We felt compelled to check out Mammoth Mall perhaps based on its name alone...perhaps just to find out just how mammoth it was. The answer was not very.
The book Art Deco in Detroit by Rebecca Binno Savage and Greg Kowalski explains that Federal Department Stores was once a chain that got their start here in the 1920s, and had snazzy art deco-styled, neon-lighted locations all over the city, and almost all of them were designed by prolific Detroit architect Charles N. Agree, who also designed many other more famous structures across the city, such as the Grande Ballroom, Vanity Ballroom, and Whittier Hotel.
I saw this bumper sticker somewhere in the Packard Plant, many years ago:
The Federal's in suburban Ferndale at Nine Mile and Woodward Avenue looked identical to this one at Grand River & Greenfield. Federal's had locations in other Michigan cities like Flint, Lansing, and Kalamazoo, and even as far away as Toledo, Cleveland, and Buffalo. According to another book by Sidney Bolkosky, Federal's was owned by the Israel Davidson family; evidently being a Jewish-owned department store was something of a novelty for Detroit according to Bolkosky.
Federal's had 12 neighborhood locations in the city, but none of them were downtown; they were a blue-collar oriented department store alternative to the higher-class downtown giants such as Hudson's and Crowley's.
There was also a Federal's at Grand River & Oakman that was across from a Sears, and I believe I read that there was a tunnel running between them or something to that effect.
There was also a Federal's at Grand River & Oakman that was across from a Sears, and I believe I read that there was a tunnel running between them or something to that effect.
A loose board parted, and we found ourselves standing inside of a big window display, on a big turntable:
We quickly found a mouse-hole that led into the rest of the building, which was mostly a gigantic open space that was lit only by a single "Jesus ray" stabbing down from a hole in the roof:
In 1937 the "sit-down" strike craze was sweeping the nation in the wake of the great Flint Sit-Down. Soon non-automotive factories, hotels, and even five-and-dime store employees were sitting down for better wages and conditions. The Encyclopedia of Strikes in American History says that even the larger chain retail stores had sit-downs, especially in Detroit where the strike fever was hottest, and Federal's was one of the ones that was struck, as well as Lerner's, Allen's Shoes, and Crowley Milner's.
These were usually brief and quite peaceful strikes, but unlike the sit-downs in the factories, these retail store strikes were far more visible to the average everyday person...instead of hearing about some strike on the radio or in the paper, the average person actually encountered it face-to-face, and it interrupted their daily routine, which made the movement all that much more powerful. A lot more of the general public came and went from Federal's Department Store on any given day than came or went from a car plant.
I discussed the incredible galvanizing impact of the sit-down strikes and the organized labor movement on Detroit in older posts about the Kelsey-Hayes Wheel Plant, the Ternstedt Plant, and the Slovak Home.
During the 1950s, Hudson's and Federal's both "accelerated their hiring of blacks very visibly," according to a book by B. J. Widick. Hudson's had previously been known for their "brown bag test" hiring standard; if a black person's skin was darker than a paper bag, they would be refused employment--or so my mother told me. Usually they were only allowed menial service jobs, the most prestigious of which was being an elevator operator.
A spread in the February 1964 issue of Ebony magazine tells the story of Yolande H. Chambers. She was a black woman who moved to this neighborhood from Norfolk, Virginia in 1960, and who Federal's hired right to the top of their organization as vice president in charge of personnel, because of her legal training and administrative experience in Detroit's Neighborhood Conservation program. Photos illustrated Mrs. Chambers' many duties, and it was easy to see that the photographer was showing how she was in a supervisory position over many whites, which was still a very rare thing back then. At the time, Federal's had 5,000 employees.
By the looks of this store across the street, it may have been originally built as a Montgomery Ward's. The view is north, up Greenfield:
Looking down Grand River, the downtown skyline is hidden in the summer haze, while the brick bulk of the old Michigan Bell Telephone "VErmont" exchange office is seen at right:
Federal's Department Stores filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy protection in 1972, and closed most of its far-flung stores, to concentrate on saving its flagships in Detroit and Flint. Federal's was purchased in the late 1970s by "self-help guru" Steven West. Youtube has an old TV commercial for Federal's from 1978, advertising a Thanksgiving Day sale.
