The Eastown is going to be razed.

[p69rrh51]

According to HistoricDetroit.org what is left of the Eastown Theatre is scheduled to be demolished in the next few days. I am trying to find the day the building is scheduled to be razed.

Deigned by V. J. Waier & Company. Eastown Theatre 8041 Harper Avenue built in 1930 Detroit, MI. Includes an image of the building from Wayne State University's Virtual Motor City Collection circa 1930.

[Ltdave]

i dont know if ive ever been past this building...

[gumby]

Sad but not surprising. There is very little left of the building or the neighborhood surrounding it.

[detroitsgwenivere]

When I was a kid, we used to throw MAD rave parties in there. Our car was also stripped on the back street, and we were shot at coming out of that place. Good times...

[Dan Wesson]

Spent many a matinee there and then later many a concert at the ballroom...

[softailrider]

I think I saw Yes and Emerson, Lake and Palmer there about a million years ago.

[ct_alum]

Used to go there all the time in the early 70's, tickets were in the $6.00 range. Saw Johnny Winter And [[with Rick Derringer); Humble Pie with Steve Marriot and Peter Framption opened for them - One of the better shows I ever saw.
Could buy just about any drug you wanted on the balcony level, but I was a straight arrow and didn't partake. Never had any issues with crime and never felt unsafe.

[Hypestyles]

When I was a kid, we used to throw MAD rave parties in there. Our car was also stripped on the back street, and we were shot at coming out of that place. Good times...

how did you arrange this? What did you do for electricity?

[EastsideAl]

Alas, this has been coming for quite some time now. I saw my first movie there with my dad way back in 1964. He remembers going there as a kid with one of his aunts who lived nearby.

I was too young for the concert era there, but I do remember riding by a large crowd waiting to get into some concert in my grandparents' car with grandpa mumbling darkly about those "damn hippies", and then spotting one of my cousins in the crowd.

Sad to see it go. Bye Eastown.

[detroitsgwenivere]

how did you arrange this? What did you do for electricity?

This was in the late 90's, and the building was still in good enough shape to host large gatherings. Power was the last of our issues, as the sound crew didn't complain about it nearly as much as they did about security. The place was just old and not up to code.

I didn't know who the owner was, but the place was being managed by a middle aged black dude at the time.

[Whaler]

Went to so many shows there 69-72... There was so much tallent in that Building such a shame we do not value our History!!! Some shows that stick out ....
Joe Cocker Mad Dogs and Englishman tour
Savoy Brown
Humble Pie
Allman Brothers Band
Johnny Winter
Mountain
King Crimson
Elton John.... Many many more!!!! Then off to the Gar Wood Mansion for some more fun!!!!...
http://theconcertdatabase.com/venues/eastown-theater

I will never forgot those special times... Whaler

[p69rrh51]

The contract to raze the Eastown has been awarded to Detroit based Adamo The demolition will most likely start Friday 11/20/15.

http://adamogroup.org/

[rjlj]

With all due respect, you are ignorant of the fact Adamo is not based in Detroit. Their Detroit incorporated location was dissolved in 2009 per the State of Michigan web site. They may have an office in Detroit , but they are not based in Detroit and therefore do not pay Detroit taxes.

The contract to raze the Eastown has been awarded to Detroit based Adamo The demolition will most likely start Friday 11/20/15.

http://adamogroup.org/

[MikeM]

"Our $25 million fleet of modern machinery is designed by the world’s leading manufacturers, all of it housed and maintained on site at our Detroit HQ and meticulously serviced by a well-equipped team of seasoned pros."

Contact us:

Adamo Group Inc.
320 East Seven Mile Road
Detroit, Michigan

[Hamtragedy]

Whoa, go easy there. The criticism should be directed at Adamo who is more than happy to wipe out many architecturally meaningful structures around downtown a la our own Flatiron building in the form of the Lafayette.

As for the Eastown, or so many other vacant structures around here, once they burn, it's open season on the contents, structural or otherwise. With not so much as an orange fence around it [[other cities erect 6' cyclone fence), the places remain open to the worker-bees who rather un-systematically tear into the building, from the brick guys to the torch-guys cutting the steel, all the while open to whoever wants to go inside, whether it be spelunkers or children. And don't tell me children don't go in there, cuz we went banging inside vacant houses when I lived on Bewick at the tender age of 5. [[Nothing like opening a second story "balcony door" with no balcony).

