Photography
All photos hosted by the Flickr photo-sharing service: Over 4,400 photos with 11 million+ views.
City & Township photography
Specialty photography
- Allen Park Veteran’s Hospital
- Bob-Lo Island
- Detroit Dragway
- Detroit Metro Airport
- Lincoln Park Fire Dept.
- McLouth Steel
- Mehlhose Ice Cream
- Montgomery Ward (Southgate)
- Print Advertising
- Sears Lincoln Park farewell
- Sibley Prairie (Brownstown)
- Southland Mall (NEW, still developing)
- Then & Now (Erskine collection)
- Wyandotte Archives (Gutz collection)
Website Photostories
We are still in the process of adding & properly curating photos (August, 2026)
As of August 27, 2026, we are in the process of adding photos of two recent Downriver events: The Wall That Heals and its Taylor visit, and the open house of the former Security Bank Tower in Southgate (now the Bank Tower Apartments).
We also currently have another backlog of over 300 undocumented photos we are in the process of adding & gaining more information on.
The actual ordering of the photos in each album remains alphabetical; however, the order & arrangements may change on certain photos, depending on whether we decide to reword the header on each. When this is completed for each album, we will automatically re-alphabetize them. If possible, subjects with many photos taken throughout the years will be arranged by date taken.
Please note the most substantial change above (June, 2026) where Wyandotte’s collection now encompasses two albums. Header changes on these may determine whether a photo series shuffles to other albums. We will keep you informed.
You can help enrich our collection (sharing photos, confirming information)
The information provided on the captions contained with each picture only go by whatever the photo or the contributing source states upon time of inclusion. You are more than welcome to help fill in the missing details. The Flickr site which hosts our library allows for comments. Please feel free to submit your suggestions (in good taste, please) underneath the caption of any photo, and the caption will be reworded.
We also take painstaking steps to ensure each contributor is cited with the appropriate photo credit. By default, since the website now known as downriverhistory.blog (formerly downriverthings.com) originated from a similar Facebook group, and now functions within its own group, credits are given generally to the person or group which provided the photo to said group, unless a specific credit is mentioned in their description. In the transfer of information, however, such information can sometimes be misplaced. Additionally, photo credits could occasionally be directed to the wrong source. If you do know the appropriate credit to be given a photo, you can place your comments in the same comments section underneath the caption, and it will be reworded as appropriate, as well.
We strive to be as close to 100% accurate as possible, but mistakes are known to happen when recounting history! Thank you for understanding. When properly organized, the photos will be in alphabetical order, which will help reduce the number of reorganizations needed in the future.
Important disclaimers
Photos on the website and accompanying photo storage service are contributed through self-research and Facebook member submissions, assumed shareable and subject to public viewership. Additionally, public domain is assumed for photos older than a certain age.
We will not knowingly post photos with copyright watermarks on them.
If copyright or allowance issues persist, please contact the webmaster directly through our Contact Page. Please include type of photo & its location.
Photosharing contributions copyrighted by Getty Images, 2013-2026