Urban development

Walker Cisler Papers

pneirink — Tue, 04 Jan 2022 08:45:35 -0500

Walker Lee Cisler was a mechanical engineer who served as Chief Engineer of Power Plants, Executive Vice President, Chief Executive Officer, and Chairman of the Board at the Detroit Edison Company (later DTE Energy) between 1943 and 1975. The Walker Cisler Papers contain documentation of Cisler’s board membership and service to numerous national and Detroit area organizations and causes during his post-war tenure at Detroit Edison and after his retirement. Minutes, reports, membership rosters, and correspondence for organizations and causes including United Service Organization (USO), International Union of Producers and Distributors of Electrical Energy (UNIPEDE), Southeast Michigan Council of Governments (SEMCOG), and Urban Detroit Area Research Foundation are included.

Detroit Committee for Responsible Banking Records

dgolodner — Tue, 28 Jun 2011 13:17:59 -0400

The Detroit Committee for Responsible Banking (DCRB) grew out of awareness that banks in Detroit were under-funding city development while frequently supporting development in suburban areas. The DCRB was formed by James M. Edwards and Patrick J. Murray, both Detroit lawyers, and backed by an advisory board of community members. Initially, they focused their efforts on one bank – Comerica – and later went after Standard Federal, National Bank of Detroit, Manufacturers Bank, First of America, Michigan National Bank, and First Federal of Michigan.

The Detroit Committee for Responsible Banking Records document the efforts of the committee to bring attention to redlining practices of banks in the city of Detroit. They reflect a multi-faceted approach, including direct correspondences with banking officials, protests to state and federal banking oversight institutions, correspondence with various news media, and collaboration with other organizations. The materials in the collection include correspondences, acquisition and merger applications, mortgage and home improvement loan statements; Community Reinvestment Act files; bank publications, notes, news clippings, and related reports.

George Schermer Papers

srafferty — Wed, 23 Jan 2019 14:22:55 -0500

George Schermer worked to improve housing, human relations, and urban social problems throughout his career. First with the Chicago Housing Authority as a Supervisor of Tenant Selection and Tenant Services, before moving to Detroit where he worked with the Detroit Housing Commission as Assistant Director for Management. In 1945, Mayor Jeffries appointed Schermer as Director of the Detroit Mayor's Interracial Committee, which he created to help ease tension within the city, especially in the wake of the 1943 riot. Schermer left Detroit in 1953 to begin working as the Director of the Philadelphia Commission on Human Relations, where he worked for 10 years before resigning. Schermer opened a consulting firm, George Schermer and Associates, and worked with organizations like the Ford Foundation and U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development, around the country on urban social issues.

In his spare time, Schermer helped initiate the creation of the National Association of Human Rights Workers. He also served as the first President of the Michigan Committee on Civil Rights, as well as being heavily involved in neighborhood communities where he lived, namely Boston-Edison in Detroit and West Mt. Airy in Philadelphia.

The Schermer papers contain materials primarily from his career in Detroit, Philadelphia, and as a consultant. It also contains some personal material from his life outside of work including correspondence as well as his involvement in neighborhood associations and the Unitarian Universalist Service Committee.

Wayne State University Historic Advisory Committee Records

cwesterman — Fri, 12 Dec 2014 14:25:34 -0500

This collection contains records regarding historic preservation on Wayne State University’s campus, as well as materials related to the development of areas directly surrounding campus. The collection holds memos and records related to the Historic Advisory Committee, Historic Designation Advisory Board, the Detroit Historic Designation Board, the Campus Beautification Committee, Woodward Corridor Development, and Preservation Wayne.

Additionally, it holds the records pertaining to efforts to have the David Mackenzie House placed on the National Register of Historic Places, as well as the efforts to preserve the Max Jacob House. Some other notable geographic locations discussed in this collection are the Berry Subdivision, the Old Grace Hospital, the Monroe Block, the Belcrest Hotel, the Medical Center, and Cass Corridor.

Wayne State University Office of the President: George E. Gullen Jr. Records

thenning — Mon, 28 Mar 2022 13:26:30 -0400

George E. Gullen Jr. was the sixth president of Wayne State University. An alumnus, he first joined the university in an official capacity as Vice President of University Relations in 1966 after serving ten years as a vice president of American Motors Corporation. Gullen was named acting president of Wayne State in 1971 and fully appointed as university president in 1972. He stepped down as President in 1978.

During Gullen’s presidency, many developments were made both academically and physically to Wayne State University. Academic units were reorganized and the university broke ground on many structures and buildings. Under his leadership, the Wayne State University School of Medicine became the largest single-campus medical school in the nation. During this time, the university also took steps to address gender inequality and inequity by adopting an affirmative action policy, establishing the President’s Commission on the Status of Women, creating a Women’s Center, and making salary equity adjustments for women. Gullen also appointed the first woman vice president in the university’s history.

This collection consists of correspondence, memoranda, meeting minutes and agendas, financial records, proposals, agreements and contracts, committee rosters and reports, speeches, photographs, and news clippings documenting George Gullen Jr.’s presidency and the work of the Office of the President during his tenure. Particularly well documented are the university’s affirmative action policy, the organization and administration of colleges and schools, the development of the University Clinics Building and the School of Medicine, university committees, and relations with the Michigan legislature.

