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Rhymeswithrawk
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Username: Rhymeswithrawk

Post Number: 422
Registered: 11-2005
Posted on Saturday, March 17, 2007 - 3:37 pm:   Edit PostDelete Post   Move Post (Moderator/Admin Only)

Help me out, please. I'm blanking on the names of the ballrooms on Woodward, just north of Watson (near Comerica Park). They're being renovated right now. I'm pretty sure the southernmost one was the Crystal. What was the name of the one a block north on the east side of Woodward? I know we've talked about them before, but I didn't get any answers when I did an archives search.
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Jimg
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Post Number: 799
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Posted on Saturday, March 17, 2007 - 3:45 pm:   Edit PostDelete Post   Move Post (Moderator/Admin Only)

Several on Woodward...think that one is the Mirror, 2940. Crystal was at 2769 Woodward, slightly south of the Mirror.

(Message edited by jimg on March 17, 2007)
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Rhymeswithrawk
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Post Number: 423
Registered: 11-2005
Posted on Saturday, March 17, 2007 - 3:47 pm:   Edit PostDelete Post   Move Post (Moderator/Admin Only)

Yeah, it's near the Red Cross building. South of Mack, north of Watson.
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1805
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Username: 1805

Post Number: 5
Registered: 03-2007
Posted on Saturday, March 17, 2007 - 4:00 pm:   Edit PostDelete Post   Move Post (Moderator/Admin Only)

Could you be thinking of the Albert Kahn print shop?
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Rhymeswithrawk
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Post Number: 425
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Posted on Saturday, March 17, 2007 - 4:03 pm:   Edit PostDelete Post   Move Post (Moderator/Admin Only)

Hmm... thought they were both ballrooms. Think the northern one has (or had) a red-tiled roof.
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Kathleen
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Username: Kathleen

Post Number: 2085
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Posted on Saturday, March 17, 2007 - 4:12 pm:   Edit PostDelete Post   Move Post (Moderator/Admin Only)

OK, here are photos I took last Saturday, 3/10.

The northernmost of the two, located at Woodward and Erskine, next to the Bonstelle Theatre:

woodward_erskine


One block south at Woodward and Watson, the Crystal Lofts development:

crystal_lofts


Now maybe we can ascertain the original names of the buildings!
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1805
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Posted on Saturday, March 17, 2007 - 4:12 pm:   Edit PostDelete Post   Move Post (Moderator/Admin Only)

Yeah, that's the old print shop by Albert Kahn. Never a ballroom, unless lonely printmakers had formals.

http://www.modeldmedia.com/dev elopmentnews/kahn37.aspx
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Kathleen
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Username: Kathleen

Post Number: 2086
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Posted on Saturday, March 17, 2007 - 4:16 pm:   Edit PostDelete Post   Move Post (Moderator/Admin Only)

Thanks, 1805, for the link. I knew that Albert Kahn designed the Temple Beth El, which was later turned into the Bonstelle Theatre, but had no idea that the building next store was his work as well.
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1805
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Post Number: 7
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Posted on Saturday, March 17, 2007 - 4:24 pm:   Edit PostDelete Post   Move Post (Moderator/Admin Only)

I swear, Albert Kahn had his finger in every little pie.

I think I may've been designed by Kahn. You should see my columns and arches (NOT innuendo).
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Erikto
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Post Number: 529
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Posted on Saturday, March 17, 2007 - 4:36 pm:   Edit PostDelete Post   Move Post (Moderator/Admin Only)

I have a picture or two of the Graystone* Ballroom, on the corner of Woodward and some side street that seemed to be the north border of Brush Park. It looks quite like the last picture above in this thread. I think I read about here, actually, as I can't imagine where else on-line I would have encountered people discussing this building.

