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