# Summer 2013 Midwestern US Tour: DETROIT!!



## Jaybird (Sep 8, 2003)

Hey guys!

Continuing with my photo threads of my remarkable Midwest U.S. trip in the Summer 2013, which included stops with two days in Toledo, Ohio, and five days in Chicago… hopped on the Amtrak train, headed east and….

I finished it off spending three days in the Motor City!

The first part of the first day in Detroit includes downtown pictures on a gorgeous Friday afternoon, as well as highlights of the baseball game @ Comerica Park between the Kansas City Royals and the Tigers!

The view of Detroit from the Amtrak train...









Cadillac Place with the Fisher Building sticking out from the train station...


















Detroit's Amtrak Station, in all its glory...









After hopping aboard a cab downtown… arrived at the Renaissance Center, stayed at the Marriott...









My room….









The views from my room, on the 56th floor...













































Looking down @ GM World...






















































Looking south at the Detroit River and Windsor from the GM Wintergarden









GM World...


















Wintergarden


----------



## DWest (Dec 3, 2009)

beautiful...one of America's great cities.


----------



## Botev1912 (Oct 18, 2006)

Why do people always say Detroit is so bad/rundown? It looks great in your pictures.


----------



## christos-greece (Feb 19, 2008)

Great, very nice photos from Detroit


----------



## openlyJane (Feb 3, 2010)

I really appreciate the way that you have chosen to show us what is great about Detroit.


----------



## Jaybird (Sep 8, 2003)

Botev1912 said:


> Why do people always say Detroit is so bad/rundown? It looks great in your pictures.


Botev1912, you made my day when you said that! Thank you very much, really appreciate the kind words and many people I know have told me how they say I make Detroit look good with all my pictures! I'll have to start posting my pictures of the Motor City here more often! However, this is just downtown. There are A TON of rundown in other areas in the city, unfortunately.

Thanks again, everyone, for your kind comments on the city and pictures!


----------



## capricorn2000 (Nov 30, 2006)

it's great to show us the bright side of the city which still has the baseball and the NHL hockey teams. I hope the economic condition is improving.
BTW, how much did you pay for that nice hotel room? if you don't mind my asking.


----------



## Somnifor (Sep 6, 2005)

Nice tour! Detroit is a city I always root for. I really hope its' decline ends soon enough to preserve the gems that remain.


----------



## Jaybird (Sep 8, 2003)

capricorn2000 said:


> it's great to show us the bright side of the city which still has the baseball and the NHL hockey teams. I hope the economic condition is improving.
> BTW, how much did you pay for that nice hotel room? if you don't mind my asking.


capricorn2000, thank you! Detroit city proper has got the Lions football team, too. The economic condition probably now has nowhere to go but up since the city is in bankruptcy protection. Downtown is the most booming part of the city and it has changed A LOT in the last ten years, I only hope this can spread out to more areas of the city.

I paid $199 US a night, but considering it's for a weekend and the kind of hotel I stayed at (Marriott at the Renaissance Center), that's not bad, IMHO.


----------



## Jaybird (Sep 8, 2003)

Continuing with the Detroit part of my massive Summer 2013 Midwest U.S. trip is pictures I took of the BRIGHT LIGHTS of the D downtown after the Tigers game on the Friday night!

Comerica Park after the game was finished









The gorgeous Fox Theatre









The Fillmore Concert Theatre









The Broderick Tower and David Whitney Building









Looking south on Woodward Avenue...









Took the People Mover @ Grand Circus Park... to the Millender Center, near the riverfront...


















Yes, people actually do ride the People Mover for all the critics out there. 









Cadillac Tower and Square









One Detroit Center and First National Building









Millender Center and Renaissance Center









Where the heart beats downtown, Campus Martius and the Penobscot














































































































































































































































































Hart Plaza



























Windsor, Ontario









More of the RenCen...






















































The view from my room, 56 stories up the Marriott hotel..


----------



## openlyJane (Feb 3, 2010)

Fabulous!


