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SEARCH UPDATE: FINDING A PERMANENT MUSEUM SITE
The museum's board of
trustees met on Sunday, May 15th, to discuss several possible permanent sites in
downtown Detroit. To open the meeting, a power point presentation was first given by
Francis Grunow, director of Preservation Wayne. After Grunow's
presentation, the board deliberated over the previously compiled list for several
more hours.
In that time,
the board was able to narrow its search to two specific sites, with a
strong prejudice toward the old Moose Hall building located at Elisabeth
and Cass and comprising roughly 40,500 sq feet with a 10,000 sq foot
theater.
It has been estimated
to purchase, renovate and create an endowment to maintain the building
and its exhibition schedule as a first-class contemporary museum
would take $5 million.
Any input by this
project's supporters will be appreciated,
detroitmona@aol.com
We will keep you
updated on similar responses and progress over the next few weeks.
The Moose Hall:
The Loyal Order of Moose was built in 1922, and has a limestone exterior. The rich architectural detail gives the Moose a special historic designation. Eighty years later that “designation” offers rich tax incentives to redevelop the property. Up to 70% of “hard” and “soft” costs of redevelopment will be returned to the developer from the Federal, State and Local governments!The interior is simple. It’s beautiful. It’s honest. The original maroons and muted greens are still on the walls. The ballroom has 10,000 usable square feet, with a 24-foot-high ceiling. In 1922, the street
level was a retail tire store on the outskirts of downtown
Each floor has a footprint of 13,520 square feet. The second floor is a
ballroom with a full stage, and a balcony wrapped on three sides. The
original wooden gilt chandeliers have escaped the thieves of time. On the
Third floor, behind the balcony, is a 1600 square foot mini-ballroom with
a curved plaster ceiling, and windows on two sides to watch
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