and an undulating lunch counter with waitresses in starched white uniforms, little caps, and pencils behind their ears. They always seemed prepared to serve the early morning Hudson's shoppers. |
Karenk
Member
Username: Karenk
Post Number: 28
Registered: 07-2006
| | Posted on Wednesday, February 21, 2007 - 7:29 pm: | |
We would take the bus from 10 mile & Jefferson to go shopping and my Mom would take me to lunch at Hudson's. In 1957/8, it was so elegant for an 9 yr. old. I was so impressed when the elevator guy announced "mezzanine"-so fancy! Always had a Maurice salad, it's still a favorite whenever I'm in Michigan, although I think they have changed them a bit. I'm sure the store itself wasn't as large as I recall or as elegant. It still left a lasting memory in a little kid. Last time in the downtown store was probably 1964? |
Kathleen
Member
Username: Kathleen
Post Number: 1972
Registered: 10-2003
| | Posted on Sunday, February 25, 2007 - 9:56 am: | |
Here's a piece of late 19th century Hudson's memorabilia (found among and saved from my grandfather's estate almost 30 years ago):
Here's some info on Symington (his house still stands at the sw corner of Second and Alexandrine): http://detroit1701.org/CampbellSymington.html |
Burnsie
Member
Username: Burnsie
Post Number: 867
Registered: 11-2003
| | Posted on Sunday, February 25, 2007 - 10:44 am: | |
Karenk wrote, "I'm sure the store itself wasn't as large as I recall or as elegant"
It definitely was as large as you can remember! Nearly 2.2 million square feet. Of course, a good chunk of that was off-limits to the public.
As far as elegance, take a look at these photos:
http://www.detroithistorical.o rg/collections/index.asp?ID=13 |
Emu_steve
Member
Username: Emu_steve
Post Number: 161
Registered: 11-2006
| | Posted on Sunday, February 25, 2007 - 2:14 pm: | |
I wonder when I threw my Hudson's credit card away?
I used it in the 70s to buy an engagement ring.
I don't know where the old credit card is, where the engagement ring is or the woman I gave it too. ;-)
Life does change, doesn't it... |
Ebon
Member
Username: Ebon
Post Number: 3
Registered: 03-2007
| | Posted on Sunday, March 04, 2007 - 5:18 pm: | |
As a kid in the 40's our family would arrive early for the J L Hudson Thanksgiving day parade and stand on Woodward Ave opposite the downtown store. When Santa arrived he would go to the hard canopy over the main entrance on Woodward and wave to the eager kids (my brothers and I and thousands of others.)
I also remember the magical display windows decorated for the Holidays with animated characters.
Woodward Ave was a retail strip with Crowley Milner's 1 block south and Ernst Kern 1 more block south. How many husbands waited patiently under the Kern clock to rendezvous with their spouse.
I recall a back or side entrance to Hudson's where a doorman would hold open the door for shoppers after being dropped off by a cab or husband who then went off to park the family car. |
Johnnny5
Member
Username: Johnnny5
Post Number: 451
Registered: 06-2005
| | Posted on Sunday, March 04, 2007 - 5:31 pm: | |
My only memory of the Hudson's building was standing at the corner of Woodward and Jefferson when it came down. It is still one of the most awe inspiring events I have ever witnessed. After dusting ourselves off we headed over to Windsor(Wasn't quite 21 yet)for an early evening pub crawl. |
Kathinozarks
Member
Username: Kathinozarks
Post Number: 247
Registered: 11-2006
| | Posted on Sunday, March 04, 2007 - 7:57 pm: | |
Burnsie, thanks for the link to the pix of Hudson's. I haven't finished going through all 166 of them yet but look forward to it later this evening. |
Traxus
Member
Username: Traxus
Post Number: 78
Registered: 02-2006
| | Posted on Wednesday, March 07, 2007 - 7:58 pm: | |
I heard you could buy everything from cradles to coffins there. |
Oladub
Member
Username: Oladub
Post Number: 16
Registered: 08-2006
| | Posted on Thursday, March 08, 2007 - 9:48 am: | |
Circa 1954-
At least two sides of Hudson's had changing window displays. The Christmas displays were awesome.
The back side of Hudson's had a lot of wood and brass doors. Memory has it that it was dark back there with many loading trucks. Was that the short cut to Crowley's? Was there an awning, or something, that made it dark?
The elevators listed no 13th floor although there was a "M" (is it an "M" or a "M") between 1 and 2.
The "basement store".
For being good, after interminably long times spent on the ladies floors, there were visits to the toy department where model train were displayed. |
Fareastsider
Member
Username: Fareastsider
Post Number: 206
Registered: 08-2006
| | Posted on Thursday, March 08, 2007 - 11:19 am: | |
Hate to raise any bad memories but here are two vids on from accross the river I believe and one near the Waterboard building. In the one downtown the smoke ends up over taking the crowd.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v =khD2gZkkSu0
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v =gRfCS8VwsUE |
Barnesfoto
Member
Username: Barnesfoto
Post Number: 3137
Registered: 10-2003
| | Posted on Thursday, March 08, 2007 - 12:10 pm: | |
My folks met while working at Hudson's Northland, and my father worked there until the 80's, so the employee discount meant few visits to other stores...
The trip to downtown Hudson's was an incredible ritual...My mom would take me to Grand River, where we would board the bus. The driver would call out the major streets as we passed them. My favorite was :Greenfield! Wards! Kresge's! Federal's"!
Then on past the majestic Riviera Theater and Northwestern HS, which had a giant cannon in front.
