Memories Of When Lansing’s Identity Wasn’t So Defined

Having been a resident of Lansing for over 50 years, I have lots of fond memories of the city that was.

Lansing was full of independently owned restaurants and nightclubs that had their own signature feature. Whether it was a type of food or a signature drink, Lansing was filled with great places. Today there are as many chains as privately owned food spots.

One that has never been duplicated was Boom Boom Room! A little tiki bar whose hey day was in the 50's and 60's and the signature drink was the Flaming Orgy! A volcano like bowl that was filled with several liquors to make a punch like concoction that had a center of Bacardi 151 that was set aflame.

Here is where things by today's standards, would get tricky. As many as six straws (maybe more) would be in the bowl, ready for the group du jour to attack it! That's right, six people, one bowl of liquor, drinking at the same time. I'd probably have a better chance of not catching anything if I licked a hand rail. Then again, the alcohol probably killed any germs.

By the time I was able to drink there, it was a dark and dusty shell of it's once vibrant past. An older gentleman in a cowboy hat and boots would be in his usual spot drinking screwdrivers and talked about his days as a stuntman for silent movie cowboy Tom Mix. Many drinks and fewer memories, made for a great time in what was once one of Lansing's most original hot spots.