Discuss Detroit » Archives - July 2007 » Fife & Drum / House of Nine « Previous Next »
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Goldensunshine
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Username: Goldensunshine

Post Number: 3
Registered: 11-2005
Posted on Monday, August 20, 2007 - 9:47 am:   Edit PostDelete Post   Move Post (Moderator/Admin Only)

I grew in Rosedale Park all my life (I was born in 1980). Often times when my Mom went to the drive up bank (NBD/BANK ONE/CHASE) on Grand River and Fenkell, I would always notice the building across the street with a banner sign reading "Fife and Drum" and nothing else! I never saw anyone enter or leave this building. Was it a music instrument store? Since childood,I wondered what this was.
Also, anyone have any info on the place formerly on Grandriver and Woodward called "House of Nine?" I always remember that pink, retro-looking sign (which has since been removed).
All my life in Detroit, these placed have never been anything more than elusive signs on buildings that appear to be abandoned - rendering them TOTALLY mysterious in my mind. Can someone help me out?
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Pffft
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Username: Pffft

Post Number: 1350
Registered: 12-2003
Posted on Monday, August 20, 2007 - 10:11 am:   Edit PostDelete Post   Move Post (Moderator/Admin Only)

The House of Nine was a women's boutique -- they carried up to a size nine, so it was mostly trendy clothing for teens and young women.
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Rsa
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Username: Rsa

Post Number: 1226
Registered: 10-2003
Posted on Monday, August 20, 2007 - 11:39 am:   Edit PostDelete Post   Move Post (Moderator/Admin Only)

don't worry about the sign; it was put in good hands and is being restored.
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Skipp
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Username: Skipp

Post Number: 144
Registered: 06-2005
Posted on Monday, August 20, 2007 - 11:45 am:   Edit PostDelete Post   Move Post (Moderator/Admin Only)

^^^and is also on display.
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Gazhekwe
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Username: Gazhekwe

Post Number: 49
Registered: 08-2007
Posted on Monday, August 20, 2007 - 11:57 am:   Edit PostDelete Post   Move Post (Moderator/Admin Only)

Oh, cool about the sign. I remember the Fife and Drum but don't know what it is or was. Could it have been a meeting place for a fife and drum corps?

Anyone know what happened to the China Clipper sign? It was a Chinese restaurant on Grand River in Old Redford. The sign disappeared some years ago, well before the fire that destroyed the restaurant and all the businesses on that corner. It was a 30s (I think) plane, with neon around it.
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Goldensunshine
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Username: Goldensunshine

Post Number: 4
Registered: 11-2005
Posted on Monday, August 20, 2007 - 12:22 pm:   Edit PostDelete Post   Move Post (Moderator/Admin Only)

So sad that China Clipper was hit by that fire.
Their food was sooooooo good.
That corner was pivotal to me growing up in the D :-)
Both my brother and I went to the ABC driving school right next door to the restaurant.
Anyone know if they have demolished the burned out shell or cleaned it up yet? I didn't get a chance to drive by when I was home this weekend.
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Gazhekwe
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Username: Gazhekwe

Post Number: 50
Registered: 08-2007
Posted on Monday, August 20, 2007 - 12:33 pm:   Edit PostDelete Post   Move Post (Moderator/Admin Only)

The building is gone now.
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Parkguy
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Username: Parkguy

Post Number: 96
Registered: 04-2007
Posted on Tuesday, August 21, 2007 - 6:19 pm:   Edit PostDelete Post   Move Post (Moderator/Admin Only)

I understand that the Fife & Drum was a business that rented china, linens, etc. for banquets and parties. That was what I was told.
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56packman
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Username: 56packman

Post Number: 1656
Registered: 12-2005
Posted on Tuesday, August 21, 2007 - 11:20 pm:   Edit PostDelete Post   Move Post (Moderator/Admin Only)

Parkguy has it right--when I worked at Carail we used to rent additional tables and chairs, linens, and such for very large parties.
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Toolbox
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Username: Toolbox

Post Number: 1098
Registered: 10-2003
Posted on Wednesday, August 22, 2007 - 1:06 pm:   Edit PostDelete Post   Move Post (Moderator/Admin Only)

Did someone say House of 9 sign???

