Detroit Olympia
Encyclopedia
Olympia Stadium, better known as the Detroit Olympia and nickname
d 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.
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. 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. 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 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. The Red Wings accepted Detroit's offer and moved into the new Joe Louis Arena
, which was completed 19 days ahead of schedule.
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. 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.
style. The Grand River and McGraw facades originally included 13 storefronts. 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 (73.8 m) by 110 ft (33.5 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 (56.7 m) and were 90 ft (27.4 m) above the floor.
The initial seating capacity was 11,563. On June 23, 1965, work began to add 81 ft (24.7 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. 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.
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 77393 sq ft (7,190 m²) of available floor space were 74880 ft (22,823.4 m) of piping. The system was replaced in 1967 and the final modification to the building was the addition of private boxes in 1970.
Nickname
A nickname is "a usually familiar or humorous but sometimes pointed or cruel name given to a person or place, as a supposedly appropriate replacement for or addition to the proper name.", or a name similar in origin and pronunciation from the original name....
d The Old Red Barn, stood at 5920 Grand River Avenue
Grand River Avenue
US Highway 16 , also called Grand River Avenue for much of its length, is one of the principal pre-Interstate roads in the state of Michigan. Before the creation of the United States Numbered Highway System in 1926, the highway had been designated M-16...
in Detroit, Michigan
Detroit, Michigan
Detroit is the major city among the primary cultural, financial, and transportation centers in the Metro Detroit area, a region of 5.2 million people. As the seat of Wayne County, the city of Detroit is the largest city in the U.S. state of Michigan and serves as a major port on the Detroit River...
from 1927 until 1987. It was best known as the home of the Detroit Red Wings
Detroit Red Wings
The Detroit Red Wings are a professional ice hockey team based in Detroit, Michigan. They are members of the Central Division of the Western Conference of the National Hockey League , and are one of the Original Six teams of the NHL, along with the Toronto Maple Leafs, Montreal Canadiens, New York...
hockey team of the National Hockey League
National Hockey League
The National Hockey League is an unincorporated not-for-profit association which operates a major professional ice hockey league of 30 franchised member clubs, of which 7 are currently located in Canada and 23 in the United States...
(NHL) from its opening until 1979.
History
Several Detroit businessmen organized the Detroit Hockey Club, Inc. in 1926 and purchased the Victoria CougarsVictoria Cougars
The Victoria Cougars were a major league professional ice hockey team that played in the Pacific Coast Hockey Association from 1922 to 1924, and in the Western Hockey League from 1924 to 1926...
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
Rodeo
Rodeo is a competitive sport which arose out of the working practices of cattle herding in Spain, Mexico, and later the United States, Canada, South America and Australia. It was based on the skills required of the working vaqueros and later, cowboys, in what today is the western United States,...
on October 26, 1927. 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
Johnny Sheppard
John Oswald "Jake" Sheppard was a Canadian professional ice hockey forward who played nine seasons in the National Hockey League with the Detroit Cougars, New York Americans, Boston Bruins and Chicago Black Hawks from 1926–27 to 1933–34.Born in Montreal, Quebec, Canada, Sheppard began his career...
scored the first goal at the new building. However, the visiting Ottawa Senators
Ottawa Senators (original)
The Ottawa Senators were an amateur, and later, professional, ice hockey team based in Ottawa, Canada which existed from 1883 to 1954. The club was the first hockey club in Ontario, a founding member of the National Hockey League and played in the NHL from 1917 until 1934...
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
Detroit Olympics
The Detroit Olympics were a minor league hockey team located in Detroit, Michigan that was a member of the Canadian Professional Hockey League 1927-29 and the International-American Hockey League 1929-36. The team played all of their home games at the Detroit Olympia...
International-American Hockey League minor league team in the 1930s and the NBA
National Basketball Association
The National Basketball Association is the pre-eminent men's professional basketball league in North America. It consists of thirty franchised member clubs, of which twenty-nine are located in the United States and one in Canada...
's Detroit Pistons
Detroit Pistons
The Detroit Pistons are a franchise of the National Basketball Association based in Auburn Hills, Michigan. The team's home arena is The Palace of Auburn Hills. It was originally founded in Fort Wayne, Indiana as the Fort Wayne Pistons as a member of the National Basketball League in 1941, where...
from 1957 to 1961. It hosted the NBA All-Star Game in 1959
1959 NBA All-Star Game
The 1959 NBA All Star Game was the ninth NBA All-Star Game.-Western Conference:Head Coach: Ed Macauley, St. Louis Hawks-Eastern Conference:Head Coach: Red Auerbach, Boston Celtics...
and the NCAA Men's Ice Hockey Championship
NCAA Men's Ice Hockey Championship
The annual NCAA Men's Ice Hockey Championship tournament determines the top men's ice hockey team in NCAA Division I and Division III. The semi-finals and finals of the Division I Championship are branded as the Frozen Four, a passing nod to the NCAA Men's Division I Basketball Championship - known...
(known as the "Frozen Four") in 1977 and 1979.
The Olympia was also a major venue for boxing
Boxing
Boxing, also called pugilism, is a combat sport in which two people fight each other using their fists. Boxing is supervised by a referee over a series of between one to three minute intervals called rounds...
through the International Boxing Club (featuring such prominent fights as Jake LaMotta
Jake LaMotta
Giacobbe LaMotta , better known as Jake LaMotta, nicknamed "The Bronx Bull" and "The Raging Bull", is a former American world middleweight champion boxer...
's defeat of Sugar Ray Robinson
Sugar Ray Robinson
Sugar Ray Robinson was an African-American professional boxer. Frequently cited as the greatest boxer of all time, Robinson's performances in the welterweight and middleweight divisions prompted sportswriters to create "pound for pound" rankings, where they compared fighters regardless of weight...
) and professional wrestling
Professional wrestling
Professional wrestling is a mode of spectacle, combining athletics and theatrical performance.Roland Barthes, "The World of Wrestling", Mythologies, 1957 It takes the form of events, held by touring companies, which mimic a title match combat sport...
, as well as other events such as the American Legion
American Legion
The American Legion is a mutual-aid organization of veterans of the United States armed forces chartered by the United States Congress. It was founded to benefit those veterans who served during a wartime period as defined by Congress...
Convention of September 21–26, 1931 which was addressed by President Herbert Hoover
Herbert Hoover
Herbert Clark Hoover was the 31st President of the United States . Hoover was originally a professional mining engineer and author. As the United States Secretary of Commerce in the 1920s under Presidents Warren Harding and Calvin Coolidge, he promoted partnerships between government and business...
, and regular visits by the Harlem Globetrotters
Harlem Globetrotters
The Harlem Globetrotters are an exhibition basketball team that combines athleticism, theater and comedy. The executive offices for the team are currently in downtown Phoenix, Arizona; the team is owned by Shamrock Holdings, which oversees the various investments of the Roy E. Disney family.Over...
, Ice Capades
Ice Capades
The Ice Capades was a traveling entertainment show featuring theatrical performances involving ice skating. Shows often featured former Olympicand National Champion figure skaters who had retired from amateur competition....
, and Shipstads and Johnson Ice Follies
Ice Follies
Shipstads & Johnson Ice Follies was a touring ice show featuring elaborate production numbers, similar in concept to Ice Capades. It was founded in 1937 by Eddie Shipstad, Roy Shipstad, and Oscar Johnson, who also skated in the show. In later years, Olympic skaters such as Donald Jackson, Barbara...
. It hosted concerts by The Beatles
The Beatles
The Beatles were an English rock band, active throughout the 1960s and one of the most commercially successful and critically acclaimed acts in the history of popular music. Formed in Liverpool, by 1962 the group consisted of John Lennon , Paul McCartney , George Harrison and Ringo Starr...
on September 6, 1964 and August 13, 1966 as well as concerts by other popular performers and bands.
After the NFL
National Football League
The National Football League is the highest level of professional American football in the United States, and is considered the top professional American football league in the world. It was formed by eleven teams in 1920 as the American Professional Football Association, with the league changing...
's Detroit Lions
Detroit Lions
The Detroit Lions are a professional American football team based in Detroit, Michigan. They are members of the North Division of the National Football Conference in the National Football League , and play their home games at Ford Field in Downtown Detroit.Originally based in Portsmouth, Ohio and...
moved from Tiger Stadium in Detroit to the Pontiac Silverdome
Pontiac Silverdome
The Silverdome is a domed stadium located in the city of Pontiac, Michigan, USA, which sits on . It was the largest stadium in the National Football League until FedEx Field in suburban Washington, D.C...
in suburban Pontiac
Pontiac, Michigan
Pontiac is a city in the U.S. state of Michigan named after the Ottawa Chief Pontiac, located within the Detroit metropolitan area. As of the 2010 census, the city had a total population of 59,515. It is the county seat of Oakland County...
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
Bruce Norris
Bruce Arthur Norris was owner of the Detroit Red Wings from 1952 to 1982. He was the son of James E. Norris and half-brother of James D. Norris. Members of the Norris family owned the Red Wings for almost fifty years before selling the franchise to Mike Ilitch in 1982. Bruce and Marguerite 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. The Red Wings accepted Detroit's offer and moved into the new Joe Louis Arena
Joe Louis Arena
Joe Louis Arena, nicknamed The Joe and JLA is a hockey arena located at 600 Civic Center Drive in Detroit, Michigan. It is the home of the Detroit Red Wings of the National Hockey League. Completed in 1979 at a cost of $57 million, Joe Louis Arena is named after boxer and former heavyweight...
, which was completed 19 days ahead of schedule.
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
Quebec Nordiques
The Quebec Nordiques were a professional ice hockey team based in Quebec City, Quebec, Canada. The Nordiques played in the World Hockey Association and the National Hockey League...
. Attendance at that game was 15,609. The Olympia was included in part of the celebration of the 32nd NHL All-Star Game
32nd National Hockey League All-Star Game
The 32nd National Hockey League All-Star Game was held in Joe Louis Arena in Detroit, home to the Detroit Red Wings, on February 5, 1980. The Wales Conference all-star team won for the fifth consecutive time. Reggie Leach was voted MVP after scoring one goal and one assist...
, 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
Interstate 96
Interstate 96 is an intrastate Interstate Highway that is entirely within the US state of Michigan. Its western terminus is at an interchange with US Highway 31 and Business US Highway 31 , on the western boundary of Norton Shores southeast of Muskegon. Its eastern terminus is at I-75 near the...
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
Michigan National Guard
The Michigan National Guard consists of the Michigan Army National Guard and the Michigan Air National Guard.-Units:Michigan Army National Guard units include:* Joint Forces Headquarters, Lansing, MI* 177th Military Police Brigade, Taylor, MI...
'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 RevivalRomanesque Revival architecture
Romanesque Revival is a style of building employed beginning in the mid 19th century inspired by the 11th and 12th century Romanesque architecture...
style. The Grand River and McGraw facades originally included 13 storefronts. 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 (73.8 m) by 110 ft (33.5 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 (56.7 m) and were 90 ft (27.4 m) above the floor.
The initial seating capacity was 11,563. On June 23, 1965, work began to add 81 ft (24.7 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. 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.
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 77393 sq ft (7,190 m²) of available floor space were 74880 ft (22,823.4 m) of piping. The system was replaced in 1967 and the final modification to the building was the addition of private boxes in 1970.