  Sean_of_detroit Member Username: Sean_of_detroit Post Number: 2323 Registered: 03-2008 |
(Note to moderators: this may fit into the archived; What Lies Beneath ... Slip Covered Buildings. Link: https://www.atdetroit.net/forum/mes sages/148145/142184.html). Looking to the right of the Bleu Marquee, there is a few boards painted to blend in with the rest of the building. I remember seeing a for rent sign. Is that a dummy wall over retail space? Just curious. | ||
Peterhuntprincess Member Username: Peterhuntprincess Post Number: 43 Registered: 03-2008 |
I remember that sign also. I'm thinking they covered up the storefront, but there is a slight possibility that Blue knocked down that wall an added an extra bar or backdrop for pictures. | ||
Gistok Member Username: Gistok Post Number: 7569 Registered: 08-2004 |
Bleu originally opened in 1942 as The Telenews Theatre, a continuous feed newsreel theatre (how news was broadcast before TV)... http://www.water-winter-wonder land.com/location.asp?id=773&t ype=5 http://cinematreasures.org/the ater/2372/ Yes Sean, the storefront to the right of the entrance is covered over. Also, rule #1 about cleaning Terra Cotta (1990's attempt at cleaning the facade)... NEVER SANDBLAST IT!!! Paging 56packman for additional info!! It's a shame that the globe no longer survives above the Bleu marquee... its' loss detracts from the attractiveness of the facade... they could have called it "Bleu Planet"! | ||
Sean_of_detroit Member Username: Sean_of_detroit Post Number: 2328 Registered: 03-2008 |
I'm glad I asked. Thank you! | ||
El_jimbo Member Username: El_jimbo Post Number: 888 Registered: 12-2006 |
Telenews theater? The original CNN? | ||
56packman Member Username: 56packman Post Number: 2541 Registered: 12-2005 |
Well, Gistok pretty much said it all, and the links tell most of the story. Newsreels were how the people SAW the news before television, companies like Pathe' and Paramount (to name a two) had film crews dispatched to events that were newsworthy, It took about a week, then you saw what you read about in the paper and heard about on the radio just after it happened. Yes, this would have been the original CNN. | ||
Rsa Member Username: Rsa Post Number: 1597 Registered: 10-2003 |
some other interesting blurbs: this was sort of a "news central" around the beginning of it's life. other amenities included a stock ticker in the lobby and a radio broadcast booth in the basement. i believe there used to be live broadcasts by WJR with windows overlooking a sort of lounge where you could sit and listen to the news. i remember hearing that the globe didn't last too long; it's scrap value was just too high. might've even been for the war effort, but i could be mistaken. i got to walk thru the theatre before the renovations into the club. it retained all of it's 1940's colors and configurations. still pretty plain though. the one thing that would've been nice to see bleu retain is the different shaps and shades of paint on the walls (instead of covering the whole thing in silver). i also haven't been there in a really long time. |
