Downtown Detroit

Looking at the Lafayette Building before it comes down

By Newsroom

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October 6, 2009

The fight to save the Lafayette is over; demolition started last month. So, take a last look at one of Detroit's great treasures now going the way of the buffalo. Wherever you stand on the subject, demolition or preservation, one thing can't be argued: the beauty of the Lafayette. Excerpt:After the Book Cadillac reopened, its out-of-town guests saw blight outside their windows. "People point to it and ask, ‘What is that?' and ‘What are the plans for it?'" says Scott Stinebaugh, director of sales and marketing for the hotel. "For a long time we couldn't give a definite answer. So now there's closure. People like us, in a historic building, are huge fans of saving a building, but once all avenues are exhausted, we're fans of it going away." So now the Lafayette's coming down, another subtraction from the skyline. A little park is planned in its place. City officials say an empty parcel is easier to market, though preservationists counter that the Hudson's lot has been empty, aside from an underground garage, for a decade, as has the Tuller Hotel lot across downtown, and no talked-about projects are set for those plots. Add the sites for the now-demolished Statler and Madison Lenox hotels, and the Motown Building, and there are already quite a few empty downtown lots awaiting development. The Lafayette's appearance isn't as stunning as other city skyscrapers from the same era, yet it still has understated touches of beauty, especially the terra cotta fleurs de lis along the rooftop. They're like the frosting on the cake, delicate ornamentation put in place for aesthetic flavor and loveliness. They speak of a time when architects added charm and artistry to buildings, even if only those few people with offices high enough would see them. Read the entire post here.For more information on the Lafayette visit the Buildings Of Detroit here.Do you want to see a video about the tree that is growing on the Lafayette? Check out Charlie LeDuff's piece in the Detroit News here.

Model D TV: Kales Building

By Tom Hendrickson

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General

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October 6, 2009

When the Kales Building was rehabbed into apartments downtown, it took the vacant Kresge HQ and transformed a corner of the city. Model D TV takes a look inside.

Vice reporter talks more on ‘ruin porn’ and Detroit

By Newsroom

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October 6, 2009

From NPR, On The Media sits down with a Vice reporter who wrote the piece passed around the world about "lazy" journalists coming to Detroit and making ruin porn.If you thought it was a genius piece or just as lazy as everything else, listen to more "ruin porn" talk with On The Media.Listen to the interview here.

FilterD: This Week’s Picks

By Walter Wasacz

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October 6, 2009

Hauntingly beautiful music will fill the DIA's Diego Rivera Court this Friday when Christen Lien performs original compositions with her viola, which she plays through a looping machine and other electronic effects. Call it sonic art moderne in one of the world's most distinctive settings. Get all the lovely details inside FilterD, where you'll find lots more to do in the week ahead in metro Detroit.

UM’s semester in Detroit project making connections

By Newsroom

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October 6, 2009

The University of Michigan puts students in Detroit and connects them with organizations as part of a service-learning internship. The students got more out of it than just school credit.Excerpt:“All of us (students) figured out that Detroit isn't just what you hear or see in the media,” she said. “There are interesting people here figuring out how to create sustainable communities. It's the people who are the most interesting to me.”When her year-long commitment wraps, Flora plans to stay in Detroit permanently, and if possible, work for a nonprofit. “Michigan has all of these curious young adults that are drawn away from the state, but they could find living and working in Detroit satisfying if they had the opportunity,” Flora said. “That's why Semester in Detroit is important; it engages students further than any other program.” Read the entire article here.

Tim Hortons Opens Second Detroit Location on East Jefferson Avenue

By Tiffini Smith

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October 6, 2009

Tim Hortons is expanding its chain of restaurants in Detroit. The restaurant famous for its coffee, baked goods, sandwiches and convenient drive-thrus has set up shop on East Jefferson Avenue across from the Belle Isle bridge.

Land allotments worked in urban Europe, could they work here?

By Newsroom

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October 6, 2009

Over in Europe they have something called allotments. They are basically little bits of land, given to residents to grow and care for. It's wildly successful and has proved to not only fill in vacant land but also provide healthy organic food in urban areas. Why couldn't this model work in Detroit? Excerpt: As I read recent Free Press stories about the increasing number of abandoned properties and vacant lots in Detroit and pondered a story I did months ago about pheasant hunters who train their dogs in parts of Detroit that are reverting to wildlands, I wondered why Detroit couldn't establish allotments for its residents? I know someone has proposed creating commercial truck gardens in that area, but why should publicly owned land benefit a handful of businesses when it could provide a fantastic opportunity for thousands to get the health and economic benefits of growing fresh vegetables and flowers and the enjoyment and satisfaction doing it? When cities all over America squander public funds to subsidize millionaires who build stadiums and other structures that fatten the pocketbooks of the builders and the campaign coffers of the political vultures who help them, it's a question worth asking. It would be easy to start an allotment pilot program, with the city doing the initial fencing and lot-clearing and turning the plots over to gardeners. An allotment half the size of a city lot could grow enough produce for several families to enjoy fresh corn, tomatoes and a host of other edibles at a far lower cost than buying them in a market. And I suspect a lot of Detroiters would get enormous personal satisfaction from growing food, along with flowers and other ornamental plants. Read the entire article here.

