GAYLEEN GINDY. 6409 MONROE ST.

Moving west on Monroe Street, from the previous article, we come to Lot No. 12 of the 14 lots that Ray West subdivided in the early 1900s, and named Hubbard’s Addition to Sylvania. This lot was transferred from Ray and Flora (Hubbard) West’s name in 1929 when Charles W. Carroll purchased it. According to an article in the Sylvania Sentinel dated Aug. 1, 1929, Carroll Motor Sales, dealers in Oakland and Pontiac automobiles, was now in its new location on Monroe Street next to the Indian Gas Station. The article said that Carroll had also purchased the lot to the east (the subject lot), which he was going to use as a used car sales lot. In 1931 he transferred the land into his wife’s name, Mary Carroll, where it stayed until 1946.
In 1946 Robert Schulz purchased this used car lot, and the Jan. 24, 1946, Sylvania Sentinel reported the following: “Another new business, the Sylvania Frozen Food Locker, will be opened here in the near future. The location of the new business will be at 6409 Monroe Street, just east of Dewey’s Gas Station. The building and plant will cost approximately $23,000 and will have a capacity of 485 lockers. The new businessman is Robert C. Schulz, who was just recently released from the Army, after serving five years. He was discharged as a Captain. Mr. Schulz has a wife and daughter and is anxious to move them to Sylvania from Toledo as soon as a home is available.”
On April 15, 1946, Schulz was issued a building permit for Carr & Son of Toledo to construct a 41-foot , six-inch by 50-foot, 10-inch cement block building to be used as a frozen food locker plant for the rental of food lockers.
The Oct. 3, 1946, Sylvania Sentinel reported that The Sylvania Frozen Food Locker was open for business as of September 30. Schulz, the proprietor, said that he had already rented all of the lockers, but he had ordered more which were promised by December.
In August, 1947 the Sylvania Sentinel featured an article about Schulz and his Frozen Food Locker business at 6409 Monroe St. The article said that he and his wife,Virginia, and 2-year-old daughter Barbara Lynn, had started renting the “remodeled Comstock house” located on Monroe Street at Summit Street. He had served in Guatemala, Costa Rica and Panama during his service in the Army Air Corps during World War II.
In 1948 the property transferred into the name of The Sylvania Food Locker, Inc., and then on June 19, 1950, John A and Helen J. Uhl purchased the property. In August of 1951 Uhl was issued a sign permit allowing Ross Sign Company to install a six-foot by eight-foot electric post sign.
On June 10, 1966, Marvin E. Bennett purchased the land and building and continued to use the building for frozen food storage. In July of 1974, Bennett, of Bennett Frozen Foods, was issued a building permit to add a new 20-foot by 24-foot freezer storage behind his existing structure. In June of 1976 he was issued another permit for additional freezer storage. In May of 1981 he was issued a new sign permit for a four-foot by 10-foot sign installed by B & B Signs.
In July of 2000 Bennett’s obituary said that he had operated Bennett Frozen Foods in Sylvania until he retired in 1978. Although he was listed as living in Sylvania it was reported that after retirement he and his wife Wilma wintered in Palm Harbor, Fla. and summered in Coldwater, Mich.
Suburban Directories show Bennett Frozen Foods listed at this address through 1989, but not in the 1990 directory. On Dec. 31, 1990, the property transferred into the Crowner Family Partnership, with owners including David W. Crowner, John D. Crowner and Barbara A. Crowner.
July of 1992 John Crowner was issued a sign permit to replace the facing of the old “Bennett Frozen Foods” sign with a “Video Adventures” sign for his business at 6423 Monroe St.
Dentist David W. Crowner operated his dental business in the building just to the west. We will talk more about him next time.
This property stayed in the Crowner Family Partnership name until 2020. Suburban directories show that the building was used for Video Adventures storage throughout the 1990s. In 2005 Barbara Crowner was issued a permit allowing her to demolish the old building and the property then sat empty.
On Feb. 26, 2020, Ten Mile Ventures LLC purchased the land, and on March 4, 2020 it transferred to James K. House, Trustee, where it remains.
Recently the property was black-topped, and our subject property is now the exit lane for parking in the rear of the buildings at 6419 and 6423 Monroe St.