3101-3107 McDougall Street
S.M.S. Lombarda Hall, Italian Lombardi Club, Marracci Temple No. 13, Grenadier Club
While taking photos before work on Wednesday, I saw (and smelled smoke) off Gratiot. As I got closer, I saw several fire trucks with their ladders up. I walked down Benson Street to realize that a building I passed by often on my bike was on fire.
3101-3107 McDougall Street was built in 1927 at the corner of McDougall and Benson. The structure was designed by Raseman & Freier for M. S. Lombardo (Thanks Benjamin Gravel). The building was broken into two three sections. There was a small retail space, the S.M.S. Lombarda Hall, and the Italian Lombardi Club. Throughout its early history, the building was a haven for Italian immigrants.
The names Lombarda, Lombardi, and Lombardo are most likely in reference to the Lombardy region of northern Italy. The largest and most known city there is Milan, and the northern portions are in the foothills of the Alps.
In the 1930s and 40s, several Italian groups had spaces inside the building. The Lombardi Society, Marconi Social Club, and Columbus Post of the American Legion hosted events at least once. Columbus Day parades and festivities reverberated through the neighborhood every year, often passing by or taking place at 3101-3107 McDougall.
On August 25, 1939, the Detroit Free Press reported on the different feelings Detroit immigrants were having about the looming war. One section read, “Italians in Detroit took an attitude of watchful waiting. At Lombardi Hall, 3101 McDougall, a group gathered to listen to the latest radio news. They felt, however, that the war was Europe’s business, and that Italians in Detroit had their own business. Few said that they wanted to return to fight for Italy. All hoped that the United States would not go to war.” Whether this column was ‘Americanized,’ I can’t be sure. Two years later, the United States entered the war.
The Italian groups eventually moved on from the structure or dissolved completely. It didn’t take long for the American melting pot to assimilate different nationalities of whites, and many other ethnic halls also exchanged hands around this time.
The history of the building becomes murky around this time. At some point, Marracci Temple No. 13 moved into the space. I wasn’t aware of what this group was until researching this piece. The temple is a part of the Ancient Egyptian Arabic Order Nobles of the Mystic Shrine. Their website says that “Prince Hall Shrinedom embraces all of the basic fundamental concepts of the Masonic Order, but is more colorful, with a broader spectrum of visibility by the manner in which it dispenses charity in the community, and the care for its own.”
I’m not certain when Marracci Temple No. 13 moved into the building, but their history in Detroit dates back to around 1904. In 1939, Detroit Shriners hosted some 25,000 for an international event. Again, in 1973, they hosted 40,000 at Cobo Hall; in 1984, some 30,000 came together in Detroit.
The group funds scholarships for women, raises money for local schools, and hosts community events. They also had a Drum & Bugle Corp. that would play at local events. They existed at 3101-3107 McDougall by at least 1991. At some point, they left the location and moved elsewhere. The ornate details they had added to the McDougall Street door went with them.
I’m not sure when, but I’d guess the Grenadier Club moved into one of the spaces in the 80s or 90s. I’ve also seen the name listed as the Grenadier Lounge and the Grenadier Lounge of the Marracci, which leads me to believe that the owner had some relation to Temple No. 13.
The club was a popular place for blues music, and, starting around 2007, Erma Watt taught hustle classes here. She would eventually teach the ‘Obama Hustle’ here, a dance created by Detroiter Crystal Smith during the 2008 election cycle. Watt and Smith’s classes at the Grenadier became so popular that, after Obama won the 2008 election, they rented a bus and took 50 Metro Detroiters to the inauguration in January. In the chilly D.C. air, the group ‘Obama-Hustled’ across the National Mall, and Barack Obama became the 44th President of the United States.
Around 2014, the Grenadier Club was revamped into an after-hours electronic venue. In Michigan, bars can’t serve past 2-AM, so after-hours have always been popular. As Detroit became more popular with young people, so did the Grenadier’s events. So much so that the police continued to shut them down for being too loud and serving alcohol past the legal hour. It would close for good around 2016.
Since roughly that same time, the building has been for sale on and off. Records show its last sale in 2017 for $200,000. Before the fire, the structure was listed through O’Connor Real Estate’s James Tumey for $415,000. The building’s square footage is listed as 8,000 square feet.
When riding from the west side to the east side, I often take Benson. I had ridden past this structure dozens of times and had yet to take a single photo of it. Most likely, this building will be demolished due to the damage sustained.
Thank you to the Detroit Fire Department for all their work to keep Detroiters safe daily.
