Detroit
Hardware, on Woodward between Milwaukee and Baltimore, is attracting a
lot more attention these days because of a complete façade renovation.
Historic transom windows and decorative brick have been exposed as
part of the overhaul, which also included tuck-pointing and painting of
the brick, new windows, signage, and exterior lighting, as well as
roll-down mesh grates. “The last step was the awnings,” says Emily
Webster, whose family co-owns the store. “We started working on it in
fall of 2005 and the awnings went up just a couple of weeks ago.”
The store owners had planned to do some minor façade work, “probably
just siding, the least-expensive route,” Webster says, until New Center
Council stepped in. Webster credits their matching grant as the key to
the quality of the finished product. Furthermore, New Center Council
brought BVH Architecture to the table, and also connected the owners to
qualified contractors. “We couldn’t have done it without them,” she says.
Now that the work is complete, Webster says she’s getting more foot
traffic. “Lots of new people are coming in; they noticed the
scaffolding, the workers. Now they notice the store.” Detroit Hardware
is open 8 a.m.-5 p.m. Monday through Friday and 9 a.m.-3 p.m. on
Saturday.
Source: Emily Webster, Detroit Hardware
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