The Tropics - Detroit

Detroit, Michigan, United States

The Tropics opened on June 19th, 1941.

It was located in the Hotel Wolverine and was "Michigan's most unusual night spot and cocktail lounge," as a postcard called it. A huge sign on top of the red brick building blazed "Tropics Room." Inside, bamboo fixtures, fake trees and papier mache animals transported Detroiters to the South Pacific.

The club was made up of the Native Village and the Cocktail Lounge. The former was a replica of a South Pacific island village that "skillfully captured all the beauty and charm of far-off tropic lands. A romantic atmosphere is added by the exotic music of a fine dance orchestra atop America's only traveling band stand," a postcard boasted.

The Native Village offered nightly dancing in air-conditioned comfort. The Cocktail Lounge was authentic right down to the pitter-patter of rain on the roofs of the Rainfall Bars. A waterfall tumbled down behind the bar. Orchestras lured couples out onto a large dance floor that was lighted up in colors.

As a result of financial decline in later years, the Hotel Wolverine was turned into federally subsidized senior housing in 1968.

By 1985, the building had degenerated and was closed by the city where it stood vacant for another dozen years before being demolished in 1997. Today it is a parking lot.