Old Detroit Bars

[RickBeall]

A song was written about Hastings Street. It was mostly about the bars on Hastings Street and it was called "Hastings Street Opera" by the Detroit Count. [[It has a part I and part II.) If it could be accumulated, the 3rd street activities and bar scene sure would make for one hell of a song.

There is something unvarnished and real about the activities of people in dive bars.

For most folks, the song would be a like the peep hole in the back door of the Sassy Cat.

[RickBeall]

When I was 18 in about 1973, the Free Press printed a city bar guide. I carefully folded it up, and crawled out the bedroom window, rolled the family car down the driveway, turned the car on at the curb and explored the city a bit. At Cobbes Corners I remember the Stone's "Moonlight Mile" was playing on the Juke Box. There was a sign over the bar written in a sort of cryptic poetry offering helpful advise on negotiating the fine line between picking up a "prof." hooker and an ordinary girl with flexible morals. I went to the Traffic jam when it was just a small bar facing Third in its current location.

I remember seeing a low slung hotel on cass or third where there were hookers just everywhere. Its amazing how open and in the street they could be about their business back then.

I visited Andersen's Garden and the Willis Show bar.

I remember seeing ads in the Free Press for the topless shoe shine, wasn't it called the Beaver Shoe shine? But I never actually made it there.

[EastsideAl]

Re: The White Grove

I don't know if you saw this piece from about a month back on the White Grove on the great DetroitBlog.

http://www.detroitblog.org/?p=1106

There was also a short thread here in response when the piece came out.

[Bodybagging]

I think a lot of societies norm would be surprised at what took place on the other side of a 3rd street peephole. Most people would assume that the partons of said Dive Bars, would be Underclass, down on their luck, Lowlifes, The bars in the corridor seen Judges, Politicans, Celebritys, Sports figures, Professors,Mobsters, you name it they were there, sitting side by side at the Bar.
My Mother recieved Season Comp Passes from Captain Bob-Lo for me on a regular basis....,
You just never know , who you are sitting next to.....

[RickBeall]

The Hastings Street song was kind of a slice of life song, describing what you would see if you knew everyone, as you walked up Hastings Street. I could write a talking blues, imagining I am walking up 3rd street. It would be good to have a list of businesses/activies and people associated with them. I could mention your Mom multiple times since she worked in so many places. Colorful characters, colorful events, names and nick names. Judges, hobos, sports stars, ladies of the night.

I remember reading on a different thread in Detroit Yes, that the Old Miami was a pretty rough place before new management took over in [[I'm guessing the early 1970s). The waitresses would turn tricks in the back room. [[I can jump around a bit in the song.)

The song about Hastings Street remains long after the street and its life is gone.

[Bodybagging]

Great Story on the WhiteGrove, Its sad that life in the corridor, made Helen so harsh, but a woman has to be tough to make it in the Corridor. My Mom was the toughest of the tough and battled each encounter there with the Attitude of a Grizzly Bear, She could also defuse almost any situation with her quick wit and sarcastic nature. She worked at the Grove from time to time as well, during the 80's. She was working in there one day and agent sitting at the window asked her if that was her boy riding past on the Motorcycle, she asked him how many wheels was he on, he said one and she replied, Yes thats my boy...

The grove made some pretty good meals , I wonder according to the article if no-one actually buys food there, how have the survived all these years!

[dookie joe]

Anybody remember the topless shoe shine place? I'm pretty sure it was on 3rd, a block or two down from Jumbo's..

It was called Beaver's Boutique.

[dookie joe]

DookieJoe do you remember, CURLY, He was a Homeless Wino down in the corridor during the 70s, used to wear shirts for pants, I seen him thrown out of Sabbs on a 100 occasions.
Although everyone was always mean to him, I can remember How sad everyone was when they found him froze to death in a old car behinds Freds keyshop.
How about the White Grove? I wonder if Freida Still owns it after all of these years.

Sure, I remember Curly. He used to carry a golf club with no head. He lived behind Fred's. The rumor was that he had gone crazy after someone chopped his wife into several pieces. Supposedly he came home and found her and went nuts. The papers did a big writeup about him when he died, and there was no mention of that story, so it probably was just a rumor.

The White Grove is still going strong. Blogger John recently did a great story about it. Back in the "day," there was a dead roach lying in the glass where they kept the donuts. That roach stayed there for months before they got it out!

