10151 Kercheval Avenue
Barbershop, Heating and Plumbing Shop, Exford Clothing Shop, Bartlett Real Estate, Auto Loan and Finance Company, Scheiwe Coal and Coke Company, E. A. Kundinger, Peninsular State Bank Branch, First Church of the Redeemed, Greater Eastside Healing Tabernacle
This structure includes 10131, 10133, 10135, 10137, and 10151 Kercheval Avenue.
I believe that the structure pictured here was built around 1921 or 1922. Though the entire structure is bunched in with 10151 Kercheval Avenue today, there were, at one time, at least four storefronts here, including one larger bank on the Hurlbut side of the building. Instead of getting everyone confused by going chronologically, I will go by address, starting with the storefront closest to Cadillac Boulevard.
10131 Kercheval Avenue
10131 Kercheval Avenue was a barber shop in 1940, and the shop was looking for a barber to fill in for two weeks. The person for the job would get 80% of the money they took in. By 1960, there was an ad in the paper for a heating and plumbing salesman to canvas neighborhoods for jobs. This seems out of place, so it may have been a misprint, as it was only in the paper once.
10133 Kercheval Avenue
By March 1947, George Katz had opened a Men’s Furnishing store at 10133 Kercheval Avenue, later called the Exford Clothing Shop. That month, Robert and John Dowling, 27 and 29, brothers, were arrested for looting the store. Patrolmen Thomas Watson, Irving Tischbein, and Hector Baeyens reported that a dozen shots were fired their way by one of the robbers and that they returned 15 shots. Later that day, Robert approached the car he had left near the crime scene, and he was arrested. John was arrested at his home later that day. Both denied guilt but were connected to the crime scene by evidence. Both brothers had previously served terms in Kingston Prison in Canada for bank robberies, and Robert was in the federal prison in Milan until six months prior.
Unfortunately, George Katz’s run-ins with thieves weren’t over. In April 1951, he reported to the police that merchandise worth $5,000 was missing from his store after robbers broke in through the transom. Milton George Kastran and Mike Stemos were arrested in connection with the theft, though the incident was thought to be a part of a greater crime ring.
In April 1952, a year after the theft, Abraham Karney was sentenced to two to 15 years for breaking into the store and stealing more than $5,000 worth of clothing. Police believed that he was a member of a gang that was responsible for 100 Detroit burglaries, according to the Detroit Free Press.
10135 Kercheval Avenue
In 1922, 10135 Kercheval Avenue was in use as a real estate office run by Mr. Bartlett. Early ads in the paper said the office was “over [the] bank at Hurlbut,” but later ads dropped that wording. These ads were in print until 1924.
By 1927, there was a loan company here called the Auto Loan and Finance Company. They specialized in car loans and refinancing but offered all sorts of loans. In 1928, a new corporation with $50,000 in capital was filed at the state level called the Auto Loan and Finance Company.
In June 1928, the company sold 10 acres of land near Washington, Michigan, with a creek running through it. This property was likely forfeited as collateral on a loan. The advertisement said they’d dispose of the property for cash or a substantial down payment. I don’t think that the Auto Loan and Finance Company was somewhere you wanted to go if you could help it.
In January 1930, an armed robber walked into the office of the loan company and tied up Paul Liefield, treasurer, with a clothesline. The thief robbed the cash register of $125 and went on his way, leaving Liefield tied up for an hour before the manager, Earl J. McKain, arrived.
The last mention of this business that I’ve found came in 1932. In 1966, the address was listed as an apartment for rent, which is strange. Perhaps there were apartments on the second floor, but I can’t be certain.
10137 Kercheval Avenue
In 1921, 10137 Kercheval Avenue was listed as a Scheiwe Coal and Coke Company branch, whose main office was at Mack & Meldrum. By 1922, it was listed as the real estate office of Robert B. Bartlett, who was also listed at 10135 Kercheval. Later in 1922, a real estate office was hiring a girl to answer the phones and do office work. Not all the ads had Bartlett’s name, as some were listed under Mr. Kinnear and H. E. Schaeffer.
