Hudson's: Detroit's Legendary Department Store (Images of America)

Rating:
Summary: A DETROIT LEGEND
Review: I was too young to remember Hudson's dept. store in it's heyday of the 40's and 50's. But I do still have fond memories of staring at the wonderful chrismas displays in their windows when I was a child attending the annual Hudson's Thanksgiving day parade.

This wonderful little book by Michael Hauser details hudson's history from it's initial construction to it's final, sad, demolition. At it's peak, the massive Hudsons store spanned an entire city block and employed more than 10,000 employees.

Through his text and archival photos, you'll see as Hudsons was built from a single building to a sprawling complex of many buildings over the years. The great photography includes many shots of those great christmas displays in the windows as well as the yearly interior holiday decorating themes, and shots of the classic parade.

This is the tale of a store that was once a one-stop shopping location for everything: Clothes, Furniture, appliances, Toys, tools...truly the days of a multiple floor dept. store. And Hudson's serviced everything, from appliances to fur coats.

Among the most interesting parts and photos deal with the amazing instrastructure of the store...the massive power and boiler rooms to keep the place heated and lighted...the floor dedicated to the storage of over 500 elevator motors. The multitude of pneumatic tubes that went to every corner of the complex, the in house switchboard and operator dept. The store even had its own on-site hospital with 4 full-time doctors and 6 nurses.

Hudson's was truly a city unto itself in its prime. A place for members of high society to shop for expensive fur coats and jewelry and for the common man to shop for t-shirts, get a haircut, or a shoeshine.

A step back in time to an era we will never see again. Highly recommended!