Fabulous Strip Club Ruins of Detroit

[funjon1]

How about a thread about The Fabulous Strip Club ruins of Detroit? I'm talking about an era where these establishments were called by a lot of names, but never "gentlemens clubs"! I'm a life-long eastsider, so I remember mainly east side clubs. The 7-VanDyke area was a hotbed of stripper action. Vandys, The Duchess, Please Station were all in that vicinity. And what was the club at either 6 Mile or 7 Mile and Mound Rd.? Bensons, Biscoes, one of those. My semi-regular stop was The Royal Coach on Whittier between Kelly and Harper. I could go on and on but hopefully some others will have fond[[or not so fond) memories of these places.

[gnome]

I'll ask Vincent Chin what he remembers.

[eastland]

The one on Whittier was Sandcastles or Sandpipers in high school. All you had to have was a drivers license to get in. Later became the Pointe Athletic Club I think.

[reddog289]

Too young to have gone to any of the ones listed, But as a kid riding down 8mile and now as a 40 year old I think that there are ruins underneath some of the larger clubs. Speaking of names my one Uncle gets a laugh when he see's the "Go-Go Girls" listed on Bogarts sign.

[luckycar]

Maccombos and The Patio on 8 Mile were rights of passage for newly minted 18 yr. olds in the 70s.Such sights,I always wondered what those "young women" were thinking.I know what I was!

[gnome]

lucky, you didn't use the drum sticks did you?

The Macombo has changed its name but the old bat that owned it in the 70's is still running the dump.

[Tig3rzhark]

There's was a Foxy's Strip Club on Livernois north of Grand River. Despite the blight, it's still standing.

I'll take a pic of it and post it later.

[Sludgedaddy]

Let's not forget Benson's Boobs Galore on Davison just east of Mound. It's notable for it's exterior which was painted "titty pink".

Another existed on Conant Between Carpenter and Charles right next door to a store front cathedral. Don't remember the name back in the day, but used to pop in there every now and then for a pack of smokes.There was no vestibule and when the door was opened in the winter, the girls would get a cold blast to the ass. The place now is under going re-modeling and was recently known as The Adult Playground and was a Black owned establishment.

[pgn421]

I would frequent Pointe Athletic Club. Anyone remember John who was the manager, there? How about Monkey, from Duchess? Would also go to Biscoes.Those were the days!

[EastsideAl]

Ahhh, the good ol' days...

The Duchess on 7 Mi. was a trip with all its pink neon outside and '70s wood and brass decor inside. Then, just to jack up the fun a bit more, they went and painted the place bright yellow. For all that gaudiness, the dancers often looked half-asleep.

Pointe Athletic Club is the place where a dancer once kicked me in the head for paying more attention to the Tigers game on TV than her frankly not all that attractive dancing.

Benson's Boobs Galore had a great name, but was a pit, and uncomfortably like watching your cousins dance half-naked around your aunt and uncle's not-very-clean basement rec room.

[Philbo]

The Gold Door on E. 8 mile Road was a good place in its day. My buddies Dad owned it until a bunch of bikers took it over. A couple of guys I knew got thier asses kicked when they got into it with one of the dancers. You did'nt start trouble there.

[RickBeall]

I don't think those clubs ever close. They just change names.

Mocambos was the first place I ever went. A friend took me when I turned 18. I met the female proprieter you mentioned. on that trip.

[professorscott]

Ah, it practically brings tears to the eyes of your kindly old Professor, reminiscing about the days when he was young, single and stupid enough to blow his stack of cash in such wonderful old dives.

We recall the Please Station on Seven Mile just west of Van Dyke, which was perhaps the worst strip club in the history of the world, but the owner was a neat old guy. The women were sort of comically ugly, and there were never more than three or four people in the place.

Then you had the "Zoo" on Eight Mile not too far from the fairgrounds, a little bit east I seem to recall, where your friends could pay to have you mud-wrestle in your underwear with the ladies. The announcer, DJ or whatever you'd call it, was a scream, he would tell you which college this or that dancer was attending, for instance "gentlemen, please be generous in tipping the lovely Shondra, she needs the money for her sophomore year at Wayne State", whereas Shondra had actually attended Wayne State thirty years prior.

The Foxes Den was the name, I think, of the dump on Livernois not too far from Davison, south of Davison if I recall correctly. They had a pool table, which was nice, because your Prof in those days was a bit of a hustler and could use the pool table to raise the money for the rest of the evening's festivities. The dancers would get irked because if there was a hockey game on [[which there often was), most of us would be watching it and not them. The game was more interesting.

Then there was Sassy Sandy's on east Davison near Mound, and the Sax Club on McNichols not far from Hamilton, one of those lovely establishments where you could use the standard dive topless bar formula to estimate a dancer's age [[count the teeth and subtract from fifty). The Sax promoted itself as the "oldest" topless club in the City, to which the Prof adds: no doubt.

I can almost see a dissertation here for a Ph. D. student in sociology. Fascinating times, they were.

[Meddle]

http://detroityes.com/mb/showthread.php?t=1401

[professorscott]

Meddle, what is your point? This thread - a look back in time, at a certain type of diversion - has nothing to do with that thread, which focused on a certain topic in local politics in late June of this year, which while somewhat related, certainly doesn't address the same issues.

I would also point out that the essential topic of the other thread you point out - that the City Council was then looking into restricting certain aspects of the diversion - seems to have fizzled out and died. I haven't heard a thing about it since. Check the date of the last post.

