Tuesday, July 29, 2014
The Motown Museum was open today.
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Hitsville, USA is the nickname of the house with the recording studio
at 2648 W Grand Boulevard |
Berry Gordy, Jr started his own music recording company, named Tamla, in 1959, and changed it to Motown in 1960. The recording studio is still in the attached garage and an apartment used by Gordy is on the second floor.
In 1961 the house next door on the right (2644/2646) was purchased as home for the Jobete Publishing Company that published all the music. Now the Motown Museum is located here.
The next year the house on the left (2650) was bought to be used as offices. That house no longer exists, having burned in 1971. Also purchased in 1962 was the house at 2652/2654 for administration.
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2656 W Grand Boulevard was bought in 1965
for the finance department |
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4657 W Grand Boulevard was purchased early in 1966
for artist development |
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2662/2664 and 2666/2668 W Grand Boulevard were bought in 1966
for sales and marketing |
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2670 W Grand Boulevard was also purchased in 1966
for ITMI (International Talent Management Incorporated) |
Next:
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| David Whitney, Jr House aka The Whitney (1890-1894) |
David Whitney, Jr was a lumber baron, who had the house designed by architect Gordon W. Lloyd in Romanesque Revival style. It is now a restaurant and event location. The Whitney was listed on the National Register of Historic Places in 1972.
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Charles H Wright Museum of African American History (1997)
by architect Harold R Varner |
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Michigan Science Center (1978)
designed by architect William Kessler, with multiple additions |
Suddenly I heard sirens, and police cars blocked traffic on Woodward Avenue, to allow parade floats to go by.
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| Christmas-themed float? |
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Maccabees Building aka Wayne Tower (1926-1927)
in Art Deco style with Romanesque details |
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Maccabees Building portal, the building was listed
on the National Register of Historic Places in 1983 |
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Detroit Public Library (1921)
designed by Cass Gilbert in early Italian Renaissance style
and funded by Andrew Carnegie |
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| Detroit Historical Museum (1951) |
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Detroit Institute of Arts (1923-1927)
designed by architect Paul Philippe Cret
in Beaux Arts-Italian Renaissance style |
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The Thinker (1904) by Auguste Rodin
(this Thinker is whole!) |
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| The Wedding Dance (1566) by Pieter Bruegel the Elder |
In 1932, Diego Rivera was commissioned to paint frescos on the courtyard walls, which he titled "Detroit Industry, or Man and Machine." The courtyard was then roofed over.
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| Diego fresco on west wall |
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| East wall |
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| Access to Rivera Court |
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| Self-portrait with Straw Hat (1887) by Vincent van Gogh |
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| Self-portrait of a Collagist (1989) by Benny Andrews |
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Sexton (from Triple Point of Water) (2004-2005)
by Sarah Sze |
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| Self-portrait (1967) Andy Warhol |
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Stack (1969) by Donald Judd
(Cleveland Museum of Art has a green stack, too!) |
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| Cycles (c. 1965) by Norval Morriseau (Ojibwa) |
Returning to the car, I passed the Scarab Club.
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Scarab Club (1928) by Lancelot Sukert
in Northern Renaissance Revival style,
the logo above the door is done in Pewabic tiles |
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| Steam is leaking all over downtown |
Back at the hotel in Dearborn, a view of the Detroit skyline:
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| Detroit skyline from the concierge lounge of The Henry hotel |
This evening we drove downtown with one of Kent's colleagues, Laura, to see a Detroit Tigers MLB game.
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| There are tigers crawling all over Comerica Park (2000) |
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| Tiger with a baseball in his fangs |
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| Aha! The floats are part of tonight's game's theme of Christmas in July |
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| Headed to Cheli's Chili Bar for dinner |
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| Wow! Chris Chelios himself was at his restaurant |
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Left-center field concourse with statues of players
whose numbers were retired (Ty Cobb played before players wore numbers) |
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| Comerica Park after removal of the infield tarp |
A busy day for everyone!
Next: Detroit 2014 IV.
