Ford Auditorium coming down?

**Whitehouse** · July-08-11, 05:50 PM

Originally Posted by Rocko

I always knew Adamo was well-known for their intelligence....

July 08. 2011 4:52PM
Ford Auditorium demolition halted by leaking transformers

Shame on them. Pissing wherever they want....

Okay, who was it? Bumble Bee or Optimus Prime??

Edit:
Found it. It was Bumble Bee.

lilpup · July-08-11, 06:06 PM

Originally Posted by ghettopalmetto

Ford Auditorium presents so many challenges to proper spatial relationships, it's not even funny.

The Auditorium has no physical relation to anything around it. It's situated on a roadway that's too wide, set too far back from the sidewalk, is surrounded by nothing but some scattered trees, and pays no respect to the Renaissance Center, Hart Plaza, or the riverfront. It's as if the damned thing just fell from outer space and happened to land on that spot.

Ford Auditorium predates all the crap immediately around it except for Mariner's Church. What is now the concreted hell that is Hart Plaza used to be the open green space where the weekend ethnic festivals were held.

The auditorium's low rise profile was meant to not impose on the riverfront and maintain the open feel that section used to have - also part of why the parking is underground instead of on surface.

Now we just have an almost entirely paved/concreted waterfront that gets hot as hell in the summer and you know high summer heat & crowds of people aren't a good mix here.

**Barbara_10** · July-08-11, 07:12 PM

Why aren't Detroiters outraged?
Why wasn't that money used to tear down abandoned/burned out houses?
People live in those neighborhoods, and fear every day/night of their lives.

lilpup · July-08-11, 07:41 PM

Why does everyone think it's so simple to just go around knocking down houses?

There's a lot more to it than that.

**Barbara_10** · July-08-11, 07:50 PM

The city owns most of them. What's the problem?

**guito13** · July-09-11, 08:08 AM

I was driving home from work yesterday and happened to take Atwater down past cobo. I saw about 3-4 fire trucks and several police vehicles lining auditorium drive. There was a nice size chunk already ripped off of the south side of the building as well. I was wondering what was going on there, thanks for the info.

**FlyByDon** · July-12-11, 10:53 AM

Ford Auditorium 7-12-2011

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**Hypestyles** · July-12-11, 02:21 PM

..how expensive would it be just to blow it up..

**Gistok** · July-12-11, 03:13 PM

.... there's an intact parking structure underneath it....

**Hypestyles** · July-12-11, 03:20 PM

is the parking structure being kept? a lot of folks I know are uneasy about underground parking..

**gthomas** · July-12-11, 03:37 PM

A new step toward a better use of Hart Plaza. Hopefully plans flow right along after the demolition. Just wondering about the tunnel under Hart Plaza, will it be upgraded? It will be cool to put some sort of design lighting or graphic [[water theme) wall art under there? What's up with that police station, any plans to renovate or move?

**Zacha341** · July-16-11, 10:02 AM

Yesterday I took a tour boat ride on the Diamond Jack ship and got a couple of photos from my mobile phone of the Ford Auditorium demolition...

**Bigb23** · July-17-11, 04:11 AM

Slightly off topic - but i check every so often on what the Detroityes guests are looking at. They found this gem online.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Ull2HdEC-Ts&feature=related

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=evxDI...eature=related

This last one is for Ray1936, Who was one tough DPD motorcycle cop.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=P-ydb...eature=related

**detroitbob66** · July-18-11, 12:33 AM

Here ya guys and gals go....http://detroitbob66.tumblr.com/

**Gistok** · July-18-11, 01:14 AM

Sadly the city asked if anyone was interested in any of the Ford Audotorium skin [[white marble or panels of Swedish pearl blue granite) and they got no requests.... Too bad... I thought that blue textured granite would have made for nice reuse....

**wolverine** · July-18-11, 01:18 AM

Originally Posted by Barbara_10

Why aren't Detroiters outraged?
Why wasn't that money used to tear down abandoned/burned out houses?
People live in those neighborhoods, and fear every day/night of their lives.

Money is not the issue. It's time. It's a mess of paperwork, approvals, and investigations. Detroit could have billions dumped on them to clean up the neighborhoods, the but those burned out houses would still be standing.

**FlyByDon** · August-13-11, 07:17 PM

Almost gone 8/13/2011

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**Lowell** · August-13-11, 08:11 PM

Now it they could only continue with that butt-ugly riverfront view-blocking parking lot to the right.

**Whitehouse** · August-13-11, 08:44 PM

That was quick!

**kraig** · August-14-11, 08:26 AM

Originally Posted by Whitehouse

That was quick!

Maybe too quick. Did anyone ever notice any crews removing asbestos prior to demolition?

**Hypestyles** · August-14-11, 04:58 PM

... make it greenspace--

**royce** · August-15-11, 05:01 AM

Originally Posted by Lowell

Now it they could only continue with that butt-ugly riverfront view-blocking parking lot to the right.

Lowell, I think the parking structure is a necessary evil. It provides parking for the RenCen, especially the Marriot Hotel. The problem that I have with it is that it shows the dips of the ramps. Had it been built like the RiverEast parking structure [[the nicest looking parking deck in Detroit IMHO), you wouldn't see those dipping ramps.

**Paul Meller** · August-15-11, 06:46 AM

Peoples attitudes towards construction can change on a dime due to economics or events.

The Old Redford Theather Japanese murals were painted over when Japan bombed Pearl Harbor.

I believe the painstaking removal of the bland paint is somewhat complete, revealing the Japanese murals again. Mostly done by volunteers. In fact, they are returing it back to most of it's origins, before the "modern updates" over the years [[in the 60's 70' 80's)

I haven't been there for some time, so I wonder where the restoration progress is at.

If your want to see some vintage buildings, 100+ years old and looking original, try Europe. They built them well, plus they keep them up... even after the devastation of two World Wars.

**Gistok** · August-15-11, 11:34 AM

Originally Posted by Paul Meller

Peoples attitudes towards construction can change on a dime due to economics or events.

The Old Redford Theather Japanese murals were painted over when Japan bombed Pearl Harbor.

I believe the painstaking removal of the bland paint is somewhat complete, revealing the Japanese murals again. Mostly done by volunteers. In fact, they are returing it back to most of it's origins, before the "modern updates" over the years [[in the 60's 70' 80's)

I haven't been there for some time, so I wonder where the restoration progress is at.

If your want to see some vintage buildings, 100+ years old and looking original, try Europe. They built them well, plus they keep them up... even after the devastation of two World Wars.

In some ways the Redford is better than it was when built. They took the old Grand Lobby chandeliers from the razed [[1950s) Oriental Theatre in downtown Detroit, and reinstalled them beautifully in the Redford Theatre Lobby, where they add an elegant touch. Only thing missing was the tall vertical "blade" Redford sign over the building entrance. It could be seen for blocks.

I do believe that the rare Japanese atmospheric effects have been completed in the auditorium.

Re-painting or simple drapery was the easiest way to remodel an old theatre... thus rendering it restoration prone at some point in the future. Unfortunately when they constructed a smaller [[2,089 seat) theatre inside the shell of the [[impossibly wonderful Mayanesque) 2,975 seat Fisher Theatre back in 1961... the ripped out almost every last piece of the exotic ornate plasterwork. Only 1 hidden wall still exists of the original.