The photos in this volume were culled from the back pages of Hour Detroit magazine, offering a representative glimpse back at the way Detroit was, from the earliest shot, 1880, to the most recent, 1987. "The Way It Was" is a popular feature with the magazine's readers, many of whom being reading each issue from the back page first. Some readers recall events or buildings because they lived through that particular time. Youthful readers, familiar only with a largely forlorn city, are frequently astounded by images of a town that once pulsated with energy. Most of these pictures don't depict important or cataclysmic moments in the city's history, although there are shots of famous people visiting Detroit, from John F. Kennedy speaking to a downtown crowd, to Frank Sinatra performing at Cobo Hall. But the majority are simply images capturing a time and place that are no more. In their spontaneity, they evoke life as it was lived.