*The spell check highlighted "Graystone", but I thought it was properly spelled, rather than 'Greystone'?
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Ptero
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Post Number: 100
Registered: 12-2005
Posted on Saturday, March 17, 2007 - 4:41 pm:   Edit PostDelete Post   Move Post (Moderator/Admin Only)

Here's a mostly unrelated tidbit... The Albert Kahn print shop, Kathleen's top picture, was the scene shop for the Wayne State Theatres during the 60's and into the 70's. Scenery for both the Bonstelle and Hilberry was built there. Bonstelle scenery would just get carried (dragged/rolled) through the alley from loading door to loading door. It was vacated when they put shops and offices together at 95 W. Hancock in the mid 70's (and now the offices have shifted mostly(?) over to the rehabbed Old Main).

(Message edited by ptero on March 17, 2007)
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Ptero
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Post Number: 101
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Posted on Saturday, March 17, 2007 - 4:45 pm:   Edit PostDelete Post   Move Post (Moderator/Admin Only)

...and Bush's Garden (soul food restaurant) was in a third of the frontage on Woodward - the third closest to the Bonstelle.
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Kathleen
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Username: Kathleen

Post Number: 2088
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Posted on Saturday, March 17, 2007 - 5:01 pm:   Edit PostDelete Post   Move Post (Moderator/Admin Only)

And is the rear portion of the print shop an addition? or was that original? It seems different enough that it looked like an addition as I drove by the Erskine side. I'm thinking the original building was just the brick portion we see, with the rest added later? I'm just guessing, but if anyone knows, that would be helpful.
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Ptero
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Post Number: 102
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Posted on Saturday, March 17, 2007 - 5:13 pm:   Edit PostDelete Post   Move Post (Moderator/Admin Only)

Not much help here. I can only say in the 60's it went all the way to the alley. There was indeed a significant ridge in the floor parallel with Woodward a bit more than halfway to the alley. For some reason the floor did not match up well.
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Jimg
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Post Number: 800
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Posted on Saturday, March 17, 2007 - 5:28 pm:   Edit PostDelete Post   Move Post (Moderator/Admin Only)


graystone topics header
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Jimg
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Post Number: 801
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Posted on Saturday, March 17, 2007 - 5:33 pm:   Edit PostDelete Post   Move Post (Moderator/Admin Only)

There is quite a bit of info on Det Ballrooms, and nightclubs, in "Before Motown: A History Of Jazz In Detroit, 1920-1960".
Also LeoB's www.thegrandeballroom.com

(Message edited by jimg on March 17, 2007)
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Jimg
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Post Number: 802
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Posted on Saturday, March 17, 2007 - 5:54 pm:   Edit PostDelete Post   Move Post (Moderator/Admin Only)

Kathleen, don't suppose you have a pic of the Arcadia, 3527 Woodward nr. Eliot? Can't recall if the bldg still exists...
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Zephyrprocess
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Post Number: 272
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Posted on Saturday, March 17, 2007 - 7:21 pm:   Edit PostDelete Post   Move Post (Moderator/Admin Only)

Jimg's got it: the Graystone sat where the McD's is, on the west side of Woodward, just south of the former Canfield's/Agave site.
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Kathleen
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Post Number: 2097
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Posted on Monday, March 19, 2007 - 7:22 am:   Edit PostDelete Post   Move Post (Moderator/Admin Only)

I don't know that the Arcadia building still exists. What side of Woodward was it on? If it is the west side, then definitely not. If it is on the east side, there are a couple buildings on the north side of Eliot there (Eliot is closed between Woodward and John R for the Red Cross parking lot).
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Zephyrprocess
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Post Number: 278
Registered: 08-2006
Posted on Monday, March 19, 2007 - 11:05 am:   Edit PostDelete Post   Move Post (Moderator/Admin Only)

3527 Woodward would be on the west side, with the other odd-number addresses
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Kathleen
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Username: Kathleen

Post Number: 2100
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Posted on Monday, March 19, 2007 - 11:20 am:   Edit PostDelete Post   Move Post (Moderator/Admin Only)

That's what I thought...in which case, the Arcadia is gone, with an empty lot on the sw corner of Woodward and Stimson (the street opposite Eliot) and a high-rise apartment building on the block between Mack and Stimson.
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56packman
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Username: 56packman

