WALLED LAKE CASINO
Walled Lake, Michigan
| Just 100 feet from the water of Walled Lake, Michigan, Judd
Taylor and his sons Jake and Ernest constructed the first Walled Lake
Casino in 1917. Before long it burned down and was speedily replaced
by the New Casino Pavilion owned by Louis and Leona Tolettene.
Inside this pavilion sixty hand-painted silk lights simulating stars hung
from the ceiling, where they blended with the sparkling beams of light
reflecting from the mirror ball suspended from the middle of the
ceiling. They helped to make the ballroom a fairyland come true for
romantic couples.
In good weather customers could sit out in the garden behind the
building to sip the beverages from the bar or eat the food served from the
restaurant.
From Memorial Day though Labor Day huge crowds descended upon the
Walled Lake area to enjoy themselves. A good share of them danced to
the marvelous strains of the bands of Wayne King, Dorsey Brothers, Sammy
Kaye, Les Brown, Guy Lombardo, Red Nichols, and that great favorite of
Midwesterners, Lawrence Welk. Members of these bands usually stayed
overnight at the nearby Angell Inn.
Detroit radio station WJR carried as many as three broadcasts a week
from the Casino and often relayed them coast-to-coast. |
Walled Lake Casino, Walled Lake Michigan, 1932. McFarlane
Brothers Orchestra. |
Persons within easy driving distance often drove to the Casino. On
Sundays autos proceeded bumper-to-bumper on their way to and from the ballroom
area. This heavy traffic made it almost impossible for the Walled Lake
inhabitants to enter or leave their driveways. For four decades years
thousands of dancers from the Detroit and surrounding environs made their way to
enjoy the dance floor's 110 feet by 120 feet of polished maple.
The first Casino had a bad reputation not shared by the later one. As a
matter of fact, there was little disorderly conduct occurring in the New
Casino. The management attributed it in part to their position of
requiring men to wear a coat and tie.
The greatest popularity of this ballroom occurred just before and after World
War II. During the war years it remained closed because gas rationing
effectively barred dancers from it.
By the 1950s it became obvious to the Tolettene nephews, Albert and Elmer,
who now operated the Casino. that television, home air-conditioning, and
changing recreational practices were causing a decrease in the size of the
crowds at the Casino. They attempted to supplement their income from the
Casino by booking name acts like the Four Freshmen, Kingston Trio, and the Four
Lads, but business did not improve sufficiently for them to retain management.
O.J. Kraemer believed that he could operate the Casino profitably and he
purchased it. By insulating and heating it he extended the pavilion's
season. Next he booked rock and roll acts including Chuck Berry, Diane
Warwick, and Fabian, and made it a "go-go" center. Before long
incidents of reckless driving, malicious destruction of property, and teenagers
in possession of alcohol and drugs, along with rowdiness and fighting in the
vicinity of the Casino, concerned its neighbors.
Toward the end of 1965 the dwindling receipts at the box office indicated
that the Casino management would have to go out of business or change its mode
of operation. Fate intervened on Christmas night 1965 when the ballroom
burned to the ground. Today only a few visitors to Walled Lake remember
the great and glorious days they had spent in the pavilion.
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