Are there any pool halls like this left in Detroit/Metro Detroit?

[BRAZZMAN]

http://www.russmarshallphotographs.n...Billiards.html

[Stosh]

http://www.russmarshallphotographs.n...Billiards.html

I know of a few that just offer pool, one on Hilton in Ferndale.

[Lowell]

Those images take me back to one of my all time favorite film scenes...

Come here to play with Minnesota Fats?

Yeah, that's right.

Want some free advice?

How much will it cost?

Who are you, his manager? His friend? His stooge?

He's my partner.

Your well-heeled, partner?

We got enough.

Go home. Fats don't need your money. Nobody's beat him in years. He's the best.

You got that wrong, mister. I am.

You just go ahead and play him, friend.

Where can I find him?

Comes right in this poolroom every night, eight o'clock on the nose.

[Fats arrives watches Eddie shoot]

You shoot a good stick.

Thanks. Gee, you shoot straight pool, mister?

Now and then. You know how it is.

You're Minnesota Fats, aren't you? They say Minnesota Fats is the best where I come from.

Is that a fact?

They say old Fats just shoots the eyes right off them balls.

Where do you come from?

California. Oakland.

California? Is your name Felson?

That's right.

I hear you've been looking for me.

Yeah. That's right, too.

Big John? You think this boy is a hustler?

You like to gamble?

Gamble money on pool games?

Let's shoot a game of straight pool.

Hundred dollars?

You shoot big-time pool, Fats. That's what everybody says. Let's make it $200 a game.

Now I know why they call you Fast Eddie. Eddie, you talk my kind of talk. Sausage, rack 'em up! Willie, hang on to that. You break.

[Eddie soft breaks]

I didn't leave you much.

You left enough.

[Fats shoots] In the corner.[crack] in the corner. [crack] Ace in the side. [crack] ... [runs the table]

Boy, he is great! Geez, that old fat man! He moves like a dancer.

[Ray1936]

Paul Newman and Jackie Gleason. What an unlikely pair to have turned out one of the greatest classic flicks of all time, eh?

[daddeeo]

Used to have a pool place on Warren in Dearborn called the Cozy Cue. That place could tell stories.

[Gsgeorge]

Bill's Recreation, 3rd & MLK

http://www.detroitblog.org/?p=548

[BRAZZMAN]

Used to have a pool place on Warren in Dearborn called the Cozy Cue. That place could tell stories.

If it's the same place - on Warren just east of Greenfield a couple blocks - I used to go there when I got discharged from U.S.Navy in 1964. That was truly a great, great old time pool hall.

[BRAZZMAN]

Yes Lowell. One of my favorites also. Man, unless you have that scene dialog memorized-you must have the script in front of you. There are many other memorable short exchanges/phrases between the characters - Like when Eddie says [[about Ames) it's like a church. And just before the dialog you posted where Eddie says "You got any straight pool shooters in this here pool hall?" Also when Bert is talking about having and getting character. And when Eddie is telling Sarah about what it's like to be "on your game" when the cue feels like an extension of your arm.
And when Fats & Eddie are ordering booze from The Preacher. By the way, J.T.S.Brown bourbon cannot be had around here. I had a friend bring me a couple bottles up from Tennessee just after Paul Newman died to toast him in that role.

[Lowell]

Ha ha. I don't have that dialog memorized, but I could para-phrase it. Nothing's a secret on the web. I just remember that pool hall being so cool, along with all the smart ass dialog. Awesome film, IMO Paul Newman's best role of the many great films in which he starred - young, cocky, vulnerable and lovable all at once. Jackie Gleason playing the straight guy demonstrated his great acting versatility. As I am sure you know he was also a near pro level pool player -- talk about being a perfect fit for Minnesota Fats.

[grumpyoldlady]

Is Kelly Cue still on Kelly Rd.? Maybe between 8 Mile and 9 Mile, or maybe it was between 9 and 10 Mile?

