9000-9006 Oakland Avenue
Oakland Theatre, Theatre Academie, Echo Theatre, Bizerte Jazz Bar, Phelps Cocktail Lounge
Jump to June 3, 2024 demolition update
By 1914, there was a theatre at this location. It was called the Oakland Theatre, and it was there until at least 1918. I’m not certain that it resided within the structure that stands there today or if another was built to replace it.
By 1923, the Theatre Academie stood at 9000 Oakland Avenue. The operation was built and funded by Harris Robbins and Harry Brown. However, by the early 1920s, the moviehouse was in financial turmoil.
When constructed, Brown contributed the land, and Robbins paid to build the theatre. Together, they owned 199 shares of the capital stock. The remaining share was owned by Joseph Sanders, the attorney who drafted the articles of incorporation. In an article in the Detroit Free Press, Sanders was said to have torn up the deed.
When the company became financially weakened, Brown said that he still owned the land, not Robbins or the company. Robbins took that claim to the circuit court, and the judge deemed them joint property owners.
The theatre had gone into receivership due to the non-payment of debts. It appears that the theatre was tied up in court for a few years. In 1926, the Acadamie Theatre was sold at auction. There was just one bidder—the Federal Bond and Mortgage Company, who owned the mortgage on the property. The price was $19,094, the amount owed on the mortgage and interest payments.
After the bankruptcy and sale were settled, the structure was renamed the Echo Theatre and reopened by 1934. One advert lists ‘Robbins Bros’ as the management company, so it’s possible that Harris Robbins was still involved.
In 1939, Melvin Turner, 28, was arrested for hurling rocks from the street into the cashier’s cage at the Echo. When taken into custody at 2:30 AM, he told the arresting officers that he “wanted to hear the echo.” Whether he was bladdered or just a wise guy, it’s a comical quotation.
In particular years in the 1940s and 1950s, ads for the Echo Theatre were in the paper multiple times a week. Sometimes, there would be ads almost daily. The last movie times I found for the Echo came in 1952.
In 1957, the theatre was up for sale or lease. The advert in the Detroit Free Press said that the owners were willing to consider altering the structure to suit a lease if desired. Interested parties could contact Mr. Avery at the New York Bed Spring Company. It isn’t clear if the spring manufacturer or Mr. Avery owned the property.
The ongoings at the theatre building are murky between the Echo Theatre’s closure and the establishment of a club that would change Detroit’s music scene forever. Multiple sources state that the Bizerte Bar opened here in the mid-1940s; however, movie listings for the Echo continued until the early 1950s. It should be noted that two structures would eventually make up the nightclub that followed—9000 and 9006 Oakland. I can’t be sure whether they were combined initially or if the wall between the two on the main floor was removed.
Perhaps, the Bezerte Bar was in the structure next to the theatre before they were combined—or maybe its existence was shorter than initially thought. I haven’t found much online about the existence of a Bizerte Bar, but the sources that cite it are as trustworthy as they come.
One thing is certain; the Phelps Lounge was operational by 1964 at the hands of Edward Phelps.
The cocktail lounge started with smaller shows and lesser-known acts, but by the end of the 1960s, the Phelps was hosting some of the most prominent names in blues, R&B, and funk music. Artists typically stayed for ten days—sometimes doing two shows a day.
In March 1967, Etta James rocked the stage. A few weeks later, Little Milton was up. In 1968, George Clinton transformed the Parliaments into the Funkadelics during a 10-show run at the Phelps Lounge. Bobby Bland spent time there on more than one occasion, and in April 1969, Jackie Wilson took the stage. The names go on and on—Sam & Dave were regulars, James Brown played here, and the final show on the record was B.B. King. Even considering the huge names that continued to play there, the Phelps Lounge closed in 1980 or 1981. There were reportedly plans to reopen the bar, but ownership decided to go in another direction.
