Francis Grunow

34 W. Bethune
Detroit, MI 48202
July 20, 2023

Janice Winfrey, City Clerk

Coleman A. Young Municipal Center
2 Woodward Avenue, Suite 201
Detroit, MI 48226

RE: REQUEST FOR INTERIM HISTORIC DESIGNATION FOR 3143 CASS AVENUE

Dear Ms. Winfrey –

I discovered in a recent Crain’s arJcle that the owners of 3143 Cass Avenue have applied for a demoliJon permit to tear down
the structure at this address for an unknown purpose.

This is quite troubling since historic structures in this part of the Lower Cass Corridor are regularly finding new life, including the
commercial strip on the block north that contains the Peterboro Restaurant, Iconic TaSoo, and 8 Degrees Plato. In fact, the
building immediately to the north, the former home of Chung’s restaurant, was sold in May and is slated to be reopened for
food and beverage service.

Also, according to the Cass Corridor Survey Project, conducted in November 2020 for the City of Detroit, 3143 Cass has a long
and storied social history worthy of historic designaJon. Beginning as a residence in 1883 for the family of William Fowler, the
structure was sold in 1905 to the Detroit lodge No. 55, Pythian Castle AssociaJon, which intended to transform it into a
“modern clubhouse.” The Pythian Castle AssociaJon reconfigured and expanded the building, hosJng all manner of social
events for decades before selling it around 1932 to Lachar’s Ballroom, Restaurant & Hall, which, in turn, hosted public events
and well-known speakers unJl about 1941, when it was sold to a series of owners, including the Showman’s AssociaJon of
Michigan and the Actor’s Company.

In 1963, 3143 Cass Avenue was purchased by the Chinese Merchants AssociaJon Hall (On Leong Tong) and served as the heart
of the recently displaced Chinese American community in Detroit. The AssociaJon hosted community gatherings for social,
educaJonal, recreaJonal, and religious purposes for many years, and featured a theater space for the presentaJon of Chinese
operas.

3143 Cass Avenue is eligible for designaJon to the NaJonal Register of Historic places, both on an individual basis (Criteria A) for
its long social history of the Cass Corridor, as well as being a contribuJng member of the proposed Chinatown Historic District,
based on its important role during the heyday of Chinatown. The building, “retains a good degree of integrity of locaJon, design,
materials, workmanship, secng, feeling, and associaJon.”

Therefore, I am wriJng to request an emergency review of 3143 Cass Avenue, as well as to establish an interim historic
designaJon to stop demoliJon, while the City of Detroit determines the appropriate path forward.

I appreciate your expediJon in this maSer to circulate this request as needed.

Sincerely,

Francis Grunow

cc:
Councilmember Gabriela SanJago-Romero
Janese Chapman, Historic DesignaJon Advisory Board
Devan Anderson, PreservaJon Detroit
Janet Kreger, Michigan Historic PreservaJon Network
Susan Mosey, Midtown Detroit Inc.

ASachment: Michigan State Historic Preserva2on Office Property Iden2fica2on Form for 3143 Cass Avenue (11/20)