Detroit

“The city, above all, is the public realm memorialized.” J.H. Kunstler

I’ve been fascinated by Detroit for years. In May 2013, I got the chance to visit with my dad for a much-belated high school graduation trip. With each day, I fell more in love with the beauty and drama of this American place.

Detroit from the air
You can just make out the city skyline at the narrowest point in the river
An urban garden/art installation on the former site of the Lafayette Building
Calder would be proud
The newly renovated Westin Book Cadillac Detroit
The inside of the Guardian building, the cathedral of finance
More of the Guardian with a mural of Michigan on the far wall
“The Spirit of Detroit,” an iconic Detroit monument along Woodward Ave.
At night
I think this public art is a part of the The Heidelberg Project, but I really don’t know for sure … someone definitely put some time into it whatever it is
Found a little alligator in the foam of my beer at Atlas Global Bistro. I think they closed recently :/
Acid rain? Vandalism? Old stone church
Ruin porn … love the turret in the front
If this grass could talk
The Falcon F7 “supercar”
Yup
A tulip tree outside the Detroit Institute of Arts
Diego Rivera’s “Detroit Industry” murals at the DIA
Along the top of two panels (this one and the one on the opposite wall), four women represent coal, coke, iron and stone
No trip to Detroit is complete without a wake up call!
All smiles before the plunge
The Hecker-Smiley Mansion on Woodward
The Detroit Historical Museum and the Detroit Public Library (background)
Taking a picture of someone taking a picture of ruin porn
A restaurant I’ll try next time around
The Wayne County Courthouse is FOR SALE … I can’t believe it. Eminem should make this his house
Pastries from Astoria in Greektown
Flowers near Campus Martius
Detroit Soup!
The program for the night
The front facade of the building that houses Detroit Soup
Grande Boulevard is a little over capacity for the current traffic situation
Bathroom on Belle Isle (one large park designed by Frederick Law Olmsted)
A view of the Ren Cen across the Detroit River from a pier on Belle Isle
Monument on Belle Isle
Former Michigan Theater, now a parking garage
Michigan Central Station
It looks like one room on the top floor has been renovated
From the back
The Penobscot Building
Close up on a facade in downtown Detroit

Here are a few posts on Detroit I’ve written so far:

And here’s a map of the city where I’ll start to add photographs and posts that correspond to certain places or sections in the city:

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