World
Ann Arbor in the 1940s: World War II efforts, movie theaters and more
This story is part of a seven-part series exploring Ann Arbor through the decades, from the 1930s through the ‘90s. Additional stories will be published throughout the week.
ANN ARBOR, MI — The 1940s were a time of war for the United States, and Ann Arbor stepped up to help in various ways as World War II persisted.
Many community members enlisted to serve overseas, while back home wartime efforts ranged from war bond drives to scrap metal collections to make munitions, including tearing up the rails from Ann Arbor’s old streetcar system.
Many people also worked at factories such as the nearby Willow Run bomber plant and Ann Arbor’s Argus Cameras Inc. plant, which devoted its production to military optics and radio equipment for the U.S. and allied armed forces during the war.
But that wasn’t all that was going on.
The State Theatre’s opening in 1942 and plays, dances and musical comedy were just some of the bright spots as life continued.
Here’s a look at Ann Arbor in the 1940s from The Ann Arbor News photo archives.
One of the treatments for infantile paralysis or polio victims in January 1940 was a bath in the physiotherapy pool at the University of Michigan Hospital. In this photograph, a patient is being lowered into the water under the supervision of Dr. Carl E. Badgley, while members of a Washtenaw County committee raising funds to fight the disease watch. News of polio’s conquering would come 15 years later at UM following a trial study that determined a vaccine developed by Jonas Salk worked.Eck Stanger | Ann Arbor News archives courtesy of OldNews.AADL.org
Elephants at the Masonic Temple in downtown Ann Arbor for the Grotto Circus in February 1940.Eck Stanger | Ann Arbor News archives courtesy of OldNews.AADL.org
Elephants at the Masonic Temple in downtown Ann Arbor for the Grotto Circus in February 1940.Eck Stanger | Ann Arbor News archives courtesy of OldNews.AADL.org
Jessie Coller chats with Fred Williams on her first day as supervisor of Ann Arbor’s 7th Ward on the Washtenaw County Board of Supervisors in April 1940. She made history as the first woman elected to the county board.Ann Arbor News archives courtesy of OldNews.AADL.org
Tiny tots and girls apparel for sale inside Kline’s Department Store on Main Street in downtown Ann Arbor in March 1940.Eck Stanger | Ann Arbor News archives courtesy of OldNews.AADL.org
Curtains for sale inside Kline’s Department Store on Main Street in downtown Ann Arbor in March 1940.Eck Stanger | Ann Arbor News archives courtesy of OldNews.AADL.org
Naval Radio Quarters at the Masonic Temple in downtown Ann Arbor in May 1940.Eck Stanger | Ann Arbor News archives courtesy of OldNews.AADL.org
The peony garden at Nichols Arboretum in Ann Arbor in June 1940, considered one of the most outstanding gardens in a city of flowers.Ann Arbor News archives courtesy of OldNews.AADL.org
The peony garden at Nichols Arboretum in Ann Arbor in June 1940, considered one of the most outstanding gardens in a city of flowers.Ann Arbor News archives courtesy of OldNews.AADL.org
Peonies blooming in Nichols Arboretum in Ann Arbor in June 1940.Ann Arbor News archives courtesy of OldNews.AADL.org
The Ann Arbor YWCA at the northeast corner of Fourth Avenue and William Street downtown in October 1940.Eck Stanger | Ann Arbor News archives courtesy of OldNews.AADL.org
An exterior view of the new Sears department store that opened at 312 S. Main St. next to Kline’s Department Store in Ann Arbor in March 1941. The two-story building built of steel-reinforced masonry had a frontage of 68 feet and a depth of 128 feet.Eck Stanger | Ann Arbor News archives courtesy of OldNews.AADL.org
The new Benz Insurance building completed at 333 S. Fourth Ave. next to the Masonic Temple in downtown Ann Arbor in January 1941.Eck Stanger | Ann Arbor News archives courtesy of OldNews.AADL.org
Jones School Christmas choir, December 1941.Ann Arbor News archives courtesy of OldNews.AADL.org
Jones School students tend a garden on Maiden Lane, 1941.Ann Arbor News archives courtesy of OldNews.AADL.org
