Guest Writer: Jay Krammes
Grewal Hall, located at 224 S. Washington, is situated in a building with nearly a century of downtown Lansing history behind it.
Constructed in 1926, the building stands on a site that once housed a late-1800s granary, reflecting the area’s transition from early commercial use to the dense retail corridor that Washington Square later became. Over the decades, the building cycled through a wide range of tenants — department stores, restaurants, a disco-era nightclub, a hookah lounge, and a gay club — each leaving its own imprint. When developers committed to revitalizing the long-vacant space, they preserved the original steel trusses and open architectural character, embracing the building’s industrial past rather than covering it up.
When it reopened in 2023 as Grewal Hall at 224, the venue immediately filled a gap in Lansing’s event landscape, offering room for up to 900 people and a production setup capable of hosting touring acts. The Verve Pipe’s inaugural performance signaled a new chapter for Washington Square — one where the building’s history and its modern function finally aligned. Today, with concerts, weddings, and community events filling its calendar, Grewal Hall stands as one of downtown Lansing’s most notable examples of adaptive reuse and a key contributor to the city’s growing cultural momentum.
Information for this article can be found by clicking the links below.
- https://downtownlansing.org/news/new-chapter-lansings-live-music-scene
- https://www.lansingcitypulse.com/stories/music-venue-to-breathe-new-life-downtown-at-former-gay-club-hookah-lounge,19606
- https://www.lansing.org/listings/grewal-hall-at-224/8851
- https://www.hall224.com
Photo Credit: Matthew Dae Smith/Lansing State Journal
