7801-7809 Oakland Avenue
Charlie The Pencilman’s, Charlie’s Pharmacy, Gastman’s Beer Store, Best Deals At Oakland, Ava's World Famous Sweet Potato Cake
The Charlie The Pencilman’s Building (7801-7809 Oakland) was built in the 1920s; it may have been completed in 1927. From the get-go, it was a pharmacy, but it would house several businesses over the years. There were at least two apartments upstairs, too.
In 1928, a listing was looking for a “Pharmacist—Must be able to make investment in business.” By the 1950s, there were advertisements for Charley’s Pharmacy. In the 60s, there were numerous ads for Charles Drug, which I think was a misspelling done by a brand that offered their products at Charlie’s.
In April 1941, a murder occurred in one of the apartments above the pharmacy. Leora Cantrell, 29, was shot and killed by her husband, Edgar. It was initially thought that Albert Goodwin had shot and killed Leora and wounded Edgar, but it was later determined that Edgar was the real murderer. He shot himself in an attempt to cover it up or commit suicide. A neighbor heard the commotion, ran in, saw Leora dead, heard another gunshot in the other room, and found Edgar alone.
In June 1948, Edgar pleaded guilty to manslaughter. Since the shooting, he had been held at Ionia State Hospital. The institution opened in 1883 as the Michigan Asylum for Insane Criminals. The facility was open until the late 1970s. I have found no information about their daughter, Katherine, who was nine at the time of the shooting.
In 1965, two bandits “robbed the Charlie the Pencil Man Drug Store,” according to the Detroit Free Press, making out with $250, or nearly $2,500 today.
In 1974, it was called Charlie’s Pharmacy and owned by Inez Meadows.
By 1977, a beer store had opened inside the building. I’m not certain whether the pharmacy was still open, too or if this took its place. It was called Gastman’s Beer Store and was open until at least 1982.
In 1977, the manager of Gastman’s, Norman Thompson, was shot and killed while working. Two robbers barged in; one shot Thompson, and the other jumped over the counter and demanded the second worker open the register. They made off with roughly $2,000, or over $9,500 today.
I’ve seen a few posts online that say the Purple Gang used to hang out at Charlie the Pencilman’s. I haven’t found any information corroborating that, but the neighborhood was a Jewish enclave at one time. It isn’t the first time I’ve heard that the Purple Gang hung out somewhere in Detroit.
Later in life, the structure was home to Best Deals At Oakland, a liquor store. It was open until around 2013.
In 2014, Ava's World Famous Sweet Potato Cake purchased the structure. I’m not sure if it was intended to be a storefront or a place to bake cakes, but I don’t think it was ever used for that purpose.
BLKOUT Walls, a black-led mural festival, took the North End by storm in July 2021. The event was created by Sydney G. James (a Detroiter), Thomas “Detour” Evans, and Max Sansing. More than a dozen murals were painted in the neighborhood by artists from across the country, and 75% of the artists were people of color. The festival will return to Detroit this summer.
Sydney G. James and Rick Williams completed the structure’s south-side murals. Max Sansing and Rob Gibbs completed those on the Oakland side.
I’m tremendously excited to see what BLKOUT Walls does this summer.
I’ve always loved this building because of its location where Clay Street dead ends into Oakland. It stands tall and feels powerful—a sentiment now assisted by the murals.