Eleanor Josaitis — Hands Across the Racial Divide

wlefevre — Thu, 11 Aug 2011 09:32:36 -0400

As a symbol, it is exquisite in its simplicity. Two hands inside a circle, one black and one white, almost but never quite touching across the racial divide. This has been the logo of Focus: HOPE, an organization fighting for basic human rights in Detroit and Southeast Michigan for over forty years. And until her death last week, one of the leaders of the fight was Eleanor Josaitis. read more »

Guest Post: Ciera Casteel on the Wayne State University Oral History Course Oral Histories

aorchard — Fri, 19 Apr 2019 11:05:31 -0400

Please note: The oral history course collections mentioned in this post have been consolidated into one collection: Wayne State University Oral History Methodology Course Oral Histories. Please refer to the finding aid here: https://archives.wayne.edu/repositories/2/resources/3381.

Over the course of the last few months I had the opportunity to work at the Reuther Library processing oral history collections. This was an incredible experience through which I was able to create tools to increase researchers' access to four relatively new collections: the Wayne State University Oral History Course Oral Histories. These four collections are a treasure for researchers studying a number of topics. read more »

(29750) Urban Renewal, Wayne State University, University City, 1964

eclemens — Thu, 18 Apr 2013 10:31:16 -0400

A view of the neighborhood at the corner of W. Warren Avenue and Lincoln. The area was targeted for demolition to make way for Wayne State's "University City," an area of mixed residential and educational development west of the main campus.

(32607) Days of Rage civil disobedience, Local 82, Washington DC, 1995

gstrassel — Tue, 13 Jan 2015 16:25:47 -0500

Protesters performing civil disobedience during the SEIU Local 82 J4J Days of Rage demonstrations in Washington DC.

(32608) Days of Rage march, Local 82, Washington DC, 1995

gstrassel — Tue, 13 Jan 2015 16:30:44 -0500

Local 82 Justice for Janitors days of rage demonstrations in Washington DC.

Protestors hold signs targeting Washington DC-area real estate developer Oliver T. Carr.

(32609) Days of Rage march, Local 82, Washington DC, 1995

gstrassel — Tue, 13 Jan 2015 16:33:10 -0500

Local 82 Justice for Janitors days of rage demonstrations, 1995.

John Sweeney marching with J4J demonstrators in Washington DC. Protestors hold signs targeting Washington DC-area real estate developer Oliver T. Carr.

(32610) Days of Rage road block, Local 82, Washington DC, 1995

gstrassel — Tue, 13 Jan 2015 16:43:35 -0500

Local 82 Justice for Janitors days of rage demonstrations, 1995.

Protestors performing civil disobedience during the SEIU Local 82 J4J Days of Rage demonstrations in Washington DC. Protestors hold signs targeting Washington DC-area real estate developer Oliver T. Carr.

(32611) Days of Rage demonstration, Local 82, Washington DC, 1995

gstrassel — Tue, 13 Jan 2015 16:48:29 -0500

Local 82 J4J days of rage demonstrations, 1995.

Protestors hold signs targeting Washington DC-area real estate developer Oliver T. Carr.

(32612) Days of Rage demonstration, Local 82, Washington DC, 1995

gstrassel — Tue, 13 Jan 2015 16:50:47 -0500

Local 82 J4J days of rage demonstrations in Washington DC, 1995.

(32613) Days of Rage demonstration, Local 82, Washington DC, 1995

gstrassel — Tue, 13 Jan 2015 16:54:25 -0500

Local 82 J4J days of rage demonstrations, 1995.

Protestor holds picket sign targeting Washington DC-area real estate developer Oliver T. Carr.

(32614) Days of Rage road block, Local 82, Washington DC, 1995

gstrassel — Tue, 13 Jan 2015 16:57:13 -0500

Local 82 Justice for Janitors days of rage demonstrations, 1995.

Andy Stern at the J4J days of rage demonstrations in Washington DC.

[Podcast] Detroit Remains: Using Historical Archeology to Connect Detroit’s Past to Its Present

teller — Thu, 19 May 2022 09:30:11 -0400

Dr. Krysta Ryzewski explains how historical archaeology digs at famous Detroit locales – including the Little Harry speakeasy, the Blue Bird Inn, and the Grande Ballroom – have clarified how underrepresented communities of Detroit experienced and responded to the Great Migration, changing economic forces, and a shifting political and social landscape in the 20th century. read more »

Nation's Cities

kchinery — Thu, 01 Aug 2013 15:03:21 -0400

Processed. Winter 1962; Vols. 3:6; 4:1-2, 11-12; 5:11-12; 6:1-8, 12; 7:6. Jerome P. Cavanagh Library Collection.

Planning and Route Location Study: Interstate 96, City of Detroit: A Brief Summary

kchinery — Thu, 01 Aug 2013 14:59:23 -0400

Processed. Jerome P. Cavanagh Library Collection.