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E. Saginaw St., Illegible

My walk last night, since I started out from somewhere other than home, found me walking past a building I have driven by countless times but never passed on foot before: Schep’s Garage on East Saginaw Street, on the southwest corner of Saginaw and Foster. It’s a building I really like, brick with little decorative crenellations. According to the city property records, it was built in 1931. It obviously used to be a gas station, and they haven’t even removed the old lights where the pumps presumably used to be.

I was hoping to collect an interesting old sidewalk stamp in front of it, but there really weren’t any. I did find this marking, which is oriented so that it is right side up to a someone facing the business, i.e. sideways compared with most contractor stamps. It’s illegible except for a letter P, and I can’t tell whether it was a contractor’s mark or graffiti, though it looks more like the latter.

The marking isn’t visible here; it’s below and to the left of view.

State Journal advertisements of the 1940s place Pete Bailey’s Hi Speed Service in this location. An ad on April 15, 1940, says “Visit Our New Station Ionia and Capitol or Our Old Station at 2320 E. Saginaw St.” Bailey’s was probably the original occupant of the Schep’s building because on October 30, 1950, an ad in the State Journal reads, “FLOYD ‘PETE’ BAILEY Bailey High Speed Service 2320 E. Saginaw St., is observing its 18th year in service to the Lansing community. The firm, operated by Mr. Bailey, provides a complete mechanical service, including repair of ignition, tires, motor tune-ups, and repair and adjustment of brakes. Other services include lubrication, battery charging, and towing service. The firm also sells all Hi-Speed products, gasoline and oil, new tires and batteries.” The last reference to Bailey’s I can find is an ad on February 5, 1951.

Schep’s Garage’s Web site regrettably does not have a company history, but the earliest reference I can find to Schep’s is an advertisement in the State Journal on January 1, 1985. What was in the Schep’s building between the 1950s and 1980s is a mystery to me.

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S. Hayford Ave., Illegible

This is almost certainly a contractor’s stamp, but it’s hopelessly illegible. The size, shape, and placement are reminiscent of the “second style” of Lansing DPW stamps, but I don’t think it is one. The only letter I think I can make out – maybe – looks like an M. It might be the first letter, but that’s not clear. In any case, the letters that can be made out do not seem to fit with the “Lansing DPW” mark.

A closeup of the stamp.

The stamp is on the east side of South Hayford Avenue between Michigan and Prospect, in the 100 block.

Further away, to show size and placement.
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Hickory St., Illegible

I have tried so many times to get this old-looking stamp and today I failed yet again. It was too muddy the first time I saw it, then it was too icy, then it was too dark, then there was a dog loose and I was afraid to get close enough, now it’s too icy and too muddy. Here’s what I got, after peeling a stuck leaf off. I need the ice to finish melting and then a good rain to come and wash the grime off it.

I hope the resident here hasn’t noticed how many times I have pulled up in front of their house, stared at the sidewalk for a while, gotten back into the car, and driven off.

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Drury Ln., illegible (Lansing?)

I had never been to Drury Lane before to the best of my recollection, but sometime while doing some scouting for the blog I noticed its existence on the map and had been fascinated by it ever since. It’s so tiny (a block long) and yet has such a grand name. Timothy Bowman’s local history blog reports (from a 1940 State Journal article) that it was named after Drury L. Porter, son of the subdivision’s developer E.E. Porter. That’s as may be, but I would be very much surprised if it weren’t called “Lane” in order to evoke the famous Drury Lane of London. Unless, of course, Drury’s middle name was Lane, in which case he was the one with a London namesake! It actually used to be two blocks, with the western block (past Ballard) connecting to Walker Street, but (per HistoricAerials.com) the other block disappeared, houses and all, between 1970 and 1981. Now it ends at Ballard, with the former Demmer Corp. North Lansing Plant (now owned by Loc Performance Products Inc.) beyond. I wanted to see it, and find any stamps on it I could.

I parked on the slushy road (their plowing seems to have been even less effective than ours), got out of my car, and as soon as I stepped onto the sidewalk I noticed the telltale signs of a stamp among the slush. I pushed the slush aside and could see what is certainly a marking, but a largely illegible one. It looks like it might start with “Lansing,” which makes me suspect Lansing DPW, except that it doesn’t seem to match the style and has a placement near the middle of the block that I have never seen used by the DPW before. It also appears undated, but it could just be that any date has been obliterated.

This is the northeast corner of Drury and Ballard. Drury used to continue another block.

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Hickory St., [Illegible] Stone Co., undated(?)

I love running across really old, really worn stamps like this, even if there is an element of frustration to it when they are illegible. I almost didn’t see this one because it is so worn that only someone really looking for it (like me) would probably notice it at all. I can just make out “Stone Co.” as probably the second line. If there had been a date, I don’t see any sign of it now. The first line is totally illegible. My first thought is is of the Lansing Artificial Stone Co., but it has a very different style from the one I have found from that company, and the illegible part also doesn’t look long enough.

Alas, it will not be giving up its secrets to me. This is a block of houses that date from the late 1890s to early 1900s, so I would guess that this is one of the original pieces of sidewalk here.

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E. Grand River Ave., illegible name, 2019

I found this stamp at the end of a run of newish-looking sidewalk in front of the building that includes M43 Fitness, A Cut Above hair salon, and the Urban Cup. It’s on the north side of East Grand River Avenue, essentially at the spot where Hayford would be if Hayford didn’t disappear for a couple of blocks north of Grand River before resuming.

