Birmingham Palladium Abuptly Closes

**nain rouge** · September-03-14, 09:16 AM

On the topic of retail, I've always like that American Apparel has been willing to invest in downtown stores, as seen in Royal Oak and Ann Arbor. Say what you want about the clothes, but we need to push more retailers to do that. Mall rent isn't cheap, either. The companies stay mainly because the people in charge are convinced the parking space is necessary.

Imagine a world where, for example, instead of putting all that money into Partridge Creek, that retail effort could've went into the downtown Mount Clemens area. The parking space and form Partridge Creek relies on basically already existed in Mount Clemens. It could've done wonders for Macomb County, spurring on a Gratiot renaissance, and would've been better for the majority of Macomb's citizens.

Too bad we're allergic to that kind of thinking. We'll shake our heads in 20 years wondering why Mt. Clemens still can't get it together, when in reality we chose as a county/region to forsake it. Kinda like Detroit...

**Wesley Mouch** · September-03-14, 09:43 AM

Originally Posted by nain rouge

On the topic of retail, I've always like that American Apparel has been willing to invest in downtown stores, as seen in Royal Oak and Ann Arbor. Say what you want about the clothes, but we need to push more retailers to do that. Mall rent isn't cheap, either. The companies stay mainly because the people in charge are convinced the parking space is necessary.

Imagine a world where, for example, instead of putting all that money into Partridge Creek, that retail effort could've went into the downtown Mount Clemens area. The parking space and form Partridge Creek relies on basically already existed in Mount Clemens. It could've done wonders for Macomb County, spurring on a Gratiot renaissance, and would've been better for the majority of Macomb's citizens.

Too bad we're allergic to that kind of thinking. We'll shake our heads in 20 years wondering why Mt. Clemens still can't get it together, when in reality we chose as a county/region to forsake it. Kinda like Detroit...

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.

**Bham1982** · September-03-14, 11:13 AM

Originally Posted by nain rouge

On the topic of retail, I've always like that American Apparel has been willing to invest in downtown stores, as seen in Royal Oak and Ann Arbor.

American Apparel is one of a small number of national chains that specifically prefers main streets over malls, due to image/marketing issues.

A few other examples are Anthropologie, Urban Outfitters, West Elm, Bluemercury, and Papersource.

**DetroitPlanner** · September-03-14, 12:14 PM

Originally Posted by Bham1982

American Apparel is one of a small number of national chains that specifically prefers main streets over malls, due to image/marketing issues.

A few other examples are Anthropologie, Urban Outfitters, West Elm, Bluemercury, and Papersource.

If I am not mistaken American Apparel is having some management difficulties. I always thought that placing most of their stores in Downtowns were unique, as is the fact that they actually push for American-Made products in their stores. I did see one in Malibu CA a few years back that just stood there on the side of the road, out of place and strange. It could be that Malibu fits their demographics and the land use there is bizarre with the exception of Pepperdine.

**Wesley Mouch** · September-03-14, 01:34 PM

Originally Posted by DetroitPlanner

If I am not mistaken American Apparel is having some management difficulties. I always thought that placing most of their stores in Downtowns were unique, as is the fact that they actually push for American-Made products in their stores. I did see one in Malibu CA a few years back that just stood there on the side of the road, out of place and strange. It could be that Malibu fits their demographics and the land use there is bizarre with the exception of Pepperdine.

Am I wrong that American Apparel is / was a Canadian company? I recall an interview on the CBC with the founder who I believe is from Montreal. Welcome, I say to a country where you can succeed or fail with less governmental intrusion than up north.

**dtowncitylover** · September-03-14, 02:03 PM

Originally Posted by Wesley Mouch

Am I wrong that American Apparel is / was a Canadian company? I recall an interview on the CBC with the founder who I believe is from Montreal. Welcome, I say to a country where you can succeed or fail with less governmental intrusion than up north.

I don't think that's the reason why he started it down here. In fact Montreal had one of the first stores ever.

**iheartthed** · September-03-14, 06:04 PM

Originally Posted by Wesley Mouch

Am I wrong that American Apparel is / was a Canadian company? I recall an interview on the CBC with the founder who I believe is from Montreal. Welcome, I say to a country where you can succeed or fail with less governmental intrusion than up north.

American Apparel is based in Los Angeles. Apparently, it was started in Montreal which I did not know before I just looked it up.

**softailrider** · September-04-14, 05:10 PM

I'm kind of surprised, I thought that theater was as busy as any of the other theaters in the area. I went there many times.

