70-72 Monroe Avenue (Commercial Building), Detroit, Wayne County, MI

Significance: This building contributes to the last intact pre-Civil War commercial block remaining in Detroit, and was the site of the Casino Theater. / 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. Detroit's first nickelodeon movie house, the Casino Theater, occupied the first floor from 1906 until 1915. More recent tenants included the Famous Barrel Bar, from 1937 on, and Father & Son Shoes, from the early 1950s until 1975. The upper-floor tenants are not listed in the City Directories and cannot be identified.
Survey number: HABS MI-328