Finally, the bus would stop somewhere just short of Woodward, where we would walk amidst hoards of people.
Then to Hudson's, the peak of the ritual. Through the huge row of doors into a first floor with ceilings that seemed to be a hundred feet high, dark wood paneled walls and the smell of perfume from the cosmetics counters.
The mezzaniane had the really interesting stuff like The coin and stamp shop.
Every floor had these beautiful polished bronze drinking fountains, and I could have rode the elevators all day watching those white-gloved ladies moving the wheel back and forth.
Then there was the barber shop, which from my perspective, had a row of at least 1000 barber chairs, almost infinite.
At some point, we would have lunch in the cafeteria, where the spaghetti was better than anything my mom ever made.
As I got older, the place seemed to shrink.
It was not just my imagination...
They were closing floors, gradually.
I don't remember ever being past the 10th floor.
But towards the end, there were only 8 or so.
At one point, my dad came home and told us that management wanted to close the downtown store,
Which was kind of like hearing the news that there really was no Santa Claus, in other words, a crushing disappointment.
By this time, I was in 9th grade, and began recruiting my friends to take trips downtown on the Grand River Bus...
We were old enough to see that the glory days were long past, and also to know we were savoring the last of something.
I made one last trip to Hudson's the fall before they closed it, and it was sad to see so few people there...
When they demoed the building, I resolved not to watch. But miraculously, I found myself headed to a party on that fateful saturday, and as I got onto the Lodge from I-75, passing by the back of what is now Slow's BBQ, there, shimmering in the evening sun, was Hudson's. It was 7:10 pm, and the demo had been scheduled for 7.
I chuckled with delight. "Ha! Something went wrong!" I thought.
At that moment, I watched the building crumble over, a sad ending to the other little faded film clips
that play in my head when someone brings up downtown Hudson's. |
Burnsie
Member
Username: Burnsie
Post Number: 888
Registered: 11-2003
| | Posted on Thursday, March 08, 2007 - 1:36 pm: | |
Ccheski and Gargoyle-- Woolworth's was definitely across the street from Hudson's, at the northern end of Woodward. I don't know where Neisner's was but it was probably close by.
Barnesfoto-- The building actually imploded at or very close to 5:45 PM (store closing time).
Oladub-- All four sides of Hudson's had changing window displays. In the heyday they were changed multiple times a month. The side with the most display windows was Woodward, though.
A marquee (awning) encircled the entire building except for the alley entrance on Gratiot. Sometime in the later years (or after it closed, for all I know), the section of the marquee over the truck entrance on Farmer (base of the tower) was removed. Crowley's was kitty-corner from Hudson's at the SE corner of Gratiot and Farmer.
I managed to take pictures of Hudson's in the summer of '97. I remember being impressed by some still-existing early 1960's brushed aluminum signs above the doors which said "HUDSON'S" then below that "ENTRANCE SIX," "ENTRANCE SEVEN," etc. These were different from the small plaques which used to be next to the doors. In 1997 there were still at least five signs remaining. I hope the Historical Museum got them. If not that, they're either in a landfill or in someone's house.
Not counting truck entrances, there were about thirteen entrances to the building!
The "M" (mezzanine) level was expanded over the years. |
Fareastsider
Member
Username: Fareastsider
Post Number: 209
Registered: 08-2006
| | Posted on Thursday, March 08, 2007 - 1:43 pm: | |
I always feel that me and my generation born in the 80's lost out by not seeing Hudsons. Anyone and I mean anyone who went there in its prime has a story and loved the place I never hear anyone complain about it. I think it sucks that the only Detroit I know is the one today, which I still enjoy but I long to have seen it as a vibrant city. At least most people my age can tell their grandkids about walking through 60 yards of hot asphalt into a warehouse with no windows full of cheap products! |
Fareastsider
Member
Username: Fareastsider
Post Number: 210
Registered: 08-2006
| | Posted on Thursday, March 08, 2007 - 1:45 pm: | |
What was the reasoning for imploding Hudsons...was there a lack of available parking in the downtown area? High demand from all the occupied structures in 1998 I assume |
Lafayette
Member
Username: Lafayette
Post Number: 1
Registered: 03-2007
| | Posted on Thursday, March 08, 2007 - 2:37 pm: | |
Parking not a problem; lack of customers was along with a lack of political desire to seriously entertain plausible re-use plans. |
Stinger4me
Member
Username: Stinger4me
Post Number: 13
Registered: 08-2007
| | Posted on Saturday, August 25, 2007 - 6:27 pm: | |
I recall seeing horses from the Mounted Bureau being tied in the covered alleyway. It was a classy store. If you needed it Hudson probably sold it and would deliver it via their fleet of green delivery vehicles. |
Elimarr
Member
Username: Elimarr
Post Number: 15
Registered: 09-2007
| | Posted on Thursday, October 11, 2007 - 9:54 am: | |
I enjoyed reading the memories of Hudson's. My visits to Hudson's involved going on the Van Dyke/Lafayette bus with my mom and we would go on a seasonal basis - like Back to School, Christmas, etc. I know I went from the time I was very young because I had to be lifted up to drink from those polished brass fountains (so I was even too small to use the stepping block provided.)
Question...A few people have written about the 12th Floor being "Santaland" but I have thought it was called "Fantasyland." Was there a time period where it was know as "Fantasyland?" The REAL Santa Claus and I took a picture together and I could only muster a very overheated smile because I was wearing a heavy snowsuit!
(Message edited by elimarr on October 11, 2007) |
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