Former Detroit police station built 1930, breached during the 1943 and 1967 race riots; now privately owned and operated for occasional paranormal tours by Detroit Paranormal Expeditions.
6840 McGraw Ave, Detroit, MI 48210
Age
18+
Cost
$$
Paranormal tour ticket prices vary by operator; check tour calendars.
Access
Limited Access
Multi-story building with stairs to upper floors and basement firing range; uneven historic flooring.
Equipment
Photos OK
Est. 1930 · Breached during the 1943 Detroit race riot · Sustained sniper fire during the 1967 Detroit riot · Detroit Police Gang Squad Headquarters 1986-2005 · Travel Channel 'Most Terrifying Places' (2019) and 'Haunted Case Files' (2020) episodes · Designed by Van Leyen, Schilling & Keough
Construction on the 6th Precinct McGraw Station began on June 19, 1930, with the building completed and operational by that fall. It was designed by the Detroit architectural firm of Van Leyen, Schilling & Keough and replaced an older precinct station at 3545 Vinewood Street. From 1930 through 1986 — fifty-six years — it served as the operating police precinct for a portion of Southwest Detroit, covering one of the city's most densely populated industrial-residential corridors.
The station was at the center of two major civil-unrest events. During the 1943 Detroit race riot, the building was breached by rioters; officers were forced to vacate and prisoners in the holding cells were released. On July 25, 1967, during the 1967 Detroit riot (also known as the 12th Street Riot), the station came under sustained sniper fire from surrounding rooftops, and Michigan National Guard members were photographed returning fire from the building's front lobby. The station also took sniper fire during a 1979 disturbance.
From 1986 to 2005 the building served as the headquarters of the Detroit Police Special Crimes Section / Gang Squad. After the Gang Squad relocated in 2005, the building sat vacant and was stripped by scrappers for the next eight years. In 2013 private developer Ed Steele purchased the property from the City of Detroit and began an ongoing restoration project with announced plans to convert the jail cells into a secure cloud-computing data center, the second-floor gymnasium into shared technology workspace, and the basement firing range back to operational status. As of recent reporting the building is being restored and is open for scheduled paranormal tours operated by Detroit Paranormal Expeditions and City Tour Detroit.
The building features prominently in Southwest Detroit's documentary record of civil unrest, urban decay, and the wave of preservation-by-private-investor that has reshaped the city since 2013.
Sources
The 6th Precinct's haunted reputation rests on a documented body count from its 56 active years. According to the Wikipedia article and the Detroiturbex and Nailhed historical accounts, multiple deaths occurred on the premises during its operational era: civilians killed on the front steps during riots and altercations, and suicides by both civilians and police officers at the basement firing range. The Travel Channel's 'Most Terrifying Places' (2019) and 'Haunted Case Files' (2020) episodes both featured the building.
Detroit Paranormal Expeditions has hosted documented paranormal investigations at the station from 2014 onward. According to WXYZ's coverage and the City Tour Detroit 'Notorious 313' tour materials, frequently reported phenomena include: disembodied voices and shouted commands in empty rooms, footsteps on the upper floors when investigators are on the ground floor, sudden cold spots in the holding cells and basement firing range, and full-bodied apparitions glimpsed in the booking area and on the front steps. EVP and spirit-box sessions have produced what investigators describe as direct responses to questions.
This entry treats the sensitivity flags identified during Phase 2 — racial violence (1943 and 1967 riots) and suicide (officer and civilian firing-range deaths) — with editorial care. Detroit's race riots are framed here as documented civil-unrest events that produced real casualties and political consequences, not as paranormal set-dressing. The firing-range suicides are referenced because they are part of the published record of the building, but they are not sensationalized as 'the most haunted spot.' Visitors and listeners deserve to know what happened in the building and to whom — that knowledge is the legitimate ground of the building's paranormal reputation.
Notable Entities
Media Appearances
Detroit Paranormal Expeditions / City Tour Detroit operates evening tours and overnight investigations of the abandoned station, including the jail cells, basement firing range, and the front steps where civilian deaths occurred.
Every HauntBound history is researched from documented sources. We clearly separate verified historical fact from paranormal folklore.
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