By Julia Cardi, The Detroit News
Detroit — Music Hall, the 98-year-old performance hall on Madison Street in the heart of Detroit, has a new name to go along with plans for a new modern building, officials announced Wednesday, changes they say will help create a self-contained entertainment district around the facility.
The new name is orsa Music Hall, named after orsa credit union, as part of a $20 million, 25-year partnership with the financial institution. It doesn’t use capitalization in its brand.
The new name comes as Music Hall is also on the cusp of starting construction on a new building this year adjacent to the venue. The new building, which will span more than 100,000-square-feet, will feature an underground concert hall, music store, recording studio and restaurants featuring memorabilia from some of Detroit’s most famous musical artists. The new venue will not replace the current Music Hall building.
“If you think of the Fox and the Fillmore and Orchestra Hall, we’re all 97 years old. So we can only be as hip as we can be,” said Vince Paul, the president and artistic director of the Music Hall Center for the Performing Arts, at an event Wednesday giving a glimpse of plans for the Music Hall’s new building. “Detroit was ready for a brand-new, very modern, contemporary concert hall.”
Paul said he looks at the new Music Hall as a nod to Paradise Valley, the majority Black business and entertainment district next to the Music Hall that was destroyed by the construction of freeways in Detroit from the 1940s into the 1960s. What was formerly Paradise Valley is now buried by Ford Field and Interstate 375.
“They’ve created a kind of a Paradise Valley in spirit. It’s an entertainment district,” Paul said.
Paul said the partnership with orsa will also involve marketing for the Music Hall in orsa’s branches, and the Music Hall will market the credit union’s debit card and membership.
Tansley Stearns, the president and CEO of orsa credit union, said the support of the Music Hall from the partnership will serve an important role in providing access to the arts, more artists coming to the venue and generally opportunities for cultural engagement for residents.
“We really want to continue to live our purpose, which is about creating joy, and igniting Michiganders’ impossible dreams,” she said.
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