The Anchor Inn at Portage Lake is really tale of 2 venues. The original was a wood frame structure that goes back to the 1930's which hosted big bands and orchestras into the 1950's and 1960's. That original version was destroyed by fire in March 1972. The place was rebuilt in a fashion similar to an industrial building which still stands on the site today, albeit no longer operating as a club.
The 1970's version of the place hosted rock bands, in fact my buddy's band played there. I remember running the spotlight for them. The place was a bit out of the way but did decent business for a time. Many of the bands were local but national acts played there too. I found an ad for Spirit from 1977 for example, among others (see ads below). Eventually the owners got permission to add a topless bar in 1975 which was operating when I was there. During that period there was turmoil going on between the venue and the local community. Violations were cited and local folks complained about the volume of the rock bands.
That controversy culminated with a horrible car accident that killed 6 teens in 1977. The allegation was the occupants of the vehicle were served alcohol at Anchor Inn even though they would have been underage. The club was closed and then re-opened as a result. The venue applied to install a roller rink in 1982 but was turned down by the township. At that time the building had been vacant. I believe the structure on the lot today is the old venue but it does not appear to be operating as of 2024. It appears to be a storage building now.