Electric Circus (nightclub) - New Management and Closing

New Management and Closing

Later in 1966 the club, under different management, was briefly called the Balloon Farm, and in 1967 the lease was transferred to Brandt Freeman Int'l, Ltd. the General partner of The Electric Circus Company. Cat Mother & the All Night Newsboys was engaged as one of the first house bands under the new management.

By 1970 the "tune in, turn on" hippie culture was in decline. When a small bomb, reportedly planted by a member of the Black Panther Party exploded on the dance floor on March 22, 1970, injuring fifteen people, the negative publicity accelerated the decline of the club; it closed a year and a half later. According to an AP news story that appeared in the Toledo Blade on March 31, 1970, the Black Panther Party denied any connection to the student, Ishmael Brown, who reportedly planted the bomb. The AP story also stated, "Stan Freeman, President of the Electric Circus, denied that the discotheque had a dispute with the Black Panthers. 'We have benefits to raise money for the Panthers all the time,' he said. 'We have good relations with them.' Mr. Freeman stated he believed the explosion, which injured 17 persons, was an 'individual act' carried out by 'a man who wanted to show the world he could wreak havoc'"

After the Electric Circus closed, the building no longer functioned as a club or space for regular public performances, but the building was not significantly physically altered until 2003 when a major renovation eliminated the ballroom and converted the building into upscale apartments and retail space.