Birmingham Palladium Abuptly Closes

[CassTechGrad]

Is there anyone that still remembers the old Birmingham Palladium teen nightclub from the 1960's?

In 1965, the Teen Center was a nonprofit enterprise established at 136 Brownell — now Peabody Street — in the hopes of offering teens a place to go to enjoy music and to be together. The building formerly housed Potter Moving and Storage Co.; now, it is a parking garage.

“Punch” Andrews, young Bob Seger’s manager, and Russ Gibb, of Detroit’s Grande Ballroom, saw an opportunity and reopened it as the Palladium, featuring the Bob Seger System as its first act in 1969.

In the next two years, the Palladium featured many big-name performers, including Big Brother and The Holding Company, Bo Diddley, Edgar Winter, Humble Pie, The James Gang Johnny Winter, Little Richard, Poco, Rod Stewart and The Faces, Savoy Brown, and Lou Reed and the Velvet Underground. Despite all the effort and talent, the Palladium lost money and closed in 1971.

[Honky Tonk]

Is there anyone that still remembers the old Birmingham Palladium teen nightclub from the 1960's?

In 1965, the Teen Center was a nonprofit enterprise established at 136 Brownell — now Peabody Street — in the hopes of offering teens a place to go to enjoy music and to be together. The building formerly housed Potter Moving and Storage Co.; now, it is a parking garage.

“Punch” Andrews, young Bob Seger’s manager, and Russ Gibb, of Detroit’s Grande Ballroom, saw an opportunity and reopened it as the Palladium, featuring the Bob Seger System as its first act in 1969.

In the next two years, the Palladium featured many big-name performers, including Big Brother and The Holding Company, Bo Diddley, Edgar Winter, Humble Pie, The James Gang Johnny Winter, Little Richard, Poco, Rod Stewart and The Faces, Savoy Brown, and Lou Reed and the Velvet Underground. Despite all the effort and talent, the Palladium lost money and closed in 1971.

If it had the 2 big blue metal doors to get in, yes, I do remember it.

[nain rouge]

The market is us. So we decide we like malls. I suggest that you don't know what people really want. You just want what you and I want. Vibrant downtowns. But the market likes malls.

Yeah, but Partridge Creek is basically a downtown, except without any practical stores or offices. Yes, people love it because they're xenophobic and they know icky people live in old cities.

The market is actually moving either to the Partridge Creek-style malls or back to strip malls. Indoor malls worked for awhile, but to keep the interior up to the level of shiny newness with faux everything suburban shoppers demand was too expensive.

[Inkadinkado]

Yeah, but Partridge Creek is basically a downtown, except without any practical stores or offices. Yes, people love it because they're xenophobic and they know icky people live in old cities.

How is that a bad thing, even if it is true? Freedom of choice is unacceptable? What do you say to Detroiters, icky folk to use your characterization, who opt to drive by all of those gloriously character-infused city alternatives to shop at a Kroger in Dearborn? Let everyone shop where they choose and leave the judgement out of it.

[Idaho Dave]

Yea. I remember the Birmingham Palladium. Its actually where I started my love of rock music.

It would have been about 1966 when I went there the first time.
I was in the 9th grade and remember seeing the Bob Seger System.
The drummer had 2 base drums up on stands on each side of his head.
Boy was that cool!

Another time I saw the Amboy Dukes and watched Tedley "hose" his guitar on stage.

I know that there are many other groups that I saw there but for some reason I have a hard time remembering them.

It looks like there were a lot of good groups that were there after I left the area.

What memories!! And to think that it's a place to park now.