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| Copyright Ecohaven Project 2011/Jennifer Hoffman |
Its been about 17 years since I last visited Detroit during my art school years living in Cincinnati. My friends + I would go up to see friends bands + other bands play in bars or at St. Andrews Hall. I've always had a bit of soft spot for Detroit having always had a great time there + always meeting super nice people during each visit. The city was having a hard time back then + I wasn't really sure what to expect when deciding to go back to work on a
Site Specific project art book about Detroit. Aside from being the legendary birthplace of
Motown, its always had a great music (+ art) scene, as does the rest of the Rust Belt. I gained a deeper appreciation for Detroit + Michigan as a whole more recently in design school learning about the classic + timeless mid-century furniture design/manufacturing, architecture/design movements + pedigree that resided, educated + learned their craft at the nearby iconic campus of
Cranbrook Academy of Art. I was thrilled to learn that many of the modernist greats taught or went to school there + that it was part of the heyday of American design: Eliel + Eero Saarinen, Charles + Ray Eames, Florence Knoll, Harry Bertoia + George Nelson...just to name a few.
Aside from all of the negative media about Detroit, more interestingly, what I had been hearing about was that a urban renaissance was happening. I was hearing more + more about the inspiring + amazing things that are happening in "The D" (
Is Detroit the new Brooklyn? - I hope not, we already have one of those). After seeing various
documentaries (
PBS - Beyond the Motor City) + reading many articles - it's undisputed that Detroit has become a new frontier for the
young, entrepreneurs, visionaries +
The Creative Class to "go for it" from all over the country + the world, due to its affordability + blank canvas of opportunity where art, music, design + sustainability are catalysts for change. In addition, attending the most recent
Architecture for Change + the
Structures for Inclusion Summit's added another level of inspiration. Listening to lectures by Dan Pitera, Associate Professor, Architecture at The University of Detroit Mercy; Executive Director,
Detroit Collaborative Design Center + seeing the amazing projects he + his affiliations are involved in made it all the more clear that it was important to return to Detroit on a more meaningful level.
Together with my husband + chief collaborator, we set out to learn about the city + its people with the intention of expressing what is unique, inspiring + beautiful about Detroit. With a tight 24 hour timeline, an even tighter budget + a Chevy rental car - we fully embraced the opportunity to explore the Motor City. Our first stop was the
Heidleberg Project (located in a community that as of the 2005 census is considered the most economically depressed neighborhood in the country) where we will be forever humbled + inspired by the projects ambition + heart, we then headed to
Russell Street Deli located in the Detroit
Eastern Market where we experienced pure sandwich bliss made of fresh, locally sourced ingredients, followed by a trip to
Astoria Pastry Shop in Greektown (we admit it - we're bonofide "foodies", but what + how people eat - tells you a lot about a community) then continued to explore Downtown's architecture + beautifully landscaped boulevards of abundant + colorful perennials (despite the media depiction of Detroit being "the U.S. Murder Capital"
crime is actually 26% below the national average in the downtown area), we then navigated through the city's beautiful historic 982 acre
Belle Isle island park designed by Frederick Law Olmsted, experienced goosebumps of pure joy visiting Mies van der Rohe's modernist oasis in
Lafayette Park, were once again humbled + inspired by the
TAP (The Alley Project) Gallery project located in the
Mexicantown neighborhood, afterwards we finished the day at
Grand Trunk Pub (just a short walk from our hotel) where we enjoyed a few pints of
Motor City Brewing's Ghettoblaster, only to wake up before dawn the next morning + quickly fall in love with the charm of Corktown while experiencing the best pour over + ham w/cheese croissant we've ever had at
Astro Coffee - which is in clear view of the beauty + ruins of the
Michigan Central Depot (where I tend to agree with David Kohrman's view - is the ultimate symbol of the automobile's complete triumph over public transportation in the city - not to disregard the
People Mover), with that we ended our journey at
Dequindre Cut - Detroit’s walking-and-cycling trail running below street level along a stretch of abandoned rail line just east of downtown. We were excited to see a lot of new bike lanes + bike friendly signage around the city - perhaps an affirmation of a new kind of sustainable + "Motorless City".
