DETROIT (WXYZ) — Detroit's oldest sound stage is nearly completely restored.
Built in 1937, Cadieux Stage has hosted celebrities like Bob Seger, Paul Shaffer, Grand Funk Railroad, and Aretha Franklin while filming her music video for Deeper Love.
For the past year and a half, Detroit's Chris Lee has been renovating it.
"The original building for Cadieux Stage was built in 1937, it was Wilding Studios for many many years," said Lee.
Now this summer the renovations are nearly complete, Lee says the stage will be used for creating movies, commercials, and music videos like it used to.
While walking up some stairs Lee shared; "The story is that when Aretha shot the music video here she asked where her dressing room was and they said ‘Oh it’s up those stairs,' and she looked at them, and said ’Nah I’m not going up those stairs.'"
Filled with retro lounges and office space, Lee says the building will also be used as individual studios for artists.
There is a dark room, podcasting studio, studio kitchen, lounge, natural light photography room, and more.
"I’m the first tenant in the Cadieux Stage," said Amy Feigley-Lee, a collage artist vendor in the building and Chris Lee's wife.
She said, "I think what sets it apart is the history of this space and the love that has gone into rehabbing it."
Chris Lee said he doesn't know of any other spaces like theirs or as large as theirs in Detroit.
He shared that due to the development of technology, content isn't shot on sound stages as much as it was 30-some years ago.
Because of that many stages disappeared in recent decades to the point where more was needed.
Well.... here's more.
"There was a lot of activity going on in this building that hasn’t been for a number of years," said Lee. "My goal is just to get that level of activity back."