I may have to return to this one with some foil or else materials to make a rubbing. I can almost make it out, but it’s just too shallow. I believe that it’s formatted with the date flanking the contractor’s logo on either side of vertical lines, like so: “[ 20 | illegible | 19 ]”. The illegible part looks quite brief, as though it might be initials.

The edge of the former pharmacy is just visible on the right. The stamp is at the very far end of this stretch of sidewalk.

I regret now that I didn’t get a picture that includes the M43 Fitness building (2225 E. Grand River Ave.). I didn’t think it was anything very special, but then I got home and did my research and found that its history was more interesting than I expected. In the City Pulse‘s New in Town column on February 15, 2018, it states that the building “has a history of being a watering hole: [owner Scott] Abramouski said the 1959 building had a soda fountain.” A search of the Lansing State Journal turns up the name of the business. It was called Glass Pharmacy. The last time I see its name connected with this address is in 1979. The last time I see it advertised at all, though without an address given, is in 1982. Starting in 1987, advertisements for “East Side Pharmacy (formerly Glass Pharmacy)” begin appearing. The last advertisement I can find for East Side Pharmacy is in 1995.

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S. Pennsylvania Ave., Illegible name, 1960

A tired-looking building that styles itself “Kalamazoo Plaza” sits at the northwest corner of East Kalamazoo Street and South Pennsylvania Avenue, and this stamp is on the Pennsylvania side of the property. In person I do think I see the faintest impression of a name above the date, but it is hopelessly illegible.

On the Pennyslvania side of the Dollar Palace/Falcon Auto Traders building.

The building was built in 1960, so the sidewalk probably had work done at the same time. Currently, the west side of the building is the closed-for-good husk of a neighborhood dollar store, Dollar Palace. The east side identifies itself as Falcon Auto Traders, though it does not really look like it is doing much in the way of auto trading. Prior to Falcon moving in, it was a pharmacy, Lansing Community Health Mart, until at least 2011.

Looking at the Falcon Auto Traders suite of the building. The taller side to the west, not visible, is the former Dollar Palace. The stamp is on the right side of the center slab.

At one point the building (I don’t know which suite) was home to Capital City Typing Service, which renamed itself Quality Typing Service later on, and may also have been known as Capitol Area Typing Service. The Lansing State Journal business pages of June 30, 1985, reported,

Capital City Typing Service, 925 E. Kalamazoo St., is under new management. The new owner, president is Lois “Jane” Joehlin, who has worked in the secretarial field for over 30 years and has an associate degree in business management.

The eastern suite of the building seen from Kalamazoo Street.

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N. Fairview Ave., illegible name, 1929

I picked up this one on a driveway apron on the west side of North Fairview Avenue between Vine and Fernwood. I can’t resist a 1920s stamp, even if they are much more common than I originally thought when I started the blog.

Unfortunately, while I can read the date fine, the name is deep but obscure. It looks to end with -ER, possibly -MMER or -NNER, but I can’t figure anything else out. Normally a driveway apron stamp of this age would likely be Lansing DPW, but what I can make out of this one does not match that. I tried using a flashlight to cast a raking light across it, which sometimes helps, but it didn’t do any good this time. Maybe next time I see it in daylight I’ll be luckier.

Looking south on Fairview. The stamp is on the driveway apron, bottom of the photo just right of center.

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E. Michigan Ave., illegible name, 1960?

This remnant of a stamp is on the south side of East Michigan Avenue between Clifford and Ferguson. Only the faintest impression remains of a date. I caught sight of it on a nighttime walk and I suspect it would only be visible by streetlight; anything brighter would probably completely wash it out. It’s on one end of a set of three slabs of similar composition, likely poured at the same time. All three are lined up on one side of a double-wide sidewalk. The slabs side-by-side with these look to be of a different vintage.

I can’t be sure the date is 1960. It might be 1980. It looks more like 1960 to me and the extremely worn state of it also inclines me to the earlier date.

The stamp isn’t visible in the photo; I’m standing roughly over it.

This is out in front of the driveway of Mercy Ambulance, which surely also has something to do with how worn it is. Mercy Ambulance is a starkly modern building for the block, barnlike, and yet I find it strangely appealing in an ugly sort of way. According to their Web site, Mercy Ambulance was founded in 1955 by Rodney Palmer. As the current President is Dennis G. Palmer, I am assuming it is still in the same family. I thought perhaps the building dated from 1955 and was built for Mercy Ambulance, but that turned out to be incorrect. The city’s records say it was built in 1940. Mercy Ambulance was originally located on Pennsylvania Avenue and, according to an old issue of the Eastside Neighborhood Organization News, moved to this building in 1971.

The stamp is on the second full block away from the camera, facing the other direction.

Prior to Mercy Ambulance moving in, the building (and its attached apartment) belonged to Mundo Faggion Plumbing and Heating. According to a January 24, 1994, obituary in the Lansing State Journal, Armando “Mundo” Faggion founded that business in 1929.

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E. Kalamazoo St., illegible name, undated

This is on a driveway apron on the south side of East Kalamazoo Street between Leslie and Shepard. It caught my eye because I didn’t recognize it as one of the usuals, but unfortunately despite my best efforts I wasn’t able to read it.

I believe I have this oriented the right way up, based on the “T” I think I see in it, but I can’t be sure. If I’m right, then it faces the street.

A look at the driveway from the east side. The stamp is in the middle of the apron.