58 Monroe Avenue (Commercial Building), Detroit, Wayne County, MI

Significance: This building contributes to the last intact pre-Civil War commercial block in Detroit. / Hiram R. Johnson (1825-1894), a prominent Detroit businessman, bought the real estate where this building stands in 1852 and erected a series of commercial buildings known as the Johnson Block. The architect is unknown. The first floor commercial space has typically had only one tenant. Francis Petz & Company, Jewelers, occupied this space from at least 1888 through 1907, followed by the Pittsburgh Dairy Lunch (1908-1920), several clothing stores from 1921 through 1932, and a pawnbroker for the rest of the 1930s. Several jewelry stores used the first floor in the 1950s and 1960s. The upper floor tenants cannot be identified.
Survey number: HABS MI-325