Exploring what’s left of legendary drag show-turned-rock bar, Gold Dollar, in Detroit

By Steve Neavling
Motor City Muckraker

Along a desolate, blighted block in the Cass Corridor are the vacant remains of the once-legendary Gold Dollar, a small bar that packed in crowds with entertaining drag shows and live music.

Now the stage where the White Stripes performed their first live show in August 1997 is crumbling, and the ceiling above it is collapsing.

The bar closed in 2001 and has been vacant since, joining the fate of the other buildings on the 3100 block of Cass Ave.

But the property’s value has since skyrocketed because it’s just three blocks north of the Red Wings arena, which is scheduled to open next year. Now it’s owned by Urban Horticulture, a corporation that was registered by an East Lansing law firm, a move that keeps the true owners’ identities a secret. Urban Horticulture owns most of the block.

For most of the past 15 years, the Gold Dollar has been largely closed to trespassers or potential arsonists. But last month, a demolition crew razed two adjacent houses, leaving a gaping opening in the rear of the building.

The Gold Dollar first opened in the 1930s. From 1956 to the late 1980s, it was a popular drag show attraction. In 1996, the bar began attracting live music under new ownership.

Despite the talented bands that played there, the bar closed its doors for good.

“The Gold Dollar has become a right of passage for every aspiring band that comes through Detroit,” Amy Anselm of the band Blush told Metro Times. “It is such a shame it is closing its doors.”

In April 2015, the uniquely named “Another Fucking Bar” bar was demolished in the shadow of the Red Wings arena. It was a popular spot for punk music.

Here are photos of the old Gold Dollar, taken over the weekend by a photographer whose identity will remain anonymous.

  Abandoned Buildings, bar, Cass Corridor, music, Red Wings arena, white stripes

Steve Neavling

Steve Neavling lives and works in Detroit as an investigative journalist. His stories have uncovered corruption, led to arrests and reforms and prompted FBI investigations.

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