----------



## Jaybird (Sep 8, 2003)

This part of the trip focuses on parts of the East Riverfront and the Dequindre Cut all the way north to one of the great weekend markets and urban adventures in the United States, the famous Eastern Market, northeast of downtown Detroit.

These were taken on a warm and bustling Saturday Morning in the D!

Good morning, RenCen and Detroit!













































Hello, home country!









Started in front of the Renaissance Center...









Going a walk on Detroit's RiverWalk..



























The new volleyball courts









Boll Family Fountain


















William G. Milliken State Park and Harbor








































































The Globe Building being renovated into the Detroit Outdoor Adventure and Discovery Center












































































































The beginning of the popular Dequindre Cut bicycle and walking path...


















It takes people from the Detroit River all the way up to the Eastern Market...


























































































Inspiring...









Approaching the end of the trail...









It amazing the kind of animations people put on these walls...









Looking down the Dequindre Cut through a fence on Gratiot Avenue...



























St. Joseph's Catholic Church



























It's so hot out, I could use a Faygo right now...









Ha, look at that. I guess the Motor City appreciates my patronage so much, they named a street after me! HA HAAAA!


----------



## Manitopiaaa (Mar 6, 2006)

How did you travel without a car? Are all the Amtrak stations that conveniently centered or did you just bring a tiny backpack for the haul? Why Amtrak over bus since I'd heard Amtrak is pricey?


----------



## Jaybird (Sep 8, 2003)

Manitopiaaa said:


> How did you travel without a car? Are all the Amtrak stations that conveniently centered or did you just bring a tiny backpack for the haul? Why Amtrak over bus since I'd heard Amtrak is pricey?


I'm glad you asked. I get around pretty good considering I don't own a car.

I used both bus and train. I took a train from London, Ontario to Windsor, Ontario (across from Detroit). Then I took a Transit Windsor tunnel bus which provides convenient travel from downtown Windsor to downtown Detroit (with customs and immigration at the border), then took a Greyhound bus from Detroit to Toledo, Ohio. Then Amtrak from Toledo to Chicago and from Chicago to Detroit. 

The Toledo station is just outside of downtown, Chicago's Union Station is right in the heart of the loop (downtown), and Detroit's is in the heart of midtown, so I needed a cab to get downtown, although a new light rail system will built on Woodward Avenue and will provide an alternative a cost-effective method to connect midtown to downtown.

Amtrak to me, is actually very reasonably priced for train service, probably because rail travel in Canada (VIA rail) is outrageously priced. I think for a train from Toledo to Chicago (and Chicago to Detroit) was like around $70-90 total, return fare.. In Canada, that would be close or more than $200 easily. But I think VIA Rail is partially run by the government of Canada, too, so that might make a difference.

Amtrak is more spacious, not as cramped, and the service between cities is faster. It's also a bit more scenic. That's the advantages I find with trains over buses.


----------



## Jaybird (Sep 8, 2003)

This part of the tour covers the Eastern Market District, one of America's greatest urban market areas!

Commercial blocks along Gratiot Avenue near the Eastern Market













































Approaching the bustling Eastern Market on Russell Street...



























The Eastern Market









Fresh Leamington, Ontario-made tomatoes. BTW, Leamington is considered to be the tomato capital of Canada.













































I hadn't ate breakfast yet, so I got a half-dozen oranges, sure gave me my share of Vitamin C that morning! 






















































Downtown from the Eastern Market


















Abandonment in what appears to be an old meat plant or something in Eastern Market...



























I found this interesting...


























































































View from outside the building...









Hope you all enjoyed another one of my great Detroit photo tours!


----------



## Nightsky (Sep 16, 2002)

Detroit has much potential, with its architectural heritage and all these car industries. In these pictures it is hard to imagine all the problems we have read about in the media during the latter years, great photos!


----------



## Jaybird (Sep 8, 2003)

Nightsky said:


> Detroit has much potential, with its architectural heritage and all these car industries. In these pictures it is hard to imagine all the problems we have read about in the media during the latter years, great photos!


