It was said to be Lansing's proudest municipal possession. It was designated as a memorial to veteran's of all wars. It was the place where countless memories were made. Yet, it was eventually forgotten, and virtually abandoned. Then, Lansing bureaucrats quietly disposed of it, like yesterday's trash. This is the story of the rise and fall of the Lansing Civic Center.

It began in 1944; Lansing's civic leaders had a dream. Their dream was for a downtown edifice to serve the Capital City's educational, cultural, and entertainment needs. The new project would replace the aging Prudden Auditorium, which was located in what eventually became the Lansing Civic Center's (LCC) east parking lot. Local industrialist William K. Prudden had built, and donated, the Prudden Auditorium to the city in 1916. At the time, Mr. Prudden was a pioneer in the developing automobile industry. His Lansing-based Prudden Wheel Company eventually became Motor Wheel Corporation, which was one of the world's largest producers of auto wheels. Prudden's name can still be seen today in Lansing, boldly lettered on a smokestack at his old wheel factory, which has recently been converted into lofts.

So, over a nearly ten year period, architects were hired, plans were drawn up and discussed, and properties were purchased. Over 30 houses and one gas station had to be cleared from the site. In April 1953, the Lansing community gladly gave it a thumbs-up, when they approved a $3.5 million dollar bond issue to help finance the project; construction commenced one month later. The dream became a reality when the 2-year, $5.5 million dollar project was wrapped up in the summer of 1955. The LCC's main attraction was the spacious 19,000 square foot, 6,500 seat Veterans Memorial Auditorium. It also included three full kitchen facilities, a basement exhibition hall, an attached three-story office building, and an attached Veterans building, with a ballroom and additional meeting rooms. A new Prudden Theatre was also in the LCC plans, to be built on the site of the Prudden Auditorium. The auditorium was razed in 1960, but the new theatre was never built.

Over it's forty-year life span, the multi-use LCC played host to dozens of events: Holiday on Ice, The Water Follies, Festival of Faiths, The Harlem Globetrotters, MSU basketball games, boxing matches, new car shows, custom car shows, trade shows, balls, club meetings, wedding receptions, banquets, conventions, clearance sales, home shows, live stage shows, sporting goods shows, circuses, rock concerts, and much more. The one big drawback to all these events was the lack of air conditioning. Summertime events were decidedly unbearable. The problem was resolved when air conditioning was finally installed in the fall of 1977, during a major renovation. Another welcomed change was new padded seats replacing the old uncomfortable wooden seats in the upper deck. Other additions included a Senior Center, an elevator, a new sound system, and fresh paint in the arena.

The custom car shows were a winter tradition at the LCC for many years. While the shows were advertised under different names over the years, it all started with the "Custom Car Autorama" in January 1957. The inaugural Autorama was sponsored by the local car club The Conquerors, who used the show to help raise funds to build a dragstrip planned for the Lansing area. The Conquerors brought in Mid-Michigan's finest customs again in 1958, but the Lansing dragstrip never materialized. Over the next three decades, Lansing-area car buffs would spend hours drooling over all sorts of customs, rods, race cars, and bikes in both the arena and lower level exhibition hall. Many famous cars graced the LCC's show floor, including the original Batmobile, The Munster Coach, Carl Casper's Cosmic Invader, Darryl Starbird's J-Bird, and Dick LaHaie's dragster. The yearly car shows usually featured diversions such as model car contests, slot car tracks, or video game tournaments. Other highlights of the shows were the autograph sessions and photo op's on the stage featuring centerfold models and celebrities. As the LCC was being phased out, the yearly car show was briefly moved to the Lansing Center in the 1990's, and then it quietly faded away. In October 2007, the show returned when the 50th anniversary of the first Conquerors Autorama was celebrated at the Lansing Center.

Rock concerts were another very popular attraction at the LCC. The 1970's and 80's saw many of rock's greatest acts roll into downtown and play the LCC. Lansing rock fans witnessed everything from Blue Oyster Cult's lasers, to Triumph's amazing light show, to Gene Simmons breathing fire. We also watched Rob Halford ride his Harley and Sammy Hagar "drive" his Trans Am onto the stage. Bands that rocked the house in the 70's and 80's include: Rush, Kiss, Journey, Aerosmith, REO Speedwagon, .38 Special, Peter Frampton, Ozzy Osbourne, Ted Nugent, Cheap Trick, Rainbow, Alice Cooper, Judas Priest, Iron Maiden, and Whitesnake. Some of these bands were actually still paying their dues, playing here well before becoming household names. One notable example was Bon Jovi, who played as a warm-up for Ratt in November 1985, nearly a year before they finally hit it big with their third album. The LCC didn't get the biggest bands however. Bands such as the Stones, The Who, Zeppelin, and Skynyrd, never played here. Lansing simply wasn't a big enough market for these bands.

Most everyone who grew up in Lansing has fond memories that were made here. Sadly, the LCC was quickly becoming outdated, like the Prudden Auditorium before it. Instead of renovating it again, Lansing's leaders chose to replace it. Ten years after the LCC's renovation, the new "Lansing Center" opened nearby in 1987, effectively sealing the LCC's fate. Unfortunately, the Lansing Center's design made it a poor substitute. It lacked one very important component, an arena. No arena meant no concerts, and no circuses. Regardless, the LCC's usage declined dramatically in the early 90's, until it basically became an abandoned hulk of a building. Our city's leaders debated for years over what to do with the derelict structure; renovate it for other uses, sell it, or demolish it. In October 1990, the mayor urged the Lansing City Council to sell. They agreed, and made a deal to sell the property for $4.22 million to local developers. The sale was completed in 1995, and the new owners demolished it in September, 1999. In it's place, an office building called Constitution Hall was built. The dream was lost, but the memories remain. For more Lansing Civic Center memories, please visit LostLansing.com