You're on the right block, but your addresses are a little off. And it's no rumor. At 6432 Woodward is Detroit Hardware, perhaps the oldest existing hardware store in the city [[established 1924). Just next door at 6426 Woodward [[without a sign) is the Woodward Bar, which claims to be the oldest continually operating gay bar in Detroit.
Back when I worked in the city research office we used to drive out to places to check them out and confirm information. I would imagine today, with Streetview and other internet tools [[like this board), it's much easier to gather that information and no longer necessary to take those scouting trips.
And an aside: Across Baltimore, where the White Castle is now, there was once a large bowling center called Great Lakes Lanes. It had 60 lanes and a big entrance with a mural of Hall of Fame bowlers. When I was a kid in the '60s and '70s that was where the Detroit Public Schools around the center city held bowling lessons and leagues, and where I learned to bowl.
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