A Peek Inside the Abandoned 1906 Hungarian Club: Detroit, Michigan

WARNING: Under no circumstances should you enter this property. By doing so you risk bodily harm and/or prosecution for trespassing on private property.

Before we get to a synopsis of the abandoned building, here’s a quick background on the neighborhood of Delray...

The Delray neighborhood in Detroit was platted as "Belgrade" in 1836. After fighting in the Mexican/American war, Augustus D. Burdeno returned to Belgrade on October 14, 1851 and convinced other residents to rename the town "Del Rey" after a Mexican village he chanced upon during the war.

Get our free mobile app

In 1870 a post office began operating and salt was being mined. Thanks to its proximity to the Detroit River, companies and businesses started popping up in Delray, and by 1930, Delray had 23,000 residents.

Then, in 1939, a wastewater plant opened which led to many homes being bought and torn down; this caused Delray’s first huge population decrease. Thanks to the pollution and neighborhood decay, more people decided to move the heck outta there. Beginning in the 1950s, as I-75 was being laid, more homes were bulldozed. According to the Detroit Metro Times, Delray was "the closest thing to a ghost town within a city”. During the 2000s, many more businesses shut down, neighborhood blocks were bulldozed, homes and trees flattened, and replaced by dead open spaces.

As for the building you are about to see, it was built in 1906 as the Peninsular Bank. Once the bank pulled out, the building was used for other businesses throughout the years: newspaper, radio station, and saloon. This building sits at the intersection of Jefferson & West End.

It was also used – famously - as the Hungarian Club, which lasted for decades. In the gallery below, you’ll see a sign that still stands, naming a handful of Hungarian social clubs that took place on the second floor.

You may notice a curious-looking building attached to the building; this was used as the Lake Furniture Company. It was added-on in 1916.

This is a classic old Detroit building, practically all decayed and in ruins. Take a look at the gallery below and see for yourself...it’s only a matter of time before someone tears the whole thing down.

MORE ABANDONED MICHIGAN: