Olympia operated from 1927 until 1979, and you're right...that is unheard of nowadays.
The Joe was a great venue, and I saw many Wings games there as well as a kick-ass Kid Rock concert.

Early on I, too, went to weekend matinees at Olympia. I was pretty young, but remember the early Red Wings fondly. Ted Lindsay, Alex Delvecchio, Roger Crozier, Doug Gadsby, Norm Ullman, Doug Harvey, Pete Mahovlich, and of course the incomparable Mr. Hockey...Gordie Howe.

Born and raised in the Motor City cemented my allegiance, and I've been lucky to witness many memorable Red Wing moments, including their lean years, and the resurgence after naming Steve Yzerman a young captain. Since then we've seen the Russian Five, a President's Trophy record year, Sergie Federov, Vladimer Konstintinov, Nick Lidstrom, Pavel Datsyuk, and Henrik Zetterburg. My all-time favorite live event was Steve Yzerman's game 7 overtime goal against the Blues. I was right in the corner where they gathered to celebrate...epic!