Post Number: 1133
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Posted on Monday, March 19, 2007 - 11:32 am:   Edit PostDelete Post   Move Post (Moderator/Admin Only)

The Arcadia ballroom/roller rink WAS located where I-75 cuts across Woodward.
Bill Holleman operated the roller rink there, then owned Northland roller rink.
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Jimg
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Post Number: 806
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Posted on Monday, March 19, 2007 - 12:51 pm:   Edit PostDelete Post   Move Post (Moderator/Admin Only)

Is Bill Holleman still around?
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56packman
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Post Number: 1134
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Posted on Monday, March 19, 2007 - 1:02 pm:   Edit PostDelete Post   Move Post (Moderator/Admin Only)

No, Bill went to the big skate room in the sky about 14 years ago.
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Kathleen
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Username: Kathleen

Post Number: 2101
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Posted on Monday, March 19, 2007 - 1:14 pm:   Edit PostDelete Post   Move Post (Moderator/Admin Only)

Thanks,packman, so the Arcadia was further south than Eliot. Are you saying that it was on the block that was taken out for the Fisher Fwy., just south of the Donovan/Motown Bldg.?
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Jimg
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Post Number: 807
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Posted on Monday, March 19, 2007 - 9:39 pm:   Edit PostDelete Post   Move Post (Moderator/Admin Only)

56packman, it sounds like you knew him pretty well? Did he have any memorabilia, or perhaps his widow is still among us?
Sorry if I seem nosy, it's cause I am, this is what I do...research Det jazz...
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56packman
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Post Number: 1141
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Posted on Tuesday, March 20, 2007 - 7:52 am:   Edit PostDelete Post   Move Post (Moderator/Admin Only)

Kathleen--yes, that's where it was.

Jimg--I don't know if any of Bill's family is still in the area.
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Fury13
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Username: Fury13

Post Number: 1462
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Posted on Thursday, March 22, 2007 - 3:05 pm:   Edit PostDelete Post   Move Post (Moderator/Admin Only)

Was 8300 Woodward a ballroom at one time?
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Erikto
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Post Number: 530
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Posted on Friday, March 23, 2007 - 3:55 pm:   Edit PostDelete Post   Move Post (Moderator/Admin Only)

I was looking at an old punk music site the other day, and I saw the Graystone Ballroom listed on at least one touring punk band's itinerary (can't remember which band) in the 1980's. -Just in case that helps update the Graystone story to the mid 1980's...
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Zephyrprocess
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Username: Zephyrprocess

Post Number: 287
Registered: 08-2006
Posted on Friday, March 23, 2007 - 5:25 pm:   Edit PostDelete Post   Move Post (Moderator/Admin Only)

I believe the Graystone was torn down in 1980, but I don't know the month.
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Detroitrulez
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Username: Detroitrulez

Post Number: 193
Registered: 12-2006
Posted on Friday, March 23, 2007 - 6:53 pm:   Edit PostDelete Post   Move Post (Moderator/Admin Only)

the Graystone may have been torn down, but there is a beautiful McDonald's in its place...with curtains! I could go for a McRib about now.
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Dabirch
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Username: Dabirch

Post Number: 2185
Registered: 06-2004
Posted on Friday, March 23, 2007 - 7:08 pm:   Edit PostDelete Post   Move Post (Moderator/Admin Only)

I am pretty certain that I saw Gang Green at the Graystone in 1987 or 1988.

"Skate all day, drink all night. Drunk and disorderly in Boston"
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Zephyrprocess
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Username: Zephyrprocess

Post Number: 289
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Posted on Friday, March 23, 2007 - 10:08 pm:   Edit PostDelete Post   Move Post (Moderator/Admin Only)

Several sources concur on 1980 as the date for the Graystone's demise, e.g.,
http://www.ipl.org/div/detjazz /About.html
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Jimg
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Username: Jimg

Post Number: 813
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Posted on Saturday, March 24, 2007 - 8:54 am:   Edit PostDelete Post   Move Post (Moderator/Admin Only)

