Monday, July 28, 2014

Detroit 2014 II (7/28/2014)

Monday, July 28, 2014
First in Dearborn, MI, the Henry Ford Estate, called Fair Lane (1913), named after the birthplace of Henry Ford's adoptive grandfather in Ireland. The Fords first engaged Frank Loyd Wright to design their home, but he gave up his practice and one of his studio associates took the job using the Prairie School philosophy. However, after a trip to Europe, the Fords decided they wanted an English manor house and hired the architect, William H. Van Tine. The estate was designated a National Historic Landmark in 1966.
I started at the powerhouse and garage.
Cutting garden next to the powerhouse/garage
Wisteria-covered hand dug-well (c. 1880s) was preserved
The greenhouses are no longer covered with glass
Root cellar
Rouge River cascade and powerhouse sluice gate
Powerhouse cornerstone
The cornerstone was laid by Thomas A Edison on October 28, 1914. The powerhouse used water power to provide heat, light, and even ice to the estate.
Boathouse (1916)
The boathouse was designed by Jens Jensen who was the landscape architect for the grounds at Fair Lane.
Rock Garden
Northwest corner of mansion
    Porte-cochère of mansion
    Garden gates from England
    Blue Garden on the southeast corner
    Contrary to AAA information, the Motown Museum was not open Mondays, so I continued onward.
    Fisher Building (1928)
    by architect Joseph Nathaniel French in Art Deco style,
    designated a National Historic Landmark in 1989
    Hamtramck Disneyland (began in 1992) by Dmytro Szylak,
    a retired General Motors employee, born in the Ukraine
    Pewabic Pottery (1907)
    Pewabic Pottery was founded in 1903 by the artist and teacher Mary Chase Perry Stratton and Horace James Caulkins, her partner. Pewabic is an Ojibwa word for the color of copper metal. In 1907 they had the pottery works built to resemble an English inn, and it was designated a National Historic Landmark in 1991. Pewabic Pottery is still produced and you could view the fabrication process.

    Car kiln
    Upstairs was the museum and galleries.
    "Utilitarian Spoons" by Annie Dennis
    "Cheer Up, Charlie" by Monica Wilson
    Across the street:
    Hurlbut Memorial Gate (1894) by Herman A. Brede and Gustave Mueller,
    at Waterworks Park, listed on National Register of Historic Places in 1975
    Next, the Heidelberg Project, considered an "outdoor art project." Started in 1986 by artist Tyree Guyton and his grandfather Sam Mackey in protest of the neighborhood's deterioration. City demolition has since destroyed six of the houses, and in the last year, fire has claimed about six more houses.
    Stuffed animal tree
    The Peoples House aka Dotty Wotty
    Obstruction of Justice House after burning down
    Doll House aka Party Animal House burned in March 2014
    Doll House aka Party Animal House basement
    The Clock House burned in December 2013
    Sidewalk faces
    Now we head closer to downtown Detroit.
    Dequindre Cut Greenway, opened in 2009,
    a former railroad right-of-way turned into a bike path
    Dequindre Cut Greenway
    Watch out ! Nature is taking over!
    Downtown Detroit.
    Soldiers' and Sailors' Monument (1872)
    in Campus Martius Park
    The Michigan Soldiers' and Sailors' Monument by sculptor Randolph Rogers was listed on the National Register of Historic Places in 1984. It was rededicated in 2005 when the list of Michigan War Dead was updated.
    Guardian Building (1928-1929),
    designated a National Historic Landmark in 1989
    The Guardian Building, originally the Union Trust Building is in Art Deco style including art moderne designs, such as in the use of Pewabic and Rookwood tile. It was designed by Wirt C. Rowland, of the Smith, Hinchman & Grylls firm.
    Guardian Building south portal
    The Spirit of Detroit Monument (1958)
    with statue created by Marshall Fredericks
    Monument to Joe Louis aka The Fist (1986)
    by Robert Graham
    "Transcending" (2003), a Michigan Labor Legacy landmark
    "Transcending," by David Barr and Sergio de Guisti, stands on the site where Martin Luther King, Jr first gave the "I Have a Dream" speech which the line "The arc of history bends toward justice."
    Horace E. Dodge and Son Memorial Fountain (1981)
    designed by Isamu Noguchi
    Gateway to Freedom International Memorial to the Underground Railroad
    (2001) by sculptor Edward Dwight
    Alleged secret code quilt squares
    Here you can see that in the sculpture,
    George DeBaptist is pointing the way to Caesars in Windsor!
    General Motors Renaissance Center (1976-1977)
    The GM RenCen, designed by John Portman, is a cluster of four office towers around a central hotel tower that is the tallest building in Michigan. It was built by the Ford Company, but purchased by General Motors in 1996. There is a GM showroom in the center ground floor.
    A GM Stingray Corvette in the entry
    GM RenCen People Mover station
    Detroit People Mover train
    The Detroit People Mover opened in 1987. It uses driverless trains and runs in a clockwise direction circling through downtown.
    It took some detective work to find the Michigan Central Depot standing at one end of Roosevelt Park.
    Michigan Central Depot/Station (1912-1913)
    Designed by the Warren & Wetmore and Reed and Stem firms in Beaux Arts Classical style, the Michigan Central Depot was listed on the National Register of Historic Places in 1975.
    Next: Detroit 2014 III.

    No comments: