9124 Mack Avenue
John Comliard Building, A. Martens’ Orpheum Hall, A. Shiffman’s Shoe Store, Frank’s Beer Store, Afro-American Barber Shop
This building includes 9124 and 9126 Mack Avenue.
This structure was built by at least 1910; however, it may have been built as early as 1900. In 1910, it was present in the Sanborn Fire Insurance Map and looks to be the same general layout as today. That same year, a small addition was complete. The $250 permit was filed by John Comliard.
In 1911, the structure was called A. Martens’ Orpheum Hall, but I can’t determine what exactly that was.
On April 15th, 1924, at 10:30 AM, the stock of A. Shiffman’s store was up for auction after his company went belly up. It was a shoe store, so his stock was up for sale, as well as the fixtures, which included a cash register, showcases, display stands, and other items.
By May 1935, the structure was listed as Frank’s Beer Store. I’m unsure how long that business lasted; however, it was still there in 1936.
In the 1951 Sanborn Fire Insurance Map, the structure looks mostly the same, but a garage had been erected on the back of the property where a small outbuilding had been located before. There was a large structure with six storefronts to the west and a store/dance hall to the east. By this point, the neighborhood had reached its full potential, with shops and businesses on every corner of Mack Avenue.
By 1976, the structure was in use as the Afro-American Barber Shop, a business that still graces the front window. Unfortunately, the operation wasn’t often in the paper for good things. That isn’t to say that it wasn’t an upstanding business or that good things didn’t happen there; the news just tended to report negative things. What’s the old adage? If it bleeds…
In 1976, the Detroit Police raided the business and confiscated $15,000 in “tools, television sets, tires, cameras, and other goods,” according to the Detroit Free Press. Police returned for another warrant, searching the upstairs living quarters later that day, securing another $10,000 in goods. The 39-year-old shopowner wasn’t identified by the paper but was arrested and released shortly after.
In 1980, two men walked into the Afro-American Barbershop and tried to sell the proprietor a gun. He refused, and the two men started arguing with Melvin Thornton, 22, who was inside the shop. The tussle continued into the street, and one of the makeshift gun salesmen pulled a pistol, shooting Thornton in the face and chest. He died on the sidewalk outside the structure pictured here.
In December 1981, Robert Tyler Cousins was convicted by a jury in Saginaw for armed robbery, burglary, felonious assault, car theft, and using a gun in the commission of a felony. Less than an hour prior to the jury finding their verdict, Cousins wrestled a gun away from the Sheriff’s Deputy while being transported from the courtroom to his jail cell and shot him twice. Cousins quickly fled to a nearby residential area, shooting a mail carrier and kidnapping a 70-year-old woman, forcing her to drive him to Detroit, where she was released unharmed. In addition to the crimes the jury found him guilty of and the crimes he committed that day, he was charged with the murder of his girlfriend’s mother.
After arriving in Detroit, he robbed the Afro-American Barbershop, pictured here, making off with $180 and the keys to the building. In the process, he fought with Freddie Jones, who may have owned the shop and escaped the altercation unharmed. He was arrested at an apartment on Detroit’s east side without struggle.
Robert Tyler Cousins is currently serving a life sentence at the Carson City Correctional Facility, and his OTIS rap sheet is longer than any that I’ve ever seen. According to that page, his alias is Oil Can Harry. He was sentenced to life on January 14, 1983, at 29 years old. He’s currently 71.
Since then, I haven’t found a mention of this structure or the Afro-American Barber Shop. The signage is still on the front glass; however, it’s looked the same for nearly two decades. In 2009, there was a for-sale sign in the window.
Hopefully, this structure can see new life as Indian Village, English Village, and Pingree Park continue to expand. It’s currently listed under the ownership of Freddie Jones, the same person who tussled with Robert Tyler Cousins in the 1980s.
