Gratiot and Van Dyke.

[stasu1213]

Does anyone has photos of Gratiot and VanDyke taken in the late 60s early 70s?

[HistoryNotHisStory]

The Gratiot-Van Dyke Sears was where my family shopped. According to mom and dad, aunts and uncles, Sears sold the best brand of wall and ceiling paint anywhere. And they sold the best in shoes, especially my dad's work boots. Oh, and his work clothes came from there also.

The store was located on the northwest corner, which if you were going toward downtown, it was on the right hand side of Gratiot, just before crossing Van Dyke.

I don't remember a KFC being around there in the 50s and 60s. But I seem to remember a Top Hat or White Castle; one of the burger places, maybe kitty corner to Sears?

The KFC was there in the late seventies early eighties.

[HistoryNotHisStory]

The Gratiot and Van Dyke Store is where we frequent all the time when I was a youth during the Seventies.

We went for clothes, hardware, appliances, etc.

Sears sold everything [[as they do today).

We flew model planes on the lot on the weekends.

[IrishSpartan]

I grew up on Van Dyke and Gratiot. Where was Morley Candies located. Did Banner Market become Lauris Brothers? What corner was Cunningham's on? My friend parent's had purchased him a Sears three speed bicycle from that Sears. I too used to cut through Sears parking lot from Moffatt. I had once went to that Dentist office that had sat next to Michigan Bell

Morley Candy was located at Gratiot & Fischer

[stasu1213]

The only business that I remember on Gratiot near Fischer is the Sunoco gas station. The repair shop on the south side of Gratiot. The boat dealer on the south side. Houstons Grille. That smaill factory that sat on the southwest side of Gratiot and Fisher. Now it is a rental hall

[IrishSpartan]

Morley Candy had the same building that became Houston Grill [[8701 Gratiot). I believe Morley left there in the mid-60's.

The only business that I remember on Gratiot near Fischer is the Sunoco gas station. The repair shop on the south side of Gratiot. The boat dealer on the south side. Houstons Grille. That smaill factory that sat on the southwest side of Gratiot and Fisher. Now it is a rental hall

[DetroitPlanner]

Wasn't that one set up like the Sears out on Grand River, where they had a bridge over the street to a Federals on the other side?

The Sears on Grand River did not have a bridge. It had a tunnel under a railroad. The bridge was between the Montgomery Ward and the Federals. That was several more miles West of the Sears. The Sears was at Oakman and the Wards was at Greenfield.

Wow what an old thread!!!

[Zacha341]

Great site. The more I dug into it, the more I want to. Wonderful photos------!

It was on the SE corner of Gratiot and VD

http://dlxs.lib.wayne.edu/cgi/i/imag...art=1;resnum=1

[old guy]

Great thread. Had to look back to see if I was here then. Traced myself back to 4/08. Wow, people just having a civil conversation about an interesting topic. What a concept. Still love this site.

[IrishSpartan]

I guess that makes me the guilty party.

The Sears on Grand River did not have a bridge. It had a tunnel under a railroad. The bridge was between the Montgomery Ward and the Federals. That was several more miles West of the Sears. The Sears was at Oakman and the Wards was at Greenfield.

Wow what an old thread!!!

[old guy]

I guess that makes me the guilty party.

Refreshing to say the least.

[IrishSpartan]

I knew someone that was a butcher at Laurie Bros. back in the 1960's. Laurie Bros. had the highest amount of retail liquor sales in the State of Michigan for a number of years back then. During the riot in 1967, word was put out in the area that if Laurie Bros. was looted they would leave the neighborhood and NEVER return. They were not touched at all or had a very minor issue.

That was our Sears store too. I remember going there every couple of weeks when I was a kid in the '60s and early '70s for clothes, hardware, appliances, gardening stuff, etc. It was on the southeast corner of Gratiot and Van Dyke. I got my first bike there in about 1965. I still remember the smell of carmel corn that would hit you when you first walked into the place, and the really cool [[well, they seemed cool to me) bright blue double knit slacks I bought there that were the first clothes I ever bought with my own money.

There was a Top Hat across Van Dyke on the southwest corner until about 1970 that we would stop into for a bag of burgers and some fries. I believe it was replaced with a KFC that was later changed into a Rally's and is now a Wendy's. On the northwest corner was the large Laurie Bros. supermarket, which was one of the first supermarkets in the area, it carried a lot of Italian stuff from the old days in the neighborhood and also had a very extensive liquor counter. That building still operates as a market. When I was little there was a very large barber shop in a building just south of the Sears parking lot where I used to get my hair cut sometimes.

After the Sears store closed in the mid-70s I used its parking lot to learn how to drive, and later to practice stick shifting. We used to do donuts there in the winter until they built the apartments on that site in the early '80s.

[IrishSpartan]

Thanks.....I knew a Detroit cop that lived on Field & Kirby during the years 1952-68. St.Anthony's Catholic Church was about a 2-minute walk. Let's just say he never had a dull moment over there.

Refreshing to say the least.

[subsidized]

This is a great thread. So much history and information. This is why I love DetroitYes.

