Saturday, June 27, 2009

Flint Photos: 522 S. Saginaw Street



16 comments:

  1. maybe after the summer gets hotter, this window will look like a Dali painting.

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  2. Gordon:

    I don't recognize the store front -- but the address seems familar to me -- what once inhabited 522 S. Saginaw Street?

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  3. Does anybody really know what time it is? Does anybody really care? Anybody?

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  4. Rich, not sure what this was. And no idea what's up with the art-school window display.

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  5. I will have to drive downtown to check, but jugding from what is across the street I would guess this is the Office Supply store that was just up from old Copa, Bakers Drugs, and Dales? I can't even think of the name of it, but it was a great store.

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  6. If you map.google it, there's a street view, and you can see it's right next to Flint Optical.

    Someone should title it 234-1212...

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  7. Was it Carlton's? Or was Carlton's the office supply store that use to be across from the old Sears store?

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  8. "Schaefer's" (sp?) was across Detroit Street from Sears.

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  9. That's the right spelling of Schaefer's. That business still exists under different ownership on Linden Road in Flint Township.

    When I was growing up, Carlton's was on the north side of Kearsley, I think, east of Saginaw. They're out of business now, but they may have been on Saginaw for a while.

    I think the most recent business at 522 was Time Systems, a temp agency. Presumably, thus the clocks.

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  10. Thanks clearing up some of the confusion with the names of the office supply stores. Carlton's was on Kearsley Street as you said and I think it was Carlton's that had to move to Saginaw Street.

    And speaking of downtown businesses -- does anyone remember King's Optical. You had to take the elevator in the Kresge building up to one of the floors to get to where they did business. I got my first pair of glasses there.

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  11. Carlton's ended up where the Rowe building is currently being pieced together. It was the home to the Local when I used to go there (2001-2003ish).

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  12. I'm pretty sure thats the old TIME building - and I think it is at 522. I had an art studio there back around 1990 - a couple of guys an a time clock business out of there.

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    Replies
    1. HI SCOTT... MARK HERE... STILL IN ALEXANDRIA, VA?
      I STILL ENJOY "ATTACK OF THE BIRD PEOPLE" IN MY LIVING ROOM!

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  13. I STILL OWN 522... I AM RETIRED NOW AND HAVE THE LOCATION ON THE MARKET. NO RUSH FOR A SALE... BUT WOULD LIKE TO SEE IT PUT TO GOOD USE. IT SERVED ME WELL FOR 24 YEARS AT THAT LOCATION. FYI... TIME CLOCKS, PAYROLL SYSTEMS AND TIME STAMPS.

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  14. Here were the tennants for 522 S Saginaw (510 S Saginaw pre 1930).

    --Carlton M.E. Office Supplies: 1903 (or around there) - 1950 (then I've been told they moved to the Local location as stated above)

    --New Vanity Shoes: 1952-1957

    --Underwood Vacuum Cleaners: 1972-1981

    --Fashion Forward: 1982-1984

    --Vacant: 1985-1989

    --AAA Time Clocks 1991-2012

    Now there is a shoe shop in the back and it looks like a seamstress going into the front.

    I'd love to see pictures of Carlton M.E.'s storefront if anyone knows where some exist.

    There are a couple of pics of New Vanity Slipper shop.

    I haven't seen any of Fasion forward or Underwoods.

    Cheers,
    ALW

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Thanks for commenting. I moderate comments, so it may take a while for your comment to appear. You might enjoy my book about Flint called "Teardown: Memoir of a Vanishing City," a Michigan Notable Book for 2014 and a finalist for the 33rd Annual Northern California Book Award for Creative NonFiction. Filmmaker Michael Moore described Teardown as "a brilliant chronicle of the Mad Maxization of a once-great American city." More information about Teardown is available at www.teardownbook.com.