WXYZ electric sign on Maccabees Bldg.

**Ed Golick** · June-19-09, 04:33 PM

Does anybody know when the WXYZ Translux sign on top of the Maccabees building was dismantled? When it was unveiled in 1949, it held the record for the world's largest electric motion sign, at 90 feet by 7 feet. The sign carried commercials, time, weather and WXYZ programming information.

**g-dub** · June-19-09, 04:41 PM

I think it was around 2005? A little while after WSU bought it and closed the radio station. I could be thinking of a different call letter sign.

**East Detroit** · June-19-09, 04:59 PM

g-dub, I think you're thinking of the WDTR sign.

**buildingsofdetroit** · June-19-09, 05:02 PM

Is it the one under the call letters in this photo?
http://tinyurl.com/krqnfr

**Ed Golick** · June-19-09, 05:11 PM

That's the one! Looks like its not working, though. I'm looking for the year that they pulled the plug.

Downtown diva · June-19-09, 08:52 PM

wouldnt it be great if we could find the sign and put it on the Lafayette building? I would like to be on some sort of committee to get that done. Who's in?

**buildingsofdetroit** · June-19-09, 09:34 PM

Originally Posted by Downtown diva

wouldnt it be great if we could find the sign and put it on the Lafayette building? I would like to be on some sort of committee to get that done. Who's in?

I think just convincing the DEGC to NOT tear the Lafayette down should be your first priority.

Downtown diva · June-19-09, 11:34 PM

Originally Posted by buildingsofdetroit

I think just convincing the DEGC to NOT tear the Lafayette down should be your first priority.

what can we do? Maybe we shoudl set up a meeting with George Jackson. I am sure he is a reasoable man, and if presented with our ideas, maybe he will follow his heart and change his mind

**Ed Golick** · June-20-09, 06:36 AM

Originally Posted by Downtown diva

wouldnt it be great if we could find the sign and put it on the Lafayette building? I would like to be on some sort of committee to get that done. Who's in?

The old sign used incandescent light bulbs, and I'm sure was scrapped years ago. The company that installed the original sign is still in business, but they now use LEDs.

http://www.trans-lux.com/ps_outdoor.htm

**Craggy** · June-20-09, 09:39 AM

The sign changed over the years. It originally said WXYZ...was converted to WDET when it used the studios in the Maccabes building until 1980 or so [[the dates are a bit fuzzy...JimG should know the dates) then moved for awhile to Cass and York. The sign read WDET until WDET built a new tower [[on canfield) and moved to their new studios in the mid 90's. WDTR then changed the letters around and kept the sign up until Wayne State bought the building from the Detroit Public Schools.

**Ed Golick** · June-20-09, 09:46 AM

Craggy,
I'm talking about the electric moving marquee sign that was under the station's call letters.

**Gistok** · June-20-09, 11:33 PM

Talking about bragging rights for signs on Detroit buildings...

The original vertical marquee sign of the Michigan Theatre [[1926-1950s?) was also a record holder of sorts...

Movie palace author David Naylor in his book "AMERICAN PICTURE PALACES - The Architecture of Fantasy"... has this to say about the original Michigan marquee...

"Rising a full ten stories along the side of the Michigan Theater [[1926) in Detroit, this must have been the most awesome vertical marquee ever built."

The picture in the book included with those words of praise [[likely a Theatre Historical Society image)...

Downtown diva · June-20-09, 11:59 PM

Originally Posted by Gistok

Talking about bragging rights for signs on Detroit buildings...

The original vertical marquee sign of the Michigan Theatre [[1926-1950s?) was also a record holder of sorts...

Movie palace author David Naylor in his book "AMERICAN PICTURE PALACES - The Architecture of Fantasy"... has this to say about the original Michigan marquee...

"Rising a full ten stories along the side of the Michigan Theater [[1926) in Detroit, this must have been the most awesome vertical marquee ever built."

The picture in the book included with those words of praise [[likely a Theatre Historical Society image)...

that is a great picture. thanks for adding, Gistok.

**1KielsonDrive** · June-21-09, 12:10 AM

Thanks for this thread guys. I must've been in the Maccabees Building dozens of times as a kid. My friend's mom worked for WXYZ [[Soupy, Johnny Ginger, Spanky, etc) prior to and after they moved to the Broadcast House, out in the middle of nowhere [[Southfield). I'd never really noticed the remaining letters and changes of the Maccabees/DPS sign over the years. Very interesting and informative. Another great picture is the Michigan Theatre sign. Parked in that garage and worked in that building for many years. Wow! Appreciate it.

**Gistok** · June-21-09, 12:11 AM

Thanks Downtown diva!

Notice that small 3 story building next to the Michigan Theatre?

There were once 9 buildings along Grand River Ave. on that block that were originally supposed to be torn down to make way for an even larger Michigan Building/Theatre.

But the high cost of land along Grand River Ave. meant that only about 80% of the block was eventually purchased. There was originally a triple arched window entry planned for the Michigan, but that was scaled back due to the prohibitive costs of the land along the main thoroughfare.

Ironically about 8 years later all 9 of those buildings were purchased and demolished during the depression, and have remained as a parking lot for the building ever since.

Also in the distance is the Leland Hotel, which was built in a Renaissance style by the same architects as the Michigan Building/Theatre... Rapp & Rapp of Chicago [[they also designed the Chicago Theatre).

**buildingsofdetroit** · June-21-09, 05:13 PM

Originally Posted by Gistok

Talking about bragging rights for signs on Detroit buildings...

The original vertical marquee sign of the Michigan Theatre [[1926-1950s?) was also a record holder of sorts...

Movie palace author David Naylor in his book "AMERICAN PICTURE PALACES - The Architecture of Fantasy"... has this to say about the original Michigan marquee...

