[Detroit City Gas Company, Greenwood Avenue, Detroit]

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The Detroit City Gas Company's offices on Greenwood Avenue are the subject here, a reminder that the gas utility was a major civic presence in the early twentieth century. Gas supplied the lighting, cooking, and heating of growing American cities, and company headquarters often projected stability and modern service to customers. This 8 x 10 inch glass negative comes from the Detroit Publishing Company, whose photographers documented the city and its businesses for commercial sale in the years before 1920. Because the negative was made on glass, it preserves fine architectural detail that later film could not match.

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