Durant Hotel in the Fifties

Another great shot of Flint in the fifties by Mary Fisher, originally posted September 3, 2008. In addition to the Hotel Durant, the Flint Tavern Hotel, boasting "400 Rooms/Air Conditioned Restaurant," is visible on the left, behind a sign urging Flint to "Vote Republican/Vote IKE all the way!" and promoting "Fred M. Alger for Governor." Note the streetcar electric lines overhead.

Divine Intervention

Ah, the joys of eBay. Would you pay $395 for a faded photo of Jesus hovering over Flint?

Inside I.M.A. Auditorium

The late, great I.M.A. Auditorium frequently comes up in comments from readers who remember everything from dances to Alice Cooper concerts. I just realized I have some interior shots of I.M.A. by Mary Fisher, who has provided numerous other great images of Flint. The photos below are from the 1979 Carman High School graduation ceremony.

Flint Noire

There's no shortage of "abandoned-building pornography" — as reader VVürstsydæ VVårlørdæ so aptly put it — featuring Flint. Some hate it; some find it strangely beautiful. But as the weekend approaches, let's set aside our aesthetic bickering and just appreciate this amazing shot of the old hometown by Jason De Long.

Then and Now

Jar With Most gave us the corner of Miller & Ballenger, circa 1977. Now Arnold McIntyre gives us the same spot in 2008.

Photographic Evidence of The Infamous Tiles

Tom Wirt tempts fate on The Tiles

Would you ride your bike across this thing?

Long-time readers may remember an earlier discussion of The Tiles, the elevated sewer pipes just off River Valley Drive near McLaren Hospital. There was some back and forth about where The Tiles were located, or if they even existed, before Gerry Godin provided the details on the place where kids went to prove they were men:

"This was where you went to prove your bravery in the '60s.

"My friends and I were not that stupid; if you fell off while crossing you would either kill yourself or be maimed for life.

“This was the main sewer line for the city of Flint running all the way to the waste treatment plant located off Beecher Road. There is now a subdivision located next to the black pipe, but this was all field in the '60s. We always heard the legend about the kid who crossed it on a bike but that would have been impossible due to the large joints which protruded outward. I walked out about twenty feet on it before turning back, so I guess I was a little ignorant.”

Now Tom Wirt (a.k.a. Jar With Most) has provided these stunning 1974 photos — including one with Tom strolling nonchalantly across the ravine — proving that we weren't imagining The Tiles after all.

But this conclusive visual evidence does raise another intriguing question: Is there anything in Flint that Tom Wirt hasn't photographed?

Miller and Ballenger

Jar With Most offers up more memories of Flint in the seventies. Here's the corner of Miller & Ballenger, circa 1977.

Zimmerman Panorama

Zimmerman School, in all its glory, courtesy of Jar With Most, who's been saving Flint on film since the seventies.

Flint in the Fifties: Sears

The Sears Store on Detroit Street Near Fourth Avenue
Photograph by Mary Fisher

Nude Photos of Robert T. Longway Planetarium

The amazing fifties photos by Mary Fisher, provided by her daughter Jane Hogan seem limitless. Here are two shots of the Robert T. Longway Planetarium before it got its familiar aqua marine outer layer. The Bucky Fuller-esque structural elements look suspiciously like the Mercedes logo. The Buick badge would have been more appropriate, although probably less reliable.

Trains and cheap gas

Two more photos of Flint in the fifties by Mary Fisher via Grumkin.

St. Matthew's School, R.I.P.

A photo by Jar With Most captures the close architectural connection between St. Matt's church and school.

Two shots by Grumkin on a recent visit to Flint show what's left of St. Matt's school.

Oceans apart

Downtown Flint's Great Atlantic & Pacific Tea Company in 1909.

Photos by Grumkin

An eclectic batch of Flint-related photographs courtesy of Grumkin.

Bishop Airport sometime in the 1950s, back in the days when you could, apparently, ride your bike out to look at the planes.

The dashboard of a Buick with 99999.9 miles on it.

One of Faygo pop's area-code billboards. When I left Flint, it was still 313.

The music-filled tunnel at Detroit Metro Airport.

St. Matt's at the end of mass.