I’ve been meaning for a while now to get around to this stamp on the north side of East Michigan Avenue between Foster and Hayford. The date is clear but the contractor’s name is illegible. I thought I recognized the style of the stamp as belonging to The Christman Builders, who stamped a long stretch a few blocks further east in 1960. But once I had the photos side by side I realized they do not have the same shape after all. There are two of these stamps in front of Enterprise Rent-a-Car, one on each end of the lot, suggesting that the whole sidewalk might have been done at that time and they marked the beginning and end of the work.

I can’t say with anything like confidence, but I still wonder if this isn’t Christman. The words as far as I can make them out are not inconsistent with their name and the font of the date is the same. The shape is not exactly the same but the style is similar. I will have to see if I can find any other Christman stamps.

Continuing my exploration of the changes along the far eastern edge of Lansing’s share of Michigan Avenue, I did some research on the Enterprise Rent-a-Car building, 2311 East Michigan. It was built in 1950, probably as a car lot. Its original occupant might have been Harry Smith, Inc., a car dealer. At least I find that Harry Smith was located in that spot by 1955 according to advertising in the Lansing State Journal. The Lansing State Journal of December 21, 1955 (page 21) identified Wayne Foster, the manager of Harry Smith, Inc., as the chair of the inaugural Lansing Auto Show, which would be held the following spring in the new Civic Center.

By 1959, the address starts showing up in advertisements for Red Whiting’s Dependable Used Cars. I haven’t been able to narrow down when Harry Smith’s moved out and Red Whiting’s moved in, so I’m not sure which business was here when the stamp was fresh. Surprisingly, Red Whiting’s stayed in this location until 1981, when they began advertising their new location at 2301 North Larch Street (see page 23 of the December, 11, 1981 LSJ.) The business seems to have finally closed in 2005. Their former Larch Street location is a different used car place now.

Meanwhile, through the 1980s the Michigan Avenue location continued to be a used car lot, first Action Motors and then Riverside Motors. In 1992 Enterprise Rent-a-Car moved into that location. I was surprised to discover it has been there longer than I have been in town; that site just always looks transitory to me, somehow.

Update 9/30/20: I caught sight of this one again on my walk tonight and the wet pavement made some details more visible. I am now pretty sure the second word is “company.” I am less sure, but think the last two letters of the first word are “on.”