7627 Mack Avenue
Morris Biedeman’s Jewelry, East Side Thrift Store, Johnson’s Music, Thaddeus Bamming Shoe Store, Depp’s Shoe Store
There aren’t many sections of Mack Avenue that are still intact. Most of the thoroughfare looks more like this—a handful of structures left on islands with large swaths of vacant land between them. Of the few buildings left, even fewer are in good shape, let alone host businesses.
Detroit recently announced that it would pay building owners in Southwest Detroit up to $10,000 if they renovate unused second-floor apartments. Although Mack Avenue is far from those boundaries, there are structures like this across the city waiting for redevelopment.
In my opinion, second-floor apartments are essential because they add density. One of the many reasons Detroit struggles is that most of its neighborhoods are extraordinarily spread out. These units create concentrated corridors, creating an environment where small businesses can thrive.
I believe 7627 Mack was built in the 1910s. 7629 Mack was the upstairs apartment. The structure was symmetrical, and only half of it remains. The eastern half, 7633 Mack, was taken down during the pandemic. It, too, had an upstairs apartment, 7631 Mack.
By the mid-1920s, the storefront at 7627 (still standing) was utilized by Morris Biedeman’s Jewelry Store. In 1926, his shop was robbed of cash and jewelry valued at $3,000, or roughly $50k today.
In the 1960s, it was home to the East Side Thrift Store. The Detroit Free Press reported that it was owned by Ruth Ellis in 1968—but also reported that the owner was 54 then. The LGBTQ activist of the same name was born in 1899, not 1914, so this was a different Ruth Ellis.
In the 1980s, Johnson’s Music called the space home.
In the late 1920s, a shoestore run by Thaddeus Bamming was next door at 7633 Mack (demolished). I believe that this location was a shoe store for some time after that.
By the 1960s, the Depp family lived in the upstairs apartment and ran a shoe store downstairs called Depp’s. After that, I found no information about that side of the building.
On the east side of the structure, you can see the details of the demolished building on the exterior wall. The stairs, where the floor was, and where walls connected to the end of the apartment were. There are remnants of a doorway connecting the two businesses, too.
For decades, people called the apartments home and worked downstairs, sometimes simultaneously. There aren’t many of these structures left operating in Detroit, and I think that’s a shame. Hopefully, the program in Southwest will be successful. I’m not an urban planner or a business owner, but I think living above where you work in a building you own is a pretty rad idea.
Maybe someday, huh?
