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''For the California beverage company, see Kern's (beverage company)''
Kern's, or The Ernst Kern Dry Good Company, was a 
The clock which graced the main entrance was a long-time meeting place for Detroiters, with the phrase ''"I'll meet you under the clock at Kern's"'' a common reminder. When the structure was demolished, the clock was placed into storage. It was reinstalled near its original location in the late 1970s. It was removed and refurbished to allow for construction of the Compuware Building and installed again in 2008 at the corner of Woodward and Gratiot Avenues.
Ernst Kern Co. at Wayne State University Libraries
Photo: ''Looking up Woodward Avenue'' circa 1917
Defunct department stores based in Michigan Retail companies established in 1883 Companies based in Detroit Retail companies disestablished in 1959 Culture of Detroit 1883 establishments in Michigan 1959 disestablishments in Michigan
Kern's, or The Ernst Kern Dry Good Company, was a department store
A department store is a retail establishment offering a wide range of consumer goods in different areas of the store, each area ("department") specializing in a product category. In modern major cities, the department store made a dramatic app ...
established in Detroit
Detroit ( , ; , ) is the largest city in the U.S. state of Michigan. It is also the largest U.S. city on the United States–Canada border, and the seat of government of Wayne County. The City of Detroit had a population of 639,111 at ...
in 1883 by Ernst Kern, who was born in Germany. In 1886, the original store was consumed by fire and was rebuilt at Randolph and Monroe. In 1900, the company purchased a five story building at Woodward and Gratiot to accommodate increasing business.
When Ernst Kern died in 1901, his sons Ernst C. and Otto assumed control of the store. After World War I, additional space was once again needed for expansion, and the department store acquired the adjoining nine-story Weber Building. In 1929, the old structures were demolished and a new store was erected at 1048 Woodward Avenue that was high and contained ten floors. In 1957, the family decided to sell Ernst Kern Co., by then Detroit's third-largest department store, to Sattler's Inc. of Buffalo, New York. Following numerous corporate problems and changes in management, the store closed its doors for the final time on December 23, 1959.
The store was demolished in the 1960s as part of Detroit's downtown urban renewal
Urban renewal (also called urban regeneration in the United Kingdom and urban redevelopment in the United States) is a program of land redevelopment often used to address urban decay in cities. Urban renewal involves the clearing out of bligh ...
. The site remained an undeveloped park until 1999, when the Campus Martius Park
Campus Martius Park ( ') is a re-established park in Downtown Detroit, Michigan. After the fire of 1805, Campus Martius (from the Latin for ''Field of Mars'', where Roman heroes walked) was the focal point of Judge Augustus Woodward's plans to ...
project began. The former site of Kern's is now occupied by the Compuware
Compuware Corporation was an American software company based in Detroit, Michigan. The company offers products aimed at the information technology (IT) departments of large businesses, and its services also include testing, development, automation ...
corporate headquarters. A parking garage for Compuware is on the site formerly occupied by the neighboring Crowley's
Crowley Milner and Company, generally referred to as Crowley's, was a department store chain founded in Detroit, Michigan, in 1909. After several years of financial difficulties, the company ceased operation in 1999 and its assets were sold.
Its ...
Department Store.
The clock which graced the main entrance was a long-time meeting place for Detroiters, with the phrase ''"I'll meet you under the clock at Kern's"'' a common reminder. When the structure was demolished, the clock was placed into storage. It was reinstalled near its original location in the late 1970s. It was removed and refurbished to allow for construction of the Compuware Building and installed again in 2008 at the corner of Woodward and Gratiot Avenues.
See also
*Hudson's
The J. L. Hudson Company (commonly known simply as Hudson's) was an upscale retail department store chain based in Detroit, Michigan. Hudson's flagship store, on Woodward Avenue in Downtown Detroit (demolished October 24, 1998), was the talles ...
*Crowley's
Crowley Milner and Company, generally referred to as Crowley's, was a department store chain founded in Detroit, Michigan, in 1909. After several years of financial difficulties, the company ceased operation in 1999 and its assets were sold.
Its ...
References
{{reflist * Service And Style: How the American Department Store Fashioned the Middle Class by Jan Whitaker, page 28 * Dreaming Suburbia: Detroit and the Production of Postwar Space and Culture by Amy Maria Kenyon, page 128External links
Ernst Kern Co. at Wayne State University Libraries
Photo: ''Looking up Woodward Avenue'' circa 1917
Defunct department stores based in Michigan Retail companies established in 1883 Companies based in Detroit Retail companies disestablished in 1959 Culture of Detroit 1883 establishments in Michigan 1959 disestablishments in Michigan