BLUE BIRD INN

The funds will be used for restoration efforts on the house.

Emmett Till left his mother’s house on Chicago’s South Side in 1955 to visit relatives in Mississippi, where the Black teenager was abducted and brutally slain for reportedly whistling at a white woman.

The Detroit Sound Conservancy hopes the project could be a catalyst for new development on the west side — and highlight all Motor City music

Courtesy of the Detroit Sound ConservancyEasily one of Detroit's most storied clubs has narrowly escaped demolition thanks to a recent Historic District designation by the City of Detroit.The historic Blue Bird Inn — where jazz legends like John Coltrane, Miles Davis, and Elvin Jones regularly performed and honed their craft — will fly again after demolition chatter began in 2017,reports.The venue, which was purchased by the Detroit Sound Conservancy in 2019 for $8,500 thanks in part to a grant from the Kresge Foundation, will now be able to move forward with restoration, as well as preserve the physical road-tripping Blue Bird stage . At the time of the purchase, however, the future of the Blue Bird remained uncertain, that is until Mayor Mike Duggan signed off on the venue's formal Historic District designation in October, removing it from the list of dangerous structures pending demolition.The DSC is now turned its focus on repairing, restoring, and redeveloping the site at 5021 Tireman so that it can serve as a community center for the west side neighborhood, as well as a music venue. Beyond that, the revived space will become a museum of sorts, as it will host the DSC's massive collection of Detroit music artifacts, spanning various eras and genres throughout the city's history. But first, it needs a new roof, which could cost upwards of $50,000.To advance restoration efforts for the Blue Bird Inn, folks can donate to the Detroit Sound Conservancy, via DetroitSound.org

In 2019, it was purchased by the Detroit Sound Conservancy with a plan to renovate the property. PREVIOUS: Detroit Sound Conservancy works to restore iconic jazz club Blue Bird InnHowever, the group soon learned that it was on Detroit’s demolition list. But the group was able to get the Blue Bird Inn designated as a local historic district, sparing it from demolition. The Detroit Sound Conservancy said the next step is to install a new roof on the building. WATCH BELOW: Detroit Sound Conservancy works to restore iconic jazz club Blue Bird Inn

click to enlarge MPH Photos, ShutterstockDennis Coffey. This is a lot of Detroit history packed into one evening. A partnership with the Detroit Sound Conservancy,features performances by Detroits Soul Ambassador Melvin Davis and Motown Funk Brother Dennis Coffey, which would be, like, enough Detroit history on its own. (While the club is undergoing construction, the stage has now become a mobile pop-up, even getting sent to the 2017 Biennale Internationale Design Festival in Saint-Etienne, France.) Thursday's performances are a celebration of the recent oral-history interviews the artists donated to the Walter P. Reuther archives.

click to enlarge Courtesy of the Detroit Sound ConservancyDeSean Jones and Marion Hayden performing outside of the historic Blue Bird Inn on April 24. The historic Blue Bird Inn was purchased by the Detroit Sound Conservancy earlier this year , and the stage that once supported performances by legends like John Coltrane, Miles Davis, and Elvin Jones is getting a second chance and local jazz musicians are getting a special opportunity to make their own historic footprint. The Blue Bird Inn jam session invites performers Rayse Biggs, Andrew Bishop, Wendell Harrison, Marion Hayden, Kasan Belgrave, vocalist Shahida, and others to take to the Blue Bird stage, which is on the road while its home gets renovated, for a jazz jam to celebrate the legacy and bright future of this legendary Detroit venue. Get our top picks for the best events in Detroit every Thursday morning. Sign up for our events newsletter.