When a couple of Up North resort owners want to take a quick break in a big city, they head some 200 miles southeast, to what some would say is an unlikely spot for a weekend away from it all — Detroit. With culture, sports, music and meals to remember, plus unique places like the Inn on Ferry Street to stay, they say the city makes a great place for an urban getaway.
A poet and activist, John Sinclair is the stuff of Detroit’s legend -- having had a part in forming the Detroit Artists’ Workshop, Rainbow People’s Party, White Panther Party, Trans-Love Energies, the punk-rock prototype, the MC5. Sinclair sits down with Model D to talk about the city, past and present. He speaks frankly about everything from race relations, performing in the jazz festival, smoking and reading the paper at the Cass Café, his favorite place to sit and think (Belle Isle), and what’s going on under the loincloth on the Spirit of Detroit statue.
Looking to buy a home in Midtown Detroit? Check out the City Living Detroit Midtown Home Tour.
Why set up shop in Chicago or New York, when all the cool city you need is in Midtown Detroit? The area formerly known as the Cass Corridor is taking on a new vitality. John Lopez and Ann Perrault think so. Lopez is reinventing a Cass Avenue favorite: Twingo's, hoping to return it to its chic-eats glory. Perrault is baking some of the most tempting breads, pastries and ooey gooey brownies in Motown at Avalon International Breads. Both say there is room and the market is primed for more cool Midtown spots.
Population shrinkage in major cities is not in itself unusual in the suburbanized environments we live in, but it has become a growing concern throughout the world and here in the Motor City. If Detroit is to think of winning back those who’ve left the city, its leaders should first look to those who are coming here. The quality that Detroit has, more than all the suburbs, is cultural diversity, and that is what attracts people to world-class cities.
National award winning CREW-Detoit, for the fifth consecutive year, will serve pizza and distribute supplies during its Back-to-School party.
Michigan State Fair completes one hundred years in Detorit. This wholesome family entertainment will attract over 500,000 people.
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