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TBT to this beautiful Ann Arbor photo from circa 1930/1940!

Here, you can see the corner of North University Avenue and State Street, in a snapshot from the collection of local photographer Melvin Ivory.

This corner has been a key area in campus life ever since the University of Michigan first moved to Ann Arbor in 1837!

This intersection marks the corner of the Diag, home of U-M’s very first Ann Arbor buildings. The Diag contained the whole campus during U-M’s earliest years here.

U-M has grown since then, but this corner is still one that you’ve probably walked across, and one that many students see every day, although it looks different than it used to!

Scanned photos of Ann Arbor history from the Ivory Photograph collection at the Bentley are available to be explored online, if you are interested in seeing more images like this one!

#TBT #AnnArbor #StateStreet #UMich #Diag #MichiganHistory

Happy International Women’s Day!

Here are five remarkable women from Michigan history!

You can find out more about these women’s lives in the archives, by exploring:

⭐ The Louisa Reed Stowell papers
⭐ The Ruth Ellis papers
⭐ The Michigan Alumnus Magazine (most mentions of Dr. Ida Kahn occur between the 1890s and 1930s)
⭐ The Sojourner Truth scrapbook and ephemera in the Berenice Bryant Lowe papers
⭐ The Nannette Gardner papers

In addition to these, there are so many other remarkable women from Michigan history to discover!

You’re welcome to visit the Bentley during our open hours, and learn about even more amazing women from Michigan’s past.

To all of the women in Michigan today: we can’t wait to see the history you make!

#InternationalWomensDay #MichiganHistory #WomensHistoryMonth

Meet Alice Hamilton! An early student at U-M's Medical School who went on to do life-saving work and research, she graduated in 1893.

"Those were very happy and exciting years,” Dr. Hamilton wrote in her autobiography about her time at Michigan. She described how training at U-M “fostered a spirit of inquiry, a habit of following a problem to its solution.”

While working as a professor at Northwestern University after graduation, she volunteered to help people in poverty access medical care at Hull House in Chicago.

There, she noticed a pattern in the illnesses of the people she helped: their workplaces.

So, Dr. Hamilton began investigating the impacts of toxic workplace hazards, such as lead poisoning.

Her research was foundational for laws protecting the health of workers in the U.S.!

Today, the Michigan Women’s Hall of Fame describes her as the “Mother of Industrial Health.”

Dr. Hamilton was granted two honorary degrees by U-M, in 1910 and 1948, and became the very first woman to join Harvard's faculty in 1919.

Click through to see photos showing what her life was like at the University of Michigan in the 1890s, and to learn more about her remarkable work!

#WomensHistoryMonth #StudentLife #AliceHamilton #MedicalSchool

If you’ve ever driven to Canada, chances are you’ve benefited from Cornelius Henderson’s work without even knowing it.

Cornelius Henderson was one of the earliest African American students to earn an engineering degree at U-M, graduating in 1911. When he attended U-M, he was the only African American student in his engineering class.

Over the course of his life, Cornelius helped create many remarkable structures, including two major crossings between the US and Canada: the Detroit-Windsor Tunnel, and the Ambassador Bridge.

At the time it was built, the Ambassador Bridge was the longest suspension bridge in the world!

You can learn more about Cornelius Henderson’s life at U-M, and beyond, in the article “Strong as Steel,” by Dr. Rashid Faisal, on the African American Student Project website.

📸: 1911 Michiganensian yearbook portrait, and a 1928 Ambassador Bridge photo from the William Christian Weber Papers

#CorneliusHenderson #UMich #BlackHistory #MichiganHistory

Flashback to this view of Angell Hall on a snowy day in February, over 70 years ago!

This iconic U-M building was a hub for all kinds of campus activity back in 1954, when this photo was taken, just as it is today.

Here are just a few of the things that happened in Angell Hall during the year this photo was taken:

🎨 Lectures by visiting experts shared details about modern art and newspaper cartoons

📖 The student legislature held a massive student book exchange for old textbooks

🎓 Classes and presentations were held on topics such as philosophy, topography, neighboring galaxies, and opera

🎵 Students from the School of Music, Theater and Dance performed their musical recitals

📚 Professors held several different poetry readings

One of the most recognizable campus buildings, Angell Hall was built over 100 years ago, in 1924, and it’s still in use today!

You can find details like these about everyday campus events in Angell Hall, and other campus buildings, in the Michigan Daily Digital Archives.

You can also find more photos like this one in the News & Information Photographs collection!

