Famous people's places / Detroit – Downtown
Vernor's Drugstore
Closed – archive entry · 1896
The downtown Detroit pharmacy where James Vernor developed and first sold Vernors ginger ale from his soda fountain.
01 / The story of this place
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James Vernor opened his own drugstore in 1866 at the corner of Woodward Avenue and Clifford Street, a young pharmacist building a business in the years after he came home from Civil War service. At the soda fountain in the back of his store, Vernor experimented with ginger ale recipes, and by around 1880 he was selling his own version under the name Vernor's Ginger Ale, the drink that grew into one of Detroit's best-known brands. As demand grew, Vernor outgrew the little drugstore, and in 1896 he closed it and moved his operation to a larger plant nearer the riverfront, focused entirely on bottling and selling his ginger ale. The original drugstore building no longer stands; the corner sits within Detroit's modern downtown core today.
- James Vernor opened the drugstore in 1866
- Vernors Ginger Ale was first sold at its soda fountain
- Closed in 1896 when Vernor moved to a dedicated bottling plant
- The original building no longer stands
Famous Detroiters
Famous people tied to this place 1
Lexicon entries for the people who lived, worked, performed or liked to spend time here.
- James Vernor 1843–1927 · pharmacist, creator of Vernors ginger ale
Founded
His pharmacy, where Vernors was first sold at the soda fountain; the building no longer stands.
Sources & fact check · Checked: 2026-09-25
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