ARTS&LIFE
A Visit to Yesteryear
Art exhibit at Prentis showcases 1950s-60s Detroit. SUZANNE CHESSLER CONTRIBUTING WRITER
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DECEMBER 30 • 2021
thought historical pictures decorating the lobby would offer welcoming sights to both occupants and visitors. Adams provided 17 prints, and Singer paid for the framing through a fund in memory of his son, David Aaron Singer, administered by the Jewish Federation of Metropolitan Detroit. Among the images are 1950s-60s renderings of Hudson’s Department Store, Campus Martius Park and the Michigan Central Railroad Depot, where another Adams print, capturing the back of the structure, went up about two months ago. “I’ve started lots of activities at Prentis, including a weekly movie night, and I thought this display would bring lots of pleasure to our residents who grew up in the city,” said Singer, 80. “We’re living in a community where youngsters here are in their 60s so when they go into the lobby they can look at the prints and take a nostalgic trip into yesterday. One picture even moves viewers into the suburbs to remember the early cruisers along Woodward.” Singer, who had his bar mitzvah at what
became Adat Shalom Synagogue, brands his favorite image as showing buildings that had filled the border separating JERRY ZOLYNSKY
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aul Adams and Harvey Singer were business associates before they became friends. An interest in art has remained at the core of their relationship although that interest has been expressed in different ways. Adams, drawing since childhood, was hired as a graphic artist while still a senior at Cass Technical High School and went on to create watercolor and print images of Harry legendary spots in the Motor Singer City. Singer, appreciating art and demonstrating sales skills, opened a firm, The Art Department, to market the signature works of diverse artists he admired. Singer took notice of Adams’ urban renderings displayed at art fairs around the state and accepted responsibility for pitching them to gallery presenters. After years of work projects, the two have collaborated on a donor project — Singer’s idea. A resident of the Anna and Meyer Prentis Apartments in Oak Park, administered by Jewish Senior Life, Singer
Artist Paul Adams with his print of the old Vernors plant in 1950.
JERRY ZOLYNSKY
Paul Adams with his print of the old J.L. Hudson building in Detroit.
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