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Can you identify when and where this photo was taken?  

In archival and historical work, a variety of techniques can be used to help date the sources and images that we stumble across. Looking at the entire photo including clothes worn, personal protective equipment, background setting, machinery, building materials and more can all be used to help identify the scene in front of us.  

When looking at this picture, several clues can jump out at the viewer. For example, the shape of the windows on the plant’s building are very distinct and are reminiscent of the Art Deco style which are linked to some of the earlier plants in the Lansing Board of Water & Light’s history. This feature aligns with what would be the Ottawa Street Power Station which was finished in 1940. Additional features of the building such as its parallel horizontal lines and decorative embellishments can be seen, which further helps identify it as Ottawa Station. This gives us a first estimate for a date and location for the photo’s origins.  

Additionally, the construction scene presented here helps us determine that this image would have been taken before the completion of the plant in its entirety, but the lower floors were already constructed. 

Other information in the photo, such as the truck, help link the image to the first half of the 20^th century. The cabin, wheels and other features of the car are all linked to early models from this era of history. Furthermore, the men are wearing clothing and hats such as the fedora and newsboy cap which were widely worn in the 1940’s.  

With these clues we can estimate the image was taken around the 1930’s or 40’s, which is confirmed by the date written on the back of the photograph. According to the label, the picture was taken on September 6, 1939, on East Ottawa St. of Ottawa Station. It’s important to note that historians and archivists don't always trust what’s written on the back of images because items can get swapped, and dates can be misidentified. It’s important to look at the full image to ensure it’s accurately identified and is one of the reasons why we examine these photos before processing them in our systems. 

These are some of the things that help us identify images within the BWL’s archives and are what we do behind the scenes to digitize and source our records.