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.