Jones School students play violin, November 1941.Ann Arbor News archives courtesy of OldNews.AADL.org
Ice skating at Allmendinger Park in Ann Arbor in January 1941.Ann Arbor News archives courtesy of OldNews.AADL.org
The Orpheum Theatre on Main Street in 1941.Ann Arbor News archives courtesy of OldNews.AADL.org
The Marchese Building on Main Street in 1941.Ann Arbor News archives courtesy of OldNews.AADL.org
The grand opening of the State Theatre on State Street in downtown Ann Arbor in March 1942 with the new film “The Fleet’s In,” featuring Dorothy Lamour and Jimmy Dorsey.Eck Stanger | Ann Arbor News archives courtesy of OldNews.AADL.org
The grand opening of the State Theatre on State Street in downtown Ann Arbor in March 1942. It opened with five shows a day and showed only first-run features. Tickets were 25 cents before 5 p.m. and 40 cents after.Eck Stanger | Ann Arbor News archives courtesy of OldNews.AADL.org
The grand opening of the State Theatre on State Street in downtown Ann Arbor in March 1942. It coincided with the closing of the Majestic, another landmark theater on Maynard Street.Eck Stanger | Ann Arbor News archives courtesy of OldNews.AADL.org
The grand opening of the State Theatre on State Street in downtown Ann Arbor in March 1942. The balcony, with a seating capacity of about 670, and the main floor together could accommodate an audience of about 1,900.Eck Stanger | Ann Arbor News archives courtesy of OldNews.AADL.org
The grand opening of the State Theatre on State Street in downtown Ann Arbor in March 1942. It was later quadded in 1979, turned into four smaller theaters, and then the first floor was converted to retail space another decade later. A renovation in 2017 partially restored its old look and made it the four-screen cinema destination it remains today.Eck Stanger | Ann Arbor News archives courtesy of OldNews.AADL.org
The grand opening of the State Theatre on State Street in downtown Ann Arbor in March 1942. The theater stretched roughly 132 feet along State Street and extended back from the street about 150 feet.Eck Stanger | Ann Arbor News archives courtesy of OldNews.AADL.org
World War II draftees outside Nye Motor Sales, 210 W. Washington St., in Ann Arbor, circa 1942.Eck Stanger | Ann Arbor News archives courtesy of OldNews.AADL.org
Estelle H. Cannon presents a picture of her son, Marine Lt. George Ham Cannon, at an ROTC ceremony at Michigan Stadium in Ann Arbor in April 1942. The 26-year-old lieutenant killed in action in December 1941 was the first U.S. Marine in World War II to receive the nation’s highest military award — the Medal of Honor. He had been a member of the Reserve Officers Training Corps at the University of Michigan.Eck Stanger | Ann Arbor News archives courtesy of OldNews.AADL.org
Corporal Richard E. Dennie of the United States Army Air Forces in February 1942.Eck Stanger | Ann Arbor News archives courtesy of OldNews.AADL.org
The rails from Ann Arbor’s old streetcar system on Catherine Street are ripped up in May 1942 to be used as scrap metal to make munitions to support the nation’s war effort during World War II.Eck Stanger | Ann Arbor News archives courtesy of OldNews.AADL.org
The rails from Ann Arbor’s old streetcar system on Catherine Street are ripped up in May 1942 to be used as scrap metal to make munitions to support the nation’s war effort during World War II.Eck Stanger | Ann Arbor News archives courtesy of OldNews.AADL.org
Petty Officer Fred R. Hough, a veteran of the Battle of Pearl Harbor, became the first veteran of World War II to join the local Graf O’Hara post of the Veterans of Foreign Wars in June 1942. Hough, who was home on leave from a Navy school in Virginia, is shown alongside Frank Kokenakes, acting officer of the day, as Commander Carl Ernst swore him into membership. The 23-year-old petty officer wasn’t talking about his part at Pearl Harbor, but he came back to the mainland in May.Eck Stanger | Ann Arbor News archives courtesy of OldNews.AADL.org
A ballerina performance at Ann Arbor’s West Park in July 1942.Ann Arbor News archives courtesy of OldNews.AADL.org
