Detroit’s Paradise Valley, which was largely destroyed by “urban renewal” programs in the 1960s, was a center in the development of Black music in Detroit.
Paradise Valley Knockers, 1940s, Courtesy of Adam Stanfel. Photo: Jeremy Deputat.
Paradise Valley
Club Casbah, Club El Sino, Frolic Show Bar, Club Gay Haven… magical places all destroyed by federal highway “improvement” projects in the 1960s. Detroit Sound Conservancy seeks to preserve and celebrate the impact of Detroit’s Paradise Valley largely destroyed by “urban renewal” programs. We will maintain a vertical file of music venues and other music-related businesses once located in the neighborhood. Additionally, we seek to preserve primary source materials, including artifacts like the knockers photographed above — once used to signal approval of stage shows and entertainers at bars — and oral histories not already documented by other archives and museums.
This page is a work in progress. If you have any questions, edits, or additions, please contact us at info@detroitsound.org or call direct at 313-757-5082.
City Scape Model of Paradise Valley
City Scape Model of Paradise Valley, Detroit, MI Circa 1951, Lawrence Technological University, Architectural Design VII, Professor Karl Griemel, Tim McDonough, Cori Linnell, May 1994. Graystone Jazz Museum Collection.