In today's video we look at the site of the former Phelps Lounge, in Detroit's North End neighborhood. The street address for the 2-story section is 9000 Oakland Ave, and in 1921 it was home to a silent film house called the Academie Theater.
The Academie changed hands a time or two, and in 1934 it was renamed The Echo Theater, proud to be showing "talkies."
The single-story structure attached to the theater is 9006 Oakland Ave, and in 1945 it housed a jazz club called the Bizerte Bar. The Echo Theater closed down in 1952, but the Bizerte Bar kept going.
In 1960, Eddie Phelps bought the two attached properties. He had the wall between 9000 and 9006 Oakland knocked out and created the Phelps Cocktail Lounge, the "Midwest's finest in entertainment!"
It turned into a big deal. The biggest names in blues, R&B and funk music came to Detroit to play the Phelps Lounge. The Temptations, James Brown, Muddy Waters, Fats Domino, Gladys Knight, Etta James, Little Richard, The Isley Brothers, Jackie Wilson, Otis Redding, Ike & Tina Turner...there's a famous story that in 1968, George Clinton transformed the Parliments into the Funkadelics during a 10-show residency at the Phelps Lounge.
It was considered a class "A" nightclub in its heyday.
But that Heyday passed. The city of Detroit was changing. The final show at the Phelps Lounge was on November 23, 1980 with Bobby Bland and B.B.King.
The building has sat abandoned since an arson fire in 1981, forgotten for over 40 years.
I recently had the opportunity to venture inside the historic nightclub. It is in VERY poor condition, and I feel quite fortunate to have been able to capture this footage, before the entire dilapidated structure collapses.
00:00 Intro & History // 02:10 Arson // 03:11 Lounge & Stage // 08:35 Basement // 13:30 Upstairs // 17:05 Exterior
Big shout out to @EHERG The amount of research this guy does is incredible and inspiring! It's from him I learned of the Phelps arson story. Check out his in-depth article on the history of this location https://www.facebook.com/eherg/posts/pfbid034VH957PE2MQqLM4K2wBYBEGQCkNqMmmZgwnvj135asYyBh4JNeJddS732eoWoojfl
Check out the 2016 footage of the abandoned Phelps Lounge from @RuinRoad
https://youtu.be/0w4kaIjvHf4 The bar is a LITTLE more trashed, but overall not much has changed...there's even a glass bottle still sitting in the same place it was 7 years ago!
The side of the building proudly sports a colorful mural by Kobie Solomon. You can check out more of his work on Instagram https://www.instagram.com/kobiesolomons_eye_g/
Disclaimer: Pinetop Jackson does not break into buildings.
Every location we document is open with no sings warning against trespassing present at the time of visit. We do not vandalize. While we do respect some of the graffiti encountered, we do not practice this art.
Our goal and our intent is to document these historically significant locations for posterity, and we enter them with respect.
We take nothing but photos (and video!) and leave nothing but footprints.
#abandonednightclub #abandonedplaces #detroitmusic
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