Category: Detroit
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Pylon
Philip A. Hart Civic Center Plaza Jefferson and Woodward Avenues Detroit, Michigan 120 feet tall by 7 feet square The Pylon is the terminus for Detroit’s main street, Woodward Avenue. Created by Isamu Noguchi, the monumental work is of joined steel sections. The rectangular pylon makes a quarter turn as it heads upwards to…
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Belle Isle
Belle Isle Detroit, Michigan Belle Isle is a 982-acre island park in the Detroit River, between the United States mainland and Canada. Belle Isle is the largest city-owned island park in the United States and is the third largest island in the Detroit River. It is connected to mainland Detroit by the MacArthur Bridge. One…
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FLW in Detroit
The Melvyn Maxwell Smith and Sara Stein Smith House Bloomfield, Michigan The Melvyn Maxwell Smith and Sara Stein Smith House also known as My Haven is a Frank Lloyd Wright designed Usonian home that was built by the owner/occupants in 1949 and 1950. The Smiths were two public school teachers living on a tight budget,…
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Detroit’s Guardian Building
500 Griswold Street Detroit, Michigan There has been so very, very much written about the Guardian Building of Detroit, that my writing here is simply for me to remember this stunning building and that I had the pleasure of walking into it and staring. Built for the Union Trust Company the building is 486 feet…
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Detroit’s Renaissance
The Book Building at 1249 Washington Blvd, Downtown Detroit So much has been written about Detroit’s decline, and yet so little has been written about its renaissance. Yes, the outlying areas have a long way to go, but the new construction and renovations happening in the downtown area are staggering. This post by no means…
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Heidelberg Project
3600 Heidelberg St McDougall Hunt Neighborhood Detroit, Michigan Just 15 minutes away from the African Bead Museum is the Heidelberg Project. I went anticipating a fabulous folk art installation due to all the hype, disappointing is the kindest word I can use. That being said, the motivation behind the project and the heart poured into…
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African Bead Museum
Dabls’ MBAD African Bead Museum 6559 Grand River Avenue Detroit, Michigan * I had the absolute privilege to speak with Olayami Dabls, the creator of Dabls’ African Bead Museum (pictured above), and he told me some of his story. He began this project during the Clean Up Detroit program, a project to help clear all of…
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Pewabic Pottery
1025 Jefferson Avenue Detroit, Michigan Pewabic Pottery is a ceramic studio and school founded in 1903 by artist Mary Chase Perry Stratton and Horace James Caulkins. Caulkins was considered a high-heat and kiln specialist, and developed the “Revelation kiln”. Caulkins invented the kiln to help with his dental supply business, he then sold his…
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The Saarinen House
Academy Way Cranbrook Bloomfield Hills, Michigan A tour of the Saarinen house is an amazing look into the perfectionism of Eliel Saarinen and his design beliefs and senses. The house combines Arts and Craft movement ideas with Art Deco elements for a stunning and harmonious work of art. * The home was built concurrently with…
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The Spirit of Detroit
2 Woodward Avenue Detroit, Michigan This stunning sculpture is the best-known piece of public art in Detroit. It’s location and presentation was well thought out. The backdrop was designed by the architectural firm of Harley, Ellington and Day, also responsible for the Veterans Memorial Building in Detroit. The sculpture itself is by Detroit area sculptor…