87-Year-old Detroit Library Reopens After Brush with Disaster

From the Detroit Free Press

Boasting everything from unique photos of the likes of Henry Ford, Louis Chevrolet and Amelia Earhart to color swatches for classic car restoration and documents from Detroit’s role in winning World War II, the National Automotive History Collection is back in business.

More than a year after a broken water pipe threatened the irreplaceable NAHC, historians, enthusiasts, authors and the public again have access to the stately 87-year-old library in the shadow of the Quicken Loans building downtown.

The Detroit Public Library began collecting automotive materials in 1896, when it purchased “Notes on Motor Carriages,” a 34-page book by John  Henry Knight, who had built one of England’s first cars, a two-seat three-wheeler. Subtitled “With Hints for Purchasers and Users,” it’s still in the collection.

The oldest acquisition is the October 1895 issue of The Motocycle.

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Direct to Digitized Material from the National Automotive History Collection

See Also: Priceless Automotive History Collection Escapes Downtown Detroit Library Flood (via DFP; February 2, 2018)

Filed under: Libraries, News, Patrons and Users, Public Libraries