61. The Big Pavilion

Location: At Singapore Yacht Club parking lot, Water and Culver Streets, Saugatuck
Date: 1909-1960

It was a sensation. No building before or since has come to symbolize “Saugatuck” more than the Big Pavilion dance hall, which opened to a huge crowd on the 4th of July, 1909. Electricity had not yet come to Saugatuck so the 5,000 flashing lights on the interior arches and an additional 5,000 lights on the exterior were powered by an in-house generating system. It was the second largest dance hall in America, and steamships and the Interurban train brought as many as a thousand people a day to its doors. The music was hot and the dancing was extraordinary. Ice cream was available on the dance floor level, and, after the repeal of Prohibition, drinks were served in a huge bar below. The addition of a movie theater, that showed a different film every night, proved to be a popular place to leave the kids. The huge waterside dock was used for community water festivals and public docking. A mysterious fire destroyed the building on May 6, 1960.