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Report - - Vanity Ballroom, Detroit Michigan, Oct 2014 | European and International Sites | 28DaysLater.co.uk

Report - Vanity Ballroom, Detroit Michigan, Oct 2014

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dweeb

28DL Regular User
Regular User
The Vanity Ballroom is one of several music halls built in the musical heyday of the roaring 20's and 30's. Designed by Charles Agree and built in 1929, the Vanity is themed in an Aztec motif to differentiate it feom competing ballrooms. The first floor was mainly retail shops, with the ballroom taking up the entire second floor. The Vanity played host to big bands like that of Benny Goodman, Duke Ellington, and Tommy Dorsey until music tastes changed and the venue closed in 1958.

When the Vanity reopened in 1964, the crowds came back to enjoy a mild revival in swing, albeit in smaller numbers and only one night a week. In the 70's it started to cater to a more modern scene, with bands like the MC5, Ted Nugent, and The Velvet Underground packing them in. But by that point the east side of the city was sinking fast, leaving long stretches of Jefferson Avenue vacant and overrun with crime. Though several new owners tried to bring the Vanity back to its former glory in the 1980's, it eventually closed for good.

Since then, aside from some raves and dance parties hosted there in the 1990's, the Vanity has been vacant. The old signs were removed, and the architectural details started to vanish as well. Decay and vandalism have done the rest.

There is some hope for the Vanity, though, as the Jefferson-Chalmers area has shown a resurgence of interest. Nearby apartment buildings are being restored, and with them will come new residents. Though it is in rough shape, with gaps in the roof and collapsing walls, the Vanity is not so far gone that it can't be salvaged.


I liked this place a lot. Its kind of like Aztec meets Art Deco. At first I couldn't help thinking the false stone looked a bit like something from a theme park ride or a set from a cheap movie, but I guess in the 20's/30's this would have been very novel and unusual.

Beautiful glass ceiling light and remains of art deco fixtures and fittings, like everything else in Detroit it's had a battering but was still a rather beautiful place.

Again average photos from the point and shoot, but you get the idea...

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There were a LOT of coat hooks... thousands!
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Oxygen Thief

Admin
Staff member
Admin
Never heard of this one, nice find.

We're going to have to go back with decent cameras, even decent compacts.
 

The Kwan

28DL Regular User
Regular User
That chandelier is gorgeous, just imagine this place in its heyday, gorgeous and interesting.
 
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