Detroit Olympia

Detroit Olympia
The Old Red Barn
Location	5920 Grand River Avenue Detroit, Michigan 48208
Coordinates	42°21′16″N 83°6′2″W / 42.35444°N 83.10056°W / 42.35444; -83.10056Coordinates: 42°21′16″N 83°6′2″W / 42.35444°N 83.10056°W / 42.35444; -83.10056
Opened	1927
Closed	1979
Demolished	1987
Architect	C. Howard Crane
Capacity	15,000
Tenants
Detroit Cougars/Falcons/Red Wings (NHL) (1927–1979) Detroit Falcons (BAA) (1946-47) Detroit Pistons (NBA) (1957–1961) Detroit Olympics (IHL) (1927–1936)

Olympia Stadium, better known as the Detroit Olympia and nicknamed The Old Red Barn, stood at 5920 Grand River Avenue in Detroit, Michigan from 1927 until 1987. It was best known as the home of the Detroit Red Wings hockey team of the National Hockey League (NHL) from its opening until 1979.

History

Several Detroit businessmen organized the Detroit Hockey Club, Inc. in 1926 and purchased the Victoria Cougars hockey team, along with a site at the corner of Grand River Avenue and McGraw Street to construct a stadium. The cornerstone for the building was laid March 8, 1927 and Olympia opened with a Boy Scout Day that included a parade of flags and rodeo on October 26, 1927.^[1] Shortly thereafter, the primary tenants of the building, the NHL Cougars, began their long residence. The Cougars played their first game at the Olympia on November 22, 1927 and Detroit's Johnny Sheppard scored the first goal at the new building.^[2] However, the visiting Ottawa Senators defeated the Cougars, 2-1. The Cougars later became the Falcons and finally, in 1932, were named the Detroit Red Wings by new owner James E. Norris.

In addition to the Red Wings, the Olympia was also home to the Detroit Olympics International-American Hockey League minor league team in the 1930s and the NBA's Detroit Pistons from 1957 to 1961. It hosted the NBA All-Star Game in 1959 and the NCAA Men's Ice Hockey Championship (known as the "Frozen Four") in 1977 and 1979.

The Olympia was also a major venue for boxing through the International Boxing Club (featuring such prominent fights as Jake LaMotta's defeat of Sugar Ray Robinson) and professional wrestling, as well as other events such as the American Legion Convention of September 21–26, 1931 which was addressed by President Herbert Hoover, and regular visits by the Harlem Globetrotters, Ice Capades, and Shipstads and Johnson Ice Follies. It hosted concerts by The Beatles on September 6, 1964 and August 13, 1966^{[citation needed]} as well as concerts by other popular performers and bands.

After the NFL's Detroit Lions moved from Tiger Stadium in Detroit to the Pontiac Silverdome in suburban Pontiac in 1975, the Red Wings seriously considered moving to the suburbs. The neighborhood surrounding the Olympia had been in decline since the 1967 riots, and two murders occurred within the building's shadow. The city of Pontiac offered the team a new arena, and Red Wings owner Bruce Norris was seriously considering the offer when the city of Detroit proposed a riverfront arena at one-third the rent that Pontiac was seeking, and a package including operational control of Cobo Arena and the adjoining parking structures.^[3] The Red Wings accepted Detroit's offer and moved into the new Joe Louis Arena, which was completed 19 days ahead of schedule.^[4]

The Olympia was considered to be a well-constructed building. Lincoln Cavalieri, general manager of Olympia Stadium, once said, "... if an atom bomb landed, I'd want to be in Olympia." Cavalieri, along with many in the Red Wings organization, were sad to leave it behind.

On December 15, 1979, three days after the first event held at Joe Louis Arena, the Red Wings played their final home game at the Olympia, a 4-4 tie against the Quebec Nordiques. Attendance at that game was 15,609.^[4] The Olympia was included in part of the celebration of the 32nd NHL All-Star Game, which took place at Joe Louis Arena on February 5, 1980. Because a provision in the Wings' lease with the city of Detroit prevented the Wings from operating Olympia Stadium in competition with Joe Louis or Cobo Arenas for events, or selling the building for use as a competitive venue, the building was shuttered permanently, and demolished in September 1987.

Overhead exit signs erected in the early 1970s along the Jeffries Freeway mentioning Olympia Stadium were taken down around 1980; the signs would be stored in the lower levels of Joe Louis Arena. Currently, the Michigan National Guard's Olympia Armory occupies the site. A historical marker is posted inside the armory commemorating the Olympia.

Architecture

The building was 32.6 m (107 ft) tall and constructed of a steel frame faced with red brick with brown terra cotta and stone trim in a Romanesque Revival style. The Grand River and McGraw facades originally included 13 storefronts.^[5] Near the parapet were terra cotta medallions depicting various athletes. When it opened, Olympia contained the largest indoor skating rink in the United States at 242 ft (74 m) by 110 ft (34 m).

The Grand River facade featured three-story arched windows with a large recessed arch in the center. The large arch originally was filled with black glass, however in later years it was covered with wood painted with the Red Wings emblem. Topping the facade was a pediment creating a gable-shaped roof.

The arena had five levels. The ground level through which patrons entered and featured a concourse that circled the seating area. Above were the mezzanine, main seating level and balcony. A fifth level not open to the public was just under the roof trusses. The trusses spanned 186 ft (57 m) and were 90 ft (27 m) above the floor.^[1]

The initial seating capacity was 11,563. On June 23, 1965, work began to add 81 ft (25 m) to the rear of the structure. The addition was four stories high and included additional seating and escalators to improve patron access to the upper levels. It expanded seating to 13,375 with standing room for 3,300 during hockey games.^[6] In addition to the new seats, the original 11,563 seats were replaced at a cost of $23 each and new boards and timeclocks were installed.^[1]

While not one of the most decorative, architect C. Howard Crane considered Olympia one of his most significant buildings. He stated that the importance lie in the refrigeration system buried beneath the concrete. Within in the 77,393 sq ft (7,190.0 m²) of available floor space were 74,880 ft (22,820 m) of piping. The system was replaced in 1967 and the final modification to the building was the addition of private boxes in 1970.^[1]

References

Detroit portal

1. ^ ^{a b c d} "Olympia Arena, 5920 Grand River Avenue, Detroit, Wayne, MI". Library of Congress-Historic American Building Survey. 1986. http://lcweb2.loc.gov/cgi-bin/ampage?collId=pphhdatapage&fileName=mi/mi0100/mi0185/data/hhdatapage.db&recNum=0&itemLink=. Retrieved January 21, 2011. 
2. ^ "Wings of Legend-Johnny Sheppard". Detroit Red Wings.com. http://redwings.nhl.com/club/page.htm?bcid=his_wol_wol-johnsheppard. Retrieved January 21, 2011. 
3. ^ Tom Henderson (January 1980). Detroit Free Press. 
4. ^ ^{a b} "Arena Information". Detroit Red Wings.com. http://redwings.nhl.com/club/page.htm?id=43888. Retrieved January 21, 2011. 
5. ^ "Olympia Stadium". Emporis.com. http://www.emporis.com/application/?nav=building&lng=3&id=olympiastadium-detroit-mi-usa#. Retrieved January 21, 2011. 
6. ^ Joe Falls (September 30, 1995). "Those magnificent men in red". http://apps.detnews.com/apps/history/index.php?id=45. Retrieved January 21, 2011. 

Events and tenants
Preceded by Border Cities Arena	Home of the Detroit Cougars/Falcons/Red Wings 1927 – 1979	Succeeded by Joe Louis Arena
Preceded by War Memorial Coliseum	Home of the Detroit Pistons 1957 – 1961	Succeeded by Cobo Arena
Preceded by First Arena	Home of the Detroit Olympics 1929 – 1936	Succeeded by Duquesne Gardens (Pittsburgh Hornets)
Preceded by Maple Leaf Gardens Maple Leaf Gardens Montreal Forum	Host of the NHL All-Star Game 1950 1952 1954–1955	Succeeded by Maple Leaf Gardens Montreal Forum Montreal Forum
Preceded by Kiel Auditorium	Host of the NBA All-Star Game 1959	Succeeded by Convention Hall
Preceded by University of Denver Arena Denver, Colorado	Host of the Frozen Four 1977	Succeeded by Providence Civic Center Providence, Rhode Island
Preceded by Providence Civic Center Providence, Rhode Island	Host of the Frozen Four 1979	Succeeded by Providence Civic Center Providence, Rhode Island