History of The Grande Ballroom

The Grande Ballroom was a music venue that was built in 1927 and finished in 1928. It originally served as a jazz ballroom, able to hold 1,500 people. The building also hosted stores on the first floor. The Grande Ballroom served as the original jazz ballroom style venue until the early 1960s when the owners realized too late that jazz had fallen out of style and ballroom style dancing wasn't as fun for the young as it once was. The owners refused to change the style of the venue, and it remained as the last ballroom Detroit had. It was then turned into a rollerskating rink, remaining so until 1966 when the ballroom was turned into perhaps its most well-known phase as a rock venue from 1966 to 1972. It is also known for surviving the 1967 Detroit Riots. Many notable artists played in the venue in its later years, such as Pink Floyd, Ted Nugent, Led Zeppelin, The Who, and many more. It was the major rock venue of Detroit at its time. Hippie counterculture was popularly present in the venue post-1966 as it was owned by Russ Gibb, a big promoter in the scene of the late 60s. Gibb was inspired to buy the Grande Ballroom after a trip to San Francisco and going to a show at the Fillmore Theater. Upon returning to Detroit, he realized Detroit didn't have a rock venue like the Fillmore and chose the Grande Ballroom as his first location of rock and rolling spirit in Detroit. Gibb knew how to draw in the young crowds for a great show from his many experiences in the media, including working on Local 4 News, as a disc jockey at WKNR-FM, and also working in the Dearborn Public Schools District nearby for over 42 years before retiring in 2004. The ballroom was abandoned in 1972 after it was in Gibb's best interest to book bigger venues than the ones at the Grande Ballroom, which had become too small to host the shows Gibb had grown accustomed to hosting since 1966.