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During the 150 years of public transportation operations here in Detroit, there have been numerous locations across the city that have
at one time served as either streetcar barns or bus garages, and even both.
When the D.S.R. took over all street railway operations in the city on May 15, 1922, fifteen carhouses came under the control and ownership of the City of Detroit — thirteen of which were obtained through the purchase of the Detroit United Railway (DUR) system.
This web-page will focus on those properties that came under the control of the city-owned Department of Street Railways (DSR), and its successor, the Detroit Department of Transportation (DDOT). Our time-period begins just prior to the 1922 take-over of the DUR company.
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© 2008 (PAGE LAST MODIFIED ON 06-14-12)
| FORMER CITY-OWNED CAR BARNS AND BUS GARAGES |
| The former West Jefferson Carhouse was located just east of the Rouge River on the north side of W. Jefferson Ave.— bordering both sides of Brennan Street. A turning loop on the property served as the end of the line for the Delray portion of the Fort Street car line. The carhouse closed on March 1, 1931, but for decades a portion of the property would serve as the former DSR-DDOT Brennan Loop turn-around. Today, the Detroit Water & Sewerage Dept's Wastewater Treatment Plant occupies the land. (Photo source: Dave's Electric Railroads, Bill Volkmer collection) |
| The Warren Carhouse was located on the south side of W. Warren, between Lawton and the former Grand Trunk RR spur track. Its large carhouse building was located just to the left of this photo. The Warren Carhouse closed on November 16, 1930, and the property is now the location of the Detroit Fire Dept's Training Academy. |
| (Walter P. Reuther Library, Wayne State University photos #48427, 48424) |
| The Baker Carhouse was located on the northwest corner of W. Vernor and Livernois. The carhouse closed on October 2, 1949. The property is now the location of the City of Detroit, General Services Department's Motor Transportation Garage. |
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When the "short-lived" Municipal Operation (MO) began operations on February 1, 1921, a temporary carhouse and maintenance shed at Shoemaker and St. Jean streets was used until a permanent Shoemaker Carhouse brick structure was completed. When service began on the MO's Clairmount line on Oct. 25, 1921, a temporary storage yard called Joy Road Car Station (at Wildemere and Joy Rd) was used to store cars on the west-side.
Shortly thereafter, the Atkinson (Junction) Carhouse was used after the Clairmount line was extended across Grand River on Jan. 15, 1922. The following is a listing of streetcar barns built by the City of Detroit....
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D.S.R. BUS STORAGE FACILITIES
| The Highland Park Garage was located on Second Avenue in Highland Park, just north of LaBelle Street. It sat adjacent to the Woodward Carhouse which was located just to the north. The entire complex, including bus, streetcar and repair shop facilities made this the DSR's largest property. The bus terminal closed on December 28, 1970, while the heavy repair shops closed in December of 1972. |
| The DSR Shoemaker property — located on Shoemaker and St. Jean streets — was the first transit facility to be built by the City of Detroit when it opened as a streetcar barn in 1921. The Shoemaker Garage later opened on July 3, 1939, when the property was converted into a bus garage, as displayed in this 1946 photo. Additional storage bays were added to the property in 1947. |
| WARREN CARHOUSE |
| BAKER CARHOUSE |
| (Photo #29983_1 (left) and #29984 (right) Walter P. Reuther Library, Wayne State University photos) |
HIGHLAND PARK GARAGE
SHOEMAKER GARAGE
| Click here to return to "THE DSR YEARS" Main Page. |
Virtual Motor City Collection photos #29983_1, 29984, 48424 and 48427 are used by permission of the Walter P. Reuther Library, Wayne State
University.
All rights, including those of further reproduction and/or publication, are reserved in full by the Walter P. Reuther Library, Wayne State University. Photographic
reproductions may be protected by U.S. copyright law (U.S. Title 17). The user is fully responsible for copyright infringement.
University.
All rights, including those of further reproduction and/or publication, are reserved in full by the Walter P. Reuther Library, Wayne State University. Photographic
reproductions may be protected by U.S. copyright law (U.S. Title 17). The user is fully responsible for copyright infringement.
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When the DSR's Motor Coach Division began operations on January 1, 1925, arrangements were made to store the bus fleet temporarily at DSR carhouses and rented garages until more permanent facilities were constructed. The temporary facilities included a rented garage at Woodward and Stevens (just south of Six Mile Road in Highland Park — where the first buses were stored) and a leased garage located at Grand River and Plymouth. The carbarns used included the Shoemaker Carhouse and the Fort (W. Jefferson) Carhouse (W. Jefferson and Brennan).
The following is a listing of bus storage and maintenance facilities in operation beginning in 1925...
The following is a listing of bus storage and maintenance facilities in operation beginning in 1925...
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The following lists the last bus garages still in operation during the final decades of the DSR era...
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Information for the above article was compiled from various articles written by Jack E. Schramm on the Detroit Street Railways, including "Detroit's DSR, Parts 1
thru 3" (Motor Coach Age Magazine), and "DETROIT'S STREET RAILWAYS Vol II: City Lines 1922-1956" by Schramm, Henning and Dworman (Bulletin
120 – Central Electric Railfans' Association), and from other miscellaneous sources. The September 6, 1950 DSR Schedule Analysis and Headway Reports information
courtesy of Tom Breeding.
thru 3" (Motor Coach Age Magazine), and "DETROIT'S STREET RAILWAYS Vol II: City Lines 1922-1956" by Schramm, Henning and Dworman (Bulletin
120 – Central Electric Railfans' Association), and from other miscellaneous sources. The September 6, 1950 DSR Schedule Analysis and Headway Reports information
courtesy of Tom Breeding.
| *(Loc/Exp) – Denotes the additional "Express" route associated with the "Local" route listed. |
FOR RELATED TOPICS SEE:
- THE COOLIDGE TERMINAL
THE SAMUEL T. GILBERT TERMINAL (coming later)
THE HIGHLAND PARK TERMINAL (coming later)
THE SHOEMAKER TERMINAL / D.S.R. ADMINISTRATION BLDG
THE WYOMING TERMINAL
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| Preserving the History of Public Transportation in and around the City of Detroit, ...from "Steel Wheels to Rubber Tires." |
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| PRINTER- FRIENDLY WEB-PAGE |
| (Reformatted 12-22-13) |
| D.S.R. HIGHLAND PARK TERMINAL |
| DSR GM "old-look" coach #1454 can be seen in this 1969 photo parked across from one of the last buildings erected on the Highland Park Terminal property. This narrow (77'–wide x 622'–long) coach storage building could accommodate over eighty coaches and opened in January 1957, shortly after the streetcars were removed. After the property closed in 1972, the remaining buildings on the site were demolished in 1974 and the land sold to the City of Highland Park for redevelopment. [photo courtesy of the Krambles-Peterson archive collection: G.M. Sebree photo] |