I then curiously typed "Detroit is" and "Detroit is a" into Bing and Yahoo and was told by the search engines that the Motor City is all of the following: broke, abandoned, a joke, burning, a dump, a ghost town, a mess, a shithole, a cesspool, a war zone, a disaster, a hellhole, a slum and a wasteland.
I understand calling parts of the city a wasteland or abandoned because large areas of Detroit are full of abandoned buildings. I even understand calling the city a mess or broke because of the
city government's financial problems. However, there is a lot more to
Detroit than blight and bankruptcy. It is not a joke, dead, crap or any
of the other pejorative terms slung around by people who walk through
life looking for the negative while missing the beauty right in
front of them.
After spending several days in Detroit, I saw a different Detroit. Some of these things I knew about Detroit; others I remembered as I traveled its streets; and some things I learned for the first time (and was ashamed that I did not know).
Detroit is alive, and I've got the photos to prove it [to see a full-size gallery of the photos, please click on any photo].
DETROIT IS COLORFUL
 |
| Detroit is colorful. Corktown. Photo by A. Burtka |
DETROIT IS BRAVE
 |
| Detroit is Brave. Fire truck at Eastern Market. |
DETROIT IS INTROSPECTIVE
 |
| Detroit is Introspective. The Thinker at the DIA. |
DETROIT IS NOSTALGIC
 |
| Detroit is Nostalgic. Tiger Stadium. Photo by A. Burtka |
DETROIT IS POWERFUL
 |
| Detroit is Powerful. Joe Louis. Photo by A. Burtka |
DETROIT IS DELICIOUS
 |
| Detroit is Delicious. Supino Pizzeria. |
DETROIT IS INTERNATIONAL
 |
| Detroit is international. Ambassador Bridge to Windsor, Canada. |
DETROIT IS STRIVING
 |
| Detroit is Striving. Diego Rivera's Detroit Industry. |
DETROIT IS HISTORIC
 |
| Detroit is Historic. Underground Railroad Memorial. |
DETROIT IS ELECTRIC
 |
| Detroit is electric. Electric car charging outside the DIA. |
DETROIT IS GREEN
 |
| Detroit is green. The RiverWalk. |
DETROIT IS BLUE
 |
| Detroit is Blue. Lawn chairs on the Detroit River. |
DETROIT IS FUN
 |
| Detroit is