Join the Friends of the Grande and author-historian-musician-preservationist Leo Early for a tour of historically significant Grande sites. Friday October 7 the tour will start at our rallying point, the Lincoln Park Historical Museum where plenty of municipal parking will be available. The museum will be open two hours prior to our 3:30 P.M. boarding call so that attendees may check in and view the marvelous exhibits featuring the MC5 and famed artist Gary Grimshaw.
At 4 P.M. sharp our tour begins by “bombing the hood”, cruising through the neighborhoods the MC5 called home. A handful of haunts, homes and schools will be acknowledged from the comfort of our 40 passenger air-conditioned Blue Lakes charter bus. The next leg of the three hour excursion will take us up Fort Street in the direction of Dearborn, hometown of Henry Ford and Grande Ballroom impresario Russ Gibb.
This segment of our adventure will roll us past a handful of locations significant to Uncle Russ’ life and career. Departing Dearborn our charter will transport us up Livernois, “The Avenue of Fashion” to the University District. There we will take note of buildings significant to the 60’s music scene and to students of the University of Detroit. Next we will head south to Grand River and Beverly for our stop curbside at the Grande Ballroom, 50 years on from the rock n’ roll re-opening weekend! Light refreshments will be provided with plenty of opportunity for photos and conversation. Please note that the interior of the building is not safely accessible and off-limits to the general public. We will NOT be entering the building. Once we’ve had an opportunity to pay our homage, we will depart the Grande at approximately 6:30 PM for our return trip to Lincoln Park. An afterglow location will be announced at the conclusion of the tour offering food and cocktails at attendees’ expense.
