HUDSON'S: DETROIT'S LEGENDARY DEPARTMENT STORE
By Michael Hauser and Marianne WeldonFounded in 1881, Hudson's Department Store led the retail industry in service and selection for more than I00 years. Recall the days spent shopping with mom or sitting at the soda fountain with the most comprehensive collection of Hudson's images ever compiled in Hudson's: Detroit's Legendary Department Store.
Vintage photographs allow readers to chart the ascent of Hudson's from a men and boy's store to the nation's third-largest department store in 1927 through to its presentday membership in the Target Corporation. Through the information within the pages, this book will help bring closure to those with questions as to why the downtown store closed and the obstacles faced in attempts to save it. Readers will gain further knowledge of the venerable Detroit institution, including how the Civil Rights movement affected Hudson's and the changes Hudson's implemented in the hiring and advancement of African-American employees; a description of which services occupied each of Hudson's 25 stories and four basement floors, including restaurants, administrative offices and the store's own interior design firm and the 1996 archaeological expedition of Hudson's, an endeavor which sought to preserve the downtown building through objects and photographs before its 1998 implosion.
All proceeds from this book will help fund the care of collections at the Detroit Historical Museum organization with which both authors are affiliated. Michael Hauser is marketing manager for the Detroit Opera House and was guest curator for the "Remembering Downtown Hudson's" exhibit at the Detroit Historical Museum. Marianne Weldon is collections coordinator for Detroit Historical Museums and received a NEA Artistic Creativity and Preservation grant this year for a condition assessment survey of Detroit's outdoor public art collection. The book's price is $Ig.gS and is available at area bookstores, independent retailers, on-line booksellers or through Arcadia Publishing at www. arcadiapublishing .com or (888) 313-2665.
THE WAY IT WAS
By George Bulanda
This fascinating book of black and white photographs tells a graphic story of the rise and fall of the city of Detroit. The photographs originally appeared in HOUR Detroit magazine and were well received by the magazine's readers. Each photograph is accompanied with a short description that completes the picture story. Beginning with the first photograph of Detroit's history in 1880 and book leads the reader through the growth of the city when it was filled with vitality, ending with the late 1980s and the city in rapid decline. The two race riots, downtown Hudson shopping, Sanders Soda fountains, Bob-Lo boat trips, the vibrancy of Belle Isle and the industrial might of our factories during peacetime and war, are all chronicled.Published by Momentum Books, this 156 page hardcover book will grace any Detroiter's coffee table. The book is costs $29.95 and is available at bookstores, online at www.momentumbooks.com or call 800-758-1870.