A post on the DetroitYes forum from a former Michigan Bell employee said he recalled installing the phone system in this building when Mr. West consolidated the Federal's main corporate offices into part of the second floor. Apparently then, it would seem this was Federal's last stand.
Unfortunately West's enterprise wouldn't last long, and was dissolved in 1980. This store was then taken over as a Kingsway department store location but that too closed in 1990. After that it was bought again and became Mammoth Mall, until it closed for good in 2005.
We really didn't find anything of interest in this entire place, except for one remote corner of the smelly basement, where there was one lone store display left behind...a vintage Star Wars figurine display shaped like Darth Vader, in perfect condition:
I figured that had to be worth at least $100 to some geek somewhere, and we hauled it upstairs to loot it, but at the last minute we decided to leave it behind. Perhaps some other person later found it and made some money off of it. A quick Ebay search isn't turning up anything like it, but judging by the prices I'm seeing on some other stuff, I'd say this thing might have brought four figures...
A sign that said “Forman Mills Coming” was posted on the building in 2011, but so far I haven't seen any progress. At least the place has remained basically secured and hasn't been torched yet. To this day there still has never been a real "mall" built within the city limits of Detroit, unless you count the RenCen.
References:
Art Deco in Detroit, by Rebecca Binno Savage, Greg Kowalski, p. 105
Harmony & Dissonance: Voices of Jewish Identity in Detroit, 1914-1967, by Sidney M. Bolkosky, p. 280
The Encyclopedia of Strikes in American History, by Aaron Brenner, Benjamin Day, Immanuel Ness, p. 626
1950s American Style: A Reference Guide, by Daniel Niemeyer, p. 28
"Three-State Store Chain Vice President," Ebony, February 1964, p. 36
Detroit: City of Race and Class Violence, Revised Edition, by B. J. Widick, p. 127
Detroit: Race and Uneven Development, by Joe T. Darden, Richard C. Hill, June M. Thomas, p. 69
The Glory Days of Buffalo Shopping, by Michael F. Rizzo, p. 15
http://www.atdetroit.net/forum/messages/125438/127895.html#MT
http://detroit.cbslocal.com/2011/01/03/long-vacant-detroit-store-finds-new-tenant/
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ReplyDeleteI grew up in the Joy Road and Wyoming area, and remember walking the tunnel between Sears and Federals. It was a blast. We didn't need to drive there; we lived close enough to walk. Great memories!
ReplyDeleteThe Sears was across the Federal in the Grand River-Oakman area. You're thinking of the Montgomery Ward.
DeleteThis was my neighborhood until we moved in 1969. Spent a lot if time at Federals, Wards, Kresge's, Penny's, Crowley's, winkleman's, Lerner's and more...we had it all. So sad and disturbing to see what has come of it :(
ReplyDeleteYou are correct, that was a Montgomery Wards across the street. I remember seeing it on occasion when I would stay the night at my grandparents, who lived in the 7 mile / lahser area. Also showed the pic to my father who confirmed it was that.
ReplyDeleteI lived on the north end of Flint, Michigan from November of 1953 to June of 1966. As a kid, I would regularly walk or ride my bicycle--sometimes along with a friend--to the "North Flint Plaza," situated at the northwest corner of the intersection of Detroit Street--now Martin Luther King Boulevard--and Pierson Road. Even as a youngster, I very quickly discerned that the Plaza's Federal's Department Store wasn't much nicer, simply more expensive, than the S.S. Kresge Company "dime store" located there. Bins and clothing racks were often in disarray, shelves scattered with a noticeable number of opened packages containing merchandise in conflict with their outside labeling. The store's general appearance could have been characterized as always "perpetually neglected," at best. I knew that a second owner had attempted to revive the chain, during the late 1970s, but, leaning on my own first-hand experience as a child, I was skeptical of its success. Sadly, my assessment was correct. Over the four-plus decades since I left my hometown, almost every landmark from my childhood disappeared, but those cherished places continue to stand, forever intact, within my memories.
