Cliff Bell's
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John Clifford Bell, a veteran Detroit restaurateur and entrepreneur, opened an Art Deco-themed bar in 1935 in two storefronts at Park Avenue and Elizabeth Street, right in the heart of the city’s jazz world at the time. The area also was a major hub for hotels featuring the Tuller, Statler, Charlevoix, Fairbairn and the Royal Palm Hotel (now called the Park Avenue House) all within walking distance of one another.The building was designed in 1924 by Albert Kahn for the A.M. Campau Realty Co., which was run by Joseph Campau’s family. The building was going to be 10 stories tall, but when the Depression hit, it was decided to stop at two.
Bell had operated successful speakeasies during Prohibition (which Bell deemed "an unwarranted infringement on the personal privileges of red blooded Americans"). He also ran several businesses, including the DAC Annex next to the Detroit Athletic Club, the Parisian Club and the Erskine Bridge Club. The bar’s Web site notes that a 1954 article in the Hotel and Restaurant Journal said: "Hardly anybody remembers that it was Cliff Bell who introduced bar stools to the tavern or vice-versa. The Erskine Bridge Club, as near as anyone has been able to determine, was the first saloon to have stools at the bar."
Cliff Bell’s latest bar would become his best and most luxurious yet. Outfitted in brass and mahogany trimmings, it was later expended further into the south storefront. The elaborate, 4,500-square-foot establishment featured a lush decor, barrel ceilings, oil paintings, showgirls, a stage and a rounded bar. Fresh meals for lunch or dinner were offered. The fancy confines were outfitted by Charles N. Agree, an architect who also did two of Detroit’s most renowned and stunning dance halls, the Grande and Vanity ballrooms.
Bell ran the bar until he retired in 1958. He died Dec. 12, 1977, at age 91.
The interior space had a renovation sometime around the 1960s or '70s. This made the interior and exterior more dark and drab, trading the Art Deco theme for what can be described only as a dungeon feel. A poker room was added in the basement.
The bar was shuttered in 1985.
In May 2005, Jerry Belanger bought the building and began a $900,000 renovation to restore the bar to how it appeared in 1935, relying on old photographs as a guide. It opened temporarily for the Super Bowl and later had its official opening April 10, 2006. The bar is a joint venture of Scott Lowell and Paul and Carolyn Howard.
The nightspot is elegant yet casual and as close to a New York jazz spot as you can get in Detroit. Some patrons dress up in ‘30s attire and come to swing the night away on the bar’s dance floor. The music lineup emphasizes local jazz acts encompassing a range of styles, and the club also features other events such as poetry readings.
