1673 East Grand Boulevard
John Priester’s Store, Albert O’Rourke Residence, Dr. Sessions Blair Residence, El Capri Bar, El Capri Lounge
I believe that this structure was built in the first decade of the twentieth century. It was constructed to house a store on the main floor and have living quarters on the second level. By 1914, the main floor housed John Priester’s store, which was a location where you could pick up the Detroit Free Press. Later that year, the address was listed as a location where you could buy Velvet Brand Ice Cream.
In November 1915, a gold ring with a $50 diamond was stolen from Albert O’Rourke’s room at the structure pictured here. The home was ransacked, but that was the only thing listed as stolen in the paper.
A June 1917 advert in the Detroit Free Press listed this location as a Vivo dealer, a drink manufactured by Miller during prohibition that tasted like beer but was non-alcoholic. Brewers around the country had to make ends meet during prohibition, and larger companies like Miller were able to profit from their investments and outlive the law, which was repealed in Michigan in 1933.
By 1953, Dr. Sessions Blair lived at the address with his wife, Emma Priester Blair. Maybe, Emma was a relative of John Priester, who had a store here in 1914. By the late 1940s and into the 1950s, there was a service station on the corner next to the establishment.
In May 1953, Dr. Blair was one of few drivers in Michigan who still had their original 1919 driver’s license, which was the year Michigan enacted a law requiring them. Blair had no tickets or incidents in that time frame.
On April 4, 1954, Dr. Sessions Blair died.
By June 1958, the first floor was in use as the El Capri Bar. On June 7, three men held up the bar. Samuel Woodside fired a sawed-off shotgun into the floor, and the trio, backed by James H. Freeman and Edward King, stole $56 from the register and two patrons. Woodside got 10 to 20 years at Jackson, Freman got 7.5 to 20 at Jackson, and King got six months at the Detroit House of Corrections, two years probation, and a $100 fine.
In 1997, the El Capri Bar was for lease or sale. In 2000 and 2001, the establishment was hiring barmaids and servers. At some point, the El Capri Bar became the El Capri Lounge.
Open multiple nights per week, the El Capri was known for its Thursday nights, which featured “classic old school records,” according to Detroit Free Press coverage of what was at stake as another round of state-mandated closures put stress on local venues in Detroit in December 2020.
I’m unsure whether the El Capri Lounge survived the pandemic. I still see cars there occasionally, but it’s apparent that it isn’t nearly as popular as in the early 2000s. Still, the structure is maintained and has security cameras, which is a plus.
With the planned demolition of most of the Packard Plant complete, this area stands on the cusp of a unique future. As of January 2025, a plan has already been denied that would have demolished the rest of the Packard Plant. Hopefully, when a plan is put into action that reuses the small portion that remains of the historic Packard Plant, this structure can blossom again, hopefully, still as the El Capri Lounge.
I believe the structure next door was a Taco Bell, but it has been vacant for around two decades at least.
Though it still seems hard to fathom, I think this area may look dramatically different in 10 years than it does today.
