THE FIRST TWENTY YEARS

The American State Bank was Ferndale's first bank. Organized in July 1920 (with $60,000 capital and surplus) it was located on the Southeast corner of Nine Mile (called "Rockwell" then) and Woodward. In 1923 they built a new building on the Southeast corner of Vester and Woodward.

In 1930 they opened a modern branch office at Bennett (near 8 Mile) and Woodward that would later become city hall from June 1937 thru April 1965 (a topic for another story).

The bank building built in 1923 at 22856 Woodward (corner of Vester) was designed by the firm of Stahl and Kinsey. They were well known by the 1920s for designing banks, churches, homes, and commercial buildings. Looking at the architectural history of metro Detroit you will see many similar corner bank buildings from that era (more on that later).

 

 

 

The bank opened Sept 28, 1923 and featured a modern wood and marble interior supplied by the Hurd Lumber & Woodwork company. They were famous for church and commercial building interiors of intricate detail. Their ad below in the March 1924 "Michigan Architect & Engineer" features the exterior image above and interior image below. The copy in their ad shows how important this building was at the time. Unfortunately, the Google-scanned images are not very crisp. We hope one day to track-down better images.

 

An early picture believed to be taken soon after the bank was built, shows detail of the exterior. There appears to be 2 plaques on either side of the door, trolley tracks in front, and an empty lot for sale to the south.

 

 

Bolstered by the "roaring 20s", and Ferndale's building boom, the bank enjoyed wonderful success. It had over $2 million in assets (over $46 million in today's dollars) when the depression hit. It closed due to insolvency in 1933 and never reopened.

From 1933 to 1943 the bank was still owned by American State Bank, but in receivership. The bank was no longer operating, but the building had a variety of tenants. These included; the Secretary of State, beauty shops, Ferndale Academy of Dance, various Lawyers, and Dr. Golden a Dentist.

 

 

ADOPTION BY THE ELKS CLUB

The Benevolent and Protective Order of Elks (B.P.O.E.) Ferndale Lodge No. 1588 was established on March 28, 1931. They initially met in various halls around Ferndale. Eventually the club rented space at 22823 Woodward near nine mile (nearly across Woodward from their present home). By 1942 they were looking to expand further and had purchased vacant land on Woodward nearby.

In 1943 they learned that the former American State Bank building was for sale. The lodge acquired the building in Oct 1943 by taking over equity from the former owners' land contract. Existing tenants soon found new space elsewhere. A December 1943 electrical fire in a beauty salon caused extensive damage and delay, but there were no reported casualties. Suitable alterations throughout the building were planned by the Elks. The lodge newsletter at the time notes:

"The sketch plans showing the proposed new layout of our club quarters have been on display on the bulletin board for some time. If you have any ideas of improving the layout, tell Leon Jurzek, Dick Del,or Bill Kramer about it. It's their aim to arrange our new home as perfectly as it is possible under present wartime conditions, critical materials, etc., being what they are right now.

By the way, did you notice, on the second floor plan, a place marked "powder room"? Of course, that is for the ladies. Now, if they could just get hold of a nice high mirror, covering the entire end wall, and a long, nice vanity in front of it, some comfortable furniture, and the various things that make it look like a woman's place, couldn't we fix it up swell?

Maybe someday those plans and additional interior photos will surface!

The Elks published the exterior photo shown below in their 1981 50th anniversary book. It appears to be from the mid 1940s. The sign above the door reads "Elks Temple". The plaques on either side of the door are gone. A handsome vertical Elks sign is on the Woodward face of the building and appears to include a clock. The Eagle is still flying amidst all the rooftop ornamentation.

On April 5, 1944 the first meeting was held in the new temple. By February 15, 1945 the lodge had paid off the property and held a burning of the mortgage as shown in the photo below.

 

A common question is when did the Elks receive their liquor license? The Elks received a license to sell alcohol (3.2 beer & wine) on May 5, 1933 at their prior location (22823 Woodward). On June 5, 1944 the Elks received approval to transfer that Club Liquor License to their current location at 22856 Woodward.

 

In these aerial views from 1949 and 1955, the eagle appears to be missing but the roof ornamentation remains.

 

 

 

The next 30 years saw few changes to the building. Notes indicate redecorating and minor remodeling to the club room and lodge rooms. Carpet, paint, paneling, drop ceiling were all updated. Lighting systems and plastic window treatments were added. In January 1960, Ferndale's Fire Dept handled a fire in the basement.

In 1971 - 72 the card room was remodeled, kitchen and upstairs bar modernized, and lodge room air conditioning installed. During 1973-74 several other interior upgrades occurred, and plans started for a major exterior face lift.....

The photos are circa 1974. The roof ornamentation had all been removed. Exterior signs were also removed in preparation for remodeling.

 

 

CONTROVERSIAL REMODELING

During 1974 the formal limestone facade was clad in bright yellow steel. Work was reportedly completed in December of that year for $42,000 - $50,000.

On January 20, 1975 Ferndale City Commissioner Luxon made a motion that was unanimously supported by the City Commission (James B. Avery, Frank T. Luxon, George S. Greib, Helen M Weber) and Mayor Robert J. Paczkowski commending the Ferndale Elks Club for modernizing their facility at Woodward and Vester.

Ferndale's Chamber of Commerce officials also commended the Elks leaders for the club's community spirit in remodeling the old building.

An interesting article in the February 4 1975 Royal Oak Tribune describes renovating the "oldest looking building in the city" as a very positive move. The articles notes that Michael A. Boggio, a Southfield Architect at the time designed the new facade. Stenback Construction Co. of Ferndale did the work. The article is available to read HERE.

 

 

As the years progressed people started to wonder what it would take to restore the building to its former glory.

There is chatter on social media wondering what that would cost, and what remains under the cladding. There are stories that a group made up of Elks, city/DDA staff and the firm of Grunwell Cashero did some on-site archeology circa 2010. This apparently lead to the discovery that installation of the cladding in 1974 required extensive drilling and modification of the stonework, making restoration a very expensive proposition.

 

 

CONCLUSION

Ferndale is fortunate to have this 100 year old building thriving and its owners contributing to area life and enjoyment! We are glad this building still exists, most such period banks are long gone.

Perhaps one day the building will be restored to its original beauty. Its 100th birthday would be a good kickoff point.

 

 

 

RELATED FINDINGS

While researching this building, a few related images were found. The Architects that designed 22856 Woodward were Stahl & Kinsey. That is believed to be John Clarence Stahl Jr. and John Emerson Kinsey.

John E. Kinsey was Canadian and worked in the offices of Albert Kahn early in his career. John C. Stahl formed various architectural partnerships. Working with Kinsey they designed grand homes in Grosse Pointe, Indian Village and other areas. They were well respected statewide and in Ontario for churches, schools, and other buildings. The firm designed several more American State Banks around metro Detroit, a few are shown below, but none of these still exist.

The Ferndale location of the American State Bank was built by the firm of Ferdinand "Fred" Korneffel (F. Korneffel Construction). He also worked in the Albert Kahn organization before starting his own company. That firm built at least 7 of the American State Banks as well as churches, factories and commercial buildings around the area.

 

 

 

 

 

 

ISSUES STILL BEING RESEARCHED

1) What happened to the eagle on top? It appears in photos after the Elks bought the building, but seems to be gone by the mid 1940s.

2) Are there any photos or plans of the 1974 remodeling? So far nothing has been found - other than the February 4, 1975 Royal Oak Tribune article.

3) Would the firm of Grunwell Cashero (link HERE) have any records of the restoration research on this building?