[Gistok]

While we're still on the topic of Gratiot and Van Dyke... on the same side of Gratiot [[east) as Sear's... just about a block or so south of the store was Saffron Printing... a 4 story or so very odd looking white factory building. They printed all sorts of media. It to was torn down quite some time ago...

[pgn421]

While we're still on the topic of Gratiot and Van Dyke... on the same side of Gratiot [[east) as Sear's... just about a block or so south of the store was Saffron Printing... a 4 story or so very odd looking white factory building. They printed all sorts of media. It to was torn down quite some time ago...

W

wasnt Saffron printing on Beaufait or Bellevue? A steel company is in there , if my mind recollects .

[Gistok]

Wasnt Saffron printing on Beaufait or Bellevue? A steel company is in there , if my mind recollects .

They may have had more than 1 location. I just remember the odd looking plant along Gratiot going down towards downtown.

[swan]

If I'm not mistaken, the building that housed the old Morley Candy Store is still standing at the N/E corner of Gratiot and Fisher. My grandmother lived on Crane near Lambert and we used to walk to Morley's

[IrishSpartan]

If I'm not mistaken, the building that housed the old Morley Candy Store is still standing at the N/E corner of Gratiot and Fisher. My grandmother lived on Crane near Lambert and we used to walk to Morley's

As I mentioned in a post above, it's 8701 Gratiot that last housed the Houston Grill. It was still standing the last time I drove by there. Yes, the northeast corner of Gratiot & Fischer. Ervin Morley sold the place around 1964-65.

[stasu1213]

The area of Gratiot and Vandyke with streets such as Maxwell, Seminole, Seneca Iroquios, Burns, Fischer, Crane and Rohns, from Gratiot to Mack could be designated a historical designation. There are many Victorian style homes and nice bugalows on those streets. The area could be restored such as Corktown was restored. I remember Mr Murphy store that was on the corner of Belvidere and Chapin. There were another store on Rohns and Chapin, Rohns and Moffat, and Fischer had two stores across the street from one another on the corner of Fischer and Moffat. A&P was on Crane and Gratiot. I would love to see photos of the area that was taken in the 40s thru 60s

[jbrsvlmi]

Harper and Van Dyke... I grew up in that area in the 60's. Shoe repair shop across from Cunningham's, next door to Doc's Bar, Donuts shop on Harper. Went to Easttown show every weekend. Would really like to see photos of that area.
Also Gratiot and Harper on Bessemore St. Al Homes was my first school, the smell of potato chips being made. Good times.

[Brock7]

The people in my family who lived in East Detroit [[aka "Eastpointe") at about the time Eastland was built always referred to Vernier as either "8 Mile" or "Vernier" interchangeably, and called the residual mostly residential part of 8 Mile Rd. east of where the main traffic curves off onto Vernier "Old 8 Mile."

I understand from real old-timers that Vernier was built out from Grosse Pointe to hook up with 8 Mile sometime in the late 1920s. I'm not sure when the Moross-7 Mile connection was made.

On the 1876 through 1915 Grosse Point Twp. Maps, Vernier meets 8 Mile and 8 Mile doesn't extend any further than that. On the 1930 map, 8 Mile goes two blocks further to Beaconsfield, and East of that is indicated with dashed lines. So "Old 8 Mile" is actually the much newer road.

Up through 1915, Morass only goes as far as about where the I-94 inbound service drive is today, and 7 Mile ends at Kelly. I don't know what the signage indicated for the one block of 7 Mile that's East of where Moross joins it if the Detroit stretch of Moross was officially named 7 Mile back in 1930. I don't know what the signage indicates currently.

[Gistok]

Brock7... 7 Mile Rd. does end at Kelly. That one block is still 7 Mile Rd. Moross has always been Moross... but here on the east side old timers have always called Moross and Vernier as 7 and 8 Mile. The shopping plaza known as Pointe Plaza today replace one called 7-Mack Shopping Center.

Interesting about 8 Mile east of Beaconsfield though! Didn't know that it wasn't always there. I knew someone that lived on 8 Mile one block from I-94, and his house was at least 50-60 years old.

[brotherzeus]

http://i1098.photobucket.com/albums/...sonvandyke.jpg

[LGorda]

I lived first on Fischer off Chapin, then Rohns off Chapin in the 50's. My brother and I went to the Dawn Theater every Saturday with our friends. We would walk down Chapin to Seneca, then Gratiot to Iroquois. Googling the intersection of Seneca and Gratiot sure brought back memories - the 3 foot high round cement posts that we climbed and played on are still there! If they had the balcony roped off, we would try to sneak up the stairs. Made it once but got caught because my brother was tossing popcorn at the kids on the main floor.

I practically lived at the Mark Twain Library. I remember the reading room off to the left when you first came in. I always wanted to be able to go into that room, but it was for adults only. And I was fascinated by the large world globe in the middle of the main room.

We were not allowed to cross Gratiot without an adult, but the lure of Morleys was just too strong. If we had 15 cents we would sneak across Gratiot to sit in a booth eating a 10 cent ice cream cone and putting 5 cents in the tabletop juke box. Only got caught once.

Great childhood memories.