Kern's Department Store: Weber Building

[Dexlin]

Did a little research through the archives, here, and some other research work, but I couldn't find an answer to this question. Most old descriptions and histories on the Kern's Department Store - the original complex prior to the 1929 demolished and rebuild - make only passing mention that the store purchased the Weber Building after WWI, which my research places at 28 Gratiot Avenue [[where the "bite" is currently taken out of the One Campus Martius/Compuware Building). It looks to have been connected to the back of the main store building fronting Woodward.

So, it would seem that this building only last in the complex about a decade, as I imagine it was purchased around 1920 at the latest. Old photos of the original complex inevitably focus on the main store building fronting Woodward, and you can only see the Weber in the background. I've yet to see a clear photo of this part of the complex.

My question is if anyone has any record of when it was built? Someone with some access to some old Sanborn Fire Insurance Maps may be able to find this out. My local library got rid of their online subscription to the Michigan maps a few years back, so I no longer have access to them. As for the architecture, the dim views I've seen of it looks like it was faced in dark stone [[or brick) and maybe was romanesque in its details? It was quite a contrast to the more modern Woodward section, so you can tell it predated it.

Also, as it relates to the 1929 demolish and rebuild, the pictures I've seen seem to show that the Weber Building survived this until the second and final demolition of the store complex in 1966. So, does anyone know exactly what was turn down in 1929? Was it only the Woodward-fronting buildings of the complex? The old Sanborn maps would show this, too, I'd think.

Anyway, thanks!

[Dexlin]

Actually, I was able to find some old online Sanborn Maps, but they didn't quite answer my question about the Weber Building. What they did clarify, however...

1. It appears the 1929 was more a renovation then a complete tear-down and rebuild. The 1919-built main store - which was 10 stories - remained throughout the existence of the complex's history. It appears the only demolitions were of the shorter section of the store on either side of the main store building on Woodward, and this was mainly to bring uniformity to the block, much like what happened with Hudson's.

2. While I still wasn't able to nail down a year of construction for the Weber Building, it appears it was built sometime in between 1898 and 1920 as it's not on the 1898 maps and we know it was incorporated into the Kerns block after WWI. It also appears it was faced in brick for sure.

If anyone can find complete maps in between the two period I found, that would be great. There were some 1915 maps at the source I found, but they were missing this section of the city.

[Wheels]

Here is a picture. Not a great angle.
http://www.shorpy.com/node/8425?size=_original#caption

[Dexlin]

Wow, thank you for this great shot looking down Gratiot! Yeah, not the best photo, but it shows the context. The building is behind the sign. Apparently, there was a partial alley between it and the main store prior to the store's expansion.

Do you happen to know if Henry C. Weber & Co. was also a retailer? This photo also helps narrow down that the building was there as early as 1908 and that it wasn't there in the 1898 Sanborn maps - at least not in the form it'd have been incorporated into Kern's.

Thanks, again!

[archfan]

Try the Library of Congress for Sanborn maps: 1897, 1904. It looks like the building is there on the 1904 map, so your window is down to 6 years.

[archfan]

Here are a couple of other things:

Henry C. Weber & Co was a hardware store.

Another picture from the old DetroitYes forums.

A street level view from a postcard from the DPL.

Finally, here's an 1899 city directory with "Weber H C & Co" at 121 Woodward.

[Dexlin]

Here is a picture. Not a great angle.
http://www.shorpy.com/node/8425?size=_original#caption

So, dug more through Shorpy, and you can see the whole back and west side of the building back in 1912.

http://www.shorpy.com/node/18826?size=_original#caption

So, it looks to have been a hardware store prior to its incorporation into the Kern's block.

[detroitbob]

As a very young child, I remember being taken to Kerns, Hudson's and Crowley Milner by my mother. The chandeliers in Kern's from the mezzanine were impressive but the one thing that sticks in my mind above others was a large street clock on Farmer Street what would be around the corner from Gratiot Ave i.e. the Weber bldg. corner, opposite Crowley's talking c1958-59. I also remember Kern's being subdivided into smaller stores on the main floor after the going out of business sale. This use didn't last too long -- may have been a seasonal situation as the building was demo'd in 1966.