New Yorker is learning to love Detroit

By Newsroom

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October 6, 2009

Detroit is not New York, never will be. But a former New Yorker, broker and current downtown resident is learning to love Detroit -- despite its lack of falafel stands.Excerpt:She'd already seen new buildings go up and elected officials go up the river, but she'd never come across a city so empty. She didn't get why the streets weren't full of people buying pizza and falafel from the little restaurants that weren't there, either. Over time, she came to understand that the absences are related. More people equals more commerce equals more life equals more people. It worked that way in Royal Oak, which strikes her as more of a downtown theme park than a real downtown, and she's certain it could work in Detroit, if only we'd all move a little quicker. "I'm on a New York rhythm," she says, snapping her fingers. "There's no sense of urgency here. That needs to be revamped." So do the political structure in the city, she says, and the thoroughly un-Manhattan notion that the city is something you run from instead of flock to, and the big issue she had the chat with God about before she signed her lease. But "there's a sincerity and a wholesomeness here I wasn't exposed to growing up," Debs says, not to mention some spectacular architecture. There are friendships formed with the parking lot attendants and homeless characters she sees when Chica needs a walk, and a sense of optimism even at the points where optimism makes no sense. Read the entire article here.

Media on media: Others look at Time’s coverage

By Newsroom

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October 6, 2009

NPR speaks with Daniel Okrent, the author of Time Magazine's cover story on Detroit. It's a good listen as they talk about right-sizing, Detroit's cultural life, and the possibility of a new beginning.Listen to the interview here.For further reading:Freep columnist Stephen Henderson looks at the Time article from '61 and its newest Detroit piece. The similarities are striking but what is more striking is Detroit's unwillingness to change their course.Excerpt:The truth is, we've struggled with leadership around here for at least the last half-century, if not longer.And that's where we should be embarrassed by the similarities between the 1961 Time story and today's coverage. Never mind that they're mixing up the back-story; the stark results are inarguable.How can we have learned so little over so long? What does it say about leadership -- or our ability to choose leaders -- that we're facing the same issues today that confronted us before men walked on the moon?If there's hope in this parallel, it may be found in the end of Time's 1961 article, where Henry Ford II assessed the city."Detroit admittedly has its problems," he said. "Intelligent citizen interest and action can solve them. As I see it, the vital need now is for the people themselves to become interested in the community and the government, and to take an active part in their affairs."Read the entire article here.Read an editorial blog about Time's coverage by Jeff Gerritt here.Excerpt from Gerritt's piece: Truth be told, though, I’m not knocked out by Time’s Assignment Detroit, at least not yet. It feels a little old and misses much of the new, a story told by wide-eyed outsiders who just dropped in and are still finding their way to Bewick and Mack.

Tweet of the Week: No more sports! And Dick Tracy in Detroit

By Newsroom

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October 6, 2009

Lions win streak stopped at one. The Red Wings start the season 0-2. The Tigers ended the regular season tied with the Twinkies (Minnesota Twins) after leading the division since May 10. But that's just sports.This weekend also saw the opening of Midtown's Burton Theatre, Art Detroit Now descended onto the city, and, well, nearly everything else about Detroit you love is still here (except Tiger Stadium and the soon-to-be-gone Lafayette Building).Yet, the Tigers seem to set that mood, at least for @Richfelton: The Detroit Tigers are causing me to drink! Please, @Richfelton, drink responsibly.Maybe a few of you saw tanks on the streets of Detroit this weekend. Don't panic, it's not martial law, it's Red Dawn, a remake of an '80s flick about an invasion of the U.S. by the Soviets.@detroit28 saw the action: Why is there an M1 Abrams tank and ground troops on Adams Ave. in Detroit today? Ok, it's just a scene shoot for Red Dawn at the Subway.And finally here's a bit of Detroit history. @Samster09 reminds us that Detroit was the first city to see Dick. That's the comic strip "Dick Tracy," my friends: On this day in 1931 - The comic strip "Dick Tracy" made its debut in the Detroit Daily Mirror. The strip was created by Chester Gould.Follow Model D on Twitter here.And keep tweeting -- but not about sports. We're sick of reading sports tweets. Tweet of the Week compiled by Model D intern Ryan Kelly