"Rising a full ten stories along the side of the Michigan Theater [[1926) in Detroit, this must have been the most awesome vertical marquee ever built."

The picture in the book included with those words of praise [[likely a Theatre Historical Society image)...

Same sign in an old postcard I've got:
http://i215.photobucket.com/albums/c.../michigan2.jpg

**Gistok** · June-21-09, 10:59 PM

Originally Posted by buildingsofdetroit

Same sign in an old postcard I've got:
http://i215.photobucket.com/albums/c.../michigan2.jpg

That postcard dates to 1926-27. The 19 story United Artists Building/Theatre between the Michigan Building and the red Tuller Hotel is not yet constructed [[UA opended on Feb. 3, 1928). There used to be a church on the site of the United Artists complex that was torn down earlier [[also not in picture).

Also in that image you can see [[in the distance) the Stroh's Headquarters, with its' twin red roof pavilion top. These pavilions were later removed in a remodeling, and the building still exists [[later became the Michigan Mutual Building).

**Gistok** · June-21-09, 11:07 PM

Here's a pic from Lowell that shows the twin pavilioned building before they bastardized/modernized the top.

I bet a lot of folks look at the top of that building today and wonder why it looks so strange....

**Maxine1958** · June-22-09, 12:51 PM

Originally Posted by 1KielsonDrive

Thanks for this thread guys. I must've been in the Maccabees Building dozens of times as a kid. My friend's mom worked for WXYZ [[Soupy, Johnny Ginger, Spanky, etc) prior to and after they moved to the Broadcast House, out in the middle of nowhere [[Southfield). I'd never really noticed the remaining letters and changes of the Maccabees/DPS sign over the years. Very interesting and informative. Another great picture is the Michigan Theatre sign. Parked in that garage and worked in that building for many years. Wow! Appreciate it.

I worked in that building and parked in that garage too. From 1978 until 1982. Did our paths cross?

**Jimg** · June-22-09, 03:51 PM

Hi Craggy, I'll try to provide "interesting information" about the old place.
We moved from the Mac Bldg around...1987, I think. The studios, as you know, were first used by the Long Ranger guys. There was an abandoned shower stall in a back office area that Brace Beemer supposedly used. The studios had 1940s double or triple pane glass which wasn't too effective at sound insulation. There was a storage room packed with old scully tape machines and tons of old electronic gizmos. It was a strange place in many ways. To access WDET, one took the elevator to the 14th floor and walked up one flight. There were four broadcast studios: a small news booth, a main broadcast room from which programs were broadcast, a large-ish live event studio with a piano, and a broadcast control booth for the event studio. We sometimes had to broadcast from the live event control room if the main control room was "down". The board in the main broadcast room was about four feet off of the ground and there was a bar stool to sit on. The floor below the board was about 4 x 4, with two steps up to that floor...the board was ancient, with no pot guards, so a record could [[and often did) slide off the narrow ledge above the board and zonk a few of the pots, instantly killing the on-air signal...haha....the tape machines were right behind the chair, and you had to pivot around to control them, as we had no remote start functions. The door to the studio would occasionally swing shut and lock the host out of the room if he/she stepped out for a minute. We hosts never had a key to the damn door, and if the board op [[custodian of the Keys) stepped out for a smoke or something, you just watched as the turntable kept spinnin'... Because the equipment was old, we'd sometimes have a malfunction or two. Wonderful things happened in that place. Also, we had a fire one Saturday night. It started in a back office and scared the shit out of us [[there were three 'DET folks on hand). The DFD came and snuffed it out, but it was a bona fide fire that filled the entire place with smoke in about two minutes and took out two offices..
We would sometimes go on the roof, it was pretty cool up there with a great view. I always looked for transcriptions or other 16 " acetates, [[in the storage areas, not on the roof) but they got tossed before I got to them...Saturday nights were party nights in that studio, especially when Mr Z and Famous came on the air, Jazz Yesterday ended at about 10 and those guys always had some really interesting pals drop by. Especially Famous, God bless him, he was unique...one of the nicest guys you could meet, a real work of Detroit. "Hey, hey, the blues is allright..."

Stosh · January-09-10, 08:00 PM

Dunno if this view of the building has been posted. If it has sorry for the duplicate.

Attachment 4741

**Hermod** · January-09-10, 08:11 PM

WXYZ Radio--Wonderful Wixie.

Micky Shorr as the nighttime DJ [[before he got bounced in the payola scandal).

**Whitehouse** · January-09-10, 09:58 PM

Originally Posted by Stosh

Dunno if this view of the building has been posted. If it has sorry for the duplicate.

Attachment 4741

No, wasn't posted before. Here's another slightly defferent version.

More pictures.

WSU.

WDTR

No letters at all.

**Whitehouse** · January-09-10, 10:04 PM

Another different one. Extra lettering under Maccabees bldg.
"A life insureance society" or something like it.

Bigger version of the pic posted by Stosh.

Another WDTR.

Originally Posted by Gistok

Also in the distance is the Leland Hotel, which was built in a Renaissance style by the same architects as the Michigan Building/Theatre... Rapp & Rapp of Chicago [[they also designed the Chicago Theatre).

Not to be anal but isn't that a Beaux Arts style building?

Originally Posted by Gistok

Here's a pic from Lowell that shows the twin pavilioned building before they bastardized/modernized the top.

I bet a lot of folks look at the top of that building today and wonder why it looks so strange....

The present day look.... Oh dear....

The newly erected FOX sign on the right of the spire.

**M CD M** · January-09-10, 10:16 PM

Since this fine building is under WSU control, Is it open to the public on the lower floors, or do you have to be a student or staff? I've always wanted to go in there, but haven't had the time.