Yeah, 1980 is the year of it's demise...
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Fury13
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Post Number: 1480
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Posted on Saturday, March 24, 2007 - 2:40 pm:   Edit PostDelete Post   Move Post (Moderator/Admin Only)

OK Jimg... 8300 Woodward? Was it a Jazz Age ballroom? Sure looks like it.
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Jimg
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Username: Jimg

Post Number: 814
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Posted on Saturday, March 24, 2007 - 10:17 pm:   Edit PostDelete Post   Move Post (Moderator/Admin Only)

So far nothing to report, Fury13, but once Houdini's coffin is opened he'll send me the info...
Actually a city directory should have the answer.
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Mikem
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Username: Mikem

Post Number: 3211
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Posted on Sunday, March 25, 2007 - 5:17 pm:   Edit PostDelete Post   Move Post (Moderator/Admin Only)

Fury, my sources say 8300 Woodward was either an auto supply shop or a used car dealership, circa late 1930s. Looking at it from the air, there seems to be an older building at the core:


8300 Woodward




A 1915 map shows this spot to be the location of a church:





Could that be the church at its core?



A list of ballrooms or dance halls from 1940:

Arcadia Ball Room, 3527 Woodward
Campus Ballroom, 15315 Petoskey
Cieslak's Dance Hall, 3502 Junction
Garden Center Ballroom, 2959 Woodward
Grande Ballroom, 8952 Grand River
Graystone Ballroom Inc, 4237 Woodward
Hollywood Ballroom, 4211 Woodward
Madison Gardens Ballroom, 4643 Woodward
Oakman Ballroom, 12704 Woodrow Wilson
Quadrille Ballroom, 4255 Woodward (later Aragon Ballroom)
Tree Studios, 4109 Woodward
Trianon Ballroom, 3747 Woodward
Vill-Age Inn, 1214 Westminster
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Kathleen
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Username: Kathleen

Post Number: 2128
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Posted on Sunday, March 25, 2007 - 5:28 pm:   Edit PostDelete Post   Move Post (Moderator/Admin Only)

Is this building on Woodward at Melbourne? If so, it is currently a Value World store. And it was originally a church site for a congregation that later moved into the big United Metropolitan Methodist Church down the street.
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Mikem
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Username: Mikem

Post Number: 3213
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Posted on Sunday, March 25, 2007 - 5:29 pm:   Edit PostDelete Post   Move Post (Moderator/Admin Only)

Yes.
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Psip
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Username: Psip

Post Number: 1630
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Posted on Sunday, March 25, 2007 - 6:38 pm:   Edit PostDelete Post   Move Post (Moderator/Admin Only)

Adaptive reuse, sweet!
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Pffft
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Username: Pffft

Post Number: 1235
Registered: 12-2003
Posted on Sunday, March 25, 2007 - 7:46 pm:   Edit PostDelete Post   Move Post (Moderator/Admin Only)

Remember, there are "ballrooms" and ballrooms...some were actually taxi dancehalls, as Jim knows...live orchestras, but you only got to dance for two minutes. Hardly like the Graystone.
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Dabirch
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Username: Dabirch

Post Number: 2189
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Posted on Monday, March 26, 2007 - 12:59 pm:   Edit PostDelete Post   Move Post (Moderator/Admin Only)

Anybody (Toolbox, specifically)-- Was there not another venue on Michigan called "the Greystone Hall" .

I seem to recall a circle jerks/misfits/necros show out there. I also think that is where I saw the Gang Green show.
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Dabirch
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Username: Dabirch

Post Number: 2190
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Posted on Monday, March 26, 2007 - 1:13 pm:   Edit PostDelete Post   Move Post (Moderator/Admin Only)

Ok, I thought so.

Greystone -- Misfits
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Diesel
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Username: Diesel

Post Number: 12
Registered: 01-2007
Posted on Tuesday, April 10, 2007 - 2:00 pm:   Edit PostDelete Post   Move Post (Moderator/Admin Only)

Drove by the printshop today and noticed they were installing glass in the southern facing part of the building. Sorry no pictures. (anyone?)

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