9100 Kercheval Avenue
American State Bank, Barry Allergy Laboratory, Inc., Detroit Neighborhood Services Department Drug Treatment Program Office
This branch of the American State Bank Branch was the fifth to be built and was constructed between 1913 and 1914 by Stahl, Kinsey & Chapman. The American State Bank was previously called the Fairview Savings Bank, whose history I covered in a previous post about 9950 Mack Avenue. Because the village of Fairview was annexed into Detroit in 1907, the bank changed its name to the American State Bank in 1913.
The bank constructed some of the more unique bank buildings in Detroit, including the one pictured here. Though not as opulent as some other bank’s designs, theirs were more utilitarian, with offices and leasable space on the second floor. Though it had a bright start, the American State Bank merged with the Guaranty State Bank in 1930, which was liquidated and transferred to the Peoples Wayne County Bank, later becoming First National Bank. I’d assume that the structure pictured here at 9100 Kercheval Avenue stopped being a bank in the late 1930s.
By 1943, the structure was used by Barry Allergy Laboratory, Inc., a pharmaceutical company incorporated in 1935 in Detroit with $5,000 in capital by Aaron W. Barry. The company’s offices were originally in the Michigan Theatre building downtown. In 1940, Barry launched a service in tandem with Pennsylvania-Central Airlines. Their planes would be equipped with a sky-hook that would fasten onto the window to pick up ragweed pollen. Once landed, the hook could be examined, and officials would know how much pollen to expect in Detroit. The Detroit Free Press quoted Barry: “Many sufferers could take warning and seek the pollen-free North Country.”
I’m not confident what Barry Laboratories did at this structure, but I imagine it was light manufacturing. In 1956, the company was hiring a ‘mature person’ to work as a private secretary for the company president. I’m unsure when they left the property; however, the company still existed in the 1960s. In 1963, they were listed as a “maker of pharmaceutical and biological specialties.” In 1968, Barry Laboratories Inc. of Detroit and all of its outstanding capital stock were purchased by IHC Inc. of Oklahoma City.
By 1972, the structure had a new purpose. Reverend David Eberhard, six-time elected Detroit City Councilman, and his church “helped establish one of the city’s drug abuse clinics that dispenses methadone to addicts in a row of storefronts at 9100 Kercheval.” Another parish called the Riverside Church provided the space for the program. David Eberhard would later pastor Historic Trinity Lutheran Church on Gratiot and passed away in 2016.
By 1974, the program had been expanded. The program, which had caught the mayor’s interest, was called the Committee for Human Resources Development Drug Abuse Program and offered many services, including counseling, group therapy, methadone maintenance, job training, legal aid, medical referrals, alcoholism counseling, and rapid detoxification. In addition to operating at 9100 Kercheval, there were programs at 3361 Gratiot, 2610 14th, and 1512 Marquette.
In October 1978, Nathaniel Beasley, 41, was arrested by Detroit Police alongside an accomplice after they were caught selling an ounce of heroin to an undercover state cop for $1,850, or over $8,500 in 2024. The bills were marked, and when arrested, Beasley had $1,600 on him and a notebook filled with information on his dealings in the drug business. Drug busts weren’t uncommon in the 1970s; however, Beasley was employed full-time at the Detroit Neighborhood Services Department Drug Treatment Program Office on Kercheval. He had worked there for seven years and made $14,500 a year, which is close to $70,000 in 2024. Beasley’s accomplice was Anderson Huff Jr.
At some point, the drug treatment center closed its doors. In the 1990s, there were adverts in the Detroit Free Press for a child care center. I’d guess a church or community service utilized the space, though I can’t be certain.
While taking these photographs, it appears that the structure suffered a fire in recent years. The sides of the windows are charred, and there is other evidence of fire around the structure. From Google Street View, I’d estimate that the fire was around 2011. Since then, there’s been a cleanup effort here, and the structure appears somewhat stable. Records show it’s owned by a realty company based on Staten Island in New York City.
There has been a lot of redevelopment on Kercheval in recent years; however, numerous vacant structures are still awaiting redevelopment. Hopefully, this one is of the next ones on the list to see renovation work!
