Found a lost Hotel key in my back yard

Brentallica

Bronze Member
May 6, 2009
2,169
813
Michigan
🏆 Honorable Mentions:
3
Detector(s) used
Minelab Explorer SE
Primary Interest:
All Treasure Hunting
Hello all - Friday night I was swinging in the back yard and found this old key. Found many pieces of skeleton keys, however, this is my first intact!
Brent

Brief History of the Hotel which closed in 1973 and is now housing to 93 apartments and caters to parties, etc

History
The Durant Hotel served as Flint’s premier hotel for over 50 years. From 1920 to 1973, it provided luxury accommodations fit for the various dignitaries, celebrities, and business leaders visiting General Motors from around the world. Moreover, it served the City of Flint as a grand venue for all manner of weddings, conventions, and other celebrations over the course of its life. Perhaps the building’s most enduring trait is the name itself. Hotel Durant was named in honor of the founder of General Motors, William C. Durant., after he stepped down as president of the company for the last time. W.C. Durant was a charismatic leader whose passion and ambition allowed him to build successful businesses from the ground up. He started his first business purchasing a patent on a two wheel carriage in 1885. It didn’t take long for his carriage business to grow, and by the end of the 19th century he was a millionaire. However, with the days of the horse drawn carriage numbered, Durant would soon find himself in a new business: That of selling automobiles.

As a major manufacturer of both carriages and gasoline engines, Southeastern Michigan would quickly become the center of the automobile world, and Flint, being the home of W.C. Durant, would become the epicenter of that world. Countless inventors and mechanics in the area attempted to build their own versions of the horseless carriage, introduced to the U.S. in 1895. W.C. Durant, a leader in the carriage business, would soon be drawn into a partnership with a company started by one of these inventors, David Buick. Under Durant’s leadership, the Buick brand took off to become one of the most successful in the U.S. Its manufacturing facility in Flint was the largest in the world at that time, and it provided jobs to countless individuals in the area.
 

Attachments

  • DSCN5765.JPG
    DSCN5765.JPG
    123.4 KB · Views: 164
  • DSCN5768.JPG
    DSCN5768.JPG
    94.3 KB · Views: 113
  • DSCN5770.JPG
    DSCN5770.JPG
    133.2 KB · Views: 111
  • Durant.png
    Durant.png
    242.9 KB · Views: 132

River Rat

Super Moderator
Staff member
Jan 6, 2006
20,846
2,531
SE Louisiana
🏆 Honorable Mentions:
1
Detector(s) used
Garrett AT Pro, Ace 250 & Ace 400
Primary Interest:
All Treasure Hunting
I really like that key...will look good in a shadow box along with postcard. Congrats on your find!
 

Mike from MI

Silver Member
Oct 13, 2007
3,253
2,371
Vicksburg Michigan
🏆 Honorable Mentions:
14
Detector(s) used
Etrac, Minelab Explorer II, Exterra 30, Fisher CZ-21, and CZ-20
Primary Interest:
All Treasure Hunting
Pretty neat relic and the info that goes with it. Congrats!
 

flakefinder

Bronze Member
Jul 21, 2010
1,151
161
Michigan
Detector(s) used
2 Garrett AT Pro
Primary Interest:
All Treasure Hunting
That is a cool find, when you can get some history from a find it's a good one, Congrats and thanks for sharing....
 

Michigander Dan

Sr. Member
Mar 11, 2012
446
24
Water Wonderland
Detector(s) used
Minelab Explorer SE Pro, Garrett Pinpointer pro
Primary Interest:
Metal Detecting
Very unique and historical find there Brent and a very nice touch w/ the historical info, I remember passing this many times in my youth as my father worked and everybody's father either worked for GM or Buick and thanks for the memories.
 

postalgriff

Silver Member
Aug 7, 2008
2,801
1,091
Southern Michigan
🏆 Honorable Mentions:
2
Detector(s) used
Minelab SE
Primary Interest:
All Treasure Hunting
killer find man! congrats on a first, and a sweet bit of local history too! awesome!....love the shadow box idea too! Lookin forward to seeing what else that yard holds! :icon_thumright:
 

mjc_lakedweller

Hero Member
Nov 14, 2011
604
151
Kzoo County, MI
Detector(s) used
Garrett ATPro,
Garrett ACE350,
Fisher CZ-20,
Garrett Pro Pinpointer
Primary Interest:
Metal Detecting
I am from Flint and remember the stories about the Durant Hotel. Not many people realize the General Motors started in Flint rather than Detroit. If I recall, the old Durant carriage building is still downtown also. Thanks for sharing such a neat part in history.
 

TNGUNS

Bronze Member
Jun 23, 2012
2,368
1,208
Evensville, Tennessee
Detector(s) used
Whites 5900, Fisher 1266x, Tesoro Eldorado, Tesoro Silver Sabre, Whites Eagle Spectrum, Teknetics G2, Teknetics T2, Vibra-Probe 580
Primary Interest:
All Treasure Hunting
Now that is just plain and simple hardcore history....WAY COOL.....:icon_thumleft:
 

Catobra

Hero Member
Jun 21, 2012
556
114
South Jersey
Detector(s) used
Whites IDX Pro
Primary Interest:
All Treasure Hunting
Wow-compare that to the plastic cards they give you for hotel rooms nowadays.....really cool find!
 

Michiganne

Silver Member
Mar 27, 2007
4,402
550
SW Michigan
Detector(s) used
Explorer SE
Primary Interest:
All Treasure Hunting
Very cool relic Brent. :icon_thumleft: Thanks for sharing the history on it with us. :thumbsup:

HH
 

Top Member Reactions

Users who are viewing this thread

Top