23316 Woodward history can be summed up as "bibles to bagels".

In the early 1950s, Dickson's Bible & Book store needed to expand. They had outgrown their current location at 23320 Woodward and built a new building next door at 23316. As of the 1953 R.L. Polk records, their old store was vacant and they were listed as 23316. We found a building permit request for an addition in Aug 1955, but no further details regarding building construction.

Dickson's initial store was advertised as "Detroit's greatest display of religious items" since the early 1940s. In 1944 Edmund and Lura Dickson began another endeavor in the basement of their Ferndale bookstore; "Better Sunday School and Church Supplies". At first the only products were Sunday School ribbon pins and buttons. Seeing that these satisfied a real need, the Dickson's added more products. That company, now simply called Dickson's, is still thriving today in Indiana (their history is HERE).

 

 

 

While in their new larger store they could expand items for sale. One item in 1967 was a "leather-bound, King James version of the New Testament with a metal covering for $4.50" said to be the "bullet-proof bible".

 

Their previous store at 23320 became a variety of stores. In 1975 it was the Muski Bay Leathergoods store. A fire on Jan 25, 1975 destroyed that building and it subsequently became the parking lot we see today. More about that fire can be read in the March 2015 edition of the Crow's Nest.

 

Dickson's continued to run their bookstore, eventually moving up woodward and offering 23316 for sale in late 1977.

Harvey Goldstein purchased land contract equity in the building from Edmund & Lura Dickson on December 31, 1977. We can only imagine the New Year's Eve celebration that year. He completed the purchase from building owners Donald & Irene Warner on May 20, 1982.

Opening the Ferndale location created an efficient hub for their operation. In the early 1970s the bagels were formed and chilled in one location and trucked to another location to be boiled and baked. The Ferndale location handled all that and sends ready-to-bake bagels to their other shops.

In 2021 New York Bagel celebrated its 100th birthday in metro Detroit. The Goldsmith family has been involved since 1923, making 2023 their 100th birthday in the bagel business! The story of Morris, Harvey, Howard, & Phil Goldsmith is interesting and available at the links below.

New York Bagel has been a valued supporter of Ferndale for 45 years. We wish them a delicious future!

 

Celebrations of New York Bagel's 100th Birthday in 2021

Oakland County Times - May 20, 2021

The Detroit Jewish News - Sept 9, 2021

Hour Detroit - Nov 18, 2021

New York Bagel's Website History Page

 

A collection of news clips from the Ferndale Historical Society archive is available by clicking HERE