Grashopper Club / Legion Hut / Vet's Hall, 3001 Bluff Road (@ Gills Creek): circa 2007 20 comments
This delapidated bar is on Bluff Road just south of I-77 on the banks of Gills Creek next to the old Diamonds strip club. The whole area has had a lot of recent land clearing, and since I took these pictures, a real-estate sign has been put up on the property.
I didn't see any street number on the building and so wasn't able to google it to see exactly what it had been. I suspect that if I had gone in, some of the notices on the door or something else inside might have given me a clue, but from the state of the place I figured I would need a hard hat and steel toed shoes to be comfortable doing that.
Some of the bar fixtures and chairs are still in there, but the stuffed animals are something of a puzzle.
UPDATE 29 April 2014 -- I've updated the post title from "Bar" to "Grasshopper Club / Legion Hut / Vet's Hall".
Also, commenter BJ sends in this Vet's Hall playbill:
Now, there is not a year listed, but we know that 30 March fell on Friday in 2007, and that "Burns Out Bright" apparently debuted in 2004 and "Skull Baby" debuted in 2003, so I'm saying this has to be 30 March 2007 and not 30 March 2001 or 30 March 1990. Therefore, I'm updating the closing date to "circa 2007".
UPDATE 21 August 2014 -- This place is not long for the world, as a demolition order has been posted. Interestingly, given that we never came to a firm conclusion about the address of this place, the order gives it as 3001 Bluff Road, so that is what I am updating the post title to:
Photosets:
20 Responses to 'Grashopper Club / Legion Hut / Vet's Hall, 3001 Bluff Road (@ Gills Creek): circa 2007'
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Homer
23 Apr 14 at 12:59 am
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@Ted - I have a question for you. How do you get the nerve up to just wander around these places taking shots? Especially inside and around these old buildings. I'm always paranoid that someone (owner or cops) will show up wanting to know what I'm doing lurking (trespassing) around. My answer would be that I was taking pics to post to the Columbia Closings blog but I don't know how that would fly.
Homer
23 Apr 14 at 1:37 am
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@Homer- if you call it "The Run Down Barn", all that stuff inside instantly becomes ambiance. Hire a valet and a doorman to only let a select few in, charge $20 minimum for drinks and you've got yourself a successful nightclub. Seems like that's how those places work in NY and L.A. LOL
TahoeChic
23 Apr 14 at 5:59 am
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This might not be right, but from some poking around I found an address 3026 Bluff for a place called "US Veterans." The owner, a Mr. Ralph Pelkey, seems to have died in 2008, but I have no idea a) when this place might have been open, and b) if this is indeed the same spot.
badger
23 Apr 14 at 10:58 am
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Or it might be 3020 Bluff. Not completely sure.
badger
23 Apr 14 at 10:59 am
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I think this building (and not the one next door) was the nightclub The Grasshopper in the '60s & '70s. The State mentions it in several articles.
Midnight Rambler
23 Apr 14 at 12:37 pm
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Grasshopper or Cricket?
People have identified the adjacent former Diamond's as The Cricket Club and the nearby strip mall is Cricket Plaza.
ted
24 Apr 14 at 12:23 am
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@Homer -- I have rarely had problems. In general owners don't seem to care too much about really run down former businesses and they are rarely formally "posted". I have had security tell me to move on several times, but that's about it.
Of course there are some places where you can't help but think this would be a good place for people who don't want to be found, which gives me pause.
ted
24 Apr 14 at 12:26 am
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@TahoeChic - love the idea. Want to go in as partners? We can split the cost of the plywood 50/50...:^)
Homer
24 Apr 14 at 1:37 am
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Grasshopper Club mentioned in The State on April 4, 1967.
Midnight Rambler
24 Apr 14 at 7:17 am
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Did it mention the location or give a description that confirmed its location. Aside from that, how neat: The Cricket Club and the Grasshopper Club.
badger
24 Apr 14 at 3:52 pm
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The '67 article says Bluff Rd.; the July 9, 1974 article says "near the intersection of Bluff Road and South Beltline."
My parents used to go there before football games in the '60s then go screaming up Bluff Rd. to the stadium.Midnight Rambler
25 Apr 14 at 7:04 am
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I knew this place as the "Legion Hut" back in the mid 90's. I saw quite a few punk rock shows here. Sad to see it such a state of disrepair.
