00:00There are Detroit landmarks and then there are Detroit landmarks that were literally picked up
00:04and moved. I'm Danielle Flynn for Rockin' Road Trips at the Elwood Bar and Grill in Detroit.
00:08On a baseball or football home game day, the Elwood is hard to miss. The patio is packed,
00:13the music's going, and Detroit fans are getting ready for the game. But this little building
00:17has been partying in Detroit since 1936 and has two locations under its belt. And I don't mean
00:23two separate Elwoods. I mean the building was literally moved. The Elwood was originally built
00:29at the corner of Elizabeth and Woodward. And if you've ever wondered where the name came from,
00:33there you go. El from Elizabeth and Wood from Woodward. Elwood. With its unmistakable round
00:39corner and blue and cream exterior, the Elwood became a Detroit fixture. The architectural style
00:45is called Streamline Modern, an offshoot of Art Deco that became popular in the 1930s. The Elwood
00:52is such a great surviving example that the building was listed in the National Register of Historic
00:57Places in 1985. Then in the 90s, Detroit was changing. Plans were underway for Comerica Park
01:04and unfortunately the Elwood was sitting right in the path of development or redevelopment,
01:09should I say. Imagine somebody telling you, we need this spot for a new baseball stadium,
01:13so we're moving your bar. Not the tables, not the sign, the whole building. Actually including
01:19the tables and the sign and the light fixtures. Everything up. Move. Instead of letting a piece
01:26of Detroit history face the wrecking ball preservationist, Chuck Forbes decided to save
01:30the Elwood along with another historic Detroit landmark, the Gem Theater. So in 1997, the Elwood
01:36literally went for a ride. The entire building was picked up and moved nearly 1900 feet from its
01:41original home at Elizabeth and Woodward to East Adams near Brush. The Gem Theater was also moved to
01:47make way for Comerica Park development and if you go inside the Elwood today, there is a very cool
01:52reminder of both journeys. Liz Markle has been managing the Elwood since it reopened in 2002 and
01:58Liz encourages you to look up. After the Elwood was moved and restored, it was finally reopened in 2002
02:05and when did they choose to reopen a bar that has been displaced by construction of a baseball stadium
02:11on Tigers opening day? Of course, you couldn't write a more Detroit ending and talk about landing in the
02:17right spot. Today, the Elwood sits between Comerica Park and Ford Field. It has become one of Detroit's
02:23most iconic pregame party destinations. On home game days, you'll find Tigers and Lions fans packing the
02:29patio, grabbing food and drinks and getting fired up before heading to the stadium. So the next time
02:34you're having a drink at the Elwood, remember the building underneath you has been around for 90 years
02:39and it actually traveled through downtown Detroit to get there. It survived redevelopment,
02:45it survived moving day and it is celebrated in its comeback on baseball's home opening day.
02:52How Detroit is that? I'm Donyell Flynn for Rock and Road Trips. Before the next Detroit home game,
02:56we'll see you at the Elwood Bar and Grill.
02:59The weird, the wild, the wonderful. Rock and Road Trips with 94.7 WCSX.