Jones School students in Ann Arbor collect for a scrap drive in the rain in October 1942.Eck Stanger | Ann Arbor News archives courtesy of OldNews.AADL.org
Men of the judge advocate general’s school, recently moved to the University of Michigan Law School from Washington, D.C., stand in review in October 1942. The school provided specialized military legal education during World War II.Eck Stanger | Ann Arbor News archives courtesy of OldNews.AADL.org
Jack Cook, projectionist at Ann Arbor’s Michigan Theater, in November 1942.Eck Stanger | Ann Arbor News archives courtesy of OldNews.AADL.org
A Women’s Army Auxiliary Corps recruiting course during World War II in January 1943.Eck Stanger | Ann Arbor News archives courtesy of OldNews.AADL.org
Ordnance troops from Fort Wayne and Detroit in town to honor Ann Arbor’s World War II wartime efforts in February 1943. In the afternoon they were put through drills at the courthouse after touring local war production plants.Eck Stanger | Ann Arbor News archives courtesy of OldNews.AADL.org
A Red Cross mobile canteen serves refreshments to Army troops visiting Ann Arbor honoring the city’s war efforts during World War II in February 1943.Eck Stanger | Ann Arbor News archives courtesy of OldNews.AADL.org
Ann Arbor’s Virginia C. Wilson of 2102 Dexter Ave. poses for a portrait after being accepted for service as a pilot in the Ferry Command during World War II and about to begin training in March 1943.Eck Stanger | Ann Arbor News archives courtesy of OldNews.AADL.org
University of Michigan student Charlotte M. Noble, 21 and reportedly anxious to get overseas, becomes the first Ann Arbor woman to enlist in the Women’s Auxiliary Army Corps during World War II in April 1943.Eck Stanger | Ann Arbor News archives courtesy of OldNews.AADL.org
Major General Myron C. Cramer, left, with two other men at the judge advocate general’s school at the University of Michigan Law School in April 1943. The JAG school, relocated to Ann Arbor from Washington, D.C., in 1942, provided specialized military legal education during World War II.Eck Stanger | Ann Arbor News archives courtesy of OldNews.AADL.org
Men from Company A who presented their musical comedy “Nips in the Bud” at the University of Michigan in May 1943.Eck Stanger | Ann Arbor News archives courtesy of OldNews.AADL.org
Company A rehearses its “Nips in the Bud” play at the University of Michigan in May 1943. Here the cast is assembled for the song and dance routine in “Gonna Get Gigged.” Pvt. Albert Acerno, one of the authors, sang the solo part in the act.Eck Stanger | Ann Arbor News archives courtesy of OldNews.AADL.org
The Ann Arbor Civil Air Patrol inaugurated its war-time courier service in June 1943 when an official of an Ann Arbor plant was flown to Grand Rapids on a war business trip. Pilot Maude Rufus, Ann Arbor’s “flying grandmother,” was chosen to pilot the first courier flight. She is shown conferring with her passenger, Jay H. Leason, a financial executive of International Industries Inc., before leaving the Ann Arbor Municipal Airport in her plane.Eck Stanger | Ann Arbor News archives courtesy of OldNews.AADL.org
A war bond drive at the Wuerth Arcade in Ann Arbor during World War II in 1944.Eck Stanger | Ann Arbor News archives courtesy of OldNews.AADL.org
The University of Michigan Law Quad covered in snow in 1944, when it was the home of the U.S. military’s Judge Advocate General program during World War II.Eck Stanger | Ann Arbor News archives courtesy of OldNews.AADL.org
Jones School student Marion Martin prepares for a Red Cross poster contest, March 1944.Ann Arbor News archives courtesy of OldNews.AADL.org
Neighborhood children enjoy the opening of the new Burns Park wading pool in Ann Arbor in July 1944. It was presented to the children of Ann Arbor by the local Kiwanis Club, and an identical pool was to be constructed at West Park by the Kiwanians.Eck Stanger | Ann Arbor News archives courtesy of OldNews.AADL.org
Michigan state troops march down Ann Arbor’s Main Street past the Sears and Kline’s department stores toward the downtown courthouse during a Memorial Day event in May 1945 toward the end of World War II.Eck Stanger | Ann Arbor News archives courtesy of OldNews.AADL.org
