Lincoln Street Art Park

Lincoln Street Art Park is a green program based on recycling and restoring, meant to inspire, bring joy and creativity.  It is known as the Ghetto Louvre.  Their montra is, "If you build it they will come, if they build it they will stay."  James Willer and Matt Naimi took a trashy area of land that wasn't serving much of a purpose and made it into an art park.  Lincoln Street is a small side street named after president Lincoln, that runs parallel to Trumbull Avenue and is used as a safe route by bicyclists.  This art and sculptor park is meant to brighten and enrich the way for these travelers.  The art in the art park is mainly created out of recyclable goods and is always changing and growing.  "New generations are attracted to the opportunities to explore and to learn from their predecessors, to build upon those experiences, and to create new ones."  This program is constantly inspiring people all around, not only through art and music, but also through words.  One example would be the quote the program shared, "It is always good to look back at the road traveled to see just how far you have really come."

Recently the program added an addition to Lincoln Street Park called Fischer Canyon.  This used to be a forgotten railroad alleyway but then was turned into vibrant street art.  During the Detroit Design Festival, Fischer Canyon was revealed, and it displayed work done by Lincoln Street Art Park, Blue Cross Blue Shield volunteers, and environmental education group, Green Living Science.  Fischer Canyon showcases paintings by local Detroit Artists and was named for its views of the Fischer Building.

I heard of Lincoln Street Art Park in the past, never knowing what it was.  I was happy to learn that it is another program, like the Heidleberg Project, working to restore Detroit and make it a better and safer place to live and learn.

I love the idea of taking something that was abandon or forgotten and repurposing it into something eye- catching.  This program is making Detroit a more vibrant place.  Before the transformation, the area that is now Lincoln Street Art Park and Fischer Canyon had few people passing by, but now there are always people there checking out the artwork, therefore making it a safer place to be.

Here is a link to a video about Lincoln Street Art Park.                                                         http://www.detroitnews.com/videonetwork/1281770008001/Lincoln-Street-Art-Park

                             
                                                                   Fischer Canyon

Museum of Contemporary Art Detroit

The Museum of Contemporary Art Detroit(MOCAD) is a museum located on Woodward Avenue in Detroit between the Detroit Symphony Orchestra and the Detroit Institute of Arts(DIA). It allows people to explore emerging ideas in contemporary art. This building is a 22,000 square foot building that was once used as an auto dealership, that has been renovated to keep its character. The architect is Andrew Zago.

From the outside this building doesn't look too great. This museum has graffiti written across the whole building, therefore when you look at it, unless you've been there before, you probably think it was just another trashy building in Detroit.  But, if there was to be a museum anywhere displaying graffiti on its exterior it must be in Detroit.

Until recently I had never heard of this museum before. It probably goes unnoticed because of the way it looks; it doesn't stick out as a place of importance. I am looking forward to checking it out in the spring when the weather gets nice.

Charles H. Wright Museum of African American History

The Charles H. Wright Museum of African American History is the world's largest institution dedicated to the African American experience.  The museum houses over 30,000 artifacts and has seven exhibition areas devoted to African Americans and their stories.  It is located in the heart of Midtown's Detroit Cultural Center, right next to the Science Center and a block from the DIA.  It was founded in 1965 by obstetrician Dr. Charles Wright and is 125,000 square feet.

I have never been inside the museum, but I heard that there is a form of a slave ship with slave owners making trading deals to sell the slaves and other things from that time period.  My grandparents visited the museum before and said that it is really well done and moving.  I drive past this museum many times when I go visit my brother at his apartment in Detroit.  I love the architecture of this building with the dome made almost entirely of glass, the ringed columns, and the bronze front doors.  It is really unique and intriguing.  I hope to visit it in the future and learn about the history of America.

The Qube

The Qube is a high-rise office building and Quicken Loans operation center on Woodward Avenue in Detroit, Michigan.  It is part of the Detroit Financial District.  This building was built in 1959 by Albert Kahn.  It has fourteen floors and it is composed of a lot of marble.  This building is of the modern architectural style.  I think this building looks really cool, the pattern of it reminds me of a checkerboard.  This building really stands out because of it's bold design.

Guardian Building

The Guardian Building, nicknamed the Cathedral of Finance, is a large skyscraper in Detroit.  It was built in 1928, by the Union Trust Company and serves as the Headquarters for Wayne County.  This building has forty floors and leases rooms out for events to accommodate for big crowds.  Besides offices and auditoriums, this building also has retail shops in its lobby and a bank of america.

Walking in to this building you first notice the large three-story vaulted ceiling made up of Pewabic tile.  If that doesn't capture your attention then one of the next things you would see is a large mosaic located in between the elevators.  This is so beautiful and intricate that you can't help but admire their talent.  The elevator lobbies display stained glass works of art, as well as it's ceiling.  This helped to give the building the "cathedral" part of it's nickname.  These are just a couple of the elaborate designs you would see if you toured the Guardian Building.

Detroit Opera House

The Detroit Opera House is a historic theater located on Broadway Street in Detroit.  The Detroit Opera House puts on plays, concerts, and many other kinds of productions.  It seats 2,700 people and is in the style of a European Opera House.  It was first built in 1922 and then renovated in 1996 by Eric J. Hill.

I remember when I was a kid coming here to see many different shows.  One memory I have in particular is when my family, my cousin's family and my grandparents all came here to see Topol's last tour of Fiddler on the Roof.  My family has a tradition of watching the movie Fiddler on the Roof at least once a year when were all together.  We love the story line, the fact that it is something the whole family can watch, and that it is a musical.  Because we had all seen the movie hundreds of times, we had really high hopes for the play.  Hearing that Fiddler on the Roof was coming to Detroit was exciting enough, but then finding out that Topol was going to be in it, the same man that played the lead role in the movie, put our excitement over the top.

The day that we chose to go to the play there happened to be a horrible snow storm, so a lot of people ended up not going.  The ushers then allowed people to move a few rows closer to the stage, so although at first my family was seated in the nosebleeds we were then able to get decent seats for about half the price.  I remember first walking into the theater and gazing up at the beautiful ceiling and being in awe of it all.  It was breathless.  The designer did a really good job of creating a warm sophisticated environment where people could go for a night out to enjoy a show.

My family was very pleased with the show.  Topol did an amazing job playing his character and what was even more amazing was the fact that he was 73 years old.  The way he moved around, you would have never known.  He was jumping around, dancing, and singing just like he did in the movie that was filmed about forty years ago.  Overall, it was an unforgettable performance and experience that I got to share with my family and have as a memory.

Masonic Temple

If you were to drive down Temple street in Detroit you would see a large Neo-gothic architectural building known as the Masonic Temple. This building is located in an area called Cass Corridor. The Masonic Temple was created by George D. Mason in 1922 and is the world's largest Masonic Temple. It has fourteen floors and stands 210 feet tall, with 1,037 rooms. It is used for a variety of different masonic organizations but also has a lot of public spaces. It has three theaters, three ballrooms, banquet halls, a swimming pool, gymnasium, racquetball court, bowling alley, and a pool hall. It also has lodge rooms, dining spaces, and offices.

The architecture in this building is amazing. It has beautiful arches and sculptures. The vibe this building gives off is importance and power because of it grand size, its architecture, and the way it dominates the skyline. I love the detail worked into this building. I also love how big it is, it has everything someone would need or want all in one area.