Demolition of the Legendary Orbit Room in Grand Rapids Has Begun

Demolition of the Grand Rapids concert club the Orbit Room has begun. Between the Orbit Room and when it was called Club Eastbrook, there are a lot of memories.

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The Orbit Room Closed Its Doors in 2018

It was a sad day back in 2018 when the word got out that the Orbit Room finally closed its doors and this happened on New Year's Eve.

The building was shut down because it did not pass safety ordinances. There was so much to fix plus other venues that moved into Grand Rapids like 20 Monroe Live, the owners decided it was better to just close its doors.

In the 25 years the Orbit Room was open, and part of that time the venue was called Club Eastbrook, there is hardly a soul in West Michigan that doesn't have a story to tell. Former agent Ron Clause said "For more than a decade it was the premier venue for capacity in West Michigan. It put Grand Rapids on the map for every artist's routing. A good stop between Chicago, Detroit, and Indianapolis."

Demolition on The Orbit Room Has Begun

Unfortunately, time brings change, and the demolition of the Orbit Room located at 2525 Lake Eastbrook Boulevard SE, has begun. Who doesn't have a story about a show at the Orbit Room or when it was called Club Eastbrook? I played there in a band called Lazy Bones when it was Club Eastbrook several times back in the 90s. I remember driving across from the east side of the state to see shows like Dokken back in the day. I came up from Indiana when I lived there to see Hellyeah when it was the Orbit Room.

What West Michigan Had To Say About the Orbit Room

I have plenty of memories of the Orbit Room and from when it was called Club Eastbrook. So I put a thread out on Facebook to find out what others had to say:

One common thread throughout all the posts was, the Orbit Room was a place you saw a band for the first time.

You see the names of the artists in the post and go wow...what a great show or I can't believe they played there and now they headline stadiums.

Many concertgoers met their first band at the Orbit Room.

There were a lot of firsts in the hundreds of people that chimed in on the Facebook thread. You can definitely say the Orbit Room sure made an impact on the music scene in West Michigan and with the people that saw a show at the venue.

Orbit Room...RIP.