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Circa 1911. "Postal Telegraph Cable office below German American Bank. Possibly Detroit, Michigan." Downstairs: Lafayette Barber, offering Shower and Needle Baths, and something to do with electric vibra[...]. View full size. For a closeup of the Model T, click here. For the rest of the building, see this post.
That Model T Ford is a rare 1911 "Torpedo Runabout" from about the middle of 1911. Early models had a square gas tank which was superseded by the round one on this car. Not all that popular when they were new, they are rarely seen and treasured by collectors today. Possibly the sportiest Model T made. Most 1911 Ts were painted a very dark, almost black, blue. It would not be until the 1914 Fords that you could get any color so long as it was black. Red, green, and grey were common in the very early Model Ts.
Very serious horn mounted on the side of the roadster.
[Click to embiggen. Note the chain on the rear tire. - Dave]
The driver must have had to contort himself severely to honk the horn.
Great illusion here of the basement tenant entrances looking like doorways for the Seven Dwarfs. Fantastic livery abounds here plus that barbers pole is so iconic. I assume it is electric and it turns showing a twirling red, white and blue.
Looks to me to be the corner of Lafayette & Griswold, looking south. To the far left is a glimpse of City Hall & in the background is the Hammond Building. Now about that needle bath ...
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