Michigan’s Historic Railroad Stations

Birmingham

24 I t’s hard to imagine any building that says “Penny Lane” more persuasively than this little commuter station built in 1931. Certainly no other Michigan depot summons blue suburban skies quite as well as Birmingham’s tidy Grand Trunk depot, designed and built by Detroit contractors Walbridge Aldinger. Stylistically, the station is reassuringly domestic , built in the Tudor Revival style that was all the rage in Detroit in the 1920s and 1930s. And in this, it is a most successful little structure. From its half-timbering and herringbone brickwork to the round-head entrance with its grand canopy to the handsome slate roof, this depot promises order, comfort, and solidity. A persistent historical rumor has it that the station was built as a stripped-down version of the one at Birmingham, England. It’s a pleasing story, and it would be great were it true. But when e-mailed an image of the depot in suburban Detroit, several English architectural historians and librarians in Birmingham—the one in the old country—said they’d never had anything like it in their town. (They did, however, admit it was pretty.) What is perhaps more accurate is that the station was built in Tudor style so it would bear a resemblance to Birmingham City Hall and Baldwin Public Library a mile or so west, both built of a similar orange-brown brick. The little station offers something you don’t get that often in American cities—it’s sited to act as a beckoning destination , one that’s fun to approach when heading east on Yosemite Avenue. Yosemite terminates at Eton Street, and there right in front of you—almost framed—is the depot, centered and forming an unusually satisfying visual terminus. For all its domesticity, the little building looks rather grand. The station was built to coincide with the launch of Detroit to Pontiac commuter service on brand-new tracks the Grand Trunk Western Railroad had laid down. Track and depot location were determined by a little logrolling and a timely payoff from state to railroad in the mid-1920s. The legislature passed the Wider Woodward Act in 1923, establishing a twohundred -foot right of way along the avenue all the way to Pontiac. Grand Trunk’s old track bed was just a few yards off Woodward Avenue and in the way. Clearly, were the avenue to add lanes, something had to give. The railroad played hard to get, holding out for its asking price. Company executives were doubtless tickled when they got it, but Michigan had the last laugh. Over the next decade, the state more than made up for that expenditure by jacking up taxes ninefold. The relocated track bed is now a mile or so east of Woodward. The station opened on August 1, 1931. It was a big day— one that years later some would describe as the last hurrah before the Great Depression really started to bite. People from all over gathered at the depot, and the daylong festival was en1931 —Grand Trunk Western Railroad 245 South Eton Street ARCHITECTS: Walbridge Aldinger LAST PASSENGER SERVICE: 1978 CONDITION: Outstanding USE: Big Rock Chop House Birmingham 02 Part 1.indd 24 6/26/12 2:41 PM 25 The 1931 Birmingham Grand Trunk commuter station is one of Michigan’s handsomest—a trim,Tudor-Revival design that harmonizes well with the residential neighborhood it inhabits. Contrary to longstanding rumor, however, the depot was not built in imitation of one in Birmingham, England.The striking little structure now houses the Big Rock Chop House. 02 Part 1.indd 25 6/26/12 2:42 PM 26 Top right: Expectant crowds wave from the platform in a 1931 photograph probably staged shortly before the station’s grand opening. The arrival of Grand Trunk commuter service knit Birmingham more tightly into the Detroit suburban orbit than ever before and for decades provided easy, quick access to downtown for those who preferred not to drive. (Walter P. Reuther Library,Wayne State University) Bottom right: The current owners have made a good choice in allowing ivy to take over the principal gable. Opposite: One of the Big Rock Chop House dining rooms. 02 Part 1.indd 26 6/26/12 2:42 PM 27 02 Part 1.indd 27 6/26/12 2:43 PM 28 hanced...