Detroit Art

Race riots

White flight

Rust belt

Empty city.

Abandoned.

In many ways, Detroit has been defined by negatives. 

And, sad to say, those labels aren't altogether wrong. The city has down on her luck for decades. 

But times have changed and slowly, the tides are turning for the nitty gritty Motor City. 

And from what I hear, it's largely the creatives that are bringing her back to life.

“Our idea is that we will invest in art and culture as part of a portfolio of strategies meant to transform communities.” - Carol Coletta

Now make no mistake. Real people - often impoverished, disenfranchised, or homeless - live in Detroit and there have been massive efforts over many years to strengthen their neighborhoods and bring back to them a reasonable quality of life. Local artists, no matter their passion or persistence, do not have the right to override those efforts and claim the empty space as their own playgrounds.

But public art matters. It conveys a vibrancy that buoys the spirit of a place. That vibrancy draws humans who want to live, work, and invest in that place. And thus a city can be revitalized by art.

“Vibrancy is probably the best proxy we have for the quality of place. Quality of place is essential for attracting and retaining human capital. And human capital is essential to the economic well-being of communities.” - Carol Coletta

And so I've watched from afar as Detroit's creatives have gone to work over the past decade or so, blowing to smithereens the city's old identity as a dead zone. During my April weekend in the city, I realized that I'll need a whole 'nother trip to seek out and feast my soul on all of public art that has popped up during the city's rebirth. These are on my wish list:

Mural of Stevie Wonder

A massive painting of the Motown marvel, literally facing the entry doors to the hotel where I stayed on my recent visit. Somehow I managed not to take a photo of this, though I was dazzled by it every time I walked past. 

Murals in the Eastern Market

Every fall, artists flock to this corner of downtown to remake the murals that delight the eye in all directions. I would love to come while they're at work. 

MBAD African Bead Museum and Installations

How to help your community reconnect with their African heritage? A visual storyteller started this museum as a way to do just that, and the gallery has grown by leaps and bounds. 

During midday, she was quiet and sedate. 
But at nighttime, I'm told that the Belt comes alive. 

The Belt

We stumbled upon this one too. From the sidewalk at first glance, a generic alley opens up onto an ordinary street. But peer down the alley and delight in and explosion of light and color. Now home to a bar, a restaurant, a nightclub and an art gallery, the Belt is a great example of how creatives reimagined unused spaces around the city. 

Illuminated Mural

One hundred twenty five feet tall, rainbow inspired, and currently under repair. She looks like a beauty and I hope they have her fixed before I come back. 

Mural at Plaza del Norte Welcome Center

A Mexican neighborhood in the southwest of the city sparkles with murals celebrating Mexican culture.

“Detroit has always been a place where things have been made. That tradition is still alive here. But it’s starting to shift in a small way to a more [artistic] culture of manufacturing and creation.” - Alex Feldman

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And whenever I'm back in town, I'll be sure to take these gems that remain from the golden days of the city's previous life. 

^ "The Entrance" is a 1975 sculpture by John Piet' it lived in another area of the 

city until it was moved here in 1997. Saw it as I was walking down the street.

"The Entrance" at Harmonie Park

The Fischer Building

James Scott Memorial Fountain on Belle Isle

Lobby of the Guardian Building 

United We Stand Sculpture

Monument to Joe Louis

Diego Rivera's Detroit Industry Mural 

I can't wait to get back to Detroit, a city on the rise, and see more of her gorgeous, life-giving art. 

* * * * *

Quotes and ideas captured from these articles:

Can the Arts Save Struggling Cities?

11 Must-See Public Art Pieces in Detroit

Tiger Stadium

Here's a list - from most recent to least - of Major League Baseball teams that I've visited in their home stadium:

Detroit Tigers

San Diego Padres

Texas Rangers

Seattle Mariners

St. Louis Cardinals

Chicago White Sox

Chicago Cubs

and 

Detroit Tigers.

