1907 East Forest Avenue
Eastern United Machine Company, Johnson Carburetor, A. H. Ryan Factory, Lang Industries, Inc., Atlas Industries, Forest Company, Ida Products, Boomer Construction Materials
This property's address may include 1901, 1903, 1905, 1907, and 1909 East Forest Avenue.
In 1897, two small stores stood where this structure currently stands. By then, the Grand Trunk Railroad, which ran to the Detroit River, was already in place. There were dozens of manufacturing and warehousing businesses lining this railroad, very few of which remain. Today, that railroad makes up the Dequindre Cut, which starts a short distance from this building.
By December 1915, the new plant for the Eastern United Machine Company, automobile engineers, pictured here, was complete. The firm designed, patented, and manufactured automobile tools and accessories. Additionally, the business repaired cars and made non-stock modifications, which was common in this era because parts weren’t as widely produced and available. The address was originally 515-517 East Forest Avenue. By 1917, the property was listed as the Val Blatz Brewing Co. Warehouse; however, that may have been a misprint.
This structure is particularly handsome, though it’s harder to tell today as it has been whitewashed. I’m incredibly curious about the original color of the accent material. The brick was reddish-orange, common for the era. Today, it’s well maintained, but you can see the original brick in places where the building is damaged. If you look closely, you can still read ‘Eastern United Machine Company’ on the facade above the door. At some point, an additional story was added.
Detroit Evening Times, 1915
By 1921, Johnson Carburetor, a business run by Chester F. Johnson, had moved into the property. The structure housed a machine shop, offices, and an assembly unit. In 1930, Johnson died, leaving behind the company he helped start in 1914. By this point, the operation was at 1901-1909 East Forest because there was a city-wide address change in 1921.
By 1932, the building was listed as a factory run by A. H. Ryan. I’m unsure what they made; however, William Johnson tried to break in that year. In doing so, he set off the burglar alarm and was arrested. After discovering that Johnson was a deaf-mute, Ryan asked the judge to set him free. Johnson said that he was looking for firewood. He was released to his mother.
By 1934, it was listed as Lang Industries, Inc., a belting company. That same year, the ground floor of the structure was for rent. It measured 200 by 50 feet, and leasees could utilize part or all of the space.
Starting in 1944, there were plenty of ads listing lumber, drills, and other materials for sale from this address. It seems like a company was liquidating items or selling old stock, but I can’t be certain. This may have been the doing of Atlas Industries, a waste paper company that called it home by 1945. Benjamin Futernich, the owner, was alleged to have failed to keep complete and accurate records, leading to a federal court injunction because they violated Office of Price Administration (OPA) regulations.
In September 1947, the structure pictured here hosted a public auction of machinery, presses, and other tools belonging to the Forest Company. The business was lost to foreclosure. By this point, I think that multiple companies called it home.
The 1950 Sanborn Fire Insurance Map shows that the property was utilized as a window and screen warehouse. The Grand Trunk Railroad was still chugging along next door. The window operation was called Ida Products, which, by 1960, was planning a move away from the structure. The company, owned by Manny Lax, Arthur Kepes, and Manfred Moser, was initially looking to move out of state but decided to move to the former Briggs Manufacturing Company Auto Body Plant at Miller and Joseph Campau in Hamtramck.
The article in the Detroit Free Press in September stated that extensive remodeling was needed, which was expected to occur next month. Additionally, the company’s employment was expected to jump from 100 on East Forest to 150 in Hamtramck, which was a significant boost. The former Briggs plant was massive, spanning 400,000 square feet, 200,000 of which the Ida Products Company planned to use. The rest, they’d rent to smaller operations. The Briggs Plant hadn’t been used in a few months, so the manufacturers of aluminum windows and door frames might have gotten a deal on it. The Ida Products Company still exists today, though it merged with MRM Products at some point. Today, it’s on Lyndon Street between Livernois and Wyoming. The Briggs Plant burned in 1986 and was demolished.
At some point after that, the structure was acquired by Boomer Construction Materials, a company founded by the Boomer Family (Roy, Helen, and Robert) in 1953. Originally called the Boomer Company, the operation has been in this area since its inception. Today, the headquarters is still at 1940 East Forest, across the street from the structure pictured here, which is used as a warehouse. Eventually, I’d like to cover other buildings that they occupy.
Though it’s hard to imagine today, Detroit once had hundreds of buildings like this. We still have many today, though a plurality of them are unused or underutilized. The ornamentation that went into designing a structure like this is unparalleled today, and I’d rather look at this whitewashed structure than a new build any day of the week.
