History of Max's Jewelry Store

Max's Jewelry Store can be traced all the way back to 1927 when two family members, Max and Sam Rosenbaum, opened the store. The neighborhood at the time was a booming area full of life and charm, also known as the Chene Corridor. It hosted many small businesses and even the Chene Farmers Market, which operated until 1980. Max would eventually open his own separate store in Hamtramck, MI, around 1940, while Sam would stay at the Chene St location. The business was known for its utmost honesty regarding gems. Trouble would begin in the 1960s, notably after the Detroit Riots of 1967 shattered the whole neighborhood, which was already slowly declining. The riots would seal the community's fate. The jewelry store was one of the hundreds of stores in Detroit that were looted and set on fire, even being looted and arsoned by people Max knew. In 1974, the business closed shop and moved to Warren, MI. Sam would shortly retire a few years later and close the Warren location. The Hamtramck location would continue, with Max serving it until his death in 1980. The Hamtramck location closed for good in 1994. The fire damage pictured below was not from the riots as one might think. The store went on to become Apollo Furniture. However, as was the case for the whole neighborhood, it failed a couple of years later. The fire damage was from a separate arson incident in 2012, which took out much of the roof and the fence in front of the building. The neighborhood saw a series of arson incidents around this time, including the arsons of Chene Ferry Market and Chene Liquor, both facing massive fires. In 2016, the sign on the front of the building was redone for the 2016 Transformers movie, in which many buildings in the neighborhood were decorated for the movie. In this case, the sign was restored to most of its former glory. Since the movie in 2016, the former jewelry store and most of the neighborhood still show what they were originally, and the abandoned-like nature of the Chene Corridor remains.