Location: East of Coghlin Park on Culver Street, Saugatuck
Date: 1960 to 1976

Advertising itself as “Tops in Music,” the Blue Tempo was a popular straight and gay venue in the 1960s and was — perhaps unintentionally — the first gay bar in West Michigan. The building originally served as an ice house. A number of cabins overlooking Kalamazoo Lake were added to the rear of the building in the 1940s. This hotel was first called the “Ed-Mar” after its owners Ed and Marie Demeter. The site became the Blue Tempo when Donald “Toad” Davis took over in 1960. The Blue Tempo is remembered as being full of unusual art works and artifacts, cramped, noisy, crowded — and at times even wet when the Kalamazoo Lake flooded into the bar and dance floor. At the time this photo was taken, the front portion of the building housed the “Cozy Kitchen.” A mysterious fire destroyed the structure in July 1976.

Watch a presentation by Dr. James Schmiechen about the Blue Tempo here:

• Videotaped presentation about the Blue Tempo by Dr. James Schmiechen

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