Dearborn Historical Museum

In honor of National Reading Month we wanted to share this slide image from 1995 showing the Borders Bookstore location on Ford Road in Dearborn.

Fairlane Town Center Mall had its grand opening 50 years ago today on March 2nd 1976. Only about 50 stores were open during its first week with many more opening later in March.

Inspired by recent NYC snow imagery, here's a winter shot of Wyoming Ave looking south from Brandt in December 1929.

Yesterday we shared an image of Oxford Lanes. Today we're sharing a February 1961 vs 2026 comparison just to the south showing Mallard's Tavern at 2400 S Telegraph and Stanke's General Store at 2430 Telegraph.

This February 1961 shot shows the Oxford Lanes Bowling Alley near the southwest corner of Telegraph and Scott. Located at 2200 S Telegraph, the building was torn down in the early 2010s for a car dealership.

With recent news about Jesse Jackson's passing, we wanted to share these Dearborn newspaper clippings from the 1988 Michigan Democratic Caucus. Jackson was the only candidate to make an appearance in Dearborn that election cycle. While Jackson placed 2nd in Dearborn, he won the state overall.

This image shows the Garrison Place East office building and adjoining 500 car capacity parking garage that recently made the news. Built in 1971, those facilities were designed and engineered time by the Nordstrom-Samson Associates firm

In honor of #NationalPizzaDay, here's an image of DeMarco's Pizza Palace @ 5960 Schaefer taken in October 1986. In the 2010s, the Schaefer Road DeMarcos closed and was replaced with Fratelli's in 2019. DeMarcos still operates a location on Ford Road in Dearborn Heights which opened in the late 2000s

We've paired up a February 3rd 1976 shot of "The Colonial Shoppes" commercial area on Telegraph just north of Hollander with an image taken today. Its a solid example of Dearborn aesthetic tastes changing over 50 years.

This photo shows the construction of a temporary ice skating rink in December 1955 at what is presumably Hemlock Park.

This interesting late 30s Dearborn Police shot shows Oakwood Blvd looking north at what is now Rotunda. Notice the early traffic lights in view?

Dearborn High would remain at that location until it moved to its current spot on Outer Drive in 1957. The building would later be remodeled into Adams Junior High School.

Dearborn High School's second building opened 100 years ago this week near the corner of Mason and Garrison streets. Containing 40+ rooms, the new building was a nearly 5 fold expansion in space from the high school's previous home in a now gone older building next door.

From 12-2, kids will be able to enjoy story time and participate in arts and crafts galore. New this year, our Education Coordinator has also developed some kids activities for teaching safe activism on a community level.

Join us January 19th for a kids celebration of Martin Luther King Jr Day at the McFadden Ross House (915 Brady)!

Jacobson's Department Store on the left was replaced in the early 2000s with the West Village Commons development that currently houses businesses such as Bayt Al Mocha and Chicken Kraze.

This image shows how the area now occupied by the west Peace Park and adjoining parking garages used to look back in December 1970.

Taken during a December 1978 Christmas Around the World event, this shot shows the south side of Michigan Avenue between Monroe and Mason.

65 years ago this week, the Michigan Avenue underpass at Greenfield opened to traffic.

With Ford's recent new headquarters opening, we're sharing this circa 1960s view of their Research and Engineering Campus area along with the old Product Development Center in the background. The photo looks northwest from near the intersection of Rotunda and Oakwood..

In 1975, steel works on Zug Island at the mouth of the Rouge were the destination of the Edmund Fitzgerald. Here's some maps showing how it evolved from a swampy peninsula to steelworks including the 1888 creation of a short cut canal

Dearborn merchants liked to start the Christmas season early even back in the 1950s. The attached ad and photos are from the Muirhead's Christmas Parade that was held 70 years ago this week in 1955.

In honor of the lecture, we're posting this shot from the 1945 Memorial Day Parade showing servicemen marching down Michigan Avenue in East Dearborn.

Tonight at the DHM, Lisa Lark will be discussing the stories of the nearly 350 Dearborn men and women who died for their country while serving in the military. Lisa will tell their stories against the backdrop of the homes and neighborhoods they left behind.

Do you need 1920s Halloween costume inspiration?
This shot from our Mildred Cronogue collection shows a Halloween 1924 party held at the home of Dora Rayworth on Michigan Avenue.

Happy Halloween from the Dearborn Historical Museum! 👻

This week's #ArtifactSpotlight is none other than Casper the Friendly Ghost. Mattel, Inc, manufactured this doll in the early 1960s.This doll was donated to the Museum by the Price family of Dearborn in 1967.

An interesting shot we came across today shows mechanic Al Husse with his high wheel bicycle next to the Clyde Ford dealership garage. Clyde Ford's dealership at the time of this 1918 shot was on the south side of Michigan just west of Oakwood.

An interesting map in our collection is this one titled "What To Do In Dearborn" 1964 edition. Published by the Bank of Dearborn, the map has features like museums, theaters, parks, and more.

This image taken 75 years ago this week during the Cavalcade of Dearborn Parade looks northeast toward the intersection of Michigan and Howard. Thieleman's Pharmacy visible in the photo was at the northeast corner of Michigan and Howard.

Taken October 7th 1996, this shot shows the Camelot Theater around when it was demolished. The building at the southwest corner of Warren and Miller original opened as the Circle Theater in 1937.
The theater was replaced by Super Greenland Market which opened the next year.