The reuse, the literal reimagining of what’s been abandoned – artists have always had this ability to breathe new life into things and make us look at them differently – to see beauty where others saw only decay. This rehabilitation of old materials into artworks has long been a mainstay of Detroit artists in particular where so much has just been left behind and neglected. The Cass Corridor artists thrived on the remains of the city’s industrial past as did others – Charles McGee once took a wall from a decrepit barber shop and transformed it into a sculptural piece. Today we see strong examples of this – Tyree Guyton and the Heidelberg Project comes to mind of course. Scott Hocking’s rusted relics serve as another example and plenty of other artists have followed suit, turning a place of abandonment into a treasure trove of jewels.

As it’s true of making objects, it’s also true of the structures themselves. And Detroit, of course, is filled with such decrepit buildings. Too often we just knock ‘em down – think the Madison-Lenox Hotel and the Motown Building as two recent examples. Yet, an eyesore to some is a place of vitality for another. In the right eyes and with enough imagination, the abandoned is a place of vitality, a well-spring of possibility. Our very art spaces in this town reflect much of the work that comes from here. Prime examples include Aaron Timlin’s detroit contemporary (now CAID), which he brought to life armed only with credit cards and moxie, and the newest kid on the block, financed with deeper pockets, the Museum of Contemporary Art Detroit (MOCAD).

It’s part “can do” attitude and part vision, that artists are often the pioneers, willing to live and work in not so perfect for cheap rents and lots of space, and often end up transforming a neighborhood in the process. New York City’s thriving Chelsea art scene is the prominent example of this transformation. When Jef Bourgeau brought his Museum of New Art (MoNA) to Detroit, for a brief time it and related projects he coordinated enlivened the blocks around it. Those with less vision for the possibilities inherent in what the arts could do for the area sent him back to Pontiac. But such places abound in the city, a bunch of bright spots on a map hoping to grow dense enough to be linked together. Some start with that in mind, and when George N’Namdi’s new Detroit gallery and creation of the surrounding Sugar Hill Arts District, looked to bring just that sort of vibrancy to the city – breathe new life into buildings, hence breathing new life into the larger community.

While “loft” living has become trendy now – they’re creating such things from scratch in Royal Oak and even in Detroit (which seems such a betrayal of the definition of such spaces), this embrace of reuse of spaces has long been championed by arts. It is in keeping with the vision of preservationists, and certainly environmentalists – it’s reduce, reuse, recycle all in one act. It just makes sense on a lot of levels.

With that said, there are a lot of such places in Detroit, and we offer this brief synopsis of the history of a few of them (with information about each one supplied by the folks behind them) as a testament to what they’ve achieved and bring to this community, and as a signpost for the possibilities that are all around us – and the life that needs to come back to so much of this city.

In getting into this, it really seems like each place should really have a piece devoted to its history, and perhaps we’ll go further in depth in the future on this. But for now, here’s an abridged look at a sampling of some of the places that bring so much to the city.

555 4884 Grand River Ave. Detroit.

This space originally housed the Michigan Tent and Awning Company who (coincidentally) manufactured tents and awnings for commercial use and perhaps even for miscellaneous military uses. The company relocated and the building sat empty for about four years before 555 moved in in 2004.

555’s own history has a lot of twists and turns. Initially begun in Ann Arbor, the collective was forced to relocate and went to Ypsilanti before settling in Detroit. In each place they’ve rejuvenated the buildings they were residing in before those locations ended up being slated for demolition and redevelopment. This brings up a long standing issue with artists and development – too often they come in when things are rough, make improvements, and once others can see the potential in the property, they end up getting the boot with higher prices and bigger developments. We hope that 555 is here to stay in Detroit – as they’ve done much to their space, and have big plans to continue to transform the building.

4731 4731 Grand River Ave. Detroit

This building was erected around 1908 by the Leonard Warehouse Company for business storage. There are similar twin buildings around town. According to owner Ric Geyer, the building was then occupied in the 1940s by the Michigan Furniture Company (or something to that effect) who operated a furniture sales center and warehouse. The building was purchased by Chuck Roy, who owns the Cass Café, and then purchased from Roy by Geyer in 2000. It now houses artists studios, a gallery, and is currently working install a restaurant in the adjoining space now called “It’s Detroit, Dog” – an exclusive hot dog establishment that will focus on Detroit products.

