NEWS Name A Motor City Paint Color in Wrigley Hall
Detroit Historical Museum
January 9 – February 28, 2018 on the Lower Level
Motor City Paint has created a new line of historic paint, and they’ve asked the Detroit Historical Society to help them name their new colors! Visit Wrigley Hall in the Detroit Historical Museum between January 9 and February 28 and look for a display of 25 giant, vibrantly colored paint chips. Enter your ideas for Motor City-inspired names, and Motor City Paint will choose the names for its new line from your suggestions. Winning entries will receive $100 in free paint from Motor City Paint and a grand prize winner will be selected from all participants to receive a $1,000 paint makeover from Motor City Paint.
Motor City Paint has also donated the paint for a makeover of Wrigley Hall. Located on the lower level of the Detroit Historical Museum, this space offers flexible seating and a multipurpose area for school groups, public programs and event rentals. This winter, Wrigley Hall will be renovated with a fresh coat of Motor City Paint, and exhibit space will be added so that we can display more two-dimensional artifacts from our collection.
MLK Jr. Day: “Bring the Dream to Life”
The Detroit Historical Museum
Monday, January 15 | 10 a.m. – 4 p.m.
Free admission!
Celebrate the legacy of Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. on MLK Day with “Bring the Dream to Life” on Monday, January 15at the Detroit Historical Museum. The program hosted by the Black Historic Sites Committee will feature children’s activities including making your own Martin Luther King Jr. coloring and activity book, open mic poetry with a focus on “the spirit of Dr. King” hosted by One Single Rose as well as cupcakes to celebrate what would have been the activist’s 89th birthday.
The Detroit 67 Project team will also be on-hand to lead interactive family activities, reflection and dialogue. For any questions, contact Public Programs Coordinator Charnae Sanders at 313.833.0277.
Third Thursday Speaker Series:
The Economic Roots of 1967
Detroit Historical Museum
Thursday, January 18 | 6 – 8 p.m.
Our popular Third Thursday Speaker Series resumes this winter at the Detroit Historical Museum. Attendance is free, but pre-registration is encouraged, as space is limited. To register for a presentation, please contact Charnae Sanders, Public Programs Coordinator at 313.833.0277 or charnaes@detroithistorical.org.
The Economic Roots of the 1967 Uprising in Detroit
by Thomas A. Klug, Marygrove College
This presentation will examine the long-term economic change that hit Detroit beginning in the 1950s – namely, the dramatic loss of manufacturing employment due to the geographic decentralization of the auto industry, automation, plant closings and corporate mergers. The massive loss of manufacturing jobs in Detroit affected all working-class people, but it had a disproportionately negative impact on the employment hopes of young African-American men. Soaring auto sales and factories flush with work during the economic boom of the 1960s appeared to herald a prosperous future for the city and its residents, but the uprising in July 1967 revealed this to be an illusion.
Thomas A. Klug is professor of history at Marygrove College. His research and publications focus on the history of labor, employers and immigration in Detroit. He is the editor of the Great Lakes Books series of Wayne State University Press and a member of the editorial board of The Michigan Historical Review.
Dossin Great Lakes Bathroom Renovations
* PLEASE NOTE that bathrooms at the Dossin will be under construction and unavailable during January and February in order to create up-to-date, handicap accessible facilities. During the closure, nearby public restrooms will be available in Shelter 7, located in the parking lot across from the Anna Scripps Whitcomb Conservatory.
CURRENT EXHIBITS
Community Gallery exhibitions are supported by the Michigan Council for Arts and Cultural Affairs and the National Endowment for the Arts.
For more than two years, the Detroit Historical Society has convened diverse groups and communities around the effects of a historic crisis with its Detroit 67: Looking Back to Move Forward project. From the hundreds of oral histories in our archive, the assistance and input of our many partners, and the latest historical scholarship, we have developed the Detroit 67: Perspectives exhibition to allow visitors to better understand the events leading up to July 1967, where we are today, and connect to efforts moving Detroit forward for the next fifty years.
Open through January 7, 2018 in the Community Gallery!
In 1917, Selfridge Air Field was established in Harrison Township near Mount Clemens when the United States entered WWI. Named for Lt. Thomas E. Selfridge, the country’s first military pilot who was killed in 1908 while flying with Orville Wright, Selfridge was an early training ground for gunners and aircraft mechanics.After the bombing of Pearl Harbor, Selfridge became home to new recruits for basic training and the Tuskegee Airmen received combat training there as well. Later in 1971, the base was transferred from the US Air Force to the Michigan Air National Guard.
