HomeRadiologyVol. 25, No. 4 PreviousNext EditorialNext Annual MeetingDec. 2–6, Hotel Statler, DetroitPublished Online:Oct 1 1935https://doi.org/10.1148/25.4.503MoreSectionsPDF ToolsImage ViewerAdd to favoritesCiteTrack CitationsPermissionsReprints ShareShare onFacebookTwitterLinked In AbstractThis is the time when members and friends of the Radiological Society of North America are making plans to attend the Annual Meeting, and for that reason it has seemed fitting to say a little about the city of Detroit, this year's meeting place. The modern city is intimately known to many, but a brief résumé of the colorful history may be of interest—how many of us who think of Detroit as the automobile capital of America have ever stopped to think of the reason why a settlement was first located on that site or the trading center which antedated the automotive industry.The building of Detroit on a spot where Nature has fashioned something splendid was partly out of circumstance, partly out of necessity, and partly because of a very localized convenience. When Cadillac moved across Lake Erie and swung north up the Detroit River he saw the calm blue of these northern waters sheltered from the fury of the Great Lakes by an island at each end, and on the west bank of the river he noticed a slight promontory, overlooking the surrounding country, an ideal spot for his sentinels to watch the movements of the Indians and the British who were gradually encroaching upon the territories of New France and threatening to annihilate the power of France in America.He built a rude settlement on the rim of this northern wilderness, a savage outpost touched feebly by the stray glints of French chivalry and nobility, holding in its feeble fist the touchstone of the power of the Bourbon dynasty. And the little settlement shambled along the banks of the river, slowly and bravely, anxious about Indian outbreaks and massacres. Through the bleak winters it staggered as hungry as a ghost, ill supplied and out of the reaches of civilization.Then one day General Wolfe swept the Plains of Abraham, conquered the French with a superior force, and all the lands of the St. Lawrence, Ohio, and Mississippi Valleys were surrendered to Great Britain. The power of France was broken in North America. Detroit became a British possession. It remained so until 1783, when America broke with England. It has since remained under American rule with the exception of a short period during the War of 1812 when the British flag flung its defiance out across her battlements.The nineteenth century gave birth to a culture that still clings traditionally to the city—a culture that was ripe and glowing before the automobile swept in upon us and our industry in its maddened pace. The middle of the nineteenth century saw a slow and continued growth, a sound healthy condition of business pioneered by men who loved business and its gifts to civilization, men satisfied with small profits but sound financial policy. It is a simple story—how these men rose to wealth and affluence with the success of their business, how they found time, in their slow deliberate pace, to set up a distinct culture, in a society that was born out of savage manners and polished by the glint of the courts of France.Article HistoryPublished in print: Oct 1935 FiguresReferencesRelatedDetailsRecommended Articles RSNA Education Exhibits RSNA Case Collection Vol. 25, No. 4 Metrics Altmetric Score PDF download