Detroit: What a surprise! By Geniusofdespair

I decided to go to Detroit when I got a $66 round trip fare. How could I go wrong? Never been and I was pleasantly surprised. The food was good, their people mover was great and the Lyft drivers the best...except for the one that obviously had been smoking pot, but hey you can't get everything you want. The downtown is becoming very hip. There are trendy shops and restaurants even on the outskirts of the Downtown proper. In mid-town Selden Standard was one such place. No they are not making pizza. They are making roasted vegetables. The place was over-booked, popular. Tasty fresh food.

This is a clothing store near Selden Standard in a lovely Victorian house.

There is also a famous store called Shinola in Mid-town, where they sell bikes, leather goods, watches and shoe polish. I bought loose tea there.  I found this ad for Shinola in the New York Times.

Here is the rest of my trip in photos...

Michigan is freakishly close to Canada. What does that mean? My Michigan friend's mom went over to Canada to have her baby because it was cheaper. Also, during the Slave Trade they made a law that Slaves were not safe in Northern States anymore, they had to flee to Canada. Michigan's people helped many slaves to reach freedom in Canada.

Detroit has some awesome architecture. No this is is not a church unless you worship money. It was once promoted as “the Cathedral of Finance.” It is a building that has a history of finances: The Guardian Building.  They say "The Guardian Building is one of the most significant and striking Art Deco skyscrapers in the world."

Then there is the Henry Ford Rouge Factory just outside of Detroit. They build some stupid pick up truck here that everyone seems to like...the F-150.  You can tour the assembly line. I found it pretty incredible. They wouldn't let you take photos. But every worker has a yellow cord to stop the line to make further adjustments. We saw the line stop several times.

The accordion like square under the car goes up and down with each worker to make it easier to perform their task. They work 4 10 hour days. They have a half hour for lunch and I am not sure, but I think one 23 minute break.

They have a green roof over the Rouge plant. I believe it is the world's largest green roof. It was sort of brown when we were there --- you know winter. Below is the green roof and the solar panels that just heat water.

 

This is porous asphalt that allows the rain water to pass through the the parking lots at the Rogue Factory.  Good idea for South Florida's aquifer.

Back in Downtown Detroit.

This is Greek Town. We got there on the People Mover. It was a great area, like Little Italy in New York. We ate at the Pegasus and had an excellent meal.

Well I would say the $66 fare was worth it. Especially when Frontier Airline sent us a $25 dollar voucher because our plane was late. That brought down the round trip airfare to $41. Great way to spend a long weekend.

Also, they have one of the best Art Museums in the Country. There are two Diego Rivera Wall Murals of the assembly line at the museum and a Titian, Van Gogh and Gauguin I have never seen.  Here is "The Pickers" by Van Gogh.

The auto industry brought massive money to this area. A lot still remains that we all can appreciate, invest here.