[jtf1972]

My game isn't even worth mentioning, but I was shooting on my cousin's table against my uncle and he couldn't buy a shot. He was worse than me. I kept on him about "you ain't gonna hustle me. This don't work on me, I'm not a chump." I finally asked "Where did you shoot?" He looked me dead in the eye and with a sly grin said "a place over by Harper & Conner. It was downstairs." He then cleared the table.

[BRAZZMAN]

I know of a few that just offer pool, one on Hilton in Ferndale.

Yes, I know that one. I think it's called Hilton Family Billiards. It is on Hilton north of 9 mile. A very cool room. Very basic, no frills. Free coffee. Maybe 10 tables including a snooker table. About $5 hr.

[daddeeo]

There was a place over in Livonia just west of Inkster and the 96 service drive.
It had a lot of tables and had some atmosphere.

[Hypestyles]

there should be a family friendly restaurant/pool place in detroit..

[Johnlodge]

The Loving Touch, on Woodward next to the WAB in downtown Ferndale. Hard to notice if you aren't looking for it, not much in the way of a sign, but a cool place inside.

http://detroit.metromix.com/bars-and...973462/content

[daddeeo]

There used to be a dumpy bar/pool place on Greenfield just down from Sullys in Dearborn that was pretty cool.

[mkhopper]

Pics remind me of what Snookers [[Livonia) used to be back in the late 80s when it was still known as Cushion, Cue and Brew.

No carpet on the floor, barely an area that passed as a bar and certainly no TVs hung all over the place. Loud, smoky and cheap pool. We loved it.

[daddeeo]

Pretty tasty food and cute waitresses.

[East Detroit]

Is Kelly Cue still on Kelly Rd.? Maybe between 8 Mile and 9 Mile, or maybe it was between 9 and 10 Mile?

Yeah, its a Snookers now.

[Bluenote132003]

Lotta East Side money changed hands at the Carom Club, E. Warren and Neff. Serious shooters, until Nick let the place go to the cats...

[56packman]

I don't know..............


Harold:
Well, either you're closing your eyes
To a situation you do now wish to acknowledge
Or you are not aware of the caliber of disaster indicated
By the presence of a pool table in your community.
Ya got trouble, my friend, right here,
I say, trouble right here in River City.
Why sure I'm a billiard player,
Certainly mighty proud I say
I'm always mighty proud to say it.
I consider that the hours I spend
With a cue in my hand are golden.
Help you cultivate horse sense
And a cool head and a keen eye.
Never take and try to give
An iron-clad leave to yourself
From a three-reail billiard shot?
But just as I say,
It takes judgement, brains, and maturity to score
In a balkline game,
I say that any boob kin take
And shove a ball in a pocket.
And they call that sloth.
The first big step on the road
To the depths of deg-ra-Day--
I say, first, medicinal wine from a teaspoon,
Then beer from a bottle.
An' the next thing ya know,
Your son is playin' for money
In a pinch-back suit.
And list'nin to some big out-a-town Jasper
Hearin' him tell about horse-race gamblin'.
Not a wholesome trottin' race, no!
But a race where they set down right on the horse!
Like to see some stuck-up jockey'boy
Sittin' on Dan Patch? Make your blood boil?
Well, I should say.
Friends, lemme tell you what I mean.
Ya got one, two, three, four, five, six pockets in a table.
Pockets that mark the diff'rence
Between a gentlemen and a bum,
With a capital "B,"
And that rhymes with "P" and that stands for pool!
And all week long your River City
Youth'll be frittern away,
I say your young men'll be frittern!
Frittern away their noontime, suppertime, choretime too!
Get the ball in the pocket,
Never mind gittin' Dandelions pulled
Or the screen door patched or the beefsteak pounded.
Never mind pumpin' any water
'Til your parents are caught with the Cistern empty
On a Saturday night and that's trouble,
Oh, yes we got lots and lots a' trouble.
I'm thinkin' of the kids in the knickerbockers,
Shirt-tail young ones, peekin' in the pool
Hall window after school, look, folks!
Right here in River City.
Trouble with a capital "T"
And that rhymes with "P" and that stands for pool!
Now, I know all you folks are the right kinda parents.
I'm gonna be perfectly frank.
Would ya like to know what kinda conversation goes
On while they're loafin' around that Hall?
They're tryin' out Bevo, tryin' out cubebs,
Tryin' out Tailor Mades like Cigarette Feends!
And braggin' all about
How they're gonna cover up a tell-tale breath with Sen-Sen.
One fine night, they leave the pool hall,
Headin' for the dance at the Arm'ry!
Libertine men and Scarlet women!
And Rag-time, shameless music
That'll grab your son and your daughter
With the arms of a jungle animal instink!
Mass-staria!
Friends, the idle brain is the devil's playground!

