18 July 18 • 2019
jn
T
he Palace of Auburn Hills has
served Metro Detroit for 31
years. This fall, however, will
mark the end of an era — the Palace will
be torn down and redeveloped by the
Schostak Brothers & Company.
Despite this news, there is no shortage
of history surrounding the Palace. After
the collapse of the Pontiac Silverdome’
s
roof in 1984, Detroit Pistons owner Bill
Davidson decided it was time to search
for a new home for the beloved basket-
ball team.
With the help of Robert Sosnick and
David Hermelin, who later became
Davidson’
s business partners, they found
the perfect spot: Auburn Hills.
In 1986, they decided to go ahead
with the development of The Palace
of Auburn Hills. Davidson had a strict
deadline for the completion: Oct. 13,
1988, the opening night for the Detroit
Pistons.
Sosnick and Hermelin recruited Jason
Horton, Davidson’
s representative to the
development team, to
help design the elaborate
building.
“I literally spent every
day of my life at the
Palace before the Sting
grand opening concert on
Aug. 13, 1988,
” Horton
said.
The team began with 18 pages of pre-
liminary sketches but continued devel-
oping ideas as the Palace was being built.
“It was the first arena in the world to
have multiple suite levels,
” Horton said.
“Before, arenas had nothing other than
skyboxes. This arena provided fantastic
sightlines for basketball.
”
The Palace also housed a television
studio that could accommodate multi-
ple broadcasts for local news, opposing
teams and cable networks.
“We were the first to introduce gour-
met food at a sports and entertainment
venue,
” Horton said. “Not only that, but
we also were the first to have a semi-au-
tomated beverage distribution center.
”
The Detroit Pistons weren’
t the only
inhabitants of this magnificent building
— The Palace was also a huge draw for
many musicians.
“The Palace was recognized by artists
as a place to play if you wanted to sound
good because our design was beneficial
to maximizing sound acoustics,
” Horton
said. “We had a massive equipment grid
that covered the arena. All of the light-
ing and speakers could be rigged on the
floor then hoisted into the air.
”
Even with these impressive features,
Tom Gores, the current owner of the
Detroit Pistons, has partnered with the
Schostak Brothers to tear down and
redevelop the Palace. Horton believes
corporate offices will be built where this
Michigan icon once stood.
“No one could ever dream that it
would be torn down after 30 years,
”
Horton said. “I can still remember giv-
ing Bob Seger’
s entourage a tour of the
Palace and observing Mr. Hermelin nail
a mezuzah to the door post of the own-
er’
s suite on Aug. 12.
”
Whether your favorite memories stem
from Detroit Pistons playoff games or
dancing and singing along to your favor-
ite musicians, the Palace of Auburn Hills
will always hold a special place in the
hearts of many Michiganders. ■
V
isitors to the Oak Park
Community Pool witnessed
an unforgettable scene July 7
when lifeguard Maya Greenstein, 16, of
Southfield, dove into the pool, whisked
out the oxygen-deprived body of a
4-year-old girl, performed CPR and
saved her life.
Greenstein said she was scanning the
pool when she noticed a little girl lying
face down in the water. Greenstein blew
her whistle to activate the emergency
action plan and immediately jumped in
the pool.
“When I saw the girl was blue all over,
I didn’
t know how long she’
d been under
water, and I was terrified,
” Greenstein
says. “Her mother ran over, screaming,
but I said I had to do CPR. I put her
down on the concrete and started doing
compressions.
”
In the meantime, a second lifeguard
called 911 while another ran for the pool
manager.
“Eventually she started throwing up,
started to get a little color back,
” says
Maya, who is going into grade 11 at Beth
Jacob High School in Oak Park. “The
problem was she had water in her lungs,
so we kept doing more and more com-
pressions, and she kept throwing up.
”
Greenstein became a certified life-
guard last summer and says she had
always been nervous she would freeze
when confronted with an emergency.
She needn’
t have worried.
“Maya was amazing,
” said the little
girl’
s mother who asked to be identified
as D.S. “She held herself together, never
lost her composure and kept everyone
calm. She was literally an angel from
heaven, at the right place at the right
time, and we are indebted to her forever.
”
Naturally, such a sight was terrifying
for everyone who had been in the pool.
One such bystander, Malka Kramsky of
Oak Park, expressed the sentiment of the
crowd: “Everyone was so afraid … then
suddenly the girl opened her eyes. It was
a miracle.
”
Shortly after the girl started respond-
ing, the paramedics and Hatzalah (a
community medical service) arrived. An
oxygen mask was applied to the little girl
and she was taken by ambulance to the
hospital where she stayed for observa-
tion overnight.
“Thank God, she was able to come
home; there was no damage,
” said D.S.,
who stayed in constant contact with
Greenstein throughout their hospital
stay. “It was a sobering reminder not to
take your eyes off a small child in the
water for even a second, even in shallow
water.
” She also said her entire family is
overcome with appreciation to God for
the miracle they experienced.
Greenstein experienced a rush of
adrenaline for the rest of the day. “It was
only my third week on the job,
” she says.
Other community members who’
d
been at the pool were even more
amazed and impressed, especially with
Greenstein herself. Many sent messages
commending her actions to Greenstein
and her parents. Aliza Sosne of Oak Park
said Greenstein exhibited “true grace
under pressure … Maya was thrust into
an incredibly hard position and did the
best she could ever do.
”
Greenstein’
s message to the com-
munity: “Make sure to follow rules
at the pool; it will make it safer for
everyone and help prevent tragedies.”
She also recommends that everyone
— even people who aren’
t up for the
grueling lifeguard training — take a
course on CPR. ■
Quick Action
Composed teen lifeguard saves
small child by using CPR.
jews d
in
the
ROCHEL BURSTYN CONTRIBUTING WRITER
Maya Greenstein
While the Palace is coming down this fall,
the original development of the building
is worth remembering.
Set for Demolition
CORRIE COLF STAFF WRITER
A photo from the
building’
s construction
JASON HORTON
Jason Horton
SEYMOUR GREENSTEIN