Thanks, nightsky, for the comments on my pictures, I really appreciate the positive feedback and you saying I make Detroit look good.

I can't say the rest of the city looks the same, but I do my best to show that Detroit is STILL a great city despite its sour economy and bankruptcy (on paper) and focusing on the positives on what the Motor City has to offer! :banana:


----------



## Jaybird (Sep 8, 2003)

This parts covers Belle Isle, including the Aquarium and Conservatory. The Belle Isle Aquarium was the oldest continually operating public aquarium in North America until it closed in 2005. It re-opened to the public in 2012 as part of a restoration effort by volunteers. The Belle Isle Conservatory was designed by Detroit architect Albert Kahn. Both buildings were built in 1904.

I apologize for not getting much else of Belle Isle besides the aquarium and conservatory, but those are the places I wanted to visit this time around. I do have more pictures of Belle Isle and I'll post a link to them at some point.

Detroit skyline from Belle Isle









Windsor and Detroit skylines from Belle Isle


















Detroit's East Riverfront









Douglas MacArthur Bridge









Belle Isle, IMHO, offers some of the best skyline shots of Detroit outside of Windsor


















The Belle Isle Aquarium, it was free admission and it's only open on Saturdays, but a donation helps the great volunteers of this attraction worth preserving keep going. I gave them $10, likely the first of a few visits to come.









Inside the Belle Isle Aquarium, still amazingly preserved well and handsome!


























































































In the reflection, that's me wearing a "Made In Detroit" T-Shirt, while looking at a swimming turtle!






















































One of the volunteers noticed me with my camera taking pictures and was nice enough to give me a behind-the-scenes tour of some of the tanks!









The Belle Isle Conservatory, designed by Albert Kahn. Built in 1904


----------



## Jaybird (Sep 8, 2003)

This part of the trip focuses on the historic Indian Village neighbourhood on Detroit's east side. The neighbourhood is one of the most architecturally diverse and is one of the city's most affluent neighbourhoods.

Started at the historic, but abandoned St. Stanislaus Bishop and Martyr Roman Catholic Church on Dubois Street in Detroit's east side. Built in 1900.


















Houses near the St. Stanislaus church, awaiting opportunity...









The abandoned, but protected Whittier Hotel on East Jefferson Avenue









Entering Indian Village, greeted by Jefferson Avenue Presbyterian Church


















These homes are on Burns Street















































































































































































































Detroit Waldorf School


----------



## Jaybird (Sep 8, 2003)

These houses are on Iroquois Avenue...




































I dig the warped wooden roof on this beauty...





















































































































Iroquois Avenue Christian Lutheran Church


























































































This huge mansion is on Seminole...


----------



## Jaybird (Sep 8, 2003)

Continuing with the Detroit leg of my Summer 2013 Midwest U.S. trip, here's the fourth part of my second day in Detroit, focusing on Midtown and the Woodward Avenue corridor of the soon-to-start-construction M-1 Streetcar Line.

I took time to bowl in the oldest continuously used bowling alley in the United States, the Garden Bowl, and ate a delicious lunch and had a few drinks across the street at Union Street Saloon, then took the long walk back downtown.

The Majestic Theatre and Garden Bowl on Woodward Avenue in Midtown Detroit









Garden Bowl was founded in 1913, so it's 100 years old!









Inside…


















I managed to beat old high score and bowl my best game, 187!









Then it was across the street to another Detroit institution, the long living Union Street Saloon!









Inside… classy…


















To the left is James the awesome bartender who just moved back to Detroit from Chicago. BTW, I had a delicious Filet Mignon that I unfortunately didn't take a picture of.









Back outside… this is Professional Plaza… hope you catch, you may not see it there much longer…









Woodward Garden Apartments, under construction...









Max Fisher Music Theatre, home of the famous Detroit Symphony Orchestra


















Orchestra Place









Detroit's second newest grocery store, Whole Foods, opened in the city to much fanfare in the spring of this year









It was actually very busy inside!









