The 20 Grand "Gold Room" Ballroom & Twenty Grand Hotel
Built in 1953, the 20 Grand was THE hottest nightspot in Detroit. And everyone who was anyone in the music or entertainment business performed there. The original night club burnt down in 1958 but was quickly rebuilt. The new club featured a bowling alley and jazz lounge on the first floor and the infamous "Gold Room" ballroom and cabaret theater on the second. The Gold Room could seat up to 1200 people.
At one time, Detroit DJ and record producer, Ernie Durham, had a studio built on the second floor. The 20 Grand saw performances by John Lee Hooker, BB King, Gladys Knight, Martha Reeves, Stevie Wonder, the Supremes, Chuck Jackson, George Clinton, Parliament-Funkadelic, The Velvettes, The Miracles, The Contours, The Shades of Blue, Miles Davis, Aretha Franklin, and a plethora of Motown stars.
When the party ended at the Gold Room, it continued at the coffee shop in the hotel around the corner. Performers who entertained at the 20 Grand stayed in the hotel. The hotel was called The Twenty Grand and was not owned by the same people who owned the night club. The hotel was owned by Golden World music producer, Ed Wingate.
During their first tour of Detroit, Mick Jagger and the Rolling Stones are said to have first met and watched a performance by BB King here. Later in life, the 20 Grand was to be the setting for the launch for Detroit's contribution to the Techno and House Music movement with many famous DJ's performing there. The club burnt down in early 2000 and the hotel, which by that time was home to prostitutes, gangs and drug use, was in great disrepair. Eventually, the hotel was closed, abandoned, burned several times and was razed in 2013.
At one time, Detroit DJ and record producer, Ernie Durham, had a studio built on the second floor. The 20 Grand saw performances by John Lee Hooker, BB King, Gladys Knight, Martha Reeves, Stevie Wonder, the Supremes, Chuck Jackson, George Clinton, Parliament-Funkadelic, The Velvettes, The Miracles, The Contours, The Shades of Blue, Miles Davis, Aretha Franklin, and a plethora of Motown stars.
When the party ended at the Gold Room, it continued at the coffee shop in the hotel around the corner. Performers who entertained at the 20 Grand stayed in the hotel. The hotel was called The Twenty Grand and was not owned by the same people who owned the night club. The hotel was owned by Golden World music producer, Ed Wingate.
During their first tour of Detroit, Mick Jagger and the Rolling Stones are said to have first met and watched a performance by BB King here. Later in life, the 20 Grand was to be the setting for the launch for Detroit's contribution to the Techno and House Music movement with many famous DJ's performing there. The club burnt down in early 2000 and the hotel, which by that time was home to prostitutes, gangs and drug use, was in great disrepair. Eventually, the hotel was closed, abandoned, burned several times and was razed in 2013.
