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The Lansing Civic Center served the Lansing community for over 40 years, hosting banquets, car shows, circuses, concerts, conventions, live stage shows, meetings, sports events, wedding receptions and much more. Many great memories were made within it's walls. As the years passed, the neglected Civic Center became outdated and it was eventually abandoned. In 1987, The new Lansing Center opened nearby on Michigan Ave. Although it lacked an arena, it attempted to take over the role of the doomed Civic Center. But it simply wasn't suitable for many of the events the Civic Center had hosted, including concerts. The Lansing City Council chose to sell the Civic Center property. It was demolished in 1999, and today a drab office building occupies the site.

Construction: Lansing Mayor Ralph W. Crego broke ground for the new Lansing Civic Center in May 1953. The building would include a 6,500-seat, 27,392 square feet arena with stage, meeting rooms, full kitchen facilities, basement level, an attached office building, and an attached Veterans building, with ballroom and additional meeting rooms. Construction was completed in the summer of 1955, and the dedication festivities took place from October 30th to November 5th, 1955.

Custom Auto Shows: The Custom Auto Show was a winter tradition in Lansing for many years. Car enthusists came to drool over gleaming Hot Rods, Dragsters, Street Machines, Muscle Cars, Customs, and even Playboy Bunnies, all of which filled both levels of the Civic Center.

Concerts: Over the years, the Civic Center hosted everything from Big Bands to Country Music to our favorite, Rock Shows. And rock the Civic Center we did. Bands performing here include Aerosmith, Alice Cooper, Blue Öyster Cult, Dio, Eddie Money, Foghat, Journey, Judas Priest, Ozzy Osbourne, Peter Frampton, Rainbow, REO Speedwagon, Rush, Sammy Hagar, Ted Nugent, Triumph, Whitesnake, ZZ Top, and many more.

Other Events: The Civic Center hosted many other events over the years, including Holiday On Ice, Clearance Sales, Circuses, Conventions, Boxing Matches, Basketball Games, Wedding Receptions, Meetings, Banquets, and Live Stage Shows.

Demolition: Sadly, the demolition of the Civic Center began in the summer of 1999. The building being toppled by a pair of bulldozers on September 19th was quite the spectacle. The huge building crashing to the ground created an enourmous cloud of dust, which blanketed the area, and spectators, paying their last respects. Cleanup of the massive pile of rubble at the site continued long after that fateful day.

Article: An article detailing the history of the Lansing Civic Center was published on the fantastic Michigan History site Waterwinterwonderland.com in December, 2007.