Nine.jpg
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Quinn
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Username: Quinn

Post Number: 1445
Registered: 01-2005
Posted on Wednesday, August 22, 2007 - 3:44 pm:   Edit PostDelete Post   Move Post (Moderator/Admin Only)

!! OMG I want that.
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Goldensunshine
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Username: Goldensunshine

Post Number: 17
Registered: 11-2005
Posted on Wednesday, August 22, 2007 - 4:02 pm:   Edit PostDelete Post   Move Post (Moderator/Admin Only)

WOW! There it is . . .
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Ndavies
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Username: Ndavies

Post Number: 2730
Registered: 10-2003
Posted on Thursday, August 23, 2007 - 9:59 am:   Edit PostDelete Post   Move Post (Moderator/Admin Only)

Looky a resored house of nine sign.


sign 1



sign 2
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Bvos
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Username: Bvos

Post Number: 2223
Registered: 10-2003
Posted on Thursday, August 23, 2007 - 2:06 pm:   Edit PostDelete Post   Move Post (Moderator/Admin Only)

Yes, Fife & Drum was an upscale banquet rental place. It won a lot of awards from the upscale regional magazines of it time. It closed in the late 90s/early 00s and the property with all its contents were lost to tax foreclosure.

The Grandmont Rosedale Development Corporation purchased it back in the mid 00s and rehabbed it. It's now home to a t-shirt screen printing/embroidery place, a computer tutoring company and an apartment upstairs where the former owners of the Fife & Drum lived. I have a few of the items left in the apartment by the former owners: one of those old, bomb-proof rotary dial phones you'd lease from Michigan Bell and several books. They were quite worldly people.
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Rocket_city
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Username: Rocket_city

Post Number: 366
Registered: 04-2006
Posted on Thursday, August 23, 2007 - 2:10 pm:   Edit PostDelete Post   Move Post (Moderator/Admin Only)

Where is the restored House of Nine sign located nowadays?

Though funky, not quite as funky as it use to be!
http://www.pbase.com/jivecity/ image/26216707.jpg
Y'ehhhhh!
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Ndavies
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Username: Ndavies

Post Number: 2732
Registered: 10-2003
Posted on Thursday, August 23, 2007 - 2:40 pm:   Edit PostDelete Post   Move Post (Moderator/Admin Only)

It's in the apartment of the ex-forumer who owns it. This wasn't the sign in the window in that picture. This is the two sided sign that extended out from the building. It would have been mounted just outside the left edge of that picture.
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Raptor56
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Username: Raptor56

Post Number: 57
Registered: 05-2007
Posted on Thursday, August 23, 2007 - 3:50 pm:   Edit PostDelete Post   Move Post (Moderator/Admin Only)

"...purchased it back in the mid 00s and rehabbed it.."

so like within the past 2 years....
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Rustic
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Username: Rustic

Post Number: 3137
Registered: 10-2003
Posted on Friday, August 24, 2007 - 1:33 am:   Edit PostDelete Post   Move Post (Moderator/Admin Only)

As already described, Fife and Drum was a party rental place. If you were having a garden party or a wedding rehearsal dinner or whatever, you would rent from them. They had all sorts of dishware from fancy xtal to really funky 60's stuff and wild spacy stuff from the 50's. Punchbowls of all sizes, champagne glasses, centerpiece crystal etc. Not sure if they rented folding chairs and canopy tents and that sort of thing too, probably they contracted that out elsewhere. Picture them back in the olden tymes supplying events at the Community House or some of the grander homes with larger gardens in NRP (as well as the various church and fraternal org banquet halls).

Along with a few other businesses along GR, the Fife and Drum seemed to be freezedried in time from a bygone era (Fleishmanns Carpet, Gillis Realty, Cross Plumbing, and the recently departed China Clipper waaaay up in Redford).