Yes, that's right. The Tigers are on there twice. Because in the decades since my first college-era visits to the park to my visit just this month, there have been some changes to the Tigers' home field.

^ This is the new stadium, formally named Comerica Park. Yawn. It'll always be Tiger Stadium to me. 

The old Tiger Stadium, at the corner of Michigan and Trumbull, set the scene for my first few MLB games ever. She was a creaky old gal, built in 1912, expanded and improved here and there over the decades. One of her quirkiest renovations was the addition of a second deck of seats that extended out over the lower pavilion, hanging ten feet out over the field. 

By the mid-1990s, it was clear that her days were numbered. A new modern stadium rose up a few blocks away, and the grand lady closed out the 1999 season with a win against the Kansas City Royals. In that final game, the Tigers banged out a late grand slam that counted as the last hit, the last RBI and the last run in Tiger Stadium history. What a sweet way to close out her life as a big-time ball park. 

After a few more years of sentimental special events and many hopes and dreams of redeveloping the old structure, the stately matron was finally demolished. By something of a miracle, the original playing field was preserved, eventually redeveloped for youth sports and still put to good use to this day. Bless our dear lady's reincarnated heart. 

^ Another fun tidbit: the winning pitcher of the final game in the old Tiger Stadium which was also the last home game of 1999 also won the first game of the 2000 season in the new Comerica Park. 

These are the thoughts and memories of days long gone that meander through my head and heart as I sit along the left field line, enjoying a warm April sun and a tasty hot dog,

Times change.

The familiar heroes of the 1960s have been reduced to bronze statues on the left field wall.

And the new park is lovely.

All the same, I sure miss do the old girl.

Dinner At Peridot

^ Fried chicken wings with caramelized fish sauce glaze

^ Green papaya salad with English cucumber, pickled daikon, roasted peanuts, 

fried shallots, spicy lime dressing and house-made beef jerky.

^ Roasted cauliflower with scallion puree, chilies, peanuts, and fresh herbs

^ Seared Dover sole with red curry bagna cauda, bok choy, and chives

 ^ Confit duck spring rolls with kohlrabi puree, pickled Fresno, cilantro, 

scallion dipping sauce

^ Yuzu citrus tart: yuzu citrus curd, black cardamom, diplomat cream, 

orange supreme, cashew crust

* * * * *

Other food we ate before we thought to take a photo:

Fried pork belly with black garlic puree, soy-tamarind gel, pickled beech and alba mushrooms

Star anise bread pudding with Chantilly cream, poached pears, and bourbon caramel sauce

* * * * *

I jumped on a plane

flew across the country to Columbus, Ohio

landed in the evening and soon fell fast asleep.

Next morning,

I jumped into a car

drove to Ann Arbor, Michigan,

and ate dinner at a restaurant called Peridot.

Oh, the food was delicious. Modern Vietnamese, the reviewers say, with a decidedly American point of view. Served on small plates for sharing, which is my absolute favorite. And my companions for the meal were highly entertaining; I dined with my first- and second-born daughters, as well as my nephew who lives in nearby Detroit. But none of those are the reason why I went to such lengths to eat at Peridot.

I went because my youngest nephew is a chef at Peridot. He has a fierce and fiery passion for cooking, this nephew of mine, and I could think of no better way to support him and cheer him on than to show up in person and eat his food. When he came out of the kitchen and saw us sitting nearby, you can't imagine the smile that lit up his face. 

I don't often travel 2,200 miles for my dinner. But I'd do it all again just to see my nephew, the chef, smile.

* * * * *

Photo credits to my first-born.

I was too busy eating. 

* * * * *

How lucky am I to have two chefs in the family?! 

Read about my two brilliant nephews who love to cook.

Dinner At Peridot

Dinner At San Fermo

Watching | Formula 1: Drive To Survive

^ It's Spaniard Carlos Sainz driving for Ferrari! 

Affable and funny, Carlos won the Australian Grand Prix last month. Que bueno!