#UMich #AngellHall #CampusLife #Snow #1950s #OldPhoto

Phyllis Wheatley Waters was one of the first Black students to play basketball at the University of Michigan! 🏀

As part of the LSA class basketball teams from 1914-1917, she also became the first Black woman to earn a letter from the U-M Women’s Athletic Association. 🏅

After graduating in 1917 with a BA and a Teachers' Diploma, Phyllis went on to become a teacher, a politician in Indiana, and deeply involved in her community.

She also had an artistic side, and is notably credited with designing the crest of the Alpha Kappa Alpha sorority!

📸: Phyllis Wheatley Waters & the LSA class basketball team, U-M @michiganensian yearbook

#UMich #StudentLife #BlackHistory

Happy Valentine’s Day from the archives! ❤️

This joyful Valentine’s Day window display is from Ann Arbor in 1951, including:

💕 A large decorative heart that says “Be Sweet to Your Sweetheart”

🎂 Cupid wearing an apron and chef’s hat, holding what looks like a cake

📦 A plain box of sugar

✉️ All kinds of Valentine’s Day cards and gifts!

This display belonged to Chester Roberts Gifts, a shop that used to exist on State Street, which was a favorite spot for U-M students and local Ann Arbor residents alike to get their Valentine's Day cards in the 1950s.

In honor of the historical cards you can see here, click through to see some archives-themed valentines we’ve created for you to use!

Have a wonderful day, Wolverines!

📸 : Ivory Photo Collection, window display at Chester Roberts Gifts on State Street, #AnnArbor, 1951

#HappyValentinesDay #UMich #ArchivesValentines #Valentines

As a student over 100 years ago, Alice Robbins saw U-M’s campus change dramatically in the 1920s!

Admitted to U-M at only 14 years old, Alice was a multi-talented student, with a love of music and writing.

During her time in Ann Arbor, both the Clements Library and Angell Hall were built, and construction began on U-M’s iconic Law Quad.

Alice played both the piano and the organ, and also enjoyed singing, taking additional classes at a nearby private music school.

That private music school would go on to become an official part of U-M, and today it is better known as the U-M School of Music, Theater, & Dance!

One of only a small number of Black students attending U-M at the time, Alice faced prejudice on campus, but she refused to let it deter her from pursuing her education.

She graduated in 1924 with a Bachelor of Arts degree at the age of 17, and then went on to do graduate studies in multiple places, including the New York School of Social Work.

Alice ultimately became a social worker, devoting her life to helping others.

She returned to the Law School in 1928 to expand her education even further, making her one of the first Black women to take classes at U-M’s Law School.

Her daughter, Martha, attended U-M as well, carrying on her legacy.

You can learn more about Alice Robbins, and the lives of other early Black students at U-M, with the African American Student Project online, including a searchable database, maps, and stories!

📸: U-M’s 1924 Michiganensian yearbook, U-M Photographs Vertical File

#UMich #StudentLife #BlackHistory

Belford Lawson Jr. was the first Black lawyer to win a case in front of the U.S. Supreme Court. As a student at the University of Michigan, Lawson was part of the Alpha Phi Alpha fraternity, played football in the early 1920s, and was a prize-winning orator. After earning his B.A. at U-M, he earned his law degree from Howard University Law School. Arguing for equal treatment for Black travelers on the railroad, and the ability to picket companies that discriminate against Black workers, Lawson was able to win important legal victories for civil rights in the U.S. He was elected the General President of Alpha Phi Alpha in 1946.

You can learn more about Belford Lawson Jr. in the article “The Business of the Hour,” by Greg Kinney, which uses materials from the archives at the Bentley to showcase Lawson’s remarkable life, the difficulties he faced, and the important work he did.

📸: The National Museum of American History

Flashback to U-M’s Coliseum ice rink! 🏒

The U-M Coliseum was actually built on the site of a prior local ice rink called Weinberg's Coliseum, which had relied on cold winter air to freeze the ice! ❄️

As you can imagine, this made the ice quite patchy.

U-M added artificial ice to the rebuilt Coliseum rink in the late 1920s (to the sincere relief of the ice hockey players!)

The rebuilt Coliseum remained the home of U-M ice hockey for well over 40 years, before being turned into a gymnasium.

Today, this building is used by Intramural and Club Sports at U-M!

📸: News & Information Photo Collection circa 1958, and Athletic Department records circa 1923

#UMich #IceHockey #SportsHistory #GoBlue #IceRink #FlashbackFriday

Throwback to U-M’s first buildings in Ann Arbor! 🏠

Did you know that the first official U-M buildings built on the Ann Arbor campus were actually houses?