ReplyDeleteI'm not sure where you heard that "for some reason the Grand River Avenue corridor saw arson and looting almost all the way out to Telegraph Road," but that is completely and utterly false. The "riot" of 1967, more properly termed a "rebellion" by those who care about historical accuracy, was confined almost entirely to the areas of the city then occupied by African-Americans. Their decades of desperation and frustration were manifested against the white police and merchants in their immediate neighborhoods, but not elsewhere in the city. Along Grand River, neighborhoods in 1967 were largely white all the way east to Wyoming, and while there was plenty of fear, tension, and law enforcement presence, there was virtually no damage. Racist history cites vague accounts of gangs of roving blacks wandering the streets of white Detroit, terrorizing and looting, only to be stopped by heroic and mostly-white National Guard and regular Army troops. That, of course, never happened, and the Grand River corridor remained untouched and largely Caucasian for another 10 years or so. The African-American enclaves of Twelfth Street and the lower east side were, on the other hand, devastated. When white homeowners and white businesses left in their slow flight of fear, the tax base disappeared, and the city rotted. I grew up in that area, lived there for many years afterward, and I know when its history is being rewritten. Stop it. The real history is full of enough sadness without some latter-day urban exploiter -- er, explorer -- making up their own. As for the Grand River-Greenfield Federal's, I spent many afternoons as a child being dragged around its ugly confines, and I still have weird dreams about the dank, dark basement where the rest rooms were located. But even as the Federal chain declined, the rest of that intersection was where we all did our clothes shopping: Flagg Brothers, United Shirt, Ward's, Hughes & Hatcher and more gave high school kids an excuse to avoid a bus transfer up to Northland.
ReplyDeleteHello, I got the information regarding the claim about incidents on Grand River Avenue from this graphic, a map of the city that originally came from a Detroit Free Press article:
Deletehttps://www.atdetroit.net/forum/messages/6790/85692.jpg
I believe it was also reprinted in the Detroit Free Press Almanac of 2001.
The shaded gray areas (one of which extends along Grand River, nearly to Telegraph) indicate areas where "looting and arson occurred," according to the legend seen at bottom left. Having not been alive back then I naturally can't vouch to what extent looting and arson occurred out that far, but I think we can both agree that it was not nearly as intense as what was seen in the inner city. Nevertheless, this is what has been reported by a reputable source. Most likely there were a few isolated reports that were phoned in to police during the week-long disturbance, which clearly had less impact than what was going on down toward 12th Street. You may notice also that there were disturbances all the way up Livernois, and on the east side. It is also a well-known fact that the Detroit Rebellion inspired several copy-cat riots in other cities across Michigan like Flint, Pontiac, Benton Harbor, etc., but they too were all on a much smaller scale.
For what it's worth I'd like to bring your attention to other posts on my website where I wrote about 1967 in more clarity (use the search bar to the right where it says "Search Me"). In general I often refer to it as both a riot and a rebellion almost interchangeably, because while there is certainly an airtight case that it began as a legitimate rebellion against police brutality and housing issues in the segregated city, it also inarguably devolved into a riot...many of the participants were there simply to use the opportunity as an excuse to engage in mayhem—including some police who were seen looting—to carry out grudges against certain businesses they disliked, or to burn their own place down for the insurance money. You will also see that I hold no "heroic" views of the National Guard or their "tactics" in 1967.
Admittedly I have done a lot of learning and growing up since I first started writing the posts on this website, so I apologize if any parts of them seem uninformed or exploitative...many of the posts need to be updated to reflect my more mature views on the city and its history, but with around 500 posts on here, that's taking some time. I appreciate your first-person perspective. I will try to tune this one up a bit.
--nailhed