16127 Hamilton Avenue


Highland Park State Bank, Bureau of Internal Revenue, Internal Revenue Service, New Turquoise Lounge, Mr. D’s Lounge, Second Coming Missionary Baptist Church, Temple of Love Church of God in Christ

The Highland Park State Bank was organized in 1909 by Henry Ford, James T. Whitehead, James Couzens, Lawrence W. Snell, and J. H. Johnson. Their first location was at the corner of Woodward and Manchester in Highland Park, across from the Ford facility. Rumor has it there was a tunnel between the factory and the bank so that issues regarding the pay of Ford employees could be handled easily and without leaving private property. It was incorporated with $40,000 in capital in 1909, which is worth over $1,300,000 in 2023. Their first location and headquarters at Manchester and Woodward opened on July 31, 1909. That structure was designed by Albert Kahn and has since been demolished.

By 1922, the bank had branches across Highland Park, including at Woodward and Richton, Woodward and Geneva, John R. and Manchester, Oakland and Tennyson, and Hamilton and Tuxedo. Many of these locations corresponded to manufacturing facilities in Highland Park.

The structure at 16127 Hamilton Avenue, pictured here, was built around 1923. I assume it was designed by George V. Pottle because an identical building at Hamilton and Tuxedo constructed in 1926 is accredited to Pottle.

By 1933, banking in Detroit was on the verge of another significant crash. Henry Ford was asked to bail out the Union Guardian Trust Company, where he and his family had already invested millions. He refused and additionally pulled millions from local banks to destabilize all of the banks in Detroit in an attempt to start over. His plan succeeded, causing banks nationwide to crash, and both local banks were liquidated. Public disbelief in the banking system led to FDR’s signing of the Emergency Banking Act of 1933, in which all banks were closed, inspected, and reopened after being guaranteed secure.

After toppling the failing banks in Detroit, Henry and Edsel Ford helped start the Manufacturers National Bank, which would eventually receive the deposits and liabilities of the Highland Park State Bank, Dearborn State Bank, and Guardian Bank of Dearborn. Manufacturers Bank would continue to grow until it merged with Comerica in 1993.

There was still mention of a Highland Park State Bank in the mid-1930s; however, this was far and in between.

By 1945, the Bureau of Internal Revenue (later renamed the IRS) utilized the structure. They had numerous offices around the Detroit area where citizens could ask questions and submit their taxes. This branch stood strong through the 1950s, which is when the Bureau was renamed the Internal Revenue Service after restructuring under President Truman.

In 1962, a new IRS office was built at 16480 Woodward Avenue. The Hamilton office was set to close alongside branches at 16910 W. McNichols, 14909 Harper, and 2901 Holbrook in Hamtramck. The building on Woodward has since been demolished, but as you can see, this one still stands.

By 1965, the space had been converted into a restaurant. It was called the New Turquoise Lounge and known as a piano bar. The menu featured char-broiled steak sandwiches and fish dinners. Local musician Charles Cordeau was featured on the piano.

By 1968, it was Mr. D’s Lounge. This joint started serving lunch at noon, accepted reservations, and featured Carl Creager on the X-66 Hammond Organ. A quick search indicated that those organs are worth around $750 in 2023.

After that, I’m unsure what happened to the structure for many years. There’s still a sign for Mr. D’s Lounge on the side of the building, so that may have been in operation for a while.

Second Coming Missionary Baptist Church was founded in 1997 by Larry A. Flake Sr. in the former bank building. After four short years, the church was dissolved in 2001. I was curious why it was so short-lived, so I dug deeper into the pastor of that church and found some pretty heinous stuff.

In 2001, Larry A. Flake Senior was found guilty of having intercourse with a 15-year-old girl in 1999 while working as a pastor in Richmond, Indiana. Between the incident and his trial, he had moved to Detroit, formed Second Coming Missionary Baptist Church in Highland Park, and tried to pay off the girl’s mother to make the case disappear. Flake had priors, having been convicted of sex crimes involving a child and battery on separate occasions in Indianapolis prior, so he was tried as a habitual offender. He could have been sentenced to up to 50 years in prison; however, he was nowhere to be found. He didn’t attend the trial, and the police couldn’t find him.

Twenty years later (in November of 2021), Larry A. Flake Sr. was caught working as a pastor in Birmingham, Indiana, under the assumed name Larry White. He hid in plain sight for two decades, working as a pastor until police got an anonymous tip regarding his whereabouts.

Meanwhile, in Highland Park, the structure continued to be used as a church. The current owners, Temple of Love Church of God in Christ, began worshipping there in 2011 under pastor John Bowers. The reverend and Andrew Bowers, who I assume are brothers, own the structure. As of August 2023, there’s currently a for-sale sign listing the building through Janice Crafter at Today’s Financial Homes; however, I found no listing for it online.

Through everything that’s happened to this structure, its proprietors, and the neighborhood surrounding it, the former bank building at the corner of Hamilton and Puritan in Highland Park stands as strong as ever. There aren’t nearly as many other structures up and down Hamilton as there once were, but I hope this one will be saved.

It’s the hope that kills you…


Eric Hergenreder

A photographer, writer, and researcher based out of Detroit, Michigan.

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