[Richard]

There seems to be still a lot of structure there,but I guess here and now it really does not matter about the future.

[p69rrh51]

With all due respect, you are ignorant of the fact Adamo is not based in Detroit. Their Detroit incorporated location was dissolved in 2009 per the State of Michigan web site. They may have an office in Detroit , but they are not based in Detroit and therefore do not pay Detroit taxes.

The only listing for the firm is an address on E. Seven Mile, if my mind ignorant mind remembers the address is within the boundaries of the City of Detroit. Your ignorance of business taxes is also incorrect. The office has to pay business taxes to the City of Detroit.

http://adamogroup.org/

[p69rrh51]

All quiet on Harper and Van Dyke this morning. Looks like the Eastown will be around one more weekend.

[rjlj]

Wake up dude. You obviously did not read & comprehend my post. Just because you have an address in a certain location does not mean you are based there.

Like I said the first time, the Detroit business address was dissolved in 2009.

http://www.dleg.state.mi.us/bcs_corp/sr_corp.asp

The only listing for the firm is an address on E. Seven Mile, if my mind ignorant mind remembers the address is within the boundaries of the City of Detroit. Your ignorance of business taxes is also incorrect. The office has to pay business taxes to the City of Detroit.

http://adamogroup.org/

[warsaw7]

All quiet on Harper and Van Dyke this morning. Looks like the Eastown will be around one more weekend.

Thanks for the pics. Decided to venture in there last night. My parents saw many concerts in there and I wanted to see the beaut before the wreck balls sealed the fate of the theatre. Wow what a sight! Looks like in the theatre itself the mezzanine, lower and upper balconies were still partially intact, with the other half on the ground in pieces with various rebars scattered throughout the ground. While the area was yellow-taped off and there is one excavator present, it was fairly easy to get in to. Ventures down Van Dyke will never be the same. I wish this building was able to be spared, but the neighborhood and the condition of the building proved otherwise.

On a side note does anyone know the current status of the Vanity Ballroom on East Jefferson? I drive by this building everyday and I just hope that it doesn't bite the dust. With the Jefferson Chalmers area getting some much needed TLC, I foresee the Vanity getting a much deserved second chance.

[CassTechGrad]

This is from 1975 when it was known as The Showcase Theater.

[Cincinnati_Kid]

This is from 1975 when it was known as The Showcase Theater.

Thought this was a pic of the theater in 75.

[DWurst]

As a child my wife lived at Duncan and Maxwell, just a few blocks down from Eastown Theatre. She always tells us about the many Sunday afternoons her parents took her and her brother to Eastown for a Hot Fudge Sundae and movie. The ice cream parlor was located just two doors down from the theatre.

Her dad was working at Packard and she attended Trombley Elementary. When she saw the photographs of Eastown being torn down, a flood of memories came rushing back. Like she said, "We didn't go out to eat, but every Sunday we had a special treat of a Hot Fudge Sundae and a movie. They can never tear down those memories."

The photo attached is the apartment her family lived in. They were in the upstairs unit on the right. After the freeway cut through the area you could still see the building as you sped by. Last we noticed, it was gone. Like so many others, just gone. Only a pile of rubble left behind.

[Dan Wesson]

As a child my wife lived at Duncan and Maxwell, just a few blocks down from Eastown Theatre. She always tells us about the many Sunday afternoons her parents took her and her brother to Eastown for a Hot Fudge Sundae and movie. The ice cream parlor was located just two doors down from the theatre.

Her dad was working at Packard and she attended Trombley Elementary. When she saw the photographs of Eastown being torn down, a flood of memories came rushing back. Like she said, "We didn't go out to eat, but every Sunday we had a special treat of a Hot Fudge Sundae and a movie. They can never tear down those memories."

Yeppers, I went to Trombley too. The Ice Cream Parlor was to the left of the theater and it was called "Lick a Dip". I remember what the older folks used to call it.

To the right was a little novelty store.

We bought plastic straws used as pea shooters and a pack of peas to use in the show. I had put the pea shooter in my back pocket and was standing in line to get in when I found that an older kid had snuck the straw out from my pocket and tied it in a knot and slid in back in place.

Oh well it still worked and a good time was had by all.

Sailing empty flattend popcorn boxes at the screen was rigueur du jour too.

[DWurst]

My wife was at Trombley for the fifth grade only, back in 1950. She says she was always at Eastown with her parents and never "Let Loose". Sounds like you had FUN.