**Vitalis** · September-08-14, 11:41 PM

The Death of any theatre diminishes us all - [[Unknown)
This thread reminds me of the long-gone Studio 8 theater in downtown Bham. For a short time in the 1970's a goodly number of "serious" American and European films were booked there. As for the rest of the "chain" - the Studio North [[now the Magic Bag); the Studio New Center [[at Third and W. Grand, now demolished); and the Studio [[I don't recall the location....Anyone?) along with the Surf, the Coronet, and the Trans-Lux Krim showed "foreign cinema" as far back as...well....before me, and that was a long time ago. Parking was always lousy for the Studio 8, and I'm sure that the neighborhood didn't much care for the congestion. But Studio 8 was the only place you could see a young actor named Jack Nicholson, in "Five Easy Pieces."

**nain rouge** · September-09-14, 09:03 AM

Originally Posted by Hermod

Did you ever see Mount Clemens in the late 1940s and early 1950s when it was a large collection of old hotels and mineral baths? They went out of style and were pretty much razed to the ground.

Right now, Mount Clemens is primarily residential with suburban sprawl shopping along Gratiot. Take the Partridge Creek footprint and overlay it on Mount Clemens and then think of how you would have to assemble the parcels and buy the properties to make it work.

Yes, and by razing all that stuff to the ground, enough space was made to allow for a outdoor mall. Certainly, it would've been a challenge to convert downtown Mount Clemens into a mall, but why are we so weak and timid? Somehow, we once found a way to demolish entire neighborhoods for freeways. Why can't we rebuild anything?

It'll always be easier to plop stuff on greenfields, but we can't do that forever. Eventually, we'll have to figure out how to redevelop within the existing confines of the metro area. What is Metro Detroit supposed to look like in 50 years? Sprawled out to 60 Mile? We'll go bankrupt.

**bailey** · September-09-14, 09:18 AM

Originally Posted by nain rouge

Yes, and by razing all that stuff to the ground, enough space was made to allow for a outdoor mall. Certainly, it would've been a challenge to convert downtown Mount Clemens into a mall, but why are we so weak and timid? Somehow, we once found a way to demolish entire neighborhoods for freeways. Why can't we rebuild anything?

Well, for one, all those properties are owned by different folks. Second, it's a public area. Partridge Creek type "lifestyle" centers can exclude things like rowdy teens and the poors [[loitering) by being private property and controlling access. Its the number one complaint of the blue hairs in Bham... those "outsiders" and "teens" being rowdy/hanging out all over the place. Tenants like the security and the one landlord and the uniformity of a mall. Patrons want the exclusion of...lets face it, poors and other races. Nordstrom isn't going to locate in a building with a risk that a dollar store could go in next door...Nordsrom shoppers aren't going to go shop where they'd need to walk past street people. Not here. Because we've spent 50 years building out to segregate from it.

Further, with regard to Mt. Clemens and forcing change, I thought we are all supposed to be against government condemnations and takings for Private uses? Because at this point that is the only way it changes.

It'll always be easier [and MASSIVELY cheaper] to plop stuff on greenfield

which is why it will be done 9 times out of 10 for as long as there are greenfields [[or disused golf courses) around here to build "lifestyle" centers, and vinyl clad shitboxes, and big box stores surrounded by oceans of parking.

Want it to change? gas needs to go to 15.00 a gallon forcing a massive structural change in how we in flyover country live our lives. Until it's not just a bit uncomfortable cost wise, but practically impossible for middle and upper middle class to have a car for each driving age member of the household to use for every.single.thing needed to go about their day, it'll be more of the same.

**iheartthed** · September-09-14, 09:27 AM

Originally Posted by nain rouge

Yes, and by razing all that stuff to the ground, enough space was made to allow for a outdoor mall. Certainly, it would've been a challenge to convert downtown Mount Clemens into a mall, but why are we so weak and timid? Somehow, we once found a way to demolish entire neighborhoods for freeways. Why can't we rebuild anything?

It'll always be easier to plop stuff on greenfields, but we can't do that forever. Eventually, we'll have to figure out how to redevelop within the existing confines of the metro area. What is Metro Detroit supposed to look like in 50 years? Sprawled out to 60 Mile? We'll go bankrupt.[/COLOR]

Michigan makes it incredibly easy to plop stuff on greenfields and also does not have a good system to hold companies accountable for cleaning up brownfields. That's why Michigan's cities are rotted to hell.

**Elevator Fan** · September-13-14, 07:31 PM

Originally Posted by Vitalis

The Death of any theatre diminishes us all - [[Unknown)
This thread reminds me of the long-gone Studio 8 theater in downtown Bham

The Studio 8 was located in the Green 8 Shopping Center across Greenfield Road from Northland Mall. The theater in Birmingham was the Studio 4, across Old Woodward from the Bloomfield Theater. It spent most of its time since those days as a high-end used car showroom. The front of the building continued to feature a sculpted "4".