Ilitches walk away from Masonic Temple

[LodgeDodger]

WOW! I did not know that! As it is such a 'tall' structure I think it gets lost that is it could be so large. It has not been book for anything in some time... Tragic. I think the area is got alot to do with it. I am a dyed-in-wool Detroit venturing all over on buss and car all my life and I would not feel comfortable around there...

All the old auto guys were Masons. Check out the Dodge Brothers' logo sometime...

[detroitbob]

I wonder what this says about a new arena going in in midtown.

While in Toronto for the NHL awards Ilitch stated that the deal with the Piston's is on track and a new arena would be built for 2 teams to utilize. Significant property has been acquired so despite the Masonic Temple announcement, the probability exists that "lower midtown" will be the home for the new arena. I also believe the Masonic will end up being a viable structure operated by some sort of consortium.

[Gistok]

For the theatrical shows that had been getting booked into Masonic the auditorium is HUGE, not at all midsize. That's part of the problem.

For comparison the largest legit Broadway house in NYC seats only 2,200.

Very true lilpup...

There's 2 reasons for that...

1) all the Broadway legitimate theatres were always on the small size [[2,200 seats and less).

2) the great movie palaces on/near Broadway are all gone... the 5,920 seat Roxy [[razed), the 5,260 seat Capitol [[razed), the 3,600 seat Paramount [[gutted and removed from the Times Square Paramount corporate offices), the 3,400 seat Loew's State [[razed)... all that's left are the legitimate theatres.

As for the Masonic Temple Theatre... it originally had 5,000 seats but in a "U" shaped auditorium. There were a lot of bad sight lines for about 600 of those seats, mostly stage left and stage right... as well as those behind the columns in the back of the auditorium. The sellable seating today is 4,404.

P.S. Most theatres have seating either in a rectangular hall with the seats all facing the same direction, or in a fan shaped auditorium. A "U" shaped theatre auditorium makes for a lot of poor sight lines.

[English]

The Masonic Temple was the place I saw my first Broadway tour shows. It's also where we held a family patriarch's memorial services. It is a beautiful venue, and it would be a shame to lose it.

[mikefmich]

Well, that should be a nice new place for the ruin pornographers to photograph.

What's a ruin pornographer?

[Gistok]

Well, that should be a nice new place for the ruin pornographers to photograph.

I guess if Bailey thinks this is porn... then he must be this sites Peter North... since he's always shooting off about something....

[Rocko]

I saw BLAST! there maybe 8 or 9 years ago....it was a real riot. It's a shame that corner of town is on such hard times....the parks in real bad shape, and all those abandoned buildings; basically the temple was the last major light. Here's top hoping they are able to pull themselves up and keep the place running.

[mikefmich]

I've a lot of fond memories of that place. As a kid used to do Easter sunrise services there, my dad sang in the Scottish Rite choir.
You could walk around in there and get lost, it's like one huge labyrinth.
The concerts I saw there when I grew up....The Stones, Eric Carman,
Ferrante & Teicher amongst many others.

It would be horrible if it went the route of so many other downtown bldgs.

[lilpup]

It also used to be the Detroit residence for the Metropolitan Opera's annual tours.

[dookie joe]

Last year I parked my old VW filled with gear [[I'm a musician) across the street in one of the lots from the Temple to see some friends that were performing in the main theater that night. I was gone for a few hours. Never had a problem, granted it was still daytime and all that but honestly while I was worried, in the end there was no problem.

Unless you like buying your shit back from the pawn shop, I'd suggest not leaving it alone there.

I find if you acknowledge people, make eye contact, smile, be friendly; you'll not only be appreciated, but the gesture will also put off anyone thinking about breaking in because you've seen their face. Or at least in my experience parking in and around Detroit.

Man, if a dope fiend is Jonesing, he's not gonna give a shit whether you smiled at him. Your window will be busted out, and your gear will be gone.

