> ## Content Index > Fetch the complete content index at: https://www.dailydetroit.com/llms.txt > Use this file to discover other available public pages before exploring further. # January 14, 2025: Bar Fire + 7 Things To Know - URL: https://www.dailydetroit.com/january-14-2025-bar-fire-7-things-to-know/ - Published: 2025-01-15T01:36:38.000Z - Updated: 2025-01-22T17:23:03.000Z - Description: Fire at a long-standing establishment in Downtown Detroit, finding a new use for an old mounted police headquarters, fixing up an old theater, and filling your Detroit Auto Show itinerary - Author: Jer Staes - Tags: Real Estate and Development, Newsletter, Checker Bar Hey, Jer here. Welcome to your Tuesday Vesper Edition! [If this is your first time here, don't forget to sign up for future notes. ](https://www.dailydetroit.com/newsletter/) Woke up to the news this morning that *something* had gone wrong over at the Checker Bar, one of Detroit's longstanding drinking institutions. According to Reddit, there was a ["boom"](https://www.reddit.com/r/Detroit/comments/1i12t4p/fire%5Fat%5Fchecker%5Fbar%5Fdte%5Fis%5Fon%5Fthe%5Fscene/?ref=dailydetroit.com) around four in the morning. One of our supporter Discord chat members said that they had seen broken glass and a chair propping a door open. At first, the [Metro Times reported that the damage appears to be "fairly significant"](https://www.metrotimes.com/news/downtown-detroits-checker-bar-damaged-in-fire-explosion-reported-38322047?ref=dailydetroit.com) as the fire had ripped through the basement. [A WXYZ report says](https://youtu.be/DnxKwd40xVc?si=Au-j2WhHt5tDsKlV&ref=dailydetroit.com) that the damage was mostly contained to the downstairs and the tin ceiling helped shield the heat — and fire — from going further than it did. The space will be closed for a few months. [Checker Bar posted on social media:](https://www.instagram.com/p/DE0COZ5vTUz/?ref=dailydetroit.com) > "Early this morning, a fire broke out in the electrical room of the Checker Bar’s basement due to what appears to have been a utilities explosion originating outside of the building." That said, for the big Lions playoff game this Saturday night there will be a party by the Checker Bar folks at the Whiskey Parlor above the Grand Trunk Pub. That's just a couple blocks away at 608 Woodward. There's also a [GoFundMe for employees.](https://www.gofundme.com/f/support-checker-bars-employees-as-we-rise-from-the-ashes?ref=dailydetroit.com) I have some good memories at Checker, and it seems like they'll bounce back in time. --- **📚 You might have noticed that instead of "evening edition" I used the word "vesper."** Well, that's because on the Monday episode of the podcast, [I talked to Chris Williams of Wayne State University about the 10 most underused words that should come back in 2025.](https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/10-underused-words-we-should-bring-back-ft-chris-williams/id1220563942?i=1000683827190&ref=dailydetroit.com) Another word I like a lot? Hurkle-durkle. Vesper, meaning evening, was one of them. I feel like if we're gong to do a "Vesper Edition" it needs some sort of Art Deco poster or cover art. --- ![](https://storage.ghost.io/c/47/f5/47f528d4-7214-4519-b2b2-26249e48460d/content/images/2025/01/bethune-old-horse-stables-dpd.jpg) 📸 Luciano Marcon **It looks like there's some work happening over at a former Detroit Police Department mounted headquarters on East Bethune.** Built in 1898 near Detroit's New Center, the Louis Kamper designed building is one of the most unique smaller buildings left in the city. Last I heard, [it is going to become the headquarters for KODE Labs](https://www.freep.com/story/money/business/2024/10/25/fast-growing-detroit-startup-kode-labs/75673370007/?ref=dailydetroit.com), saying that they hoped to be moved in by late 2025\. There's a lot of work to be done, and I wish them the most speed on this one. [Here's some historic background on it from Nailhed.](https://www.nailhed.com/2017/04/all-kings-horses.html?ref=dailydetroit.com) I'm really glad to see something happening here, and if you know more - send me a note jer - at - dailydetroit - dot - com. --- 🦾 ****Our work is supported in large part by our members on Patreon.