Is this building abandoned? [[Temple of Odd Fellows building Monroe & Randolph)

[Whitehouse]

Such an attractive building, barring the ground floor. From this Google Streetview picture of 2008 it looks like a solid building. Anyone who can fill us in on the history?

[Detroitnerd]

It had some work being done on it a few years ago. It was improperly buttressed and the back fell off. They have since rebricked the back.

[downtownguy]

Contray to the title of this thread, that would the Temple of Odd Fellows, not Temple of God or Temple of Goodfella's for that matter.

[Whitehouse]

Contray to the title of this thread, that would the Temple of Odd Fellows, not Temple of God or Temple of Goodfella's for that matter.

I stand corrected. But maybe the "d" is missing from the facade,

God fellows?

What was the original purpose of the building?

[Johnnny5]

Such an attractive building, barring the ground floor. From this Google Streetview picture of 2008 it looks like a solid building. Anyone who can fill us in on the history?

The only memory I have of that building is the annoying chainlink fence. I remember that fence complicating a late night stumble home from the Well.

[old guy]

I stand corrected. But maybe the "d" is missing from the facade,

God fellows?

What was the original purpose of the building?

Odd Fellows Hall


From Wikipedia
Several theories aim to explain the meaning of the name "Odd Fellows".
One says that they were called "odd" because in the beginning of Odd Fellowship in the 18th century, at the time of industrialization, it was rather odd to find people who followed noble values such as benevolence, charity and fraternalism.^[12]

[stromberg2]

That's odd! When I was a kid, I always thought it had to do with "The Odd Couple". A great show by the way.

Stromberg2

[jackie5275]

The taco truck parks next to it at lunchtime. El Guapo.

[stasu1213]

I only remember a shoe store named Cancellation Shoes being in the building

[DetroitPlanner]

I only remember a shoe store named Cancellation Shoes being in the building

I remember when the Well was Cancellations and they had other shoe stores around town by the same name. And thats the way we liked it! At that time this store was called Todd's and was part of a large area where there were multiple men's stores including Jerry's Style Shop, Hot Sames, JL Stone, Serman's, Sherman's Shoes, Ciao, City Slicker, the Broadway, Henry the Hatter. Only a few of those remain today.

This is where I did most of my shopping for school clothes in High School in the mid-1980's.

[Brock7]

The history of Detroit and Michigan: or, the metropolis illustrated - By Silas Farmer
In 1874, Washington Lodge No. 54 purchased a lot on Randolph Street facing Monroe Avenue, and built Odd Fellows' Temple thereon. The corner-stone was laid on August 20, 1874, by the officers of the Grand Lodge, at which time an address was delivered by John N. Ingersoll, R. W. Grand Warden. The hall was completed in February, 1875, and occupied by Washington Lodge No. 54, Michigan Lodge No. I, Detroit Lodge No. 128, and Sides Lodge No. 155. It was dedicated on February 22, 1876.

From 1887 and 1895 directories:
214 Randolph Odd Fellows' Temple, east side Randolph, between Croghan and Macomb streets.

http://dlxs.lib.wayne.edu/cgi/i/imag...-48554%5D48554
1920's?


http://dlxs.lib.wayne.edu/cgi/i/imag...-10678%5D10678
4-1-1924



http://dlxs.lib.wayne.edu/cgi/i/imag...-48553%5D48553
10/18/1950


http://dlxs.lib.wayne.edu/cgi/i/imag...ND-1%5D48551_1
11/15/1950


http://www.detroitfunk.com/?p=73
2005


Very large and detailed photo here:
http://www.flickr.com/photos/eridony/3240484542/

[Whitehouse]

At least that ugly roll-down fence is gone, but the question remains, is it occupied?

[swingline]

The Odd Fellows building sure looks naked without its handsome cornice.

[Whitehouse]

Is the cornice on the Breitmeyer-Tobin building on the same square a recreation or is that still the original?

[agrahlma]

At least that ugly roll-down fence is gone, but the question remains, is it occupied?

I walk past the building daily and there are no tenants on the first floor [[store front side). I can’t speak to the rest of the floors, but I never see any activity there. The building appears to be in good condition, and the location gets a reasonable amount of foot traffic. I think the building was for sale a few months ago, but I’m not sure if it is still listed.

[stromberg2]

^^
I have always liked the looks of this building. Are there apartments above the florist? This is in reply to Whitehouse's post.

Stromberg2

[agrahlma]

^^
I have always liked the looks of this building. Are there apartments above the florist? This is in reply to Whitehouse's post.

Stromberg2

If you’re referring to the Breitmeyer-Tobin building, I am not aware of any apartments on the upper floors. There are several offices in there [[I think JC Beal), and I see people coming in and out on a regular basis. On rare occasions I’ll see lights on in the evenings and on weekends. Also, the florist [[Blumz) moved a couple of months ago to the remodeled building over on Library street [[next to the Cuban restaurant).

[stromberg2]

I was..thanks!

Stromberg2

[detroitbob66]

The Temple of Odd Fellows building is indeed abandoned...boo hoo!

[Brock7]

In this 1919 photo you can make out that the sign between the second and third floors says "Dr. Smith Dentist", which I was curious about. It also shows the plain side of the Breitmeyer.
http://www.shorpy.com/node/11438?size=_original

[Detroitnerd]

Here's an image of the back of the building when the rear bricks fell off. As I remember, one of the Clownsilmembers immediately said to a media outlet that the whole building would have to come down. It was fixed within a few weeks...

[DLife]

Wasn't someone trying to turn this into a restaurant before the back collapsed?

[SaintMe]

Wasn't someone trying to turn this into a restaurant before the back collapsed?

Apparently it's going to be a Buffalo Wild Wings.

http://www.crainsdetroit.com/article...tius-greektown

[swingline]

The Odd Fellows building sure looks naked without its handsome cornice.

Yes, I'm replying to my own post from a few months ago.

Anyway, couldn't help but notice that the BWW rendering of the building included a cornice. Hard to believe that they would replace it, but one can hold out hope. It wouldn't be impossible with modern, relatively maintenance-free materials. It sure would improve that building.

[DLife]

http://atdetroit.net/forum/messages/125438/133468.html I found the thread on the collapse in 2008