Executive Committee Meeting 10-15-24

President's Report

Page 43 of 95

EXPLORE DETROIT

MILWAUKEE JUNCTION & NEW CENTER

displays. In addition to offices, the building has been home to several radio stations since its inception. You will find shops and cafes there. Motown Historical Museum aa A2 2648 W. Grand Blvd - t 313 875 2264 - www.motownmuseum. com - from Downtown, bus 53, Woodward & Grand stop, then bus 16, Grand & Woodrow Wilson stop – 10am-6pm – closed Mon.-Tue.– $20 (child $17). w The museum is sometimes closed for private events, so check before you go. w An extension of the museum covering around 3,700 m 2 is planned by the end of 2025. In the new spaces, the objects in the collection will be redeployed, alternating with interactive experiences. But the small historic house you can visit today will still be there! The Temptations, The Supremes, Marvin Gaye, Stevie Wonder, Smokey Robinson, Jackson Five, to name a few—all these bands and artistes have one thing in common: Motown and its unique sound , which was able to combine gospel, pop, and R&B like never before. This was thanks to the talent of Berry Gordy Jr , born in 1929 into a Black middle-class Detroit family. Raised in the same neighborhood as Diana Ross and Aretha Franklin, music lover and composer Gordy tried his hand at several jobs before creating his own record label, borrowing $800 from his family to found the Tamla company, which would later become

Fisher Building aa C1-2 3011 W. Grand Blvd - Q Line Grand Blvd - www.fisherbuilding.city. Albert Khan and John French, 1928. This skyscraper was commissioned by the seven Fisher brothers , founders of the giant autobody company Fisher Body Co. In the 1920s, the company came into the fold of General Motors, becoming the automotive group’s body division, the sale of which helped the Fishers to finance “their” tower. With an outline that is part Art Deco building, part Mayan pyramid, the “Cathedral to Commerce”, made entirely of marble and granite, has 26 floors (135 m). Sparing no expense, the Fisher brothers called on the artists from Cranbrook ( T p. 64) to create frescoes, mosaics, and bronze ornamentation, imbuing the neo-Mayan esthetic of the two galleries on the first floor. With its opulent decor, the building is, according to some, “the greatest art object in Detroit.” It housed offices, shops, restaurants, and an 11-story car park along with all useful amenities, including a splendid movie and vaudeville theater where macaws flew around freely to the amusement of the audience ( T Addresses) . It is hard to imagine that the original project, which was even more ambitious, was scaled down due to the 1929 economic crisis. For a long time, the Fisher Building was distinguished by its gold-capped tower. The gold roof was asphalted over in the Second World War, for fear of attracting enemy bombers, before being covered with green tiles, illuminated since the 1980s by light

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G. Berg/Alamy/hemis.fr

Motown Historical Museum: stage outfits worn by members of The Temptations.

Motown (from “Motor Town”, Detroit's nickname). In 1959, he settled in this small brick house, which he shrewdly called Hitsville USA , success indeed soon following. According to a well established recipe, Motown spotted young talent that it then trained and nurtured. Gordy set up several labels in all kinds of musical genres, with the aim of taking over the airwaves. In the mid-1960s, Motown occupied eight houses in Detroit, before moving to Los Angeles in 1972. Created in 1985, the museum therefore occupies its original premises . There are lots of objects, costumes, souvenirs, and photos relating to the founder’s life and the “house” artists. You can visit the apartment that Berry Gordy occupied there and,

to round off, the offices , as well as the famous—and very small— studio A , in which so many hits were recorded; the floor of the adjacent technical room is all worn by the marks left by the production crew tapping their feet to the beat. There are lots of anecdotes recounted there, including the recipe for success according to Gordy: before releasing a song, he gathered his employees around and put them through the “sandwich test”, asking them one question: “If you only had one dollar left, what would you do? Would you buy this single or a sandwich?” The answer would tell him if he had a hit on his hands.