From Horses to Cars: Early Autos, Service and Parts

From Horses to Cars: Early Autos, Service and Parts. . , By 1925, when Theophil Aprill joined with Albert Larmee to found Ann Arbor Exide Battery Service, this neighborhood was already a center for automobile sales, garages, parts, and service, much of it owned and staffed by German Americans. It was a natural transformation from carriage works, blacksmiths, and liveries. , , The first auto was offered in 1900 at Staebler's bicycle store across West Washington from here. By 1925 you could buy a Dodge at Alber's, a former livery at 206 West Huron, or, within a block, a Pontiac, Maxwell, Chrysler, Hudson, Essex, Reo, Oakland, or Franklin. Trucks, as well as cars, were sold at Ann Arbor Buick on Ashley and Huron. , , Between 1916 and 1925, Motor Products Corp. manufactured windshields in both the former Allmendinger Organ Works and the former Krause Tannery. King-Seeley took over the tannery in 1925 to produce the nation's first dash-mounted gas gauges. American Broach, manufacturing auto-machining parts, replaced Schlemmer's Fluff Rug factory next to the railroad on West Huron. , , Top image caption: , A and L Battery Service, 106 South First Street, ca. 1927 , , Top image inset caption: , Theopil Aprill (second from right) and Albert Larmee (left) stand beside recharging batteries in their South First shop. The business gradually moved to 529 South Main. Under Theophil's son Ted, A&L became one of the largest auto parts distributors in southeast Michigan. , , Bottom left image caption: , On West Washington and South First, Bethlehem, the oldest German chuch in town, was first converted to a stable and then a garage for the horses, wagons, and delivery trucks of Mack and Co. department store. The site later became part of Brown's Chevrolet dealership. , , Bottom right images caption: , In 1918 the town's first off-street gas station opened, replacing curbside pumps like the one in back of Fred Staebler's grocery store on South Ashley, a few feet left of here. Ten years later there were 35 gas stations in Ann Arbor, 29 of them downtown, including Hunter's (right) at West Huron and North First. , , City officials ordered horse hitching posts removed from the Main Street business district in 1922 and the last horse drawn cab quit in 1924. Autos now dominated the roads. , , Sponsored by the Theophil Aprill family , , Photos courtesy of Tom Aprill, Nancy Hunter Crosby, and the Bentley Historical Library