Olympia Stadium (“The Old Red Barn”)

Before Little Caesars Arena, before even Joe Louis Arena, there was “The Old Red Barn.” Olympia Stadium opened at Grand River and McGraw in 1927 and for half a century was where Detroit went to roar — home of the Red Wings, where Gordie Howe skated for 25 seasons (1946–1971) and the early Stanley Cup dynasties were built.

It wasn’t only hockey. A young, unknown local boxer named Joe Louis won some of his first pro fights here in 1934–35, and the Beatles played their final Detroit concert under its roof in 1966. When the Wings moved to the riverfront in 1979, the Old Red Barn sat empty and decaying until it was demolished in 1986. Today the Michigan National Guard’s Olympia Armory occupies the spot, with a small plaque inside marking six decades of memories. One lovely afterlife detail: the salvaged “Olympia” letters from the building were later worked into the Red Wings’ newer homes — a literal piece of the Barn living on.