8434 Dearborn Street
Barber Shop, Cue and Cushion Center, Wally’s Pool Hall, Iron Coffins Motorcycle Club
8434 Dearborn Street in Delray was built in the 1920s. I haven’t determined what it was initially, but by the mid-1940s, it was a barbershop, which remained open through at least the late 1950s.
In 1966, there was an advert in the Detroit Free Press for Cue and Cushion Center, a pool hall, at the address. The structure would be home to various pool halls for the next two decades, eventually becoming Walters’, run by Bill Walters. Into the 1970s, the apartments above the commercial space were utilized by citizens of Delray.
I’m unsure when, but I believe the Iron Coffins moved into the space in the 1980s. The Iron Coffins Motorcycle Club was founded in the 1960s in Toledo, Ohio, and has several chapters in Michigan. Their motto is ICFFIC, which means ‘Iron Coffins Forever, Forever Iron Coffins.’
If you peruse their Facebook page, you’ll see numerous events, most in the warmer months, still occurring at the clubhouse on Dearborn Street. In addition to barbeques and rides, the Facebook page posts when their brothers pass away, which has become more frequent in recent years.
Last summer, I was riding my bike down Jefferson when one of their rides was leaving. Most of the men were over 55 years old, many of whom waved and smiled as they passed. Considering the chapter moved to Delray in the 1980s, the math on their age adds up.
The plot of land west of the building has been fenced in and is used by the MC, too. There’s been a camper parked there for two or three years.
Whether you’re a fan of motorcycles or the clubs formed by the men and women who ride them, odds are, this structure wouldn’t still be around if the Iron Coffins hadn’t purchased it.
I’m curious how the construction of the new bridge to Canada will affect the businesses that have stuck it out in Delray over the years. Considering the Iron Coffins don’t need much to operate, new developments won’t affect them much, so they can continue business for as long as they’d like.
After all, it’s ‘Iron Coffins Forever, Forever Iron Coffins.’
This structure is visible from the Ideal Bar.
