The Michigan of the 1940s: A Photographic Legacy of Industrial Growth and Social Change by Arthur S. Siegel

Arthur S. Siegel was a prominent American photographer known for his work in the 1940s, particularly for his photographs of the city of Detroit and the state of Michigan. Siegel’s photographs offer a unique perspective on Michigan during this time, capturing the city’s bustling industrial landscape and its residents’ everyday lives.

In the 1940s, Michigan was a state in transition. The Great Depression had ended, and the state was experiencing an economic boom thanks to the booming automobile industry. Detroit, in particular, was a significant center of automobile production, and the city’s population was rapidly growing as people migrated there for work. Siegel’s photographs capture this sense of growth and change, depicting the city’s sprawling factories, busy streets, and bustling neighborhoods.

One of Siegel’s most iconic photographs from this period is “Detroit Industry,” a series of photographs taken at the Ford River Rouge Complex, one of the largest industrial complexes in the world at the time. The photographs show the complex’s factories, conveyor belts, and workers in action, and they convey a sense of the scale and power of the automobile industry.

Siegel’s photographs also capture the everyday lives of the people of Michigan during this period. He photographed families in their homes, workers on the assembly line, and children playing in the streets. Through these photographs, Siegel gives us a glimpse into the lives of ordinary people during this period of rapid industrial growth and social change.

In addition to Detroit and the automobile industry, Siegel also photographed other parts of Michigan, including the Upper Peninsula and rural areas of the state. These photographs contrast the industrial landscape of Detroit and depict a more rustic, agrarian way of life. His photographs offer a unique perspective on the state of Michigan in the 1940s, capturing the bustling industrial landscape of Detroit and the everyday lives of its residents. His photographs capture the sense of growth and change that the state was experiencing at the time, and they offer a glimpse into the lives of ordinary people during this period of rapid industrial development and social change.

#1 A Venetian night party at the Detroit yacht club, whose members represent the wealthier class of manufacturers and their friends, Detroit, Michigan, 1940.

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#2 Cabin cruisers and sailboats decorated with lights, 1940

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#3 Crowd dancing, 1940.

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#4 Small cabin cruiser, summer 1940.

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#6 Buying a radio in the Crowley-Milner department store, Detroit, Michigan, July 1941.

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#7 Farmers drinking beer during a hard day’s work, Jackson, Michigan, fall 1941.

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#8 Operator taking telephone orders at the Crowley-Milner department store, Detroit, Michigan, July 1941.

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#9 A student eating an ice cream cone at the National music camp in Interlochen, Michigan where 300 or more young musicians study symphonic music for 8 weeks each summer, August 1942.

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#10 A United States Army Air Corps air ferry command base sixteen miles from Detroit, Michigan at Wayne County Airport. Factory inspector and Captain Roddy inspect a new P-38, in September 1942.

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#11 A Worker resting on a park bench in the zoological park, Detroit, Michigan, July 1942.

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#12 An African-American family recently moved into the Sojourner Truth homes for War workers, Detroit, Michigan, 1942.

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#13 Army sentries guarding against a riot at the Sojourner Truth federal war workers housing project, caused by white neighbors’ attempt to prevent African-American tenants from moving in, February 1942.

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#14 Art director and copy writer at a large advertising agency, Detroit, Michigan, July 1942.

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#15 Ceremonies at the presentation of the Army and Navy “E” (for efficiency) award to the Briggs manufacturing company. Worker who is a war veteran, near Detroit, Michigan, September 1942.

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#16 Chrysler Corporation Dodge truck plant. Dodge Army ambulances are here, lined up for delivery to the Army, Detroit, Michigan, August 1942

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#17 Chrysler Corporation Dodge truck plant. One of many conferences about production schedules, blueprints, etc. are required to maintain the smooth steady flow of Dodge Army trucks, 1942.

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#18 Display at a scrap salvage rally sponsored by the Work Projects Administration (WPA) at the state fairgrounds, Detroit, Michigan, 1942.

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#19 Election of officers to the Ford local 600, United Automobile Workers, Congress of Industrial Organizations. 80,000 River Rouge Ford plant workers voted, April 1942.

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#20 First Black family moving into the Sojourner Truth neighborhood, Detroit, Michigan, 1942.

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#21 Girls coming out of the Highland Park Chrysler plant in Detroit, Michigan, 1942.

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#22 Group waiting to drink water out of a public fountain in the zoological park, Detroit, Michigan, July 1942.

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#23 High school students strolling through the zoological park, Detroit, Michigan, July 1942.

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#24 Lobby of the Fisher Building, Detroit Michigan, July 1942.

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#25 National music camp where 300 or more young musicians study symphonic music for eight weeks each summer. Swimming dock, Interlochen, Michigan, August 1942.

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#26 New defense houses in Detroit, Michigan, September 1942.

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#27 Spectators at zoological park, Detroit, Michigan, July 1942.

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#28 Spectators watching a fountain at a zoo, Detroit, Michigan, July 1942.

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#29 Street view of Radio station WWJ in Detroit, Michigan, August 1942.

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#30 War worker and child, Detroit, Michigan, July 1942.

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#31 Woman adjusting a harness strap to prevent child from getting lost in zoological park, Detroit, Michigan, July 1942.

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#32 Workers at the zoological park, Detroit, Michigan, July 1942.

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#33 Workers coming out of the Highland Park Chrysler plant, Detroit, Michigan, spring 1942.

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#34 Workers inspecting a plane at the Wayne County Airport, a United States Army Air Corps air ferry command base sixteen miles from Detroit, Michigan, September 1942.

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#35 Workers’ children playing in the front yard, Detroit (vicinity), Michigan, September 1942.

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