4400 14th Street
Shoemaker, Buchanan Lunch, Carwash Headquarters, CHANGE Ministries
This address now contains 4400-4404 14th Street.
In 1897, this neighborhood was already somewhat populated. On the site of the structure pictured here, there was a 2-story dwelling facing 14th Street, a 1.5-story dwelling facing Buchanan, and a garage on Buchannan. All these structures were on one parcel, indicating how differently zoning worked at the turn of the century.
I’m not certain when these structures were built; however, they were there by the end of the 1930s. Originally two structures, 4400 and 4404 14th Street, were eventually consolidated into one address, 4400 14th Street.
In 1932, George K. Zhupanty was operating a sandwich stand at 4400 Fourteenth Avenue and was robbed of $32. This may have been before these buildings’ construction.
By 1937, there was an advertisement in the help wanted section of the Detroit Free Press from a shoemaker looking to work, rent, or sell at 4404 Fourteenth Street.
The first known shop at the corner, 4400 14th, was Buchanan Lunch, which was there by 1938. An advertisement in the Detroit Free Press in 1940 said the joint had “Excellent Food: Beer, Steaks, Chops.” By 1941, chicken had been added to the billing, and the restaurant was hiring a waitress.
The last mention of the operation in the paper came in 1942.
The 1950 Sanborn Fire Insurance Map lists 4400 14th Street, on the corner, as a restaurant and the building next to it, 4404 14th Street, as a storefront. There were two dwellings behind the businesses, one with two stories and another with one and a half.
Between December 1962 and March 1963, there were dozens of ads in the newspaper hiring carwashers for work on Saturdays, Sundays, and Mondays at 4404 14th Street. I struggle to see how this structure could have been used as a carwash, so this must have been used as a home base for the business. The advertisements were looking for experienced workers and guaranteed $7 a day, which, when accounted for inflation, was roughly $73 a day, or $219 for three days of work.
After that, I haven’t found much information on this building. C.H.A.N.G.E. Ministries, which stands for Christians Helping Advance, Nurture, Guide, and Equip, was founded in 2003 on the state level, though that organization went belly up by 2008. Likely incorporated under a different name, the group still occupies the structure, and it appears somewhat well-maintained.
14th Street is an interesting thoroughfare. Most who haven’t lived in Detroit won’t know its importance in getting from the Westside to Detroit’s Corktown and Downtown neighborhoods without using the highway or what a great street it is for cycling. It’s not a glamorous street; however, between the developments down Grand River, North Corktown’s gentrification, and Corktown’s boom, I think we’ll see more investment in this section of the street soon.
Hopefully, this structure can be a part of whatever the future holds for 14th Street.
