By Rebecca SavageIt's always good news when art deco designs are saved and restored. In this case, restored to perfection. The venerable Simmons & Clark jewelry store on Broadway in downtown Detroit did an outstanding job restoring its historic art deco facade last year. The store is located just across the street from the Detroit Opera House, and next to the site of the former Madison Theater's auditorium. When the Madison Theater was demolished to make way for new construction for the "Post Bar on Broadway" Simmons & Clark endured during the pounding of the wrecking ball next door. There was damage to the facade's Vitrolite glass block - and a decision had to be made. Restore or replace.
Back in the 1920s and 30s, Broadway was part of the downtown jewelry district, which included jewelry retailers in the Metropolitan Building, and the Lafer Building, and of course the big downtown jewelry stores Wright Kay and Meyer's Treasure Chest of Jewels. All of those jewelry stores are gone, while Simmons & Clark is the only one that has managed to survive all that downtown Detroit has gone through.
Simmons & Clark Jewelers was founded by Fred Simmons and Harry Clark in 1925 and upon opening they donated $IOO to the Detroit Police Officers Widows and Orphans Fund as an act of charity. As a result, most of the first customers were City of Detroit Police Officers. Fred and Harry were known to solicit business from the people working the milk carts and at the factories by offering customers special deals and personal service. As one of the first credit jewelers in the country, Simmons & Clark Jewelers offered customers "$1 down and $1 week" until the merchandise was paid off.
Seventy-eight years later, Fred Simmons' son, George, is president and grandson Michael is Secretary/Treasurer. Like Fred, who worked until he retired at age 92 and passed away at age 96, George and Michael continue the family business tradition. Simmons & Clark carries a wide selection of fine jewelry including diamond rings, pendants, earrings, bridal sets and wedding trios, charms and watches. The business has expanded and now has locations in Northland, Eastland and Oakland Malls. George and Michael Simmons are both past presidents of the Leading Jewelers Guild, a 200+ store national co-op buying group. This allows them to keep in contact with the largest manufacturers in the jewelry industry today and negotiate the best prices.
Simmons & Clark is located in a 1923 three-story building originally faced entirely in white glazed terra cotta. In 1934 Simmons & Clark's owners replaced the original storefront with a more modern design - black Vitrolite and chrome - creating a sleek art deco retail storefront. Vitrolite is the brand name for a building facade material known as structural glass block. It was also sold under the brand name of Carrara Glass, and was used to face storefronts and interiors of buildings in the 20s, 30s and 40s. The problem with Vitrolite glass is that it does break, crack and shatter, and over time it was eventually made obsolete by cheaper building materials.
Simmons & Clark originally had custom Vitrolite glass made to include their name on the front of the store. The letters are in a white deco typeface and stand out against the black background. The lettering had become damaged in the demolition of the building next door, and a specialist in glass sandblasting was hired to recreate the broken letters. The name "Simmons & Clark" is above a fabulous deco design element, centered above the door of the symmetrical facade. In 1956, a projecting neon sign with a clock was added. The neon sign is a classic - beautifully maintained and functional today.
When Michael Simmons was asked why he restored the facade instead of replacing it with something new, he said, "We have always loved the look of the building and it made sense to restore. The beauty of original materials like the terra cotta and Vitrolite on our building are part of our history. We understand and appreciate the unique design of our storefront. We will be here for another 78 years."
Photos by Mel Batch.Michael Simmons went through a great deal of effort to find firms that were able to work with the historic materials on his building. A local construction firm installed the replacement Vitrolite. It took almost two years to complete the restoration, but the results were worth the effort. The Detroit Area Art Deco Society includes the Simmons & Clark Jewelry store in our "Art Deco Architecture of Detroit" presentation as one of the wonderful examples of art deco design in our area. Next time you're downtown for a baseball game, opera or just driving around, take a spin down Broadway and take a look at one of Detroit's best examples of deco restored.
