Holt’s Forgotten Ballroom: Midway Gardens, 1929-1934

Here’s a piece of Holt history that not very many people are privy to: the old Midway Gardens Ballroom.

To find the exact address is tough, since the original 1930s listing had the ballroom at US-127 north of Holt. But since then, the highway was built, changing that chunk of 127 to South Cedar Street. What we do think, however, is that the ballroom was somewhere in the vicinity of the current Midway Street, off Cedar and south of Willoughby.

The Midway Gardens Ballroom was built in 1929, and unsuspecting what a short life it would have. In 1931 the venue was expanded and included an orchestra wing where the Big Bands of the era could come and perform.

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The ballroom was extremely popular and in 1933, it was taken a step further and remodeled into a beer garden. With this, they were able to accommodate one thousand customers at a time...and they did.

For five years, the Midway Ballroom/Gardens was the place where residents of south Lansing, Holt, Mason and other surrounding communities would come to dance and drink the night away. In 1934 it all came crashing down when a fire destroyed the building. That was it. It was not rebuilt.

Instead, the owner, Charles Smithers, built a general store on the property in 1936. The store lasted many years but was finally shut down and obliterated in an unknown year.

Trying to find the exact site location is not simple, but it was listed as being 4½ or 5 miles south of Lansing. Smithers passed away in 1966.

Scroll down to see the approximate location.