8827 & 8833 Gratiot Avenue
Enterprise Electric Company, Henry’s Cleaners, One Source Resale Shop
These two structures were built at different times and for unique purposes. However, their stories are linked, so it’s worth sharing them simultaneously. One is set to be demolished.
The building on the right was built around 1927. I’m not certain who it was constructed for, but by 1930, it was being utilized by the Enterprise Electric Company. That year, An advert said they had just completed a large contract at Detroit’s new City Airport. Their new location was the structure pictured here. However, that wouldn’t last long.
By 1934, Henry’s Cleaners and Tailor was occupying the building. The operation appears to have started small but grew into the 1940s. In 1943, a presser made $1.10 an hour, which is just under $20 in 2023. There were constant advertisements in the early-to-mid 1940s, which often meant high turnover rates and poor working conditions. However, the pay wasn’t terrible.
At some point, the structure down Gratiot was constructed. I’m not certain when this occurred, but my guess is the mid-1940s. By May 1951, it was used as a dry cleaning plant, which I assume was affiliated with the Harry’s Cleaners location next door.
By 1966, the building on the right, 8833 Gratiot, was vacant. A Detroit Free Press article reported that, although empty, the burglar alarm had been ringing day and night for close to a week, driving the entire neighborhood crazy. There was a short circuit in the alarm that caused the issue.
The building on the left, 8827 Gratiot Avenue, was more modern and was in use longer than its older sibling on the right.
In May 1968, fifteen Detroit businesses were robbed in one weekend. Henry’s Cleaners, pictured here, was a target. The bandits walked in, pointed a gun at Mrs. Merence Abott, 64, and handed her a paper bag. The clerk ran into the back room and locked the door, which stopped the robbery. They ran off empty-handed.
Henry’s Cleaners may have moved to 20119 Mack Avenue in Grosse Point Woods in the late 1960s; however, I can’t be sure it’s the same store. It’s still operational.
The store on the left, 8827 Gratiot Avenue, eventually became an appliance and furniture store. However, by the early 2000s, it had closed.
More recently, it was operational as the One Source Resale Shop, a second-hand store that sold custom picnic tables, grills, and doghouses in addition to secondhand merchandise. It wasn’t uncommon to see the handiwork out on their sidewalk when the shop was open. I believe Stephen D. Smith operated the store; however, I haven’t seen it open since the pandemic, and their paperwork isn’t current with the state.
Bot structures are currently listed as being owned by Steven Tibando. Last week, a Homrich demolition fence was constructed around 8833 Gratiot Avenue. Typically, that’s the beginning of the end.
Hopefully, its younger sibling down Gratiot is spared. This section of Gratiot has very few active structures remaining, with many standing as the skeletal remains of former businesses, apartments, and manufacturing operations, sitting idly by as cars speed past.
Part of the reason there are so many vacant structures on Gratiot is because of the traffic. The thoroughfare sees very little foot traffic, which makes certain businesses hard. Many people who work in Detroit can live far outside it because of the modern car, and ultra-wide thoroughfares like Gratiot make it easier for them to speed back home after work.
While shooting these photographs, I jaywalked across Gratiot because the closest crosswalk was a quarter mile away. It was during rush hour, so there were a ton of cars. I was in the middle lane, which I felt comfortable doing because there was nowhere for a vehicle to turn anywhere near me. Suddenly, a car flew out from behind another into the middle lane to try and pass them. I’d guess they were going close to 60 miles an hour when they finally noticed me, swerved into the oncoming traffic lane to miss me, realized that there was another person roughly 30 yards down, stayed in the downbound lane, and swerved back into traffic.
Unlike the building on the right, I lived to see another day. That said, as of Thursday night, work had yet to be done here. I photographed these shots on Tuesday, Halloween.
If you’re ever jaywalking across Gratiot, don’t trust traffic.