These four structures, known as the “Professors’ Houses,” were approved for construction over 180 years ago! 🕑

They not only served as homes to U-M’s earliest professors, but also housed things like the early “library,” which was a small collection of books, at the time, stored on temporary shelves.

Over the years, these buildings were transformed as the university expanded! Dentistry, medical care, psychology, and pathology were all studied in the Professors’ Houses over the course of U-M’s history.

One of these buildings even went on to become the U-M President’s House!

That makes the U-M President’s House, which still survives today, one of the oldest buildings on U-M’s Ann Arbor campus!

📸: Jasper Cropsey painting of U-M’s early campus, and a circa 1925 photo of the U-M President’s House from the U-M Photo Vertical Files

#TBT #UMich #AnnArbor #MichiganHistory #Campus

Did you know that dog sleds were sometimes used to deliver mail during snowy Michigan winters, in the late 19th and early 20th centuries? 🐶

It’s true! This post office in Cheboygan used dog sleds to deliver mail to places like Walkers Point on the nearby island of Bois Blanc, relying on a winter ice bridge to cross the water.

Here, you can see a historical dog pulling a U.S. mail sled from Cheboygan, circa 1910!

The use of dog sleds to deliver winter mail was often limited to specific regions in Michigan, and largely petered out over the years, but the memory of this unusual period of Michigan history is preserved in photos like this one!

📸: Historical Postcard Collection

#DYK #MichiganHistory #Dog #OldPhoto #HistoricalPostcard #Cheboygan #Winter

Today we remember Raoul Wallenberg, a U-M alum whose quick thinking and hard work saved lives during World War II.

At the University of Michigan in the 1930s, Wallenberg loved drawing, dancing, and visiting the Michigan Union for breakfast.

He traveled often during school breaks, selling sketches along the roadside to earn money.

Few could have guessed that this young architecture student, who went by the nickname “Rudy,” would go on to play such a pivotal role in the survival of so many.

Using his artistic and architectural talents as a Swedish diplomat in Hungary, he would go on to set up safe houses and forge passports for Jewish people, helping them escape the Holocaust.

He’s estimated to have saved tens of thousands of lives. There are so many people who would not be alive if it weren’t for his work.

In 1945, he disappeared, taken into a Soviet prison. He was never heard from again.

Wallenberg’s memory lives on: both a medal U-M gives to outstanding humanitarians, and a U-M institute dedicated to pushing back against discrimination, are named after him.

If you walk up to the U-M Art & Architecture building, you will find a sculpture created in honor of Wallenberg, titled “Köszönöm Raoul Wallenberg” (meaning “Thank You Raoul Wallenberg” in Hungarian) by artist Jon Rush.

It’s engraved with the motto: “One person can make a difference.”

#HolocaustRemembranceDay #RaoulWallenberg #UMich #Alumni

Behind the scenes in the archives! 📖

Did you know that the Bentley contains around 11,000 collections?

These photos, which provide a glimpse into our stacks, are just the tip of the iceberg!

All of the collections you see here are related to the history of U-M or the state of Michigan, and each box can hold thousands of historical papers.

We also preserve large maps and architectural drawings, which are stored in flat drawers to keep them safe!

Digital materials live on at the Bentley too, including things like archived websites, and digitized football films.

There’s so much history in the archives, and we love sharing it with you. 💙

Happy Library Shelfie Day!

#LibraryShelfieDay #Archives #UMich #MichiganHistory #BentleyHistoricalLibrary #BehindTheScenes

Proof that squirrels have been popular in Ann Arbor for over 100 years! 🐿️

Here are three historical squirrels from the archives, including:

🍽️ A student feeding a squirrel on a snowy day at U-M, over 100 years ago

📖 A squirrel photo from an early student photo album, labeled “Everybody’s Friend"

⭐ A special bonus squirrel photo from the 1930s!

Happy Squirrel Appreciation Day!

📸: John J. Smolenski scrapbook (circa 1905), Roy Barlow photo album (circa 1914), Ivory Photo collection (1937)

#SquirrelAppreciationDay #OldPhotos #UMich #Squirrels #AnnArbor #History

TBT to these U-M students sledding on a toboggan in the 1890s! ❄️

Winter sports like sledding were popular across Ann Arbor history!

"Since the crisp, snowy weather has put the hills in such fine condition for coasting, there has been some talk of building a student toboggan slide,” the Michigan Daily wrote in 1904.

