Local podcast highlights historic gems ‘Hidden in Plain Sight’

METRO DETROIT — Retired Warren Consolidated Schools Superintendent Robert Livernois is a history buff, especially when it comes to Detroit landmarks and legends.

He consistently researches historic buildings and interesting people that left their mark on the Motor City. He’s sharing his enthusiasm for history with others on a podcast called “Hidden in Plain Sight” available on various online sites, including Apple Podcasts, Simplecast and Facebook.

Livernois, who retired last year, keeps each episode about 6-10 minutes in length, and the podcasts are prerecorded and usually released on Tuesdays. He’s been all over the city to visit various sites that make Detroit unique.

Athletic figures, music icons, entrepreneurs, famous streets, artists, educators and more come alive when they’re “Hidden in Plain Sight.” Livernois was an English teacher at South Lake High School in St. Clair Shores before becoming an administrator in Warren Woods Public Schools and Warren Consolidated Schools. History always piqued his interest.

“The amount of history in Detroit is staggering given how many different periods it went through. The city is being rebuilt from the inside out,” the 1984 South Lake High School graduate said. “That’s the whole spirit of ‘Hidden in Plain Sight.’ All of my episodes have a nice twist to them.”

Livernois, of Troy, takes listeners back to the 1700s, 1800s and 1900s. As the city rebuilds, Livernois said that many of the new buildings going up in Motown feature pieces of the past. He shares such tidbits on the podcast.

“A corner of the Motor City Casino is the original Wonder Bread baking plant. Like where Ford Field is, they’ve preserved some of the Hudson (department store) warehouse,” Livernois said. “That’s the kind of connection I am trying to sew together. The more people I talk to the more I realize how much people want to share what they know about history.”

When learning more about Faygo, his listeners chose Rock & Rye as their favorite flavor with Red Pop as a close second.

The educator, who has been an adjunct professor at Wayne State University, always wondered about Livernois Avenue, his surname. When conducting research on the road that travels through Wayne and Oakland counties, Livernois discovered he is a 12th generation descendant of early Detroit settler Paul Benoît dit Livernois.

On another podcast, “Detroit’s Forgotten Founder: The Man Behind the Motto,” Livernois pays tribute to the Rev. Gabriel Richard, who did everything from serving the Lord as a Catholic priest to helping establish the University of Michigan, to coining Detroit’s motto, “We hope for better things; it will rise from the ashes” after the city’s Great Fire of 1805.

Childhood friend Tom Rempel became a fan of Livernois’ podcasts.

“I think he’s done a fantastic job. He’s really into history big time,” said Rempel, who resides in St Clair Shores. “He does a lot of research, too. My parents used to take us to these places.”

One podcast that drew in Rempel was the piece on the Grande Ballroom titled “The Ballroom That Rocked Detroit,” which first aired June 3, 2025. Rock ‘n’ roll fanatics who grew up listening to Led Zeppelin, The Who and the MC5 know all about the rock club once located at 8952 Grand River Ave.

“That was really cool. I’ve got older brothers, and they grew up with those bands, Cream, Jimi Hendrix,” Rempel said.

Those who follow sports can reminisce in the episode “Home Runs and Hardware: The Brooks Lumber Story.” In it, Livernois talks about the Brooks Lumber business; Tiger Stadium once stood next to it in Corktown. You could hear the baseball bats cracking when Babe Ruth, Harmon Killebrew, Reggie Jackson, Ted Williams, Norm Cash and Kirk Gibson all hit home runs that flew out of the stadium and landed on the property of Brooks Lumber. Rempel was at the game in 1962 when Killebrew, who at the time played for the Minnesota Twins before becoming a Tiger, smacked a home run over the roof at Tiger Stadium.

  “I was like 5 years old. My mom said he hit it over the roof,” Rempel recalled.

Livernois can picture the people of the past who once ventured to the places he researches. He can envision the crowds at Red Wings hockey games and get an idea of Detroiters heading out for a night on the town. One of his favorite Detroit spots is the Masonic Temple, located at 500 Temple St. According to him, there’s a roller derby rink in the building, ballrooms and more.

“I’ve been there many times for a concert. If there’s a place in Detroit that’s hidden right in front of you it is the Masonic Temple. You’re walking by a building that has over 1,000 rooms in it,” Livernois said. “Once a year they would have a flea market in the roller derby rink. When you’re in that space you can see the floor and all the scuff marks from the roller skates where they race around.”

The Alger Theatre, located at 16451 E. Warren Ave., in Detroit, will be featured in a future broadcast. The Alger opened in 1935 and is 90 years old. According to the website algertheater.org, it opened its doors to a full house, playing a double feature of “The Girl from 10th Avenue” starring Bette Davis and Ian Hunter, and “Oil for the Lamps of China” starring Pat O’Brien, Gene Muir, and Josephine Hutchinson.