[Danny]

The Illitches have better things to do the babysitting the all alone Masonic Temple in the middle of South Cass Corridors' crackhead community. Now they will focus on bringing the Detroit Pistons with a new " Little Caesar's Arena" [[also the new home of Detroit Red Wings) from the Suburbs to Downtown Detroit and gentrify his mighty capital empire.

[BrushStart]

The Illitches have better things to do the babysitting the all alone Masonic Temple in the middle of South Cass Corridors' crackhead community. Now they will focus on bringing the Detroit Pistons with a new " Little Caesar's Arena" [[also the new home of Detroit Red Wings) from the Suburbs to Downtown Detroit and gentrify his mighty capital empire.

We should be so lucky.

[bailey]

What's a ruin pornographer?

http://www.thetakeaway.org/blogs/tak...or-journalism/

[jackie5275]

Last year I parked my old VW filled with gear [[I'm a musician) across the street in one of the lots from the Temple to see some friends that were performing in the main theater that night. I was gone for a few hours. Never had a problem, granted it was still daytime and all that but honestly while I was worried, in the end there was no problem.

About 10 yrs ago, I used to work at 640 Temple, which is about half a block away. During the day, the area's not so bad because there's a good number of people there. After about 5 pm, and especially after dark, that area is TOTALLY different. I've worked overtime and gottten out of work after 6 pm during the winter months when it's dark early and could see the change in the atmosphere. Even though we had guarded parking, we still had an escort take us to our cars during those times. We'd be approached by and seen all types of pan handlers, homeless, drug addicts, prostitutes, etc. I've driven down Temple to pick up the Lodge after a Tiger game the past few years and see that it's no different. I'd be really hesitant to see a performance there now, especially during the evening.

[Gistok]

I hope that the Masonic can hold on until the Cass Park area is redeveloped.

With such a strange configuration...7 floors of lodges, with each floor also having a mezzanine... for a total of about 14 floors... plus the 2 underground floors with the 2 massive ballrooms. On top of the tower is an unfinished 3rd theatre for about 500+ people [[the other 2 theatres being the 4,404 seat Masonic and 1,585 seat Scottish Rite). And lest we forget the vast drill hall above the Masonic Theatre... they even used to hold the Detroit Auto Show up there in the mid 20th century.

Its such a cavernous space with over 1,000 rooms, that if it should close... it's unlikely to be able to be reused for other functions...

....except as one hell of a leviathan scale... banquet and performing arts center!!

[beachboy]

Interesting thread! Two questions: [[1) Does anyone know the status of the E.M. Skinner organ in Scottish Rite Cathedral [[MT)? [[2) Also, late 1950s, early 60s, Park Place Motel [[PPM) on Cass Park... One of the Grekowicz boys had police duty thereabouts, stopped regularly at PPM coffeshop. You could see MT leftwards, from PPM's front door. What happened to Park Place?

[Whitehouse]

All the old auto guys were Masons. Check out the Dodge Brothers' logo sometime...

Is that a Masonic sign?

Another automaker who was a freemason was Dutch born André Citroen, who added an accent to his family name to make it sound more French. He founded the Citroën brand which still makes awesome cars. My father owned two Citroën BX's in succession with hydro-pneumatic suspension, which makes you float over the asphalt.

[beachboy]

... late 1950s, early 60s, Park Place Motel [[PPM) on Cass Park...?

Oops, I answered Q2: Park Plaza Motel still there... checked with Google Maps and Streetview show 2560 Second Ave. Here's a side view with the original sign still in place:

http://maps.google.com/maps?q=42.339...6.36,,0,-16.76

Front view:

http://maps.google.com/maps?q=42.339...35.12,,0,-2.73

Front marquee says "Heritage Senior Living"...they have a phone number and can be found on the web - is this place still operating?

http://www.seniorchecked.com/busines...=Detroit,%20MI

Googling park plaza detroit yielded:

http://www.yellowbot.com/park-plaza-...etroit-mi.html

Sorry if this isn't good posting practice... just tryin' to verify some info for a friend... has anyone seen this place recently?