BV, what's the skinny on Mr Fo-Fos on McNichols and Ashton?
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56packman
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Username: 56packman

Post Number: 1671
Registered: 12-2005
Posted on Friday, August 24, 2007 - 7:19 am:   Edit PostDelete Post   Move Post (Moderator/Admin Only)

Gillis has been closed for over 12 years, yet the building just sits there, locked in time. The front windows would get broken and someone paid to have the plywood put in place of the glass. It had a very old-fashoned, formal look to the place inside, false fire place and all.

Cross plumbing is a huge asset to the city. They stock a lot of unusual old-line parts for obsolete plumbing devices like flush valves, etc.
Doug, Cross' ace plumber is an outstanding plumber, we worked on many projects together.

Fleishmans must be a trip--I've never gone in there.
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Goldensunshine
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Username: Goldensunshine

Post Number: 22
Registered: 11-2005
Posted on Friday, August 24, 2007 - 8:49 am:   Edit PostDelete Post   Move Post (Moderator/Admin Only)

is Fleishman's still open????
That was at the end of the block across from mine!
My old house was on Auburn between Fenkell and Outer Drive.
Fleishmans (if I'm not mistaken) was either at the end of plain view or auburn and grand river.
Then I remember the old Ihop, the Henderson's glass, the baskin robbins, and the O'Day school of dance, where many of my friends took dance class.
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Rustic
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Username: Rustic

Post Number: 3138
Registered: 10-2003
Posted on Friday, August 24, 2007 - 12:30 pm:   Edit PostDelete Post   Move Post (Moderator/Admin Only)

Goldensunshine, back before your time the N side of that end of GR was home to an upscale furniture store and interior decorators (one was particularly high end). That florist next to the BR did good $$$ providing regular arrangements for the remaining little old ladies who built their houses new in NRP back in the oldentymes and lived well for 40-50 years in NRP.
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Rustic
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Username: Rustic

Post Number: 3139
Registered: 10-2003
Posted on Friday, August 24, 2007 - 12:46 pm:   Edit PostDelete Post   Move Post (Moderator/Admin Only)

56pack', you'll have to talk to some saavy oldtimer NW Detroit wiseguys/politicos offline for the backstory about that one place you mentioned ... great stuff but not appropriate for a public forum ... once upon a time in a galaxy far far away ...
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56packman
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Username: 56packman

Post Number: 1679
Registered: 12-2005
Posted on Friday, August 24, 2007 - 1:05 pm:   Edit PostDelete Post   Move Post (Moderator/Admin Only)

Rustic--does it have anything to do with certain clandestine real estate transactions taking place in a nearby residential area? No signs just trucks show up one Saturday and one family moves out another moves in? nod-nod, wink,wink?
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Rustic
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Username: Rustic

Post Number: 3140
Registered: 10-2003
Posted on Friday, August 24, 2007 - 1:34 pm:   Edit PostDelete Post   Move Post (Moderator/Admin Only)

56pack' can't say anything about that specific example, doesn't sound right tho, things were MUCH more compartmentalized and firewalled than would be the case in the senario you described. Seriously ask some oldtimer ... it is MUCH better than you think ... DEEEP Detroit stuff ... it's the sorta stuff that really needs to be heard in drips and drops 2/3rd of the way through a bottle of Jamesons, not third hand from some knowitall on an internet forum.
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Lakesuperior
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Username: Lakesuperior

Post Number: 196
Registered: 06-2005
Posted on Friday, August 24, 2007 - 2:03 pm:   Edit PostDelete Post   Move Post (Moderator/Admin Only)

i have coveted the house of nine sign since i saw it upon moving to detroit 5 years ago. i'm glad it's looking so good!
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Rocket_city
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Username: Rocket_city

Post Number: 368
Registered: 04-2006
Posted on Friday, August 24, 2007 - 2:11 pm:   Edit PostDelete Post   Move Post (Moderator/Admin Only)

Thanks, Ndavies. I know, I got a nice picture of the sign before it was taken down a couple of years ago. :-)
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Vetalalumni
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Username: Vetalalumni

Post Number: 582
Registered: 05-2007
Posted on Saturday, August 25, 2007 - 1:11 am:   Edit PostDelete Post   Move Post (Moderator/Admin Only)

Rustic, you've really got my attention.

