Byron Babbish

Building Detroit's Dequindre Cut Byron Babbish

The Detroit railroad route known as the Dequindre Line started operations from the Detroit Riverfront in the mid-19th Century. In the 1920's the first mile of this line was lowered below grade as part of a major urban construction project in Detroit to separate the railroad tracks from the many roads crossing it in the quickly growing city. Over 700 photographs were taken before, during and after this construction project, showing not only the work being done but also a slice of Detroit as it existed alongside the railroad tracks on this route. This book is one of three volumes displaying most of these saved photographs that tell not only the story of a major construction project but also the story of a railroad line and of a part of a major industrial city in the early part of the 20th Century.