[pgn421]

Anyone remember Motown Coney Island on 3 rd and Selden? Wolfman?

[dookie joe]

Anyone remember Motown Coney Island on 3 rd and Selden? Wolfman?

The only restaurants I remember around there were George's and the Selden BBQ. There was a Dairy Queen across the street on the south side of Selden, but I don't remember a Motown Coney Island.

I don't remember Wolfman, although it rings a bell.

On another front: Anyone remember Bicycle Slim, a huge dude who rode around the neighborhood on a tricked-out 10 speed that included a toilet seat?

[Bodybagging]

Never knew slims name but I remember that bike! 4th of july he went way all out. My Mother beat up a waitress in Georges for serving me a very Rare steak, and I once found a very cooked Roach, in some spaghettie down at the Majestic restaurant.....

[dookie joe]

Never knew slims name but I remember that bike! 4th of july he went way all out. My Mother beat up a waitress in Georges for serving me a very Rare steak, and I once found a very cooked Roach, in some spaghettie down at the Majestic restaurant.....

Slim was a strange guy. He openly professed his desire for little boys, and would joke about wanting to molest them. He supposedly once had ... er, how do I put this ... oral relations with a dog at a party because someone bet him he wouldn't. At the same time he would help old ladies carry their groceries and make sure shut-ins were taken care of. A weird, weird dude.

As far as the roaches go...well, as you know, they were standard equipment in the Corridor. You never ate Raisin Bran without double-checking each spoonful -- sometimes, them little dark things weren't raisins!

[brentinomaha]

if u watch the opening credits from beverly hills cop you can see 2 bars one which is the gaiety lounge which became the charlotte and another the ramsey which i looked and is now gone but was at waterman and jefferson check it out it interesting

[RickBeall]

terryh wrote:
>>I can't recall which periodical I read the article [on Taxi Dancing in the Artisan Studios above the Sassy Cat Theatre] in Rick. Just do a Google search...

I tried and came up with zip. Anyone have any leads for that article?

And where on third were all these old flats and small apartment buildings on Third, now long gone, that functioned as informal no-tell motels? What would be cross streets?

[dookie joe]

terryh wrote:
>>I can't recall which periodical I read the article [on Taxi Dancing in the Artisan Studios above the Sassy Cat Theatre] in Rick. Just do a Google search...

I tried and came up with zip. Anyone have any leads for that article?

And where on third were all these old flats and small apartment buildings on Third, now long gone, that functioned as informal no-tell motels? What would be cross streets?

I don't know about the article, but there was a taxi dancing place just above the Sassy Cat [[formerly Peek A Rama) Theatre on Woodward. The sign said "Taxi Dancing, 10 cents" if memory serves. I remember asking my grandmother what taxi dancing was, and when she explained it, I thought the concept was odd: Who would pay a dime for a dance? Only later did I realize that the dance was only the first part of the exhange!!!

As far as the homes on Third that doubled as hotels go, Andy Coon's was one of the more popular ones. That was located on the west side of Third, a bit south from where the NSO place is now. The NSO building used to be a janitorial supplies company if I remember correctly.

Andy's had the blind pig in the basement and a few girls working upstairs. I never patroned the latter service but I did go into the bar several times. I felt safer there than I did in any other bar, because Andy wouldn't tolerate any shenanigans. You could sit there and smoke weed openly but he didn't allow any other drugs [[although I'm sure some people slipped into the john and booted up).

He had the cops at the 13th Precinct paid off but every now and then someone from another precinct or unit would bust him; the cops he was friendly with would tip him off. Andy would tell all his patrons to leave. The cops would come in and confiscate his jukebox. Within a few days he'd always be back open for business.

One interesting sidenote: Blind pigs make a large portion of their profits off the gambling that goes on, but Andy would never allow a crap game in his place; only poker. He always said craps was too fast a game -- someone can lose a couple thousand bucks in a matter of seconds. That often causes people to get mad and perhaps whip out a gun. So Andy stayed away from craps.

[RickBeall]

Hi Dookie Joe,

Interesting!

So were most of the flats used as a rent-by-the-hour hotels were on third between Martin Luther King Drive [[Myrtle) and Peterboro? Were there a lot of blind pigs right in that area?

[dookie joe]

Hi Dookie Joe,

Interesting!

So were most of the flats used as a rent-by-the-hour hotels were on third between Martin Luther King Drive [[Myrtle) and Peterboro? Were there a lot of blind pigs right in that area?

