9450 Joseph Campau Street
Krohngold Shoe Co., Day’s Fashions
I’ve always admired this structure, and last week, I snapped this photo of it on a warmer-than-usual cloudy evening with the moonlight shimmering behind it.
I’m not certain when it was constructed or who designed it, but I’d guess it was built in the 1930s. Dodge Main was completed in 1911, and Hamtramck’s population bolstered over the next two decades because of the steady jobs it offered.
The first tenant I found at 9450 Joseph Campau was Krohngold Shoe Co., or Krohngold’s. Their ads self-proclaimed their operation as Hamtramck’s Largest Family Shoe Store. The shop was open at least through the 1940s.
The earliest I’ve found a trace of Day’s Fashions is 1959. Their sign is what first enticed me to photograph this building, and a business with that name has been there for at least 64 years.
In June 1969, Day’s Fashions, Inc. was incorporated by Joseph Silver. The shop specialized in women’s fashion, from suits to holiday attire.
In 1991 the structure sold for $22,000. In 1997, Day’s Fashions, Inc. changed its name to Day’s & Silver, Inc., and the registered office was changed to West Bloomfield. I assume they sold the building and business at this time, but I can’t be sure.
In 1999, the building sold again for $60,000, according to the Detroit Free Press. I’m not certain who operates Day’s Fashions today, but it remains open and is a staple storefront in Hamtramck.
I’ve always used Joseph Campau as an example of what commercial strips may have looked like at one time in Detroit. Having been born in the 1990s, most of Detroit has looked how it currently looks for my entire adult life.
I shot this photograph by adapting a Nikon 35mm f/2 AF-D lens onto my mirrorless camera. With the crop factor, it’s roughly a 52.5mm lens. I plan to start documenting Hamtramck in my usual style soon. However, I enjoyed taking the Conant bus into town from Detroit, and shooting photos handheld while walking around was a fun challenge.
