Michigan's Old Dance Halls and Pavilions, 1900s-1960s

Our current generations are familiar with nightclubs, dance bars, and concert venues. But before all those, there were the extremely popular dance halls and pavilions.

Dance halls go back deep into the 1800s, where the top floor of a saloon, hotel, or even a general store became a dance parlor at night.

In the late 1800s into the 1900s, dance pavilions became the rage. Huge palaces that were domed or towered with elaborate stages and large dance floors were packed nearly every weekend. The big bands and orchestras brought in the customers, as did jazz combos and eventually rock 'n roll groups in the 60s.

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The gallery below contains 50 photos of old dance halls and pavilions from the early 1900s and a few rock 'n roll venues from the 60s.

Compare these places (where your great-grandparents, grandparents, and parents went on weekends) with the ones you may have gone to in the past decade.

Take a look!