People:
Trouble, oh we got trouble,
Right here in River City!
With a capital "T"
That rhymes with "P"
And that stands for Pool,
That stands for pool.
We've surely got trouble!
Right here in River City,
Right here!
Gotta figger out a way
To keep the young ones moral after school!
Trouble, trouble, trouble, trouble, trouble...

Harold:
Mothers of River City!
Heed the warning before it's too late!
Watch for the tell-tale sign of corruption!
The moment your son leaves the house,
Does he rebuckle his knickerbockers below the knee?
Is there a nicotine stain on his index finger?
A dime novel hidden in the corn crib?
Is he starting to memorize jokes from Capt.
Billy's Whiz Bang?
Are certain words creeping into his conversation?
Words like 'swell?"
And 'so's your old man?"
Well, if so my friends,
Ya got trouble,
Right here in River city!
With a capital "T"
And that rhymes with "P"
And that stands for Pool.
We've surely got trouble!
Right here in River City!
Remember the Maine, Plymouth Rock and the Golden Rule!
Oh, we've got trouble.
We're in terrible, terrible trouble.
That game with the fifteen numbered balls is a devil's tool!
Oh yes we got trouble, trouble, trouble!
With a "T"! Gotta rhyme it with "P"!
And that stands for Pool!!!

[BRAZZMAN]

Another excerpt from "The Hustler" script;

... in that cheap, crummy poolroom ... Now,
why'd I do it, Sarah? Why'd I do it? I coulda
beat that guy, I coulda beat him cold. He
never woulda known. But I just had to show 'em,
I just had to show those creeps and those punks
what the game is like when it's great, when
it's really great. You know, like anything can
be great -- anything can be great ... I don't
care, bricklaying can be great. If a guy
knows. If he knows what he's doing and why, and
if he can make it come off. I mean, when I'm
goin' -- when I'm really goin' -- I feel
like...
[[beat)
... like a jockey must feel. He's sittin'
on his horse, he's got all that speed and that
power underneath him, he's comin' into the
stretch, the pressure's on him -- and he
knows -- just feels -- when to let it go, and
how much. 'Cause he's got everything workin'
for him -- timing, touch. It's a great feeling,
boy, it's a real great feeling when you're
right, and you know you're right. It's like all
of a sudden I got oil in my arm. Pool cue's
part of me. You know, it's a -- pool cue's got
nerves in it. It's a piece of wood -- it's got
nerves in it. You feel the roll of those balls.
You don't have to look. You just know. Ya make
shots that nobody's ever made before. And you
play that game the way nobody's ever played it
before.

[BRAZZMAN]

Here's one I didn't mention. It's next to Hope's Fish & Chips on Joy Rd. betwn. Middlebelt and Inkster. Some of the tables are a little threadbare but still a good old time pool hall.
http://www.therackmi.com/

[donpablo]

Anyone rememer the one on the NW corner of 9 and greenfield? I cant remember the name but it was an old school place with plenty of hustlers

[wilderness]

In the 60's and on either Larned or Congress, and just east of Woodward, there was a hall, where on the 2nd floor.

Seem to recall at one time there was also a hall in the old Greyhound Bus Depot.

Harry's in Dearborn Heights [[long gone), VanBorn and Telegraph was good-sized hall.

Thunderbowl in Allen Park, may still have a hall upstairs and on the south-end of the building. The place was quite busy even into the late-70's.

Not many speak of "snooker" any more.