BJ
25 Apr 14 at 1:26 pm
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I remember this place when it was open as The Grasshopper Club. I worked there for a year or so as a cocktail waitress. I was early 20's and this was 1968 or 1969. I know I left Columbia on New Years Day, in 1970. I was not from there but living there with someone who was working near Columbia at Sumpter. The place was very nice as far as I could tell. Very large and I remember that everything in there was priced fifty cents. You had to bring your own bottle in, place it behind the bar and purchase the shots mixed drinks back at fifty cents. There was a five dollar cover charge and a membership fee to join. There was a bouncer that looked like a mountain, a former wrestler, I was told. He wasn't needed though...never saw a fight or an argument. The place could seat hundreds, they had a band and a dress code. Cool place, very mellow and I made a lot of money there. I only worked there, never hung out there.
Nora
18 Feb 17 at 9:01 am
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Thanks to the person who posted these pictures. I had tried and tried to find the place on the internet, but I was looking for a place on Fairgrounds Rd. Seems like I remembered it being near a fairgrounds...had forgotten the name of the road. I was able to find the apartment complex that I lived in also...on Burnside Dr. Of course it was no longer $139 a month.
I loved working at that Grasshopper Club. I went to work at 10PM -until. I made enough money there to allow me to pay all my bills, and get a sun tan by the pool every day and paint my pictures and I sold those things too. Young people who lived in my apartment complex needed something for those white walls. I was in hog heaven while there. Well, I hope I have not been too boring. Thank you again.Nora
18 Feb 17 at 9:10 am
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Well, I could not quit thinking about this old place. I hope I'm not the only one still alive who remembers it as The Grasshopper Club. I would sure love to know if the big old sign that was out front still exists. If anyone has pictures of what it looked like, I would love to see those!
I laugh now, thinking of how I had to become somewhat refined to work there. I had come straight from a blue collar, working man's bar in OH and went to work at this classy place with folks in dress clothes and acting like somebody. I had been used to rough and tumble, a few fist fights, and hard drinking ways of the good old boys from the hills of KY and TN, working in the factories and construction. One of the bartenders there told me I needed to 'sachee' over to the table and take the drinks, and then present the tray for a moment and if they did not pick up the change, walk away. I did not know the term sachee'....so he had to show me. lol. I actually learned a lot there. I learned to relax, slow down, and not act so 'common'...as one of the other cocktailers said. I even quit using swear words, at least while there. I will be back to this site and hope to see someone else comment on their memories.Nora
19 Feb 17 at 9:04 am
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@Nora - You appear to be 10 to 15 years older than I am, I have lived in Columbia and on that side of town (Garners Ferry Road area most of my life. I do not remember it as the Grasshopper Club but that may be because I never really paid attention to it until I started driving in 1972 and then I still don't recall the name of it. Seems like I want to remember Vets Hall, I do not remember it as Legions Hut. What I do know or remember is that since 1972 when I started driving and traveling Bluff Road more, that area of town never impressed me as having a nice club to go to. I always thought the area was quite depressed. You might be interested in reading about Dick's Flamingo Club and Mary's Celebrity Supper Club on this site.
Rick
19 Feb 17 at 9:55 am
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This was in 1968 and 1969. On New years day 1970 I left Columbia. It was a nice place. Dress code, and it was a 'membership' club. Jackets for men and dresses or pant suits for the ladies. Nothing rowdy here, same band every night playing the same songs over and over. It wasn't my cup of tea as a young person back then, I liked a little more lively music and atmosphere. But the tips I made were terrific. Loved it!
Nora
14 Mar 17 at 11:34 am
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I remember two other waitresses, a beautiful blond young lady named Pat, and a 40ish attractive German lady. I had the first section when you walked in, seemed like Pat had the middle and German lady had the third section. I may be wrong. Been a while. over 47 yrs.
Nora
20 Apr 17 at 2:51 pm
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@Nora I have been trying to find information about this place from stories my mother told. hornesandhalos81@gmail.com
Ashleigh
29 Apr 17 at 2:58 am
I think I'll purchase this place, run to Lowe's and get a few pieces of plywood and have this place running in a couple of weeks. Looks like my retirement prospect....LOL