Army cadet nurses from the University of Michigan Hospital march in a Memorial Day parade in Ann Arbor in May 1945.Eck Stanger | Ann Arbor News archives courtesy of OldNews.AADL.org
Boatswain’s Mate Kirby Ludwick Jr., a U.S. Navy prisoner of war in Japan since the fall of Wake Island in World War II, returns home in May 1945 to greet his sons, Ronnie, left, who was only six months old when his father went overseas, and 7-year-old Kirby. This picture was taken on the steps of the family’s home at 726 Gott St. in Ann Arbor Ludwick’s wife Elsie worked at the Argus camera company that devoted its production to military optics and radio equipment for the U.S. and allied armed forces during the war.Eck Stanger | Ann Arbor News archives courtesy of OldNews.AADL.org
JAG school at the University of Michigan in May 1945. The judge advocate general’s school moved to Ann Arbor from Washington, D.C., in 1942 during World War II and was in operation at UM’s law school through 1946, providing specialized military legal education.Eck Stanger | Ann Arbor News archives courtesy of OldNews.AADL.org
General Myron C. Cramer and JAG school staff at the University of Michigan in May 1945. The judge advocate general’s school moved to Ann Arbor from Washington, D.C., in 1942 and was in operation at UM’s law school through 1946, providing specialized military legal education.Eck Stanger | Ann Arbor News archives courtesy of OldNews.AADL.org
Sgt. Paul Tompkins, former Michigan Theater organist in Ann Arbor, home in August 1945 after two years overseas during World War II.Eck Stanger | Ann Arbor News archives courtesy of OldNews.AADL.org
A party for World War II soldiers in Ann Arbor in August 1945. About 40 guests, most of whom were either liberated prisoners of war or on 30-day leaves before expecting to push on to the Pacific, were entertained on a Saturday night at the home of John and Anna Hedlesky at 703 Moore St. It also was a 20th birthday party for Pfc. Michael Hedlesky. The war would soon be over with the atomic bombings of Hiroshima and Nagasaki.Eck Stanger | Ann Arbor News archives courtesy of OldNews.AADL.org
Women line up to buy nylons from Kessel’s Fashion Shop in December 1945.Ann Arbor News archives courtesy of OldNews.AADL.org
The Firestone auto repair shop at Huron and Division streets in downtown Ann Arbor in July 1946.Ann Arbor News archives courtesy of OldNews.AADL.org
The Firestone auto repair shop at Huron and Division streets in downtown Ann Arbor in July 1946.Ann Arbor News archives courtesy of OldNews.AADL.org
Merit Shoes on Main Street brightly lit during a “voluntary brown out” in May 1946.Ann Arbor News archives courtesy of OldNews.AADL.org
New parking meters on Main Street in May 1946.Ann Arbor News archives courtesy of OldNews.AADL.org
Main Street businesses during a “voluntary brown out” in May 1946.Ann Arbor News archives courtesy of OldNews.AADL.org
Ann Arbor High School students Gene Robert and King Bennett play “Taps” at an Armistice Day memorial service in November 1946.Eck Stanger | Ann Arbor News archives courtesy of OldNews.AADL.org
Ann Arbor High School’s portraits of soldier-graduates killed during World War II on display in 1946.Eck Stanger | Ann Arbor News archives courtesy of OldNews.AADL.org
House movers slowly roll a home through Ann Arbor in October 1947, going down State Street past the Michigan Union as University of Michigan students stop to watch.Ann Arbor News archives courtesy of OldNews.AADL.org
House movers slowly roll a home through Ann Arbor in October 1947, turning from Huron Street onto State Street heading south.Ann Arbor News archives courtesy of OldNews.AADL.org
Children look at a train set at Fingerle Lumber in December 1947.Ann Arbor News archives courtesy of OldNews.AADL.org
Former U.S. presidential candidate Thomas Dewey, also the former governor of New York, visiting the University of Michigan Law Quad in July 1947.Maiteland Robert La Motte | Ann Arbor News archives courtesy of OldNews.AADL.org