I'm probably not alone in being thoroughly intrigued about the "great stuff but not appropriate for a public forum...", the "DEEEP Detroit stuff ...", and "the sorta stuff that really needs to be heard in drips...".

Any chance you will have a change of heart and elaborate?
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Rustic
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Username: Rustic

Post Number: 3142
Registered: 10-2003
Posted on Saturday, August 25, 2007 - 4:38 am:   Edit PostDelete Post   Move Post (Moderator/Admin Only)

Vetal', nope.
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Parkguy
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Username: Parkguy

Post Number: 100
Registered: 04-2007
Posted on Saturday, August 25, 2007 - 11:00 am:   Edit PostDelete Post   Move Post (Moderator/Admin Only)

Fleishman's JUST closed... within the last four or five months. For the last 25 or 30 years they did commercial work almost exclusively, selling really high-end carpeting. They also had a store on the east side, the scene of a grisly robbery that took the life of one of the owners. That was at least 20 years ago.
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65memories
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Username: 65memories

Post Number: 451
Registered: 10-2003
Posted on Saturday, August 25, 2007 - 11:08 am:   Edit PostDelete Post   Move Post (Moderator/Admin Only)

Between Rustic, 56, Vetal and Parkguy, this is getting "interestinger and interestinger"
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Vetalalumni
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Username: Vetalalumni

Post Number: 583
Registered: 05-2007
Posted on Saturday, August 25, 2007 - 2:41 pm:   Edit PostDelete Post   Move Post (Moderator/Admin Only)

Wonder if shameful, immoral, or illegal acts were involved? Maybe it is an Urban Myth. Could be an interesting peak into the heart of man (or Detroit).
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Karl
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Username: Karl

Post Number: 9581
Registered: 09-2005
Posted on Saturday, August 25, 2007 - 3:00 pm:   Edit PostDelete Post   Move Post (Moderator/Admin Only)

Or you could just turn on A&E for the same story (or worse) in another city - or maybe in Detroit?

After watching the SFO dogs-eat-woman story last week and all the related meandering tidbits with that sordid tale (along with a few others they've aired) there is little, if anything, that hasn't already been discussed/memorialized on film/written about that was/is unique to Detroit!

But it's fun to wonder which of the 4-5 "taboo" topics it might be about.......
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Vetalalumni
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Username: Vetalalumni

Post Number: 585
Registered: 05-2007
Posted on Saturday, August 25, 2007 - 3:09 pm:   Edit PostDelete Post   Move Post (Moderator/Admin Only)

There is "nothing new under the sun" - I agree 100% Karl.
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56packman
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Username: 56packman

Post Number: 1681
Registered: 12-2005
Posted on Saturday, August 25, 2007 - 6:39 pm:   Edit PostDelete Post   Move Post (Moderator/Admin Only)

Then there was the committee headed by Mr. Wardell, who built the hotel the bore his name......................
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Vetalalumni
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Username: Vetalalumni

Post Number: 594
Registered: 05-2007
Posted on Saturday, August 25, 2007 - 10:13 pm:   Edit PostDelete Post   Move Post (Moderator/Admin Only)

Now the Park Shelton? What is that story?
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56packman
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Username: 56packman

Post Number: 1682
Registered: 12-2005
Posted on Sunday, August 26, 2007 - 12:16 am:   Edit PostDelete Post   Move Post (Moderator/Admin Only)

It's deep, man, deep. I invoke Rustic's rule. Not for internet dilettantes
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Vetalalumni
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Username: Vetalalumni

Post Number: 601
Registered: 05-2007
Posted on Sunday, August 26, 2007 - 2:24 pm:   Edit PostDelete Post   Move Post (Moderator/Admin Only)

Fair enough, Rustic and 56packman. Thanks for your discretion.

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