In 1926, there were ads for E. A. Kundinger, a building contractor specializing in alterations, carpentry, painting, decorating, remodeling, and general building. By 1935, there was a barbershop there, and in 1936, that shop was for sale. It had two chairs. In 1938, somebody at the address was selling a Voigtlander Compur f/4.5 camera for $19.50 and a Kalart, Jr. for $9.50, which may have been a film-loading or rewinding tool.
10151 Kercheval Avenue
I believe that 10151 Kercheval Avenue was built to be a Peninsular State Bank; however, I can only be sure that it had become one by 1922.
In 1925, Epiphany Episcopalian Church, around the corner on Cadillac, was hosting a campaign to raise money to build a community center, which still stands at the corner of Kercheval and Cadillac today. Mark W. Allen, General Chairman, organized 40 teams, equally divided between men and women, from seven religious denominations and others having no church affiliation. The hope was to raise $78,000 for the community center, and the home base for the competition was the Peninsular State Bank at the corner, pictured here.
In 1927, a 50-to-60-year-old man robbed the bank. He wandered into the bank, approached a worker, and ordered him to give him all the money on the counter. At first, the manager, William G. Seyferth, thought he was joking, but then he noticed the .32 caliber revolver on the counter. After singlehandedly robbing the bank without any of the half-dozen patrons noticing, the man walked outside. The manager asked his coworkers to ring the alarm, and they hadn’t noticed the robbery either, so they were confused as to why he asked them to do so.
A truck driver saw the man escape and told police which way the man had gone. Within a few minutes, police caught the man, and he still had all the money in his pockets. He was booked on an armed robbery charge and held in jail. The only problem was that the Detroit Police Department couldn’t figure out who he was. He said his name was William Brown; however, he followed up with, “Don’t bother to look that up. It’s not my real name,” according to the Detroit Free Press. Police assumed he was an out-of-town hold-up man, but that didn’t help them figure out who they were prosecuting.
After that, things went dark for a while. I believe the Peninsular State Bank merged with the Bank of Michigan to form the Peoples Wayne County Bank, which wouldn’t survive the Great Depression. The structure was likely purchased by another banking institution, a store, a church, or a light manufacturing company to assist in Detroit’s wartime effort. By the 1949 Sanborn Fire Insurance Map, it was listed as a store.
Regardless, by 1959, the structure was operational by the First Church of the Redeemed, pastored by Reverend Ike E. Simpson, Jr. The church was incorporated as an ecclesiastical corporation on the state level in 1958 and had moved from the structure pictured here to 8935 Mack Avenue, now a vacant lot, in 1965. The church still exists today, with services taking place at 9360 Van Dyke.
I’m not sure what happened directly after First Church of the Redeemed moved out of the space, but by 1988, Greater Eastside Healing Tabernacle, run by Pastor Paul M. Hogan, had been incorporated at the address. The church operated into the 2000s, hosting sidewalk sales in 2004 and 2005. The church followed the Church of God In Christ and was dissolved in 2016. For ages, there was an Eastside Community Outreach sign on the Kercheval side of the structure. I’m unsure if the two were related, but I’d assume they were.
At some point, a small addition was added to the Hurlbut side of the structure. It’s not very pretty; however, the rest of the structure is quite nice, despite glassblock and cinderblock in a few places.
Unfortunately, we’ve reached the point where we have to talk about the current owner. This structure (including all the addresses) is currently listed under the neglectful eyes of the Kefallinos family. Dennis Kefallinos and his son, Julian, own swaths of land around Detroit, including numerous historically significant and massive properties, most of which are vacant. He typically does just enough to keep the city off his back; however, he’s been sued by the City of Detroit multiple times over structures that he has failed to maintain. The structure’s interior has been completely gutted, even though it was in use as recently as the 2000s.
The good news is that this structure is still standing and appears to be in somewhat decent shape. The bad news is that with the current owner, we shouldn’t expect much to happen here any time soon.
