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

