The Collegian

Issue date: 9/6/07 Section: News

Used tables and equipment clutter the entrance of the Roxy, a former nightclub in Hillsdale.

Media Credit: Jan Wanek The Roxy's nearly century old building began as a movie house that hosted vaudeville performances, plays and music.

Its red neon sign stopped glowing years ago, but people still talk about the history of the Roxy Theater, which remains for sale in downtown Hillsdale.

Owner Jeff Emery has wrestled with the building for many years and recently decided to sell the former nightclub. Local law enforcement busted the Roxy in the past because minors were drinking on its property, and the venue closed in 2004.

"We had trouble with underage drinking," Emery said. "That hurt our business; that put the kibosh on it."

Today there are no seats or tables in the once-bustling downtown venue. Emery has cleaned the place for a passing of the torch.

"One bunch of bad apples spoiled it for a bunch of college students," he said. "It'd make a great nightclub for someone down there."

For 15 years, Saga, Inc. employee Steve Casai worked at the Roxy when it was called "The Dawn." During his tenure, it was a single screen movie house, he said.
It started on Sept. 4, 1919, and, in addition to movies, there were vaudeville performances, plays and an organ, Casai said.

Mystery shrouds its closing. In 1996, one of the two boilers which heated the venue quit working. Instead of replacing it, the theater company decided to discontinue the business, Casai said. The Dawn locked its doors.

The company hoped for a new location, especially near the Jonesville Wal-Mart but was unable to land a deal, Casai said.

"That was really the beginning of the end for us," he said. "They came back a couple of times, but that's about it."

What was once thought to be a great place for teenagers is now a downtown building that slumps against neighboring structures, vacant.

"They did a tremendous amount of work and it really enhanced the downtown," Casai said. "It's really a shame when you walk by there now, because it's deteriorating."

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