Today, Selfridge is the largest joint reserves forces base in the United States, home to the 127th Wing, Michigan Air National Guard, Air Force Reserves, Navy Reserves, Marine Corps, Army Reserves, Army National Guard and Coast Guard.
Opens January 20, 2018 in the Community Gallery!
50 Years. 1 Region.
Southeast Michigan Council of Governments Celebrates Its 50th Anniversary
SEMCOG, the Southeast Michigan Council of Governments, brings local governments together to address regional challenges. It works to improve the quality of the region’s water, makes the transportation system safer and more efficient, revitalizes communities and spurs economic development. This is made possible through the involvement of elected officials and citizens from across Southeast Michigan.
Since 1968, SEMCOG has worked with local governments throughout the Southeast Michigan region. Participants include Livingston, Macomb, Monroe, Oakland, St. Clair, Washtenaw and Wayne Counties. Join SEMCOG to celebrate 50 years of local governments working together. Learn what unites us. Take a look at what makes Southeast Michigan special and consider what the future holds for our region. You’ll have a chance to share your thoughts on the region’s future, and gain an appreciation for the work and collaboration that it will take to make this future a reality!
Now Open in the Automotive Showplace!
1963 Chrysler Turbine
After more than 50 years, the 1963 Chrysler Turbine is still the only example of a publicly available automobile that was powered by an adapted turbine jet engine. Chrysler had been experimenting with turbine engines as a replacement for piston-driven motors since before Work War II, and the company hand-built 50 turbine-powered vehicles at their Highland Park Design Studio. They launched an intensive two-year research test program in which consumers across the country were given the revolutionary cars to drive and then report their findings. When the program ended in 1966, the cars were rounded up and crushed. Only ten exist today. Our Chrysler Turbine is returning home after being on loan for many years. See it at the Detroit Historical Museum, just miles from where it was created.
On January 10, 1867, five Detroit gentlemen established a club with the intent of meeting weekly to discuss literature, art, science, travel, politics and society’s accomplishments. They chose the name Prismatic to represent the range of topics and opinions that were to be encouraged. A century and a half later, the club continues this weekly tradition, making it one of the oldest social organizations of its kind in the United States. Today, the Prismatic Foundation maintains the club’s midtown headquarters, and makes grants to organizations that preserve and promote the history of Detroit. This exhibition highlights the history, art and literature of the Prismatic Club.
Now Open! in the Booth Auditorium Lobby!
Re-Documenting Detroitis a multi-semester sponsored partnership between The Detroit Historical Society and the Photography Department at the College for Creative Studies to photographically document the changes to the environment and culture of Detroit. In 2015, the Society received a Knight Arts Challenge Grant that enabled us to revisit this project, which was started in the 1970s-
early 1980s under the guidance of Professor Emeritus Bill Rauhauser. Select photographs from Fall 2016 and Winter 2017 students will be on display, accompanied by images from our collection by the late Bill Rauhauser, as we pay tribute to his years of teaching and creating documentary photography in Detroit.
SPECIAL PROGRAMS
Winter
Film Series
Brothers on the Line
Saturday, January 13 and Sunday, January 14 | 3 p.m.
Detroit Historical Museum
Running time: 60 minutes
Directed by Victor Reuther’s grandson, Sasha, and featuring evocative archival footage, a pulsating soundtrack, as well as first-hand accounts from labor, management, and political personalities – including one of the last interviews with Senator Ted Kennedy, “Brothers on the Line” is an award-winning documentary exploring the journey of the Reuther brothers – prolific union organizers who led an army of laborers into an epic struggle for social justice.
Admission is FREE. Running time: 60 minutes. Shown at the Detroit Historical Museum.
Great Lakes, Ancient Shores: Sinkholes
Saturday, January 13 and Sunday, January 14 | 2 p.m.
Dossin Great Lakes Museum
Running time: 20 minutes
In this short film, you will be able to explore the coastlines of the prehistoric Great Lakes. Take a look at the natural history of the ancient shores as individuals
dive into sinkholes, underwater springs and other shores.
Admission is FREE. Running time: 20 minutes. Shown at the Dossin Great Lakes Museum.
Since 1972, the Historic Houses of Worship tours have acquainted Metro Detroiters with the contributions that religious institutions have made in the development of our community.
All tours run from 10 a.m. to 4 p.m. and depart from and return to the Detroit Historical Museum. The cost is $40 for Detroit Historical Society members and $50 for guests. Your tour fee includes motor coach transportation with docent commentary, historical presentations at each tour stop, lunch, and donations sent back to each location.