The Detroit City Council has voted to demolish the 5,000-seat Ford Auditorium, the 55-year-old former home of the Detroit Symphony Orchestra.

The council approved the move unanimously, clearing the way for the building's removal as early as this spring.

Ford Auditorium opened in 1956 and has hosted speeches by the Rev. Martin Luther King Jr. and Malcolm X, but has been vacant since the symphony left in 1989.

Mayor Dave Bing tells the Detroit Free Press it's a key victory for his efforts to revitalize the Detroit riverfront.

The council twice refused to approve the $755,000 demolition because of concerns about the financing.