1931
We tend to think of suburbs as a post-World War II phenomenon, but some, such as Grosse Pointe, Birmingham, Royal Oak, Wyandotte, and Dearborn, have histories that reach back many years. In the days when train travel reigned supreme, Birmingham was an important hub between Detroit and Pontiac. In fact, according to Craig Jolly鈥檚 book Birmingham, the city鈥檚 rail service started in 1838.
The scene here, photographed on July 15, 1931, shows people either greeting passengers or ready to board the train themselves at the brand-new Grand Trunk Railroad Station, a Tudor Revival-style edifice on South Eaton that was built as a reduced version of the train station in Birmingham, England. It replaced a smaller building on Woodward. The station, constructed for $125,000 by Albert H. Aldinger and George B. Walbridge, was vacated in 1978 and, the next year, became a restaurant, Norman鈥檚 Eton Street Station. Today, it鈥檚 the site of the Big Rock Chop and Brew House. Since 1985, it鈥檚 been on the roster of the National Register of Historic Places.
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