Dinner With the Masons? Channel 7 Says Maybe

We've already shared our thoughts on what the arrival of Pizza City the new Red Wings arena will mean for entertainment-type development projects in the Cass Corridor neighborhood. Will chains, bars and new local eateries follow the wings from the riverfront to the intersection of Temple and Cass? Probably, is the answer we've received thus far.

That probable development arc has swept wider this week, taking the hulking, nearly-bankrupt (but not, thanks Jack White!) Detroit Masonic Temple along for the ride. What could possibly go wrong?

Channel 7's Detroit 2020 team produced a nifty feature detailing the ups and downs of the city's most notable monument to secret societies and handshakes. They focus a lot on how the grand Temple seems a smidge out of place in the economically struggling area, but they also point out that the Masonic Temple, much like the nearby Temple Bar, could be on the verge of a monumental surge of new interest.

Brad Dizik, Special Advisor to the Masonic Temple Board of Directors, told Channel 7 to look out for the Masonic Temple in the next couple of years as the new entertainment district shapes up. "When you consider the Detroit Masonic Temple get excited, get pumped," Dizik said, already sounding right at home with Olympia Enterainment-style over-enthusiastic development speak.

If the Fisher Building can have places like Stella Good Coffee, why can't the Masonic Temple? (Beyond the intermission refreshment stand and prolific Cup of Soup vending machines in the building, the food purchasing options in the Temple are lacking) However, that won't necessarily always be the case, the Detroit 2020 team promises:

"The building may soon house restaurants, shops, perhaps even apartments or a boutique hotel."

Just think: in 2017, it could all be as simple as ordering a whiskey on the rocks in the Crystal Ballroom and heading downstairs to the boutique hotel before shipping off to watch a Wings game just across the street.
· Masonic Temple May Be a Jewel in the Right Place at the Right Time [Detroit2020]
· Temple Bar Knows Red Wings Fans Might Not Drop In [-ED-]
· Illitches Made Temple Bar the Mayor of Hockey Town [-ED-]