On October 17, 1981, Wesley Pierce, owner of the Gold Shoppe on W. McNichols, unknowingly met with a police informant at a racetrack. He introduced the informant to Cornelius Watts, the owner of the Watts Club Mozambique on Fenkell. Watts told the informant that he had a friend who would pay $25,000 to have his lounge burned to the ground in a way that made it look like an accident to collect insurance money. After a conversation, the men drove to the shuttered Phelps Lounge to speak with the owner, Edward Phelps.
When they arrived, Phelps and his friends went over the plan. Allegedly, they planned to contract the informant to renovate the club. He was supposed to use a particular kind of flammable adhesive on the carpeting so that it would look like a construction accident when they lit the structure on fire. Before leaving, the police informant received $2,000 from Phelps and an additional $200 a few days later, according to the Detroit Free Press.
This was enough for a judge to issue a warrant for the informant to wear a wire to monitor his conversations with Phelps and his collaborators. On November 17, 1981, a fire broke out on the second floor of the Phelps Lounge. The fire department attributed the cause of the blaze to the carpet adhesive. Six days later, there was another fire at the Phelps Lounge. Together, the damage was estimated at around $10,000. The Detroit Fire Department ruled them arson and arrested the men they had been tailing for weeks.
Allegedly, the men planned to try and collect $250,000 in insurance money after the property burned down. Initially charged with conspiracy to burn property, the men were able to have the charges reduced and plead no contest to an attempted conspiracy to burn property charge.
Whereas I cannot condone arson, the whole saga is indicative of what was going on in Detroit at the time. The Phelps Lounge was one of the most popular live music venues in Detroit; however, things were changing. Population loss continued to be an issue, many Detroiters were out of work, and businesses struggled to survive as neighborhoods fought to survive in a shrinking city. Burning down your building for insurance money isn’t the answer, but it’s easy to understand how business and property owners in Detroit felt backed into a corner. Some clubs, like the Apex Lounge, were able to survive. Most weren’t.
After the fire, I haven’t been able to find out much about the Phelps Lounge. Given the fire damage, it’s surprising that the structure is still standing. I believe that the building may have been abandoned at that time, but I can’t be sure.
Edward Phelps continued to fill out annual reports for the company until 2009. It was dissolved in July 2012. I believe Phelps passed away on December 21, 2012—although I can’t be sure his obituary is the one I found online. However, the birth date aligns with how old he was when he was arrested in the early 1980s.
The interior of the Phelps Lounge is in shockingly good shape, considering how long it’s been vacant and the fires. It’s hard to imagine the famous butts that sat in the seats that remain on the interior. From blues legends to funk pioneers, letting your imagination run wild is easy.
The most recent owner of the structure available online is the Oakland Avenue Artists Coalition. This nonprofit was formed in 2014 with hopes “to create a platform for Detroit's multigenerational, creative community in artistic work. AAC will also engage and encourage neighborhood youth in positive self-expression.” The incorporators were Corey McCord, Halima Cassells, and Ulysses Newkirk, and the organization was based out of 7500 Oakland, the home of Red Door Digital and Gallery. The organization hasn’t filed an annual report since 2021; however, that isn’t terribly uncommon for nonprofit organizations.
Over the years, the structure has become popular for graffiti artists to display their work. The entire building was covered with gray paint a few years ago, and a large mural by Kobie Solomon was added to the side during the BLKOUT Walls Murals Festival in 2021. There’s been a large hole in the structure’s backside for around a year.
It’s hard to imagine a situation where the Phelps Lounge is renovated. The structure is in dire shape—fallen bricks often sit on the sidewalk, and the windows enable the elements to sneak inside to wreak havoc.
With that said, where there’s a will, there’s a way. With enough money, the Phelps Lounge will rise again.
We can dream, right?
June 3, 2024 Update
The Phelps Cocktail Lounge was demolished in late May or early June 2024. By June 3rd, nothing was left but a slab of concrete and a load of rocks. One of Detroit’s most influential music venues was reduced to nothing. It’s still listed under the ownership of the Oakland Avenue Artists Coalition.
