Friday, January 16, 2009

Downtown Historic Movie Palace Tour Part 6

Music Hall opened as the Wilson Theater in 1928. It has an Art Deco facade with a Spanish Renaissance themed interior. Having left Orchestra Hall during the depression and playing at several other venues, the Detroit Symphony Orchestra moved into the Wilson Theater in 1946 and rechristened it Music Hall. When the Orchestra moved again in 1951 the building was used for other purposes. Rehabilitation began in 1973 and the building was added to the National Register of Historic Places 1977. Music Hall is the last legitimate stage theater remaining in Detroit. It is the only Detroit venue built for the primary purpose of presenting live performances.

Thursday, January 15, 2009

Triton Pools



Trition Pools, originally uploaded by A Dubs.

Wednesday, January 07, 2009

Book Tower & Book Building Go Dark

One day after the unheated vacant office tower had its water cut off, the Book Building's last tenant has left and the building has closed. It appears that the new owners who bought the property in August don't want to pay to keep the building open.

Monday, January 05, 2009

The Thorn in Ilitch's Side?

After two plus years of demolition, construction, and reconstruction it appears as though we will finally be able to link a tenant to the building sitting square in the middle of the Macedonian Parking Cartel's vast Fox Town empire. Since the Book Tower has, for all intent and purposes, been put in mothballs, Bookies Bar is being forced to move to new digs. Reports are that the bar will be setting up shop at the location of the former CC Bar at the corner of Cass and Columbia.
CC's was demolished, except for one wall, and this new structure has risen in its place. With the money being spent, it looks like the owners of the building plan on being there for the long term. Olympia Development are planing to knock down several buildings in the area. The speculation is that this area will be the eventual home to a new hockey arena for the Red Wings. How will this new development affect these plans? One way or the other the property owners are sure to cash-in.

The original C.C. Bar in 2004
C.C. Bar in the summer of 2007.
These two walls were all that was kept from the original building.Today. The future home of Bookies.

Saturday, December 13, 2008

Olympia Development to Bring New Parking Opportunities to Downtown Detroit

The Downtown Development Authority has approved $2.5 million in state-funded grants to demolish several buildings owned by the Ilitch family. The funds are part of a pre-Super Bowl state allocation targeting Detroit’s most dilapidated structures. Unfortunately, four of the buildings shown below appear to be structurally sound. From various reports, the only building that is in danger of collapse is the Fine Arts/Adams Theater Building.

Taxpayers are once again being forced to foot the bill to demolish more of Mike Ilitch's dilapidated properties. Paved parking lots will replace the buildings. The only saving grace is that in an agreement with the Historic District Commission, the facade of the Fine Arts/Adams Theater building will be saved at an estimated cost of $500,000to to Olympia Development. It hasn't been specified whether or not the Adams Theater Auditorium itself will face the wrecking ball or what will go behind the facade.

479-481 West Columbia


Ancient Egyptian Arabic Order of Noble Mythic Shrine 2203-2211 Cass Ave




145 Elizabeth Street



Elizabeth Street Lofts 2030 West Grand River Ave

The Fine Arts/Adams Theater Building