I was heading home last night, and as I traveled across the Johnson Street bridge, I saw downtown Saginaw illuminated by the setting sun. I had to stop and take a few pics, even though I have taken several pics of downtown from the bridge before, I figured why not take a few more while I can.
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I was born in 1970, around the time the mall was built. My grandparents would always tell me about going downtown to go shopping. when I was a kid, most of the stores had moved to the mall, and there was not many left in downtown Saginaw. I do remember shopping as a little kid at one store downtown that had that old school elevator with the metal cage and an operator to take you up or down, but I don’t remember the name or location of the store. I came across this photo of J C Penny on Washington and it hit me like a ton of bricks when I saw the building in the photo. looking at the building now, there still is the black granite and glass windows and doors, like the J C Penny I remember at Green Acres Plaza on State Street. It’s hard for me to imagine what downtown was like before the mall was built.
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I like seeing the red white and blue bunny at Jake’s on the corner of Hamilton and Court. The statues that were on display around Saginaw have all been packed up and shipped off to where ever they are going to next, so I was thinking next summer, it would be nice to see the bunnies out on display. I see them for a short time for the Easter Egg Hunt on the court house lawn, but maybe they can be displayed around Saginaw like the statures were.
few people entered my t-shirt giveaway at Saginaw Today so you have a good chance of winning if you enter HERE
I have a few shirts left, they sold really fast, if you want one while they are still on sale you can order them HERE
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If you are in your car on Brockway, stopped for the light at Gratiot, you are looking at what used to be the old Marr Theater. It was built in 1938 by George E Marr, I guess it’s obvious how the theater got its name. The 725 seat grand old theater had a Mayan Temple theme, with a large marque on the front facing Gratiot. I am not exactly sure when it closed, but I think it was in the late 1950’s around the time when Saginaw residents were getting their entertainment from the television, instead of the movies. Sometime later after it closed, it was converted into a shopping plaza with a bridal boutique and a comic book store.
P.S one more fact about this place is I used to work here, no not when it was a theater, I ain’t that old, but in the late 90’s I worked for a company that engineered automotive tooling and test equipment. The old building still has the upstairs projector room.
just a reminder shirts are on SALE this weekend, what I have in stock is selling fast, if you want one before they are gone you can order them HERE
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I thought it was time to for a different color Pure Saginaw shirt, so I did some gray t-shirts with a black Pure Saginaw logo on the front. This weekend all Pure Saginaw Shirts on are Sale, I hope you will check them out since they help me with expenses to do my website.
Some of my older styles and colors I only have a couple of shirts left, so if you want one get it before it’s gone. I don’t want to keep too many shirts in stock, so I will be rotating out different colors and styles. If there is something you like, I hope you will get one while they are available.
thank you all for your support, it really means a lot to me that you enjoy what I do.
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As the kids go back to school it’s hard for me to imagine what it must have been like to go to a one room schoolhouse. I Graduated from Carrollton High School in the 80’s and we had about 80 students in my graduating class. I always thought that was a small school, now with the way schools are funded, it seems to benefit the larger school districts to have more students for more funding, and I am sure we will never see any new one room schoolhouses.
Bridgeport’s School District #6 was established in 1862 and the school was built in 1867. Miss Lucie H. Adams was the first teacher in the new school building. In 1953, the school was moved from 4705 South Washington Road to Brown Street, a.k.a. Bearcat Boulevard, across from the old Bridgeport Junior High, where Mrs. McNally used the school as a music classroom and it was nicknamed “Carnegie Hall.”
In 1962, it was painted red, named “The Little Red Schoolhouse” and was used as a pioneer school museum. In 1987 with the old schoolhouse deteriorating the school district made the decision to have it demolished but a group of Bridgeport citizens raised money and had it moved to the Bridgeport Historic village in 1990 and restored it to it’s original condition and color.
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After the Flint “Sit Down Strike” in December of 1936, the newly organized UAW members went on strike at Saginaw Steering Gear in February 1937. Striking over working conditions, and wages, the first shift workers were locked in the plant, and second shift workers were not able to get in. The strike only lasted a few hours, but a new contract was signed, and the workers of Saginaw were represented by the newly formed United Auto Workers union.
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I saw this photo in the Saginaw Public Library archives of these guys working on the road at the corner of Michigan and Genesee in the 70’s, I know the photos is supposed to be about the workers, but what I noticed were all the buildings. Like the old gas station on the corner with the ” ding ding” full service, where Rite Aid is now. And one of my favorite places, Wesley’s Bicycle Shop. I can still remember that new Schwinn smell when you walked in the front door. I also remember N. Michigan being a one way street north of Genesee, and it still feels strange driving the ” wrong way”. Whenever I drive thru that intersection, I always remember the way it was.
Facebook is continuing to push me to boost my posts, and is showing my posts to less and less followers, I hope you will consider signing up for email notifications
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You have to go all they way back to the lumbering days for the history of the old Chevrolet Parts Plant on the corner of 6th and Washington. In 1906 Saginaw Business men Arthur Eddy and E.A. Robertson persuaded John T. Rainier to move his car company into the old Merschon-Schutte-Parker lumber mill on the corner of 6th and Washington.
In the early 1900’s William C. Durant started purchasing automotive compaies to form General Motors, and in 1907 he purchased the Rainier Motor Co. and the plant on the corner. It’s name changed to the Marquette Motor Co. and by 1912 it had employed 244 workers, and produced 15 cars a week, but sales were slow and the plant closed in 1913.
During WWI GM received a government contract to produce mortar shells, and the old plant was reopened, and production of the shells hit 25,000 in a 9 hour shift. After the war, all the General Motors plants in Saginaw were united as the Saginaw Products Company Division, and the factory on the corner of 6th and Washington became the Saginaw Products Company Motor Plant. That’s when the the famous Chevrolet “Bow Tie” sign went up on the roof.
The plant produced the 4-cylinder engine for the “Baby Grand” Chevrolet touring car. In 1923 it re-tooled to manufactur the “sensational six” engine for General Motors. The plant was shut down in 1929 in the depths of the great depression, and used as a where house, until 1935, when it became part of the foundry, and was called the Chevrolet Saginaw Service Parts Plants, building engines and service parts.
By the start of WWII, the plant was manufacturing 7 million different parts annually, such as connecting rods, clutch collars, pistons and pin assemblies. After production of new Chevrolet cars was stopped for the for the war, the plant continued making parts for armored cars and aircraft parts, along with replacement parts to keep the old Chevrolet running during those years Americans could not purchase new cars. At the end of the war, the plant was separated from the foundry, and became an independant plant for GM. In the 50’s, during the Korean War, the plant produced Wright Aircraft Parts.
During the 60’s the plant continued to produce water pumps, oil pumps, camshaft assemblies, piston and pin assemblies for General Motors, and by 1969 the plant changed it’s name to the Chevrolet Saginaw Parts Plant.
Throughout the 70’s the plant continued to produce water pumps, oil pumps and flywheels for the Pontiac 151 Ci 4-cylinder “iron duke” engine.
During the 80’s the plants tooling was slowly moved to the Chevrolet plants in Bay City and Flint, and by 1983 the plant was empty, no longer manufacturing parts for GM. Shortly after that, the old plant that produced some of the first cars in America was torn down, and is nothing more than a field on the corner of 6th and Washington.
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I saw that the Saginaw County Parks is having a ribbon cutting ceremony for the opening of the new rail trail that goes from Saginaw to Bay City HERE. I figured why not check out the rail trail before the ceremony, I knew there was a spot at the end of Melbourne Road where the trail is right next to it so I thought I would check it out but I guess I can’t open my presents early. They must still be 
doing some work on it or wanting to wait until it’s officially open before anyone can use it since they had some barricades up. I guess I will have to wait about a month to ride the new trail but I am looking forward to it, I have been on the one from Shields to St Charles but I am excited to go from Saginaw to Bay City. It’s also part of the Iron Belle Trail HERE, that loops around the whole state of Michigan.
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