Thursday, March 3, 2016

Detroit Radio: Old WWJ Transmitter Building To Be Restaurant

The old iconic WWJ transmitter building in Oak Park will be rehabbed and turned into an American comfort food spot by the Union Joints restaurant group.

Designed by Albert Kahn and built in 1936 for the Scripps family, the Art Deco building served as the transmitter for WWJ 950 AM until it was shuttered in 1995. The historic building will be reincarnated as a one-of-a-kind, approximately 100-seat restaurant complete with a DJ booth (a nod to the building’s sonically centered past), outdoor seating, an event venue and ample parking. The food will be similar to the group's other restaurants, Catallo said, but with a little twist.

The Detroit Free Press reports the building is being purchased from American Tower Corporation, which still owns and operates a 1,500-foot radio tower on a separate property nearby.

The new restaurant will seat 100 diners and have its own parking lot in the back, along with outdoor seating.

"We think it will be awesome to have a DJ booth in here and doing podcasts instead of broadcasting through the tower."

The building sits on 8 Mile and city officials hope reviving it will revive the street.


Erik Tungate, the Oak Park City Manager, explained, "This has been a really derogatorily based street for a long time. We hope this protect along with the city's efforts will transform this narrative about the street."

No comments:

Post a Comment