What was that building behind the Jewish center?

[Whitehouse]

I posted these pictures before in the Transformers III in Detroit" thread, but that is somewhat off-topic. So I removed those pictures from that thread and posted a new one.


Lowell made a tour of that building. The Jewish center. Those two top floors are vacant. You could sell ring seats to the action!!!



Some sort of defunt cafetaria? What was it and has anyone pictures of that when it was in use? Why is there so prominently written on the ground "Black's"?
If this is 100 Clifford than this is Dollar Dry Cleaners [[or used to be).


That was question one. The small building which is used in the Transformer movie. But then I found an old picture from Clifford street, which is question two. Which is the initial question which started this thread.

[Whitehouse]

Old picture of the same corner. The white building on the far left is still there. In fact that is the building from which those Transformer pictures were taken.




But look at the top of that old picture.

See that white band on top of those windows? That's a commercial message, and it is still there, albeit hardly readable.




What buidling used to stand on the plot behind the jewish center, on the corner of Washington and Clfford? Another lost gem...

[Whitehouse]

I did find the name. Empire Building. What was it for and when was this knocked down?



What a shame.....



What an improvement...

[EastSider]

The Empire started as the offices for the gas company. After they moved out, I think it was a general office building. It was razed by the owner sometime in the late 90's.

[Whitehouse]

Found it.

Also, intesting neighbor. "Fred Astaire dance studios".

[[From BoD)

[EastsideAl]

That picture is from back when Washington Blvd. was Downtown Detroit's upscale shopping area [[and it is always called "Washington Boulevard" in Detroit, never just "Washington").

The first building you asked about is 30 Clifford, as it says on the front of the building. It sits on an odd triangular lot left over by Downtown Detroit's unusual street plan [[the "Woodward Plan"). A block to the east the Metropolitan Building is on a similar lot. The last use I remember for that building was as an optometrist's office. I believe it had been some sort of jewelry store before that, but I don't that was the "Black's" store referred to in the building's doorway. I think that building was built by whoever "Black's" were back in the 1940s or 50s.

Long before that, the site had been home to Engine 3 of the Detroit Fire Department




After the Fire Department moved in 1926, the building was remodeled into the rather strange-looking Cow Shed bar and restaurant

[DetroitPlanner]

The building at the end of the street was used as St Andrews in 8 Mile and for a few other movies including Red Dawn. I might be giving the train station a run for its money!

[gnome]

Whitehouse, I'm ashamed to admit that I do not remember the Empire Building. According to our favorite, BOD, it was torn down in '97 and for the life of me I can't remember it. Funny how that is around here, we've lost so many buildings, so much history.

[Whitehouse]

I can't find any end-of-life pictures of that building. The picture above here is the least "youngest" picture of that building. It's now roughly connected to the barren wasteland directly opposite the site of the Statler hotel. So many emply plots, so many places to lose your car but nowhere to go.

I inserted the building in the map of Wikimapia.

[DetroitPlanner]

I remember the building, but it did not have quite that level of ornementation.

[gnome]

from Library of Congress, titled Washington blvd, detroit 1900 -1910

[detroitbob]

I remember that a upscale men's store occupied the main floor retail space of the Empire Building through the mid 1970's. I do not remember the elaborate cornice -- must have been removed as many buildings did in the 1950's . Can't remember the stores name...Capper and Capper was in the Whitney Bldg, Scholnick and Scholnick was at Grand River next to St. Al's Brooks Bros. was in the Penobscott. Anyone remember?

[kathy2trips]

The Empire started as the offices for the gas company. After they moved out, I think it was a general office building. It was razed by the owner sometime in the late 90's.

So intricately detailed was this building, I'm surprised it wasn't deemed a "monstrosity" back in the oh-so urban renewal 50s and torn down then.

I did so love this building for a lot of reasons. So sorry to see it's gone. This was designed by John Scott, the architect of the Old Wayne County Building.
Reportedly the cornice was removed. I wonder what happened to it? http://www.buildingsofdetroit.com/places/empire

[REL]

I don't mean to be rude, but it's not a "Jewish center." It's the Downtown Synagogue. And the top 2 floors aren't completely vacant.

[Gsgeorge]

Remarkable photographs!

[detroitbob]

That original building, being discussed in it's latter days was painted gray and was the home of Kosin's mens store...

[laphoque]

I don't mean to be rude, but it's not a "Jewish center." It's the Downtown Synagogue. And the top 2 floors aren't completely vacant.

What do they have going on upstairs now?

[Whitehouse]

I don't mean to be rude, but it's not a "Jewish center." It's the Downtown Synagogue.

Okay, I was the one who coined the phrase. Something got lost in translation. Apologies for that. Please move on from that.

Are we cool now?