8811 Kercheval Avenue (2100 Crane Street)
Crane Pharmacy, Gilmore & Chavenelle, DeLaere’s Place, Bluebird Restaurant, Brook’s Department Store, Singleton Cleaners
(The address is also listed as 2100 Crane Street)
Despite my hopes and dreams, I don’t think this structure was pink when constructed. However, I can’t prove that it wasn’t, so for now, let’s pretend that it was.
I believe this building was constructed around 1905 as a pharmacy. The earliest record of it I’ve found so far was in 1911, when 3-year-old Richard Taylor was struck by a car nearby. He was taken to the Crane Pharmacy, pictured here, and treated by Dr. H. N. A. McLean. He hadn’t yet passed away, but it was assumed in the article that he might.
The Crane Pharmacy was there until at least 1945, when Henry Wolter retired. Wolter started running the business around 1920. I’m not certain whether he lived in the flat above, but he had two children, and he and his wife celebrated their 50th wedding anniversary at the Lee Plaza Apartment Hotel in 1955.
The pharmacy occupied the largest commercial space; however, there were multiple other rentals in the structure and the attached single-story building, which was torn down around 2020. Over the years, there was an operation called Gilmore & Chavenelle that may have dealt in real estate, a radio repair service, a beer garden called DeLaere’s Place, a restaurant called the Bluebird, and a department store called Brook’s listed at the address.
By 1988, the old pharmacy space had become a Singleton Cleaners location. At its peak, there were six around Detroit, all run by Joseph Singleton. A 1993 article in the Detroit Free Press by Anthony Neely gave detailed insights into Singleton’s life and business.
Born into poverty in the South in 1940, Singleton moved to the Motor City with his family before finishing school. He dropped out in 12th grade to start working, eventually joined the army, and opened his first dry cleaning business in the mid-1960s. The operation was at 3475 Mt. Elliott, which would later become the company’s headquarters.
The operation would eventually expand to 4671 McDougall (standing), 6947 Gratiot (demolished), 9149 E. Forest (demolished), 8141 Gratiot (standing), and finally, 2100 Crane, pictured here. The original location and headquarters, near the Heidelberg Project, burned and was torn down last year.
Singleton did daily inspections at each location to ensure his quality standard was kept up. He wanted to be an example of what black-owned businesses were like when he was growing up for future generations and show what you can do without bank backing, an issue that most black-owned businesses have struggled with for decades when compared to those owned by whites.
Singleton Cleaners proudly supported Detroit Police Benefit, the Protective Association, and the Detroit Firemen’s Fund Association. Joseph’s wife, Margaret, and his nine kids were also involved with the business. The cleaners sponsored local sports teams and would eventually be run by Josephs’s children. In the 1990s, the company ran numerous ads on local television that showcased their locations and always ended with the tagline, ‘Your clothes are not clean until they’re Singletons clean!’
I’m unsure if Joseph is still alive, but none of his original six cleaners are still open. The Gratiot location was still operational in 2014, run by Darryl Singleton.
I believe this location was open until around 2010. After the smaller structure was torn down around 2020, the remaining facade was painted pink.
In recent years, Kercheval has seen many changes. One of the finest bike lanes in the city was installed, Duggan’s blight brigade has torn down numerous homes and commercial structures in the area, and West Village has become incredibly expensive. However, structures like this one still sit vacant, snatched up by developers and land prospectors.
Hopefully, we’ll see rehabilitation work start here soon.