So that was current events; this is history and reminiscence. Nothing in common at all except for women in taverns without a blouse.

[vetalalumni]

Then you had the "Zoo" on Eight Mile not too far from the fairgrounds, a little bit east I seem to recall, where your friends could pay to have you mud-wrestle in your underwear with the ladies. The announcer, DJ or whatever you'd call it, was a scream, he would tell you which college this or that dancer was attending, for instance "gentlemen, please be generous in tipping the lovely Shondra, she needs the money for her sophomore year at Wayne State", whereas Shondra had actually attended Wayne State thirty years prior.

The Foxes Den was the name, I think, of the dump on Livernois not too far from Davison, south of Davison if I recall correctly. They had a pool table, which was nice, because your Prof in those days was a bit of a hustler and could use the pool table to raise the money for the rest of the evening's festivities. The dancers would get irked because if there was a hockey game on [[which there often was), most of us would be watching it and not them. The game was more interesting.

Was The Zoo around in the mid 80s?

And I seem to recall a real dive on southbound John R near Remington.

The Foxes establishment rings a bell as well. West side of Livernois correct? Open in the early 90s?

I recall 1 or 2 establishments in the little triangle bordered by 8 Mile, Greenfield Road, and the Lodge Freeway. Circa 80s. Dangerous.

[professorscott]

Vetaalumni,

Was The Zoo around in the mid 80s? Yes.

Southbound John R near Remington: I don't recall that one.

Foxes: West side of Livernois is correct, and probably open in the early 1990s, though I was out of the loop by then.

Eight/Greenfield/Lodge, I seem to recall a nude no-booze joint called the Dizzy Duck or some such thing, but that's the only one I recall, and I'm not sure I ever actually was in there. Looked dangerous.

Prof. Scott

[ptero]

Our regulars were Mocambo's and Patio "Table Top Revue" at Hubbell and 8 mile. We saw Evil Knievel at Mocambo's with his 'entourage' [[3 or 4 others!) one night.

A strange fave - Dirty Harry's on Michigan around Lonyo. They had drumsticks, too! Not wings!

[Meddle]

From the other thread:

I'm not sure where you've been but the ones I was in had strict dress codes which was basically business attire. Siloz and another one on 8 Mile I used to go to [[can't remember the name right now) were very nice places. Many a business deal was penned in them during lunch and dinner hours. Tables were filled with business execs, lawyers, bankers, celebrities, etc. Even a few Detroit politicians including Council members. It wasn't uncommon for the lunch or dinner tab to be $300 or more. I had a couple of pretty good friends that worked at those two clubs.

One of the best was on Michigan in east Dearborn. Valet parking, doormen, upscale foods. That place was always packed; standing room only and almost every customer there was in a business suit, day or night. The girls there could make $1,000 a night just dancing. They didn't have to do anything else extra-curricular.

I've also known some of the girls. Some were skanks, but most were working mothers or housewives. They could make more dancing 2 or 3 days a week than they could working a 40 hour job. Some were models you may have seen at the Auto Show, others were doing television commercials. Most were quite intelligent.

There was also the Landing Strip in Romulus that was decent.

Yes, there were the other type of clubs in the 7 Mile/VanDyke area. I think one of the worst was Henry III on Michigan Ave out around Inkster somewhere. One of the girls there actually had a bullet scar in her stomach and was proud of it.

[funjon1]

The one on Whittier was Sandcastles or Sandpipers in high school. All you had to have was a drivers license to get in. Later became the Pointe Athletic Club I think.

You are correct about the name when you were going there, but in the early 70s it was known as the Royal Coach. It was owned by some members of a local bike club who shall remain nameless. After a little trouble there the name was changed, no doubt to erase negative images associated with the old name.

[luckycar]

No drumsticks,gnome.I delivered pizzas all along the 8 mile strip in the mid 70s.The Book Shack,The Patio were always calling for pizza and ribs.This may explain the hot bodies who danced at the clubs!Off subject sort of,but there were also a few places of interest along 8 Mile.Several were fronts for not quite legit companies.One had a sign out on 8 Mile stating they were an electric supply place.Go around back,and they buzzed you in.Rooms dimly lit off to a side,the creepy manager guy,the half drunk bouncer dude and of course those ladies!Perfume from lord knows where,hot pants and knee high boots,too much make-up and just the right amount of jewlery so they made that sound when they strutted by.Ah yes to be 17 again.

[daddeeo]

The signs outside on 8 mile invariably had "titillating" on them somewhere.

[Gary]

I remember when the Sax Club opened in the early 60s on W. McNichols between Baylis and Inverness. Many homeowners were strongly opposed to having a topless bar in the neighborhood and tried to get the place shut down without success. Everyone apparently learned how to co-exist because the place stayed in business under various names until the 80s.

[12468_laing]

funny story about the Pointe Athletic Club. Went there with a friend one night, he called a dancer over to dance on our table and I remember she was "steadying" herself by putting her hand on the ceiling tiles. When she was done with her dance, a tile fell down and hit my friend on the shoulder. I remember him saying he was glad it didn't hit him on the head or he would have had to tell his dad where he was. Was good for a laugh for many years.

[Alfie1a]

Don't forget Deja Vu in Ferndale where the Magic Bag is now located. On their marquis was printed "18 beautiful girls and one ugly one" or some such.

Not a strip club but i fondly recall The Last Chance at Woodward and 8 Mile.