Ann Arbor Public Library summer reading club certificate winners in September 1947.Maiteland Robert La Motte | Ann Arbor News archives courtesy of OldNews.AADL.org
Jones School students make Christmas gifts for children at University Hospital, Dec. 17, 1947.Ann Arbor News archives courtesy of OldNews.AADL.org
Cleo Owens, Tidal Delco, and Delores McCants rehearse for the Song and Dance Festival staged by 75 Dunbar Community Center members at Jones School, May 1948.Ann Arbor News archives courtesy of OldNews.AADL.org
An estimated 800 youths participate in a Freedom Train bicycle parade through Ann Arbor in August 1948. Here they pass through the intersection of Liberty and Division streets.Ann Arbor News archives courtesy of OldNews.AADL.org
Children line up to see free movies at the Michigan Theater in downtown Ann Arbor before the Freedom Train bicycle parade in August 1948.Ann Arbor News archives courtesy of OldNews.AADL.org
Jones School students enjoy their milk break, November 1948.Ann Arbor News archives courtesy of OldNews.AADL.org
Drivers heed the new one-way traffic on Fourth Avenue in December 1948.Ann Arbor News archives courtesy of OldNews.AADL.org
Kline’s Department Store on Ann Arbor’s Main Street in 1949.Eck Stanger | Ann Arbor News archives courtesy of OldNews.AADL.org
An aerial view of the intersection of Washtenaw Avenue and Stadium Boulevard in Ann Arbor in April 1949.Maiteland Robert La Motte | Ann Arbor News archives courtesy of OldNews.AADL.org
An aerial view of the University of Michigan athletic campus and surrounding areas in Ann Arbor during graduation exercises at Ferry Field in June 1949. This shows the 3,445 graduates proceeding to their seats in the stands for their commencement, and the UM football stadium can be seen in the distance.Maiteland Robert La Motte | Ann Arbor News archives courtesy of OldNews.AADL.org
An aerial view of the University of Michigan athletic campus and surrounding areas in Ann Arbor during graduation exercises at Ferry Field in June 1949.Maiteland Robert La Motte | Ann Arbor News archives courtesy of OldNews.AADL.org
Stores along Ann Arbor’s Main Street in July 1949, including S.S. Kresge Co., F.W. Woolworth Co. and Kline’s Department Store.Ann Arbor News archives courtesy of OldNews.AADL.org
Yvonne McIntyre learns infant nursing techniques at Jones School Center, December 1949.Ann Arbor News archives courtesy of OldNews.AADL.org
Jones School students play store, April 1949.Ann Arbor News archives courtesy of OldNews.AADL.org
Jones School students square dancing, April 1949.Ann Arbor News archives courtesy of OldNews.AADL.org
Ann Arbor’s First and Washington parking structure on the west side of downtown in June 1949.Eck Stanger | Ann Arbor News archives courtesy of OldNews.AADL.org
A brick State Street in downtown Ann Arbor in December 1949. Businesses such as Wahr’s Books and Eibler Jeweler line the west side, while the Granada Restaurant and State Theatre are across the street.Eck Stanger | Ann Arbor News archives courtesy of OldNews.AADL.org
Ann Arbor mail carrier Ernest Pommerening and his dog Bounce stop at a mailbox at the corner of Fifth and Jefferson streets across from Bach Elementary School in December 1949.Ann Arbor News archives courtesy of OldNews.AADL.org
Ann Arbor in the 1930s: Nickels Arcade, Burton Tower, West Park and more
Want more Ann Arbor-area news? Bookmark the local Ann Arbor news page or sign up for the free “3@3 Ann Arbor” daily newsletter.
Global Economic Trends and Their Impact on the Online Gambling Market
“Don’t weigh yourself”—The Challenge 40 finalist Jenny shares fitness mistakes to avoid post-holidays
Stan Lee’s 102nd Birthday to be Celebrated by Entertainment Icons on December 28
The year Bay Area sports went mid – The San Francisco Standard
How Major Entertainment Companies’ Stocks Performed in 2024
The Fitness & Wellness Moves That Defined 2024
2024 rewind: Biggest South Shore sports stories of the year
Chris “Crazy Legs” Fonseca reflects on 40-year career ahead of Loonees show
Wolves vs Manchester United: Match Preview and TV Watching Guide