^Venues in hot climates often schedule their races after dark, 

promising cooler temperatures and maximum visual drama. 

^ Mercedes is my favorite team, Their cars have been performing 

miserably of late, but still Lewis Hamilton is my favorite driver, and 

Toto Wolf (center) is far and away my favorite team principal. 

^ There's a new camera for capturing the driver's POV called Driver's Eye. 

The tiny lens mounts on the rim of the helmet between the driver's eyes 

and it literally makes you feel like you're driving the car. This shot was 

taken with an old-school onboard camera which is still pretty cool.

Formula 1: Drive To Survive | Created by Formula 1 and Netflix

Streaming on Netflix

10 teams.

20 drivers in 20 cars.

23 races every season.

2 big prizes each year - one for the drivers and one for the teams.

And a million ways for it all to go wrong.

Welcome to the world of Formula 1 racing. 

Watch the fastest cars in the world scream around a specially designed circuit or a knitted-together series of public streets. 

Call it a race or a Grand Prix. Either way, it's an hour and a half of flashing metal, squealing tires, throaty downshifts, and nail-biting maneuvers. 

Inside each car is a driver who has his own way of balancing the fiery passion for racing with the need for zen-like calm and self-control behind the wheel. And behind each driver are hundreds of people who design, manufacture, and maintain the car, as well as experts who help the drivers maximize their performance. Sitting in the middle of this massive network is the team principal who attempts to hold everyone together and keep them flowing toward a winning season. 

Netflix's Drive to Survive breaks down the particulars of the sport in a way any newcomer can understand, while providing nuance that even the most rabid F1 fans will find fascinating. The series begins with the 2018 season and carries on through 2023, so the viewer gets to know the drivers and the team principals, and begins to understand what makes each one of these distinctive personalities tick. These people would be the first to tell you that they're all a little crazy, but that makes it all the more fun. Netflix pumps up the drama by highlighting the rivalries and grudges that inevitably rise to the surface, but mostly what the show reveals is that there are a lot of really fantastic people striving to make F1  - and Drive To Survive - a wildly entertaining experience.

* * * * *

During the first decade of my life, I was blissfully unaware of mainstream professional sports. Other kids marveled me with their knowledge of our hometown Tigers, Lions, and Pistons but I knew close to nothing. Of course, my parents followed University of Michigan football with the full-blooded passion of the true Blue alumni that they were, and most Saturday nights in winter we tuned in to Hockey Night in Canada, but those were mere runners up to the main sport in my young heart.

Formula 1 racing. 

My dad had a passion for motor sports and I quickly picked it up.

I knew the racers. 

I adored their cars.

My heart thrilled at the sound of the revving engines.

My pulse quickened as the cars sped off their lines, bunched up impossibly close, and then spread out to circle the track again and again

I loved the tension of waiting to see who would be first to whip past the checkered flag. 

My brothers and I invented endless games that involved us impersonating our favorite drivers. On our swing set, I'd race them, pumping my tiny legs to make my swing fly as high as it possibly could, and then at the highest point, launching myself out of the seat as they launched themselves out of theirs. As we soared through the air, we would each call out our favorite racer's name. Mine was always the same.

Jimmy Clark!

Sadly, my hero Jim died in a race accident when I was 9, and that - along with my father's departure from our family - really soured the taste of F1 for me.

From then till now, I hit the brakes on racing. 

So imagine my delight when, over the past few years, my two oldest daughters independently fell in love with Formula 1 racing. And earlier this month, when the three of us spent ten days together, their ongoing chatter teased me back to the track. One of them steered me onto Drive to Survive, and now I'm all caught up on the players, their past races and reputations, and the crazy drama that unfolds when these colorful people come together to race.

Just like in the old days, I'm wildly in love with Formula 1.

I do believe it's in my blood. 

* * * * *

What I'm watching lately. 

Formula 1: Drive To Survive

Masters Of The Air

Downton Abbey