3461-3467 Michigan Avenue
Schulte & Kaiser Grocery Store, Harry Titlebaum’s clothing store, Chylowski family’s jewelry store, Rose Wood Bar, Rose Room Bar, International Sausage Company
I recently posted about the Grosfield Building on Michigan Avenue. I meant to document this structure on that trip but ran out of time. Yesterday, while wandering around in the snowfall, I stopped by to take some photographs. I usually like to get crisp images, but I’m a sucker for snow.
In June 1889, an article in the Detroit Free Press reported that Peter Dederichs, Jr. was preparing plans for a block of brick stores at the southeast corner of Michigan and 24th Street. He was commissioned by Schulte & Kaiser, a grocery firm started by German immigrants. By this point, the neighborhood was a Deútsch enclave. 1013 Michigan Avenue would be an iconic piece of the community, even after the Germans left town.
I don’t think Schulte & Kaiser stayed in the grocery business long—the last mention of their operation I’ve found in the paper was in the early 1900s. An advert was trying to sell a meat market inside the structure in 1895, which may have been their business.
When the city-wide address shift happened in 1921, the property became 3461-3467 Michigan Avenue.
Over the years, the structure housed Harry Titlebaum’s clothing store, the Chylowski family’s jewelry store, and a saloon called the Rose Wood Bar.
In 1974, George Gilliam was shot as he walked out of the bar. His friend took him to the hospital, where he was pronounced dead. By 1977, the bar had been renamed the Rose Room. That year, a burglar snuck through a hole in the ceiling to case the joint. Unbeknownst to him, there was a nightwatchman inside. The two exchanged gunfire, and the guard, Robert Cunningham, was killed. He fired two bullets from his gun, and another person’s blood was found at the scene. The bar’s owner, Ronald Fradette, found him when he reported in at 7:30 the following day.
Another bar, incorporated as the Rose Room in 1980 by Abe Ross Patterson, utilized the space until at least around 1983.
At some point, the International Sausage Co. moved into the space. Founded in 1957 as the International Salami & Sausage Company by Zoltan A. Fenakel(?), it was initially housed at 3449 Michigan, behind the structure pictured here.
Details from a 1999 lease advert in the Detroit Free Press offer a look into what the space looked like two decades ago. It was 7,000 square feet, operational as a federally inspected food processing plant, and had 5,000 square feet of refrigeration. The structure had a loading dock, fully furnished offices, a delivery truck, and a security system. I’m unsure what piece the building on the corner, pictured here, played in that operation. Given the state of the structure, I’d guess it wasn’t leased, or, if it was, not for long.
At some point, PGA Construction Ideas and Solutions, INC., headed by Roberto Castaneda-Gonzalez, purchased the property. It’s currently owned by an LLC named after the address and appears to be looked after.
In September 2020, the structure was listed through O’Connor Real Estate. The images show that the second floor has been removed and could be readded or utilized as is with “dramatic soaring ceilings for retail or office space.” It was given a new thermoplastic polyolefin roof in 2017 and was for sale for $550,000.
3461 Michigan is less than a mile from Ford’s Michigan Central Station renovation, just over two miles from Campus Martius, and a 15-minute walk from Mexicantown proper. Hopefully, considering its architectural significance and inclusion in the Michigan Avenue Historic Commercial District will make it a good candidate for preservation. I’m not holding my breath, but its castle-like exterior would make for a rad bar.
You can see this building from Second German Methodist Episcopal Church down 24th Street.
