Lakewood Lore

Time stops for no man -- or city, as the case may be

Time, you old gypsy man,

Will you not stay,

Put your caravan

Just for one day?

--Ralph Hodgson

Heedless of the poet or anyone else who wishes to stop it, time, as we all know, marches on -- and with it goes an endless parade of events, most of which are trifling.

However, for those readers interested in local beginnings and ends, here are some dates that, in the name of Lakewood history and because of the nostalgia they may generate, bear recalling.

* In 1946, Cove Avenue became the last Lakewood street to be made of brick. A map of 85 years ago shows that, at the time, about two-thirds of our streets were paved and, of them, approximately 75 percent were brick-covered.

During the last half century, overlays of asphalt, as a less-expensive means of repair, have rendered brick streets here an endangered species.

Today, there are only seven bricked arteries, either whole or in part, remaining. They are: French, Virginia, Mathews, Park Row, Roosevelt, Thoreau and Belle. Some of them have been left untouched because residents prefer it that way.

* In 1924, the Detroit Theater on Detroit at Woodward was opened. Now, it is the only movie house left in Lakewood.

Long gone are: the Pastime, once on Madison at Hopkins; the Lucier on Detroit at Wayne, which in 1947 became Lakewood Little Theater for stage plays; the Lincoln, on Madison at Arthur; the Lakewood, between Victoria and Elmwood on the south side of Detroit; the Uno (later called the Royal), on Madison at Ridgewood; the Homestead and the Melba, both near Hird on the north side of Detroit; and the Hilliard Square, where Hilliard and Madison cross.

* In 1947, the Clifton streetcar line disappeared after some 45 years of service. From its beginnings, the line also carried the Lake Shore Electric, an interurban that traveled west to Toledo.

The Clifton tracks in Lakewood were unusual in that they ran over the tree lawns on both sides of the boulevard, thus crossing home driveways and increasing the risk of auto collisions.

Madison and Detroit streetcars began in 1893. The Madison line originally ran only from downtown to West 117th Street. It was extended to Belle in 1917 and, shortly afterward, to Riverside Drive. In 1920, it was cut back one block to Spring Garden, which remained the end of the line until service was discontinued in 1954.

* In 1923, the lately renovated five-story Detroit-Warren Building on the southwest corner became Lakewood's first high-rise, with the city's first elevator.

* In 1930, across Warren on the southeast corner of its intersection with Detroit, Bailey's opened as one of the first suburban branch department stores. It closed in 1965 and was replaced by Neville's Inc. which lasted until 1968.

* In 1919, Schermer Brothers on Madison at Magee became Lakewood's first department store. It stocked a basement and two upper floors with merchandise and was open hours before it was destroyed by fire in 1962.

* The year 1950 marked the opening of Miller's Restaurant of "sticky buns" fame. It was operated at 16707 Detroit by Doris Urbansky (daughter of founders John G. and Ruby Miller) and her husband Tom for nearly four decades before being sold to new management in 1989.

Fire severely damaged the interior of the restaurant on Labor Day 1995, and it is still closed. The Urbanskys currently are food consultants for the Renaissance retirement living facility.

* In 1970, the Shanty, a business landmark in downtown Lakewood since 1919, was demolished to make room for the current 15-story Lakewood Center North office complex on the north side of Detroit at Belle.

The Shanty was originally housed across the street, between Belle and St. Charles, in a small unpretentious structure that resembled a voting booth. At first, it sold only tires and car batteries. Later, it handled a wide range of auto supplies and hardware items.

Its owner was a large, colorful, cigar-smoking man named Art Kellogg, who had been a resident of Lakewood for 55 years when he died in 1957 at age 78. His son Oscar subsequently took over management of the store. Oscar's widow Pauline Kellogg Groth, who now live at the North Westerly apartments on Marlowe in Lakewood, was secretary of the Shanty Co. for many years. Her second husband, Herbert Groth, died in 1993.

* In 1944 and '46, Lakewood's Elks Field at Detroit and Bunts, the first lighted softball diamond in the United States, was host to the world softball championships. During the '30s and '40s, thousands of spectators saw games there (swift pitching softball in those days) seven nights a week.

The Elks Club remains, but the era of its celebrated field, once situated on the sprawling low-lying ground behind the clubhouse, ended in 1958 when the land was leased to Pick-n-Pay, predecessor of today's Finast Supermarket.

This article by Dan Chabek appeared in the Lakewood Sun Post December 5, 1996. Reprinted with permission.

More Lakewood Lore