What we now know as the Walter P. Reuther Library of Labor and Urban Affairs began in 1958 as the Wayne State University Archives. For the next 34 years, Dr. Philip Parker Mason would serve as its Director. During his tenure in that capacity, he would initiate one of the first archival education programs, establish conferences and professional organizations, publish numerous books and other publications, conduct countless oral histories, serve as president of the Society of American Archivists, and build what would be considered the premier labor archives in the United States. Now an oral history documenting Mason’s life and career is available for review at the Reuther Library.  read more »

A Detroit without cars is hard to imagine, but like any city predating the automobile, the streets weren’t initially designed for a driving culture. Carved first by foot and then by wooden wheel, the landscape had to be adapted to new demands brought by cars. A visual evolution of Michigan Avenue can be traced in the Reuther’s Virtual Motor City, a collection of Detroit News photographs spanning 1860-1980.  read more »