Streetscape along the Ellington Building on Woodward Avenue









New Midtown Office Building development…









Wayne State University's Bonstelle Theatre, designed by Albert Kahn in 1902









Ye Olde Butcher Shoppe, also gained much fanfare for Detroiters looking for fresh meat. People say Detroit is a food desert, I say some of them don't know what they're talking about.









Looking south on Woodward towards downtown…


















The Addison Building


















Looking back north on Woodward…









Detroit First Presbyterian Church and First Unitarian Church









Newer townhomes in Brush Park









Downtown









There's a lot of people in this shot, because of a Kenny Chesney concert at Ford Field and a lot of concert goers were tailgating!


















Fox Theatre









Comerica Park, empty for now, but it will be another sellout for tonight's game!









The Fillmore Concert Theatre and other buildings on Woodward, in downtown…









Broderick Tower and David Whitney Building









Buildings in Grand Circus Park









Took the People Mover back to my hotel room @ the Marriott Renaissance Center









Bought me a six pack of Midtown Community Pilsner, brewed at the Atwater Brewery in Detroit. I bought it at Whole Foods.


----------



## Jaybird (Sep 8, 2003)

To conclude the Detroit leg of my Midwest 2013 Photo Tour, I took time to visit one of the finest art museums in the world, the Detroit Institute of Arts, located in midtown Detroit in the cultural center area. The DIA was established in 1885 and the building was completed in 1927 in the Beaux-Arts, Italian Renaissance architecture designed by Paul Philippe Cret. Its collection has well over 65,000 works of art, rumoured to be worth within the billions of dollars.

I wanted to get a look at the collection, before it could potentially be auctioned off to help pay some of the city's debts while it copes in bankruptcy.

Without further ado, here we go with the Detroit Institute of Arts!

The Front Entrance to the DIA…




































The "Thinker" statue


















Inside...


















The absolutely incredible Kresge Court






















































Egyptian Art...













































This looks like a figure you might see in music video for the band TOOL...









This figure looks like he's constipated...


















BATMAN!



























It's a pig posing as a lion...


















"Naked over New York" by Reginald Marsh









"Savoy Ballroom" by Reginald Marsh









"Stables" by Georgia O'Keeffe









A bone legs exhibit it appears...









A room full of geometry...









Andy Warhol's Self Portrait...









I came upon a glass exhibit with numerous collections from the Toledo Museum of Art, which boasts one of the largest glass collections in the world...













































I like the rocker dude on the far right, it's like Steven Tyler of Aerosmith, who I saw live the only time here in Detroit at Joe Louis Arena in 2006.









Baseball painting, ironically posting this considering my trip was baseball related, mainly!









"Portraits of a Collagist" by Benny Andrews









"Change Your Luck" by Robert Colescott









Rosa Parks sign, formerly part of the Hiedelberg Project 


















"Bottle of Anis del Mono" by Pablo Picasso...









"Woman seated in an armchair" by Pablo Picasso...









Manual Pallares portrait by Pablo Picasso...


















An actual Frank Lloyd Wright designed Window from the Darwin Martin House in Buffalo, New York









"Notre Dame Cathedral, Paris"









"The Nut Gatherers"









"Arrangement in Gray: Portrait of the Painter" by James Whistler









"Bank of the Oise at Auvers" by Vincent Van Gogh









Vincent Van Gogh's self portrait


----------



## openlyJane (Feb 3, 2010)

What a fantastic resource and cultural treasure the Institute for Arts is. I sincerely hope that the city can retain it, in all its glory.


----------



## capricorn2000 (Nov 30, 2006)

a great photo tour indeed. I enjoyed looking at the art museum.
thanks dude.


----------



## Jaybird (Sep 8, 2003)

The famous Detroit Industry Murals

















































































Water Fountain inside the Great Hall...









The Great Hall...








































































"King Lear"









"The Last Supper"









George Washington








































































Statue of, I believe, Christopher Columbus...









Abraham Lincoln








































































The crucifixion of Christ









Adam and Eve


----------



## Jaybird (Sep 8, 2003)

Detroit Institute of Arts Dedication...
















































































































































Inside the front entrance...



























