Eighth / Sixteenth Precinct Police Station
The Eighth / Sixteenth precinct was a former Detroit Police Department station on the corner of Grand River and McNichols Road. It was built in the mid 1950's and originally covered the sixteenth precinct in the northwest corner of the city.
Like most police stations built in the 1950's, the 16th had a lobby, offices, garage, firing range in the basement, a locker room, and jail cells. Prisoners were brought in through the garage and into the booking area, where they were searched and fingerprinted. There were 18 cells in two different blocks where prisoners were kept temporarily.
Through the late 1970's and 80's, the Detroit Police Department laid off hundreds of officers and closed several stations. In 1984, the 16th was renamed the 8th precinct. The department continued to shrink until in 2005, the twelve remaining precinct stations throughout the city were consolidated into six district stations. Six stations were closed, including the 8th.
The closing of the stations was not organized. Equipment, computers, records, and paperwork were left behind. By 2007, the station had been broken into and vandalized. Though it was sold to a property developer, plans to demolish it came and went with no action. Scrappers carted off everything of value, including iron bars from the jail cells.
The station was demolished in October of 2014, as part of a retail development on the grounds of the former Redford High School.
