by It would be an exaggeration to describe the events that took place last week, two miles along Michigan Avenue, as “resurrection”. But even by Detroit standards, it was quite the comeback. At this moment, in the midsummer sunlight of June 6th, Michigan Central Station, Detroit’s most imposing and famous building, was finally back to its full glory, after the better part of four a year in the void.
And no, the miracle was not about bringing back trains. Instead, there was a concert featuring some of Detroit’s biggest music alumni – Diana Ross, Jack White, Eminem – and a fireworks blaze. Likewise, it signaled a time that many in the city thought was impossible – the day when an architectural icon of a distant, damaged time would come back to the present.
The term “ruin porn” – that photographic fascination with glorious landmarks that have become hopelessly exposed – could have been coined for this 15-storey marble and limestone model cathedral. Certainly, many cameras salivated over its broken windows and roofless interior in the 36 years since the last train pulled out, on January 6, 1988.
But worse than this, the station was a symbol of Detroit’s own decline. It was a visual representation of a city that rose freely in the early 20th century – the birthplace of the automobile; the home of General Motors, Ford and their relentless factories; a booming area where elegant Art Deco skyscrapers took flight in the Roaring Twenties – only to fall into crisis. The causes that contributed to it are well known – the Wall Street Crash, the Depression, the Second World War, the race riots of the sixties; each punch sending more of the wealthier (and, in general, whiter) residents scurrying to suburbs. By 1988, Michigan Central, the gateway through which thousands poured north, seeking jobs on the production lines, was reduced to nothing.
But Detroit’s death has always been too eggy. Even in the most difficult years, it was a place of inexhaustible work ethic and hard industry – the sweat and steel softened by an impressive streak of music that nurtured the likes of Madonna, Iggy Pop, the MC5, and a whole galaxy of Motown acts. .
However, the optics of the station’s revival cannot be underestimated. To some extent, the reopening is a public relations exercise. An expensive one. Ford bought the site in 2018, and has since invested US$1 billion (£786 million). But the joy of the restoration is true joy. The 15,000 free tickets for the concert could have been given out many times; All of the 5,000 timed entry slots for the “open house” tours that run through June 16 have been booked. The morning after the show, queues of visitors to the complex went around the block.
Ford has ambitious plans for his high-priced project, and intends to fill the offices in the upper floors – which were never fully occupied, even in the Roaring Twenties – with technology companies and start-ups. But the ground floors will be open to the public.
“People in Detroit have a strong emotional connection to this building,” Melissa Dittmer, one of the architects behind the renovation, tells me. “They worked here, took trains here, met families here.” As work began, she explains, fittings that had disappeared from the ruin were quietly brought back – notably the iron bell that adorned the nearby Coach House. This was found, carefully wrapped, at a specified location, following an anonymous phone call. “It really took a lot of pieces to keep them safe,” she says. “We keep getting emails about things that can be recovered.”
The process, however, was more than reconfiguring jigsaw puzzles. “The first 18 months were about stabilizing the structure, and making sure it was safe for people to work there,” Dittmer continues. “We also did a lot of historical research, finding the original prints and going back to the first drawings.”
This attention to detail is evident. The Great Hall – a sparkling space of arches and chandeliers, like New York’s Grand Central – has been polished to its former brilliance. And the box office has been smartly restored – like a gallery, where various posters celebrate Detroit’s history, through advertisements for steam locomotive tours, and vintage flyers for concerts at the Fox Theater and the Fillmore.
Still other areas are artistically, deliberately, distressed – columns where the limestone is pockmarked with water marks; graffiti mural from the abandoned years. “The building was a living canvas back then,” says Dittmer. “And that was an important chapter in his history. We didn’t want that to be airbrushed.”
The return of the station is a gift to the surrounding neighbourhood. In the six years since Ford announced his intention, investment has slipped into Cork. With its own history, Detroit’s oldest neighborhood took shape from 1834 onwards, and its ranks were later swelled by Irish immigrants escaping the Great Famine. Twenty years ago, it was as dilapidated as any part of the city. Now, it has renewed energy, not only in the desirable apartment blocks piling up along Michigan Avenue, but in cool restaurants (Slows Bar BQ chargrilled meats; Italian cuisine at Ottava Via), and a Hilton hotel—the Godfrey—something which helped make Corktown a destination in its own right.
You could even think of it as a coming together plan. One of the station’s issues has always been its location – an awkward two miles west of downtown. The dream, in 1913, was a commercial magnet that would draw business out of the center, connecting the dots in a new explosion of expansion. Maybe the idea was always sound. Only 111 years were needed.
The transformation is remarkable, even for those who have long called the city home – including Bailey Sisoy-Moore of Detroit History Tours, whose roots run deep into Michigan soil. Like many of the locals, she mentions teenage escapades, sneaking into the station during its bygone years, and is extremely proud to see it so revitalized. “I never thought I would live to see the day it reopened,” she says behind a huge grin.
His own story parallels the upward curve of the city. She founded her company in 2010, when Detroit had plenty to look back on, but no less to celebrate. In the intervening 14 years, the business boomed. Guided tours now cover everything from optimistic pre-Crash architecture, and great downtown dining spots, to famous criminals, baseball and the US Civil War. She shows me some of the other green shoots growing outside Cork – particularly Riverside Park, which opened new sections in May. A post-wedding barbecue is under way on the grass.
The station is not the only major construction site. Farther southwest, the Gordie Howe International is nearing completion – a magnificent suspension bridge named after the major league ice hockey legend who played 25 seasons for the Detroit Red Wings in his career. When it is finished, it will connect the city with Windsor, Canada, over there, giving its name the ‘International’.
But you don’t need a guide to chase history. It’s there, obviously, to the north, in Milwaukee Junction, where Ford’s Piquette Avenue Plant houses the original production hub for the Model T, with many examples of the car on display.
It’s also there, seven minutes west of downtown Dearborn, among the classic cars and the Henry Ford village museum complex. And this is before you enter the gold discs and studio alchemy of the Motown Museum – already an essential stop on a tour of the city, now halfway through a $55 million (£43 million) rejig that will only change its luster.
But for all these yesterdays, there is, for the first time in a while, a proper understanding of today and tomorrow. Downtown, once the heart of the void, has also grown in the 14 years or so since Michigan billionaire philanthropist Dan Gilbert began acquiring historic skyscrapers – such as the Dime Building and the David Stott Building – and gave new motivation for them.
This mood was contagious. Outside, restaurants and bars on Woodward Avenue – San Morello; Gilly’s Clubhouse – have evening crowds and a recognizable buzz. And I notice signs of change that were not apparent to me on previous visits: dogs being walked for leisure and pleasure on evening walks; the bright burbles of the children’s voices, and the pushchairs on residential stairs that speak of family life. If this transformation continues, America’s most misunderstood metropolis is in serious danger of finally getting a fair hearing.
How to do it
Go there
Delta (0871 221 1222; delta.com) flies direct to Detroit twice daily from Heathrow.
Staying there
The Godfrey Detroit (001 313 385 0000; hilton.com) offers double rooms from £125. The David Whitney Hotel (001 313 237 1700; marriott.com) offers doubles from £330.
Tour there
Original Travel (020 3958 6120; originaltravel.co.uk) operates “Art, Architecture and Music in the Midwest” – a nine-day road trip through Michigan and Ohio with stops in Detroit and Cleveland. From £2,430 per person – including flights and car hire.
A visit
michigancentral.com; detroithistorytours.com; fordpiquetteplant.org; thehenryford.org; motownmuseum.org
more information
visitdetroit.com; michigan.org; visittheusa.co.uk