Bohemian House 3009 Tillman St. Detroit

The Bohemian National Home was built in 1914 as a community center for immigrants from Bohemia, (now part of the Czech Republic) many of whom resided in that neighborhood. It later became a Lithuanian community center before sitting vacant in the 1980s. The Corktown Press took it over in the late 1990s for a bit, and then it became a private residence. Since 2005, this space has been continually renovated and increasingly more active as a music venue and arts space. In addition to a full ballroom and stage, it has a basketball court – and how cool is that?

CAID 5141 Rosa Parks Blvd. Detroit.

The initial structure was built to be a grocery store in 1889. It late became a Billiard Hall, and still later would gain an addition in 1950s or so when it became an auto parts store. The next tenant was a Baptist Church, who vacated in 1994 where it would sit until 1998 when Aaron Timlin purchased it and turned it into a commercial gallery and music venue. It lived as detroit contemporary for about five years and since 2004 the space has been operated by the non-profit arts organization CAID, which maintains a gallery and theatre/performance venue there.

G.R. N’Namdi 66 E. Forest. Detroit

We’re a little short on specifics on this one, but back in 1981 George N’Namdi opened up Jazzonia gallery in Harmonie Park and remained there for three years. He moved the gallery around a bit and then headed north to Birmingham for about 13 years and then returned to Detroit in 2001 in a space on Forest Avenue. Over the last several years there’s been talk of expansion and an entire arts corridor being built, and it appears it’s on the verge of becoming reality. Before the gallery takes up residence in its permanent home on Forest in an auto repairshop, N’Namdi returns to Harmonie Park to his original site for the duration of construction, which will also include other galleries and cafes, and the neighboring Arts League of Michigan Center. Stay tuned for what’s next over the coming year.

Johanson Charles 1345 Division St. Detroit.

This space has seen a lot of different primarily food related businesses under its roof. In the 1930s it was the Schewhack Bros. wholesale grain & sugar co. It became a fish market in the 1950s and during the 60s up until around 1970 it was the home of The General Egg Crate & Basket Co. It then sat dormant until 1996 when it became the Johanson Charles Gallery, and has been in continual operation by owner Kevin Hanson ever since.

Liberal Arts Gallery 3361 Gratiot Ave. Detroit.

It was originally the Cuomo Hardware and Toy Store. At a much later date it became an Area IV Substance Abuse Clinic before sitting vacant for a time. Duane Beline was looking for a new living space late in 1984, stumbled onto it. “I met a beautiful Italian family who’d moved their hardware business to East Pointe, MI. They agreed to give me a Land Contract for the purchase of the building… I started to create the ultimate bachelor living space, but at that time, the City of Detroit was not given to residential living in a commercial space. I’d met many artists during that time. They expressed a need for more venues to show their work. My love for art, and having a space, I embarked on a nearly 20yr quest to bring fine arts to the inner city. The Gallery opened around 1989. It’s been wonderful.” We agree. While the space is a little less frequently active than some of the other spaces, it’s quite nice and one hopes in spreading the word about it, it will continue to grow in activity.

MOCAD 4454 Woodward Ave. Detroit.

One of the most recent and obviously most well known spaces, MOCAD’s cavernous building was originally a Dodge Dealership built around 1921. It remained in service as car dealerships for the next few decades. It would later become a store for billiards and related equipment. Hutzel Hospital would next use it as a warehouse, before the Manoogian Foundation got ahold of it, and maintained for sometime with the idea of it becoming a contemporary arts space. Using architect Andrew Zago’s design MOCAD opened the doors in the fall of 2006 and intend to continue to renovate the space while maintaining its motor city heritage. Unlike almost all of the other arts spaces discussed, this one never was completely abandoned or sat vacant.

MONA 7 N. Saginaw St. Pontiac.

Jef Bourgeau’s Museum of New Art has been all over and deserves a longer entry here. But the short version – he started it as the Museum of Contemporary Art (MCA) in the Oakland Arts Center in Pontiac – three separate buildings built in the 1920s left vacant after the 1960s that the city bought up and turned into the arts center in the mid 1990s. MCA went non-profit in 2000 and moved to Detroit on the second floor of the Book Building. By that point all the other art spaces in the Arts Center had left or closed – the buildings were once again empty. MONA thrived in Detroit and helped a number of short term store front galleries spring up also along Washington Boulevard.

In 2003 the Book Building owners refused to renew his lease, and Bourgeau took MONA back to Pontiac and the Oakland Arts Center in 2004. The current space is constantly shifting and at times he operates a number of the galleries within the building.

Pioneer Building 2679 E. Grand Blvd. Detroit.

Back in 1905 two brothers named Trippensee started a corporation to make orreries – planetariums – mechanical models of Earth, moon, and the Sun. They built their own building for the business in 1908, and soon after shifted their manufacturing operation to getting into the automobile business – making enclosed bodies for Buick and Ford. Business was booming and they expanded the original building significantly. In the early 1920s they sold their business to Barney Everitt, and the building would soon become the manufacturing home for the Rickenbacker Motorcar Co. From 1924 to 1960 the building served as home to various tenants making everything from ice scrapers to hacksaws.

Gerhard Woberman bought the building in 1960 and turned it into the headquarters for his Pioneer Office Products business, and changed the name of the building to reflect that of the company. In 1985, he was growing older and ill of health, and forced to shrink his business. To fill up the rest of the building, he rented some of the spaces to artists. In 1994 painter Anne Fracassa was one of those artists and with the help of her 6 kids renovated much of the building, which prompted the owner to suggest they consider buying the building. Thus Fracassa Ventures Inc. was born, and purchased the Pioneer Building and since then the entire building has been devoted solely to artists’ studios.

Russell Industrial Center – Detroit Industrial Projects 1610 Clay St. Detroit.

This Albert Kahn designed building was built in 1915 and has always been host to a number of different businesses in its massive 7 building, 2.2 million square foot campus. In its early days it was primarily home to automotive manufacturing but as industry shifted so did its tenants, and thus by the 1950s it was known as the print “Mecca” of the Midwest – where “everything and anything that was printed, bound, licked, and stamped that was delivered in the Midwest mailbox came through Russell at one point.” It would shift again in the mid 1990s with the arrival of the first wave of artists’ studios – beginning with Salt Mine Glass Studio in 1996. Now it houses over 120 commercial tenants with 600-700 people that walk its halls on a daily basis. Of that 120, 80 are visual artists, including wood workers, metal fabricators, painters, photographers, architects, clothing designers and installation artists – like Adnan Charara and Detroit Industrial Projects gallery.

Scarab Club 217 Farnsworth St. Detroit.

The Scarab Club stands out as being the only building built with the intent of being an art space that remains true to that original mission to this day. Back in 1907, a group of artists and enthusiasts got together to talk art and be social and called themselves the Hopkin Club. They started to get organized with a board and such by 1913 and officially became the Scarab Club. In 1928 the permanent structure was built – and played host to costume balls, local artist members, and significant visiting artists who’ve all signed its historic ceiling beams over the years. Today it has galleries, classes, artists’ studios, and residencies, as it has since its inception.

Zeitgeist 2661 Michigan Ave. Detroit.

What we do know at this point comes from current gallery director Jim Puntigam, who credits Roy Staysco (?) a clay instructor at WCCC with filling him in. Staysco inherited the building from his family and claims that it was built when Michigan Ave. was two lanes and was a three story building. When the street was widened they had to take off the front of the building along with the top two stories, though they added on to the back. At one point it was a tailor shop.

In 1979 Carl and Diana Alva Kamulski bought it and turned it into the Michigan Gallery. The gallery was a strong aspect of the community frequently showing many artists from the area, as well as offering frequent life drawing classes and the like. When it closed, Troy Richard bought it in 1996 and it continued on as Zeitgeist, initially run by Karl Schneider, and now by Puntigam and others. In his words, “I personally grew up artistically here at the Michigan Gallery and have had a strong connection to this building for 27 years.” It stands out for among other reasons, as being active as an arts space for the last 28 years, no small feat in this town.

And there are many others in town. For instance, J. Rainey Gallery operated by Jocelyn Rainey in the Atlas Building off Gratiot across from the Eastern Market. Once home to the Atlas Furniture Company, the building is now home to artists’ studios, residences, and Rainey’s gallery. Izzy’s Raw Art Gallery, run by Karl Schneider formerly of Zeitgeist, was built for a textile operation. The Brooklyn Building of artists’ lofts. Pewabic Pottery and so many more. As I said above, this deserves much more in depth coverage on those listed as well as those absent.

As much of Detroit has been abandoned, so too has its history. In reclaiming these lost spaces, artists preserve a bit of that history. In presenting this limited look at the individual histories of these spaces, I hope it prompts a more expansive investigation into the history, and perhaps a few more folks will see a shell of a once-proud building, and begin to wonder, “What if….” – Nick Sousanis
ws@thedetroiter.com