Tartarian Buildings and Architecture. 20

This image shows Detroit, Michigan, specifically looking at Cadillac Square (formerly known as Central Market) during the late 19th century.

Location and Landmarks
• Where: This view is at the junction of Griswold and State streets.
• Central Market Building: The ornate building on the left is the Detroit Central Market, which was built between 1879 and 1880. It was demolished in 1899 despite significant protests from its butcher occupants.
• Russell House: The large building in the background with numerous window awnings is the Russell House, a prominent hotel in Detroit at the time.

Timeline
• When: The photograph likely dates from between 1890 and 1899.
• Context: The foreground shows significant construction, including large iron pipes, which may be related to the installation of city infrastructure during Detroit's rapid expansion in the 1890s. The presence of a tall metal tower (likely a moonlight tower or early communication tower) is characteristic of American cities in the late 1880s and 1890s.

The tall metal tower on the left of this 1890s photograph of Detroit's Cadillac Square is a moonlight tower (also known as a mast or electric tower).
These structures were an early form of city-wide street lighting, popular in the 1880s and 1890s before individual street lamps became common.

Function and Design
• Purpose: These towers were designed to provide "artificial moonlight" over several city blocks at once. In a time when most light sources were dim, one tower could illuminate a large area, making city squares feel safer and more usable at night.
• Mechanism: At the top of these 100- to 150-foot towers were several powerful carbon arc lamps. Maintenance workers would ride a small counter-weighted elevator up through the center of the iron lattice to change the carbon rods daily.
• Detroit's System: Detroit was famous for its extensive moonlight tower system. In the late 19th century, the city had over 100 of these towers, making it one of the best-lit cities in the United States.
By the early 1900s, moonlight towers were mostly phased out in favor of incandescent streetlights, which were more efficient and easier to maintain.