Lindell AC (Detroit, Martin: garage, places, famous)

[Bondurant]

I have a list. It's quite small with only two entries. The list is of places I regret not visiting. Places that I cannot visit because they no longer exist. One of those places is CBGB's (the shell of which, a John Varvatos store, I did enter) in NYC. The other is the Lindell AC. Some say the Lindell was the first sports bar. It's a legendary place in Detroit. The site of a professional wrestling angle in which Dick the Bruiser is alleged to have wrecked the joint to antagonize Alex Karras and where Billy Martin punched out his own player when he was in town while managing the Twins.

It's said that the Lindell was a great place for the blue collar sports fans to mingle with famous athletes. Curious if anyone on C-D was a regular or even casual patron. Have any stories or memories of the place?

There is currently an exhibit on the Lindell at the Detroit Historical Society that runs until 01/05/2020 that I am hoping to check out in December.

https://detroithistorical.org/detroi...rst-sports-bar

[DTWflyer]

Far too young to have visited the Lindell AC in its hey-day.

I was there with my dad a few times in the late-90s/early 2000s right before it closed.
We would go there before going over to the Auto Show or a Wings game.
I remember going in there with a few buddies on a Opening Day right after we all turned 21.

It was divey, the memorabilia was awesome, the burgers were good, and you could just tell the place had history.

I wish it was still there.

[Bondurant]

Drove by the site where the Lindell stood last night. It was on the way from John K. King Books to the Sproat Street garage for LCA. I wonder what happened to the memorabilia. Must remain with the Butsicaris family. Did not have an opportunity for the exhibit at DHS.