** Local media requires local support to survive. So get swag, join our behind the scenes Discord chat and help push Detroit's conversation forward. [Join today!](https://www.patreon.com/c/DailyDetroit?ref=dailydetroit.com) --- 🧱 **A joint venture between two Michigan developers has plans to demolish a former furniture store to make way for a $14.2 million, three-story apartment building with ground-floor retail.** The project will bring 50 new residential units — including 11 affordable apartments — and 7,000 square feet of commercial space to Detroit's historic Livernois corridor. [\[Crain's Detroit Business\]](https://www.crainsdetroit.com/real-estate-insider/freds-furniture-building-be-torn-down-new-142m-project?ref=dailydetroit.com) --- ![](https://storage.ghost.io/c/47/f5/47f528d4-7214-4519-b2b2-26249e48460d/content/images/2025/01/471919289_1133126088813747_9012395428918282222_n--1-.jpg) 📸 Photo by Helmut Ziewers/HistoricDetroit.org 🔨 Restoration work at the historic Bonstelle Theater is well underway. This photo update from HistoricDetroit.org (used with permission) shows the interior being worked on. Starting life as the Temple Beth-El in 1903, it has had many lives. For some time it was a movie theatre, a playhouse, and it served for many years as Wayne State's undergraduate theatre. [\[HistoricDetroit.org\]](https://historicdetroit.org/buildings/bonstelle-theatre?ref=dailydetroit.com) Next, it'll be an event space next to the new AC Hotel that's risen next door [(that we told you about on our podcast).](https://www.dailydetroit.com/podcast-ac-hotel-bedrock-science-dearborn-inn/) More photos over here on [\[Historic Detroit.org's Facebook\]](https://www.facebook.com/HistoricDetroit/posts/pfbid02HaS5odZ4V4sCiCVj5qdr1d8kGdy4sL4j3f22Wj4QTcoerf3XLaoo24pZGH7JCdfsl) --- **🛣️ Wanted to give you a heads up that MDOT will close nine miles of eastbound I-696, from Lahser Road to I-75 starting in March.** Work should last at least two years, as MDOT will re-construct this entire stretch of freeway and fix 60 bridges, update more than a thousand drainage structures, and replace the Church Street Plaza Bridge in Oak Park. MDOT will detour traffic south on the Lodge, east onto Davison, then to northbound I-75 and back to 696. This is the third and final phase of MDOT's "Restore the Reuther" project and will cost $290 million. The overall cost for all three phases of I-696 construction is $655 million. MDOT is funding the project through a variety of sources, including the “Rebuilding Michigan” bond program and the federal “Reconnecting Communities” grant program. --- ![](https://storage.ghost.io/c/47/f5/47f528d4-7214-4519-b2b2-26249e48460d/content/images/2025/01/ford-maverick-lobo-1.jpg) The Ford Maverick Lobo. 📸 Jer Staes **🚙 What should you be looking for when you go to the 2025 Detroit Auto Show?** The event this year is a shift towards more interactive, consumer-focused automotive experiences with new vehicle models and classic favorites. We get into it on the podcast with Eric Trytko, a veteran covering the auto industry. [\[Apple Podcasts\]](https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/what-to-look-for-at-the-2025-detroit-auto-show/id1220563942?i=1000683953530&ref=dailydetroit.com) [\[Spotify\]](https://open.spotify.com/episode/7vZ5lICXDKJ3Kqtw8evevd?si=0b740eb07f084a69&ref=dailydetroit.com) --- ![](https://storage.ghost.io/c/47/f5/47f528d4-7214-4519-b2b2-26249e48460d/content/images/2025/01/zoofair-rendering.jpg) Rendering of the redone market **🦜 The Detroit Zoo announced that their main Zoofari Market gift shop will be closed through mid-April as it undergoes significant renovations.** The upgrades will add a coffee shop with an outdoor pickup window, improved checkout areas, and refreshed display spaces including a decorative mini water tower centerpiece. [\[Detroit Zoo\]](https://www.facebook.com/detroitzoo/posts/pfbid0L3cHZnYrrFFpYE88KfUcKxifdjWEBrdAUMrTRcXeqSNP18TpGeabS3pzXPbsDarZl) --- Thanks so much for reading! If you haven't already, tell a friend about these emails so they can be caught up on what to know and where to go in Metro Detroit. [If you've got ideas, have something I should cover, or want to sponsor an edition hit up our contact form.](https://forms.gle/MJmeaooraqrhnnJX8?ref=dailydetroit.com) Until next time, remember that you are somebody — and I'll see you around Detroit. \-Jer