Restored Crofoot Ballroom doubles staffing to 50 people

Thursday, July 1, 2010 | Source: Metromode

It's been three years since the Crofoot Ballroom project began in earnest, creating one of the more stunning turnarounds and successes in Metro Detroit today.

Blair McGowan took a condemned historic building (the oldest commercial structure in Oakland County) in downtown Pontiac, a Cool Cities grant, and some ambition and turned them into one of the hottest new music venues in the region, on par with Detroit's St. Andrews Hall and the Blind Pig in Ann Arbor. The Crofoot Ballroom now has 50 employees (up from 25 when the project started) and three interns. He expects to hire even more people this year as he continues to expand his business.

"The word is out that the Crofoot is here and it's a beautiful venue," says McGowan, who also helped start St. Andrews Hall and Clutch Cargoes in Pontiac. "It has great sound and lights. People appreciate it."

The musical venue features rock bands, hip hop groups, electronic DJs, and a host of other music genres popular with today's youth. It is branching out and bringing more shows to places like the Compuware Arena in Plymouth, MOCAD and CAID in Detroit, and The Factory in Rochester. The Crofoot is also experiencing a good bit of growth from helping some smaller bands grow by letting them play on the building's smaller stage (the Pike Room), the main stage, and then onto bigger venues like the Royal Oak Music Theatre.

"We treated them right the first time so they keep coming back," McGowan says. He adds that the venue is also hosting other events, such as wedding receptions, bar mitzvahs, political gatherings, and business meetings. "We're just responding and it's working," McGowan says.

This isn't the first reincarnation for the building at the corner of Pike and Saginaw streets. In the 1830s the Crofoot survived a fire that decimated much of downtown. In the 1840s it was renovated by Michael E Crofoot, a prominent business man who helped build the 1880s-era Soldiers and Sailors Monument in downtown Detroit. That resulted in a Mansard roof and Victorian-style tower, which were eventually removed by World War II. The building nearly fell victim to 1970s urban renewal projects, but survived.

It was abandoned and on the city's demolition list as late as 2005 before McGowan saved it. He restored it much to its 1850s state, preserving a number of interior details such as old wood beams and brick walls. Today it serves as a place with an incredible amount of character in a downtown filled with architectural highlights.

Source: Blair McGowan, owner of the Crofoot Ballroom.
Writer: Jon Zemke