4246 West Fort Street
George E. Doyle Pharmacy, Patent Medicine Store, Day & Night Party Store, International Liquor, Old Nasty Yacht Club, Motor City Riot
In April 1905, permits were pulled to construct a 2-story frame veneer store and dwelling at the corner of Fort and Scotten. The architects were Pollmar & Ropes, and the estimated cost was $4,000, or roughly $140K in 2023.
The structure was built to house George E. Doyle’s pharmacy, which he would run there for nearly four decades. He would die at 74 in 1943. He lived above the storefront. His wife, Hannah (maiden name Begole), continued to live there until her death seven years later. She was 80.
In 1972, it was still a pharmacy. Between the Doyle deaths and the 1970s, pharmacies had changed, especially in Detroit. They carried all kinds of merchandise and were targets for robberies because of that stock and the cash they often had on hand.
In the 1970s, the structure operated as the Patent Medicine Store. It was owned by Neil Constantino, 50 at the time. Around 8:30 PM, three men slid through the doorway and announced that they were holding the joint up.
Constantino shot one of the men between the eyes, causing one of the other hold-up men to shoot back, striking the owner in the right shoulder. The two men fled, leaving their comrade to die on the pharmacy floor and Constantino to be treated at Detroit General Hospital.
Within a decade, there was no longer a pharmacy at the corner of Fort and Scotten. By 1982, it was Day & Night Party Store. When it stopped serving up booze, loosies, and a small offering of groceries in 2009, the store was called International Liquor.
In 2010, Patrick Jarvis and two friends went in on the structure. According to a Metro Times Article in 2012, they christened the property the “Old Nasty Yacht Club” after a few of their friends had decided to join the swanky Detroit Yacht Club on Belle Isle. They spray-painted the moniker on the side of the structure, and a movement was born.
By December 2012, the structure had power again. In 2013, a mural was commissioned on the Fort and Scotten sides of the structure. The focal point was the words ‘Motor City Riot,’ but you could spend 15 minutes looking at the various details on the mural alone before admiring the details that remain higher on the facade. My favorite piece on the structure is the depiction of a high-heeled skirt and tank-top-clad motorist riding a Puch Series B with a City of Detroit flag draped over their shoulder. The spark plugs are a close second— there’s something here for everyone.
The days of the Old Nasty Yacht Club acting as an impromptu motorcycle club for mopeds are over, but the mural remains, albeit covered in a few places. At some point, it may have become a Detroit Five-O Security security company. Online records show that it was recently forfeited for unpaid taxes.
This structure is an excellent example of how development can isolate buildings, businesses, and people. The future of this structure is grim because it’s on an island. To the back, cars blister past on I75; Scotten doesn’t have an overpass. To the left and right, trucking lots surround the structure. Across the street, an enormous warehouse constantly hums with traffic and industry. If you were looking for a building to operate a business and live upstairs, this probably wouldn’t be your first choice.
I’m hopeful for this structure’s survival, but I won’t be surprised if it has a fate with the wrecking ball. Here’s to hoping!
