Max Ortiz/Detroit News, via Associated Press The Masonic Temple.Jack White has saved a historic Masonic Temple in Detroit that is a well-known performance space for rock bands, paying $142,000 in back taxes to keep the building from being auctioned. One of two theaters inside the 14-story building will be named after Mr. White, The Detroit Free Press reported on Tuesday.
“Jack’s donation could not have come at a better time and we are eternally grateful to him for it,†said Roger Sobran, the president of the Detroit Masonic Temple Association.
When Mr. White stepped in this week, the Masonic Temple, which takes up an entire block, was on the brink of being auctioned to pay back taxes. The temple’s main theater and a smaller space known as the Scottish Rite Cathedral have been the scenes of memorable shows over the years by bands like the Who, MC5 and the Rolling Stones.
Romain Blanquart/Detroit Free Press, via Associated Press Mr. White performing at the temple in 2005.The Temple also has played an important role in Mr. White’s life. A Detroit native, Mr. White has said his mother was an usher at the theater. He himself played seven concerts there with his first group, the White Stripes, and, later, two solo performances. Among the White Stripe shows were two sold-out concerts at the temple in April 2003, which served as both a homecoming and a coronation of sorts for the duo. The White Stripes had played their first gig six years earlier at a small club down the street called the Gold Dollar.
“What really puts it all in context were those first two White Stripes performances in April 2003 â€" two consecutive nights, one in the small room, the other in the big room,†Ben Blackwell, the White Stripes archivist, told The Free Press. “From the loading docks you could see the Gold Dollar. It took years, four albums and how ever many of tour miles to go that very significant half a block.â€
