$7.5-million Donation to Launch jazz hub at Wayne State

[Lowell]

The good news for Detroit rolls on...

'World-class' $7.5-million jazz hub set for Wayne State

"As a lifelong lover of jazz and her hometown music scene, Gretchen Valade has always been quick to put her money where her heart is.

Now a $7.5-million gift from the Detroit philanthropist is set to be a transformative step for Wayne State University’s music program while giving jazz music a high-profile stake in the city's blossoming Midtown district.

The Valade Center, envisioned by WSU officials as “a world-class jazz venue,” will occupy the existing Hilberry Theatre, a 51-year-old hall that will be converted into a music space with flexible seating capacity of up to 400.

Once operational — likely within several years — the venue will be a teeming jazz hub, hosting shows by touring artists, giving a platform to hometown players, and serving as a working space for WSU music students and faculty.

Valade’s contribution will immediately establish a $1.5-million endowed chair in jazz studies and a $1- million endowed jazz scholarship. Those recipients will oversee programming and other activities at the facility."

Full article at Freep.com >>

[Gistok]

Lowell.... that article is a bit misleading about the Hillberry. It was built in 1917 [[it's 98 years old) as a Church of Christ Scientist venue... and was sold to Wayne State in the 1960s.

Interesting that both of Wayne State's main theatres... the 1200 seat Bonstelle [[formerly Temple Beth-El) and 400 seat Hillberry were former houses of worship.

[Lowell]

Thanks, nothing on theaters slides by Gistok!

[Gistok]

Since I'm not into Jazz, I had no clue who Gretchen Carhartt Valade even was.... but now I do... She and her son are worth $1.2 billion, mainly from their Dearborn based clothing business Carhartts.

She saved the Detroit Jazz festival a number of years back, and now is endowing WSU with a major boost in their Music Department, similar to how Maggie Allessee gave a major endowment to WSU's Dance department a few years ago.

For more info on the 86 year old matriarch of music.... Google "Detroit Crain's Valade's heart beats for Detroit Jazz"... where more info about what Gretchen has done for the area....

God bless her for that!!

[bust]

Since I'm not into Jazz, I had no clue who Gretchen Carhartt Valade even was.... but now I do... She and her son are worth $1.2 billion, mainly from their Dearborn based clothing business Carhartts.

She saved the Detroit Jazz festival a number of years back, and now is endowing WSU with a major boost in their Music Department, similar to how Maggie Allessee gave a major endowment to WSU's Dance department a few years ago.

For more info on the 86 year old matriarch of music.... Google "Detroit Crain's Valade's heart beats for Detroit Jazz"... where more info about what Gretchen has done for the area....

God bless her for that!!

She is also the owner of The Dirty Dog Jazz Cafe in Grosse Pointe, which is a great intimate venue to catch some live Jazz. And she is the owner of Mack Avenue Records, which is a music label that has put out quite a few good jazz records over the years.

Everyone knows how important Detroit has been for music. But people usually associate Detroit with other genres. It may not have been as big a center for jazz as places like Philadelphia, New York, and some other cities. But it has made major contributions to jazz history.

I'm very grateful to people like Gretchen Valade who are helping ensure Detroit plays a role in the present and future of jazz too!

[illwill]

Anyone doubting Detroit's comeback is definitely out of touch. We have much work to do but Detroit is turning the corner.

[emu steve]

Anyone doubting Detroit's comeback is definitely out of touch. We have much work to do but Detroit is turning the corner.

And what is nice is that Wayne State is being part.

One should not fail to appreciate how much a large urban university in Detroit can do for Detroit. WSU is part of the Detroit fabric.

[1953]

I was a bit disappointed when I realized that her generous gift is just going to retrofit Hillberry instead of build something new, but kudos to her anyway.

1953

[EastsideAl]

Incredibly excellent news. All kudos to Gretchen for truly standing behind, supporting, and furthering such great music, and Detroit's long history in it, in nearly every way possible.

[garyalex]

I was a bit disappointed when I realized that her generous gift is just going to retrofit Hillberry instead of build something new, but kudos to her anyway.

1953

I know what you mean but some of those old halls have great acoustics. Hopefully that's the case here. In any case this is great news.

[Gistok]

I was a bit disappointed when I realized that her generous gift is just going to retrofit Hillberry instead of build something new, but kudos to her anyway.

1953

Well your disappointment should be tempered by the fact that this is not a standalone building project. Although the Free Press article alluded to the "Hillberry Gateway Complex", they didn't go into any detail... This 2014 article is what they were talking about [[now with changes)....

http://www.metrotimes.com/detroit/wa...nt?oid=2201355

The Hillberry [[as a former church) was becoming increasingly inadequate for WSU's Performing Arts School.

So what is planned is that most of the block is being turned into a performing arts development center with several venues. The Queen Anne style David Mackenzie house [[the whole reason that Preservation Detroit was founded in 1975)... will be relocated to another block, and there will be new performance spaces built for WSU's Maggie Allesse Department of Theatre & Dance, including a new 500 seat theatre.

Combining these two endeavors will really create a huge theatrical and music complex.... with a footprint 3 times the size of the Hillberry alone, and there will be plenty of "new building" as part of this complex.

Also exciting is that the Kresge Foundation is providing a generous grant to kickstart the expansion, and perhaps local philanthropist Maggie Allesse may cough up some additional coinage as well.

This is not just about retrofitting a century old building into a Jazz venue.... but so much more!

[Gistok]

Here's the vast lot behind the Hillberry and David Mackenzie House [[red brick) for the proposed expansion of the WSU Music and Performing Arts.....
https://www.google.com/maps/@42.3532...8i6656!5m1!1e4

[illwill]

Thanks for the valuable information Gistok. What a great Lady she is!

[downtownguy]

So what is planned is that most of the block is being turned into a performing arts development center with several venues. The Queen Anne style David Mackenzie house [[the whole reason that Preservation Detroit was founded in 1975)... will be relocated to another block, and there will be new performance spaces built for WSU's Maggie Allesse Department of Theatre & Dance, including a new 500 seat theatre.

Considering that WSU's record of historic preservation rivals that of the Ilitch Organization, should we be more than a little concerned that they will handle this well? Seeger seems a bit flippant about moving historic structures. Any guesses on where they will move it?

From the MT article--

There’s also the issue of the historic David Mackenzie house being located in the footprint of the new proposed theater, a building that has already escaped demolition once in the 1970s when student protesters saved it. The university is planning on moving the existing Mackenzie house to another location. “Actually, moving older homes is not challenging,” he [Matthew Seeger, professor and dean of Wayne State’s College of Fine, Performing & Communication Arts] says, noting that the much larger Gem Theatre was moved five blocks in 1997.