The East Forest Worker’s Home
Historians are convinced that the East Forest Workers Home was somewhere else before it found its final resting place at 2690 East Forest Avenue, and we agree. According to Sanborn Fire Insurance Maps, there was nothing on this parcel in 1897. This house resembles one built in the 1880s or earlier, not one built near the turn of the century. Moving homes was a common practice in this era, but we can't say for certain that this was the case.
In 1909, an Albert Kahn-designed Spietz & Worch Company factory was built at the present-day location of the church across the alley from the East Forest Workers Home. As the cigar manufacturing industry in Detroit grew into the second-largest in the United States, behind only Tampa, Florida, it relied heavily on cheap labor available in the neighborhood. In Poletown, most of these workers were Polish women. The cigar manufacturer may have employed residents of the East Forest Workers Home, and later occupants of the structure, such as the Wayne Cigar Co. and Briggs Manufacturing, may have done so as well.
Each unit inside the East Forest Workers Home would have been roughly 570 square feet. According to Zillow, the average square footage for a Duplex in America is 900 square feet. Each of these duplexes is approximately 63% of that. For a century, Detroiters called these units home. Around 2010, the property was vacated.
The Chene-Ferry Conservancy purchased this property in 2026 after it had fallen into dire disrepair and immediately began restoration and stabilization work. Due to the City of Detroit's use of blanket zoning, this property is zoned B4, a general business district, offering unique redevelopment opportunities.
Special thanks to Alex Lauer for his assistance on this project.