Through the following years, students would gleefully sled down the side of Palmer Field, and the hills of the Arboretum! 🛷

Seeing the popularity of winter sports, Engineering Professor Ferdinand Menefee even proposed building a dam across a section of the Huron River to create a small, artificial lake for skating in 1922.

"Perhaps as soon as next winter we shall see the venerable hills of the Boulevard dotted with skiing figures, and scooting tobogganists,” the Daily proclaimed.

(That lake, as far as we can tell, was never created.)

Whether you enjoy skiing, skating, “coasting” on a toboggan, or even just walking through freshly fallen snow, we hope your wintery adventures have been fun! ❄️

Click through to see more cyanotypes of sledding students from the 1890s.

📸: Cyanotypes from the Mary Burton photo collection

#TBT #Winter #UMich #StudentLife #Sledding #Toboggan #1890s #Cyanotypes #GoBlue!

A mysterious collection of black-and-white photos sat dormant for a decade.

Then, historian Karen Majewski took a closer look, and began to wonder if those photos belonged at the Bentley.

Written on them, she spotted the name of artist Cveta Popovich, who painted over 100 murals in the city of Detroit—many of which are now lost.

A majority of Cveta Popovich’s work was destroyed over the years, as buildings crumbled, burned, or were torn down to make room for new structures.

“Murals last only as long as the walls on which they’re painted,” writer Amy Probst points out, in the article “Rescuing History,” in the latest edition of the Bentley’s “Collections” magazine.

This means that many of Popovich’s paintings now survive only in photos like these.

Karen decided to give these photos to the Bentley’s archives, where they could be kept safe, and shared with future researchers.

“Today, the ability to see Popovich’s work in person is sadly rare, and so we are grateful to Karen for recovering the images and donating them to the Bentley,” says Archivist Michelle McClellan.

“This perfectly illustrates our mission: we preserve materials that might otherwise be lost and we make them accessible for everyone to explore and appreciate.”

📸: Photos of murals from the Cveta Popovich collection

#DetroitHistory #OldPhotos #Rediscovered #CvetaPopovich #ArtHistory #Detroit

A tiny snowman visited the archives today! ⛄📖

So, of course, we interviewed him! Here’s what this snowman had to say:

Q: Who’s your favorite poet?
A: Robert Frost. He was the first poet-in-residence at U-M!

Q: What’s your favorite sport at U-M?
A: Ice hockey! I actually love to skate.

Q: Favorite historical athlete?
A: I know you'd expect a hockey player, but Neil Snow is my favorite!

He was on U-M's football, baseball, and track teams from the late 1890s to the early 1900s.

Q: Why did you decide to stop by the Bentley today?
A: I love Michigan history! I grew up in Ann Arbor, from a snowflake to a snowball to the snowman you see before you today, so it has always interested me.

There’s snow place like home! ❄️

Do you have any questions about the archives for this scholarly snowman?

Let us know in the comments!

📸: Tiny snowman with a miniature book, the cover of which is a printed photo of the 1900 "Cyclopedia of Michigan" from the archives

#Snowman #UMich #Archives #SnowBlue #Winter #MichiganHistory

On this day in 1920, a new library building was dedicated at U-M! 📖

It was known as the “General Library” back then, but today you might know this building better as the Harlan Hatcher Graduate Library!

U-M's old library building had become a fire hazard, due to its wooden frame, so the library you see here was built to replace it, including:

🎨 Paintings in the entryway inspired by ancient art from Pompeii

📑 A study room floored with “special flecked cork" from Spain which, the Michigan Daily reassured readers, would not “chip up like regular cork tile”

📚 Two fireproof sections of shelving saved from the old library

🕊️ A large vaulted reading room featuring two arched paintings titled: “The Arts of War,” and “The Arts of Peace,” by Gari Melchers, originally created for the World’s Fair in Chicago

During the dedication ceremony in Hill Auditorium, the audience enjoyed singing and organ music, as well as speeches from people including U-M librarian William Bishop, and famous architect Albert Kahn!

In honor of the newly built library, rare book expert Wilfred Voynich loaned an exhibit of beautifully detailed “illuminated manuscripts of the Middle Ages and the Renaissance period” to the library for three days, according to the Daily.

Happy birthday to the Hatcher Library building! 🎂🥳

📸: Photos from the Ivory Photo Collection and the U-M Photograph Vertical Files

#OnThisDay #1920s #UMich #HarlanHatcherGraduateLibrary #LibraryDedication

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