This Historic Detroit Home Was a Whiskey Still During Prohibition

Oh, if these walls could talk. This historic Detroit home was built just as prohibition began in the US and served as an illegal whiskey still at that time.

Prohibition in the United States

Prohibition in the United States was a 13-year period in which there was a nationwide ban on alcohol. The Eighteenth Amendment to the US Constitution prohibited the production, importation, transportation, and sale of alcoholic beverages. Ratification of the amendment took place in 1919, putting the ban in place one year later.

The movement ended in 1933 when the Twenty-First Amendment repealed the Eighteenth Amendment, although Prohibition continued for a short time in some states.

Historically, this is the only time in US history when one amendment was passed in order to repeal a previously passed amendment to the Constitution.

Illegal Whiskey Stills

During Prohibition, Americans craving alcoholic beverages got creative and hundreds of thousands of illegal stills began popping up all over the country. It's estimated that federal Prohibition Bureau agents seized nearly 697,000 illegal stills during the early 1920s.

Edward Eisenburg was the original owner of the home located at 1796 Burns Ave. in Detroit. Eisenburg worked as a corporate officer but also enjoyed distilling whiskey. His home was an active whiskey still during the Prohibition era.

Refurbished and Renovated

The seven bedroom, five bathroom home has seen many renovations over the years and is listed for just under $1 million.

It features plenty of updates like central air, new windows and a movie theater build inside one of the home's three walk-in bank-style safes.

There's also a fully-renovated carriage house with two bedrooms on the property.

Plenty of Pictures

We've included lots of pictures of the main house and the carriage house below. The listing is being handled by Michael P. Burch of EXP Realty, LLC.