In 1897 Francis Allen Ellis picked up a camera and began a lifelong hobby of taking photographs. His keen eye recorded life as it was wherever he went. It was unusual for a young man to buy a camera in the 1890's and have the vision to photograph the city and it's parks. It also must have taken a fair amount of his income as an office boy at Russel Wheel & Foundry. This is the first volume in what will become a series of books presenting the photographs taken by Francis. This volume covers the original Detroit Opera House before it burned down to the remnants of the fire and the rebuilding. The old trolly cars come back to life, Belle Isle and Palmer Park come alive as they were in 1897. This is a time when horse and buggy were the main source of transportation if you didn't ride the trolly. One of the first photographs printed by Francis from his friends negatives of Native Americans in Arizona is also included.