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The Silver Dollar Saloon (Brewery) torn down yesterday (1/5/09)
Lansing State Journal from today:
Once rockin' Dollar turns to rubble
Lansing razes nightclub where top bands played
Jeremy W. Steele
Lansing State Journal
The music died at the Dollar Nightclub a few years ago.
On Monday, demolition crews drove the last nail into its coffin, reducing the long-time music venue to rubble.
The move clears the site at 3411 E. Michigan Ave. for what officials hope eventually will become a marquee development on the strip linking Lansing and East Lansing.
"I think it's going to be easier for people to think of things to do with it as an empty lot," said Ingham County Treasurer Eric Schertzing, who chairs the board of the Ingham County Land Bank that now owns the site.
Schertzing collected a few post finials and bricks from the 10,000-square-foot structure Monday before they could be hauled away by demolition crews.
The site is expected to be cleared this week.
There are no proposals pending for the site of the former Lansing nightclub, although Schertzing and city officials said they'd like to see a mix of residential and commercial space.
The bar was made famous locally because of the rock acts that played there and infamous for the reputation of its last years.
Its play list included the likes of ZZ Top, Aerosmith and Bob Seger before turning to country music in the 1990s.
But its later years were highlighted by a string of problems, including a 2003 "Girls Gone Wild" event that got the bar cited by Michigan Liquor Control Commission for featuring topless women.
Ingham County seized the club in 2006 for failure to pay property taxes, and the bar closed. The land bank, a county government authority that aims to fix up and resell troubled properties, then acquired it.
The demolition was welcomed by some of the bar's neighbors, who said drunken patrons often caused problems.
"It clears the way for a more appropriate development in that spot," said Diane Wing, president of East Lansing's Chesterfield Hills Neighborhood Association.
The land bank in January 2008 rejected two proposals for the site, citing deficiencies with each.
One would have preserved the building to open a new bar and restaurant.
The other would have razed it for apartments targeted toward nearby Michigan State University students.
The area is seen as having great potential for a mix of residential and retail space because of its proximity to MSU and U.S. 127, said Bob Johnson, director of Lansing's Department of Planning and Neighborhood Development.
Lansing, East Lansing and Lansing Township officials are working on an effort to jointly promote and improve the corridor.
"The Michigan Avenue corridor is full of potential," Johnson said.
Additional Facts
Nightclub had colorful past
The storied history of the Dollar Nightclub ended Monday as crews demolished the former bar. Here's a look at the site's history:
• 1940s-1960s: The site operated under six names, including Spartan Lanes bowling alley, Great Lakes Indoor Golf-a-tron, rock bar Grandmother's and dixieland joint Tin Lizzie.
• 1972: Live rock returns to the site as it opens as the Brewery.
• 1975: New partners are added, and the bar becomes the Silver Dollar Saloon.
• 1985: The Silver Dollar Saloon toys with a switch from live music to records. The experiment only lasts a few months.
• 1991: The venue switches from rock to country music.
• 1998: The venue retools again into the Dollar Nightclub, switching to DJs and bands playing music popular with the college crowd.
• 2006: Ingham County seizes the bar for unpaid property taxes.
Source: LSJ archives
Wow --- when it was The Brewery back in the 1970's I saw alot of groups there, including: Aerosmith (promoting their first LP), Badfinger, Dr. Hook, Rick Nelson, and Bachman-Turner-Overdrive and alot more. (us campus radio types got to go up in the "VIP LOFT" with free beer and pizza -- tons of fun!)
Speaking of BTO -- this LP was recorded there -- check out the pictures:
Once rockin' Dollar turns to rubble
Lansing razes nightclub where top bands played
Jeremy W. Steele
Lansing State Journal
The music died at the Dollar Nightclub a few years ago.
On Monday, demolition crews drove the last nail into its coffin, reducing the long-time music venue to rubble.
The move clears the site at 3411 E. Michigan Ave. for what officials hope eventually will become a marquee development on the strip linking Lansing and East Lansing.
"I think it's going to be easier for people to think of things to do with it as an empty lot," said Ingham County Treasurer Eric Schertzing, who chairs the board of the Ingham County Land Bank that now owns the site.
Schertzing collected a few post finials and bricks from the 10,000-square-foot structure Monday before they could be hauled away by demolition crews.
The site is expected to be cleared this week.
There are no proposals pending for the site of the former Lansing nightclub, although Schertzing and city officials said they'd like to see a mix of residential and commercial space.
The bar was made famous locally because of the rock acts that played there and infamous for the reputation of its last years.
Its play list included the likes of ZZ Top, Aerosmith and Bob Seger before turning to country music in the 1990s.
But its later years were highlighted by a string of problems, including a 2003 "Girls Gone Wild" event that got the bar cited by Michigan Liquor Control Commission for featuring topless women.
Ingham County seized the club in 2006 for failure to pay property taxes, and the bar closed. The land bank, a county government authority that aims to fix up and resell troubled properties, then acquired it.
The demolition was welcomed by some of the bar's neighbors, who said drunken patrons often caused problems.
"It clears the way for a more appropriate development in that spot," said Diane Wing, president of East Lansing's Chesterfield Hills Neighborhood Association.
The land bank in January 2008 rejected two proposals for the site, citing deficiencies with each.
One would have preserved the building to open a new bar and restaurant.
The other would have razed it for apartments targeted toward nearby Michigan State University students.
The area is seen as having great potential for a mix of residential and retail space because of its proximity to MSU and U.S. 127, said Bob Johnson, director of Lansing's Department of Planning and Neighborhood Development.
Lansing, East Lansing and Lansing Township officials are working on an effort to jointly promote and improve the corridor.
"The Michigan Avenue corridor is full of potential," Johnson said.
Additional Facts
Nightclub had colorful past
The storied history of the Dollar Nightclub ended Monday as crews demolished the former bar. Here's a look at the site's history:
• 1940s-1960s: The site operated under six names, including Spartan Lanes bowling alley, Great Lakes Indoor Golf-a-tron, rock bar Grandmother's and dixieland joint Tin Lizzie.
• 1972: Live rock returns to the site as it opens as the Brewery.
• 1975: New partners are added, and the bar becomes the Silver Dollar Saloon.
• 1985: The Silver Dollar Saloon toys with a switch from live music to records. The experiment only lasts a few months.
• 1991: The venue switches from rock to country music.
• 1998: The venue retools again into the Dollar Nightclub, switching to DJs and bands playing music popular with the college crowd.
• 2006: Ingham County seizes the bar for unpaid property taxes.
Source: LSJ archives
Wow --- when it was The Brewery back in the 1970's I saw alot of groups there, including: Aerosmith (promoting their first LP), Badfinger, Dr. Hook, Rick Nelson, and Bachman-Turner-Overdrive and alot more. (us campus radio types got to go up in the "VIP LOFT" with free beer and pizza -- tons of fun!)
Speaking of BTO -- this LP was recorded there -- check out the pictures:
Add a Comment
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Comment by Charlene Whitney on January 21, 2009 at 7:33pm
- Thanks for the info. I remember seeing Kenny Rodgers and the First Edition there (at the Brewery).
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Comment by Scott Westerman on January 18, 2009 at 1:24pm - Tommy James and the Shondells, The Tubes and the Cate Brothers, too! I'll always remember the final line in the radio commercial: "The Brewery - MSU West!"
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