Outside again...


















The newest wing of the DIA...









The newly-established Michigan Science Center (formerly Detroit Science Center)









Sculpture behind the DIA...


----------



## paul62 (Jan 27, 2012)

Excellent.


----------



## Farrapo (Oct 7, 2003)

Detroit is a must-see city for any Architecture lover.

Do you have pictures of Boston-Edison neighbourhood? 

Congrats for the thread, it's great!


----------



## Jaybird (Sep 8, 2003)

Farrapo said:


> Detroit is a must-see city for any Architecture lover.
> 
> Do you have pictures of Boston-Edison neighbourhood?
> 
> Congrats for the thread, it's great!


I do, check out this link: http://www.skyscrapercity.com/showthread.php?t=1420454


----------



## Jaybird (Sep 8, 2003)

After losing my tickets once on the People Mover ride back to Comerica and then going back to the RenCen and reprinting them and taking the PM back again, finally made it to the second Royals vs. Tigers baseball game @ Comerica Park


















Tigers Manager Jim Leyland arguing a bad call by the umps


















Night time and Miguel Cabrera is up in the bottom of the 9th with the game tied!



























Miggy towered it out of the park! Tigers win!


















The 40,000+ fans in attendance are in a frenzy!































































Post-game fireworks






















































Views from my room that night on the 56th floor of the Marriott Renaissance Center after the game, you get to see Comerica Park lit up!


----------



## Jaybird (Sep 8, 2003)

Looking up at the RenCen...









Rockin on the Riverfront concert being held in front the RenCen..









Looking at Windsor, Ontario...


















Millender Center









One Woodward and Coleman A. Young Municipal Center



























Guardian Building









One Woodward









Spirit of Detroit









One Detroit Center



























The incredible detail of the Art Deco Guardian Building...









Ford Building and Penobscot Building









Base of the Penobscot


















Dime Building









First National Building


















Lower Woodward Avenue


----------



## DaveF12 (Nov 25, 2011)

awesome photos and I particularly like those night shots.


----------



## Jaybird (Sep 8, 2003)

^ thanks, DaveF12! The night pictures turned out awesome, which happens when you have a fairly top notch camera!


----------



## Jaybird (Sep 8, 2003)

Soldiers and Sailors Monument in Campus Martius Park









The bustling Campus Martius Park...









Cadillac Tower




































Compuware Building




































My epic-failed attempt at catching people doing their thing downtown..


















Detroit Shoppe and Art Gallery, new business opened up on Woodward, I shall have to check it out the next time I'm in the Motor City









Woodward Avenue...








































































Looking up at the restored Broderick Tower









Looking up the currently-being-restored David Whitney Building









Broadway









Tigers fans set out at two popular spots downtown… Small Plates and Detroit Beer Co.









Dan Gilbert's Z Building









Retail on Broadway...









Former Serman's store, a soon-to-be Bagger Dave's and Buffalo Wild Wings in the Temple of Odd Fellows building, where I ate supper that night!


















Those two guys were cool... I love this city!


----------



## DWest (Dec 3, 2009)

I'm impressed with the collection of art works...


----------



## Jaybird (Sep 8, 2003)

DWest said:


> I'm impressed with the collection of art works...


I am, too. But there's talk it could be sold to help pay some of the city's $18 billion debt, while it has filed for bankruptcy. But the good news is that a bunch of businessmen and civic leaders are putting forth a plan to buy the DIA and its collection from the city to protect the art and help pay pensions to city retirees. Michigan Governor Rick Snyder has also proposed using $300 million of Michigan's budget surplus to help the same cause.

I'm happy, because the DIA is an asset to the city and one of its crown jewels.


----------



## Jaybird (Sep 8, 2003)

Comerica Park









Detroit's hardest working...






















































My seat for the game...






















































Start of the game...


















Miggy comes to the plate… but didn't get much this game...









Neither did Prince...






















































Late in the game, Tigers still no runs to KC's 2.









… and that's how it ended...


















Score to confirm, 3-0 KC...









After-game fireworks!


----------