I wouldn't say most of the flats were hotels. There were a few up there by Myrtle/Peterboro that I recall. And Andy's was the only blind pig I can think of, other than that hotel right on the northwest corner of Cass and the Fisher FWY service drive. The name escapes me.

[pgn421]

Anyone remember AnnaMae from the red Dog? She was the owner. I met her in the early ninetys.

[RickBeall]

Does anyone remember a trucker called "Slippery Dick" who frequented the bars? He was my friend's grandfather.

[56packman]

I'd love to hear more about the taxi-dancing. That is the kind of thing I would like to write a song about [[I'm an amateur musician). Where did you see the article on taxi dancing? Its hard to believe it survived on into the late 1970's.

Rick, It would be very difficult to beat Rogers and Hart's "Ten cents a dance", the ultimate Taxi-Dancer's song.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=PpU-mcgBJxE

[RickBeall]

It looks like Ruth Etting was a real babe! I did enjoy listening to that song.

I imagine the Detroit's version of "10 Cents a Dance" would be grittier than being tired and having torn stockings. But that's just me. I used "Old Armaggedon" for my cologne.

[Django]

Elmers was definitely where Honest Johns is now. I loved to go in there and photograph the strollers. Some of them would wear the most outrageous outfits. Sometimes they were so high they would wear lingerie on the outside of their daisy dukes. For a couple of bucks they would get pretty crazy for the camera right inside the bar.

I believe the Temple Bar has a night for "special people". I once had a drink bought for me there by a very large but handsome woman so to speak. If it wasn't for the not so good cross dressers giving away the reality I might have thought about it lol. I had the drink anyway and thanked him/her. Very nice crowd.

This story was told to me about the Old Miami.

A hooker in distress being chased by her pimp came in the bar for a safe place to hang for a second. The pimp followed her in and all the Vets had her back, telling the pimp to get lost and cool down. Pimp wasnt happy so he went around the corner to a vacant building and started taking pot shots with his pistol into the back lot of the Miami. The Miami, being filled with Vets who are not all that fearful of small arms fire, went areound the corner to the vacant and found the pimp, hung him by his ankles out the window until he begged to be let go.

I love bar stories also.

[dookie joe]

I could've swore part of the old Selden Bar and Selden BBQ was also where John's is. Maybe memory is fuzzy, and the bar was further down. I know there used to be a Dairy Queen and George's Restaurant across the street from Honest John's, but otherwise, I'm not 100 percent sure. So if you are, I'll defer to your knowledge.

That was a great story about the New/Old Miami [[it changed names several times). I lived right across the alley from there when I was a kid, next to that old Victorian that still stands. One night there was a dead body right behind our backyard, kitty-corner across the alley from the Miami [[we didn't have a fence).

My brothers and I stared out the window for a half hour trying to figure out whether it was a body or a pile of garbage bags. We finally went down there and it was indeed a dead guy. He looked like a bum. My mom called the cops, and when the detectives showed up, one of them started walking slowly toward us with his flashlight piercing the darkness.

My stupid older brother starts whistling the melody to "McMillon and Wife," which was a hit TV show at the time. Old-timers will remember that the beginning of that show featured a silohuette of someone shining a flashlight into the camera, walking slowly forward.

The cop behind our house looked just like the beginning of "McMillon and Wife," and when my brother started whistling the theme song, I got the giggles and couldn't stop laughing. You know how when you get the giggles at an inappropriate moment and just can't stup laughing; that's what happened to me. The cop got pissed off: "Is there something funny about this?" Which only made me snicker more. I went back in the house before I could get into trouble. I don't know who the dead guy was, or whatever happened with the investigation.

By the way, regarding your story about the Vets sticking up for the hooker: Often when someone tried to stop a pimp from beating a prostitute, the victim would tell the Good Samaritan to mind his own business. I personally saw that happen several times.

[txlady]

Leiters Lounge was once a Purple Gang saloon?!? The one around the corner from the old GM Bldg? I used to hang out there, but had no idea.

I used to work with a woman, she'd be about 65 by now, who told us that her grandmother was a bar maid for the Purple Gang, they liked her because she had violet eyes. It was years later that I realized what the lyric in Jailhouse Rock meant. This was back in the day, working IT for GM in the downtown bldg, and hanging out in the mall across the street.

[Django]

dookie, I believe the Owner of the Miami bought and live in that Victorian today. Im helping fix up the place.