New Partner Podcast: History Bedtime Stories Episode #1 – J.L. Hudson’s Memories

**We are pleased to share this new podcast from our friends at Detroit History Club, featuring its executive director Bailey Sisoy Moore with History Tours producer and tour-guide Kevin Walsh (also a Digging Detroit producer). More information, photos and even a Maurice Salad recipe on the Detroit History Club’s website. The legend and magic of […]

New Episode! Dearborn’s Arab American National Museum

Some Arab Americans in metro Detroit trace their family back five generations, to the 1880s–while some have only just arrived.  To honor metro-Detroit’s extensive role in offering haven and opportunity to one of the most influential waves of immigrants to the United States, Dearborn was selected as the site for the ten-year old Arab American National Museum. […]

New! Episode 17: Birthplace of the Model T – The Ford Piquette Avenue Plant

In 1904, Henry Ford purchased three acres beside a railroad line off Woodward and moved his new car company from Mack to Piquette Avenue. Join Digging Detroit with special guest Tom Genova and come explore the historic Ford Piquette Avenue Plant, rescued from demolition and transformed into an amazing collection of priceless cars and fascinating […]

New Podcast: Archivists Roundtable at Historic Abick’s Bar in Detroit

What to keep, what to throw away? The eternal question for the archivist. Some of Michigan’s top historical archivists join us for a roundtable discussion at historic Abick’s Bar on their unusual world–sometimes spent in dusty shelves and digging through dark basements and mysterious attics–but often waiting for you at the reference desk. They’ll share some familiar […]

New Student-Documentary: Paris Burton on Restoring Theaters, Revitalizing Neighborhoods in Detroit

Updated June 14, 2015:  Digging Detroit is excited to support the next generation of storytellers.  Below is a student documentary and journey with producer Paris Burton, a new graduate from University Liggett.  We also take an exciting look at the school’s unique senior year Academic Research Program.   (See press release on Paris and her collaboration with Digging Detroit.) […]

Episode 6: The Navin Field Grounds Crew

Professional baseball was played at the corner of Michigan and Trumbull for nearly a century.  The Detroit Tigers played their final game in 1999 and it took 10 years for the city to complete its demolition.  In just 5 years, the weeds and trash had grown so thick that few signs remained of the once manicured lawn […]

New Episode of Digging Detroit! Inside Detroit’s Music Vault at the DPL

In Episode 3, Digging Detroit’s Thomas J. Reed, Jr. joins curator Romie Minor as they explore the fabulous treasures inside the Detroit Public Library’s E. Azalia Hackley Collection (link). The collection and its corresponding concert started in 1943 by Detroit musicians and artists to honor the legacy of Ms. Hackley, a former Detroit Public School teacher who went on to […]

New Podcast: Dodge, Detroit & Women in Industry

Digging Detroit’s Tom Reed and Pete Kalinski discuss the early days of Detroit’s automotive history with experts Bailey Sisoy Isgro and Madelyn Rzadkowolski. Topics include: Advertising’s current portrayal of the Dodge Brothers Dodge’s famous dependability—and fix-it-yourself car kits General Patton and the Dodge military contract Women and Detroit’s cigar industry as a vehicle for entry into the […]

Digging Detroit – Episode 2: Rediscovering Detroit…One Bar at a Time

In Digging Detroit’s second episode, Pete and Tom climb aboard the Detroit Bus Company’s Prohibition Tour as they examine how bars with links deep in Detroit’s history are helping metro-Detroiters rediscover their city. Special guest, historian Mickey Lyons, shares her insight and research with the guys from inside The 2 Way inn, built by Civil […]