Title: Floral Clock at Gladwin Park, Detroit, Mich.
Caption on back: This Floral Clock is located at Gladwin Park, which contains 75 acres. Here also is the water pumping station were seventy-three million gallons of water are pumped daily for Detroit's supply. The Clock is run by water power.
Publisher: C.T. Photochrom
Used: Yes. It was postmarked at 9 a.m. on July 12, 1924, and mailed with a green 1¢ Benjamin Franklin stamp.
Comments: Alas, this clock and and this park are no more. According to HourDetroit.com, Detroit’s Water Works Park opened around 1879. The park was home to picnic sites, tennis courts, baseball fields, a library, a greenhouse and more. The water-powered floral clock at the park’s entrance came a little later. In 1912, the park was renamed Gladwin Park, but people never really came to call it that. The park's demise came shortly after World War II, according to a 2009 article on HourDetroit.com:
"It remained a popular draw, though, until 1945, when the City Council deemed it unsafe and closed it. It was razed in 1962. There are few vestiges of the park’s glory days, save for the Beaux Arts-style Hurlbut Memorial Gate facing Jefferson. It was erected in 1894 to honor Chauncey Hurlbut, a long-serving president of the Board of Water Commissioners. The area does, however, retain its original function of serving water to the city. In 2003, a sprawling wastewater-treatment facility was completed."
This postcard was mailed to Mr. B. Bishop in Floyd, Virginia, in 1924 and contains the following note, in cursive:
Dear Grandfather how are you? I am getting along fine and like my work — I wish you would take time and write to me. Love Elizabeth
Papergreat's Chris Otto is spending June 5, 2013, blogging as many vintage postcards as possible. It's "The Fast and Furious" (and hopefully also "The Fun") for ephemera lovers and deltiologists. Read all of the posts starting here. If you're a grandfather, though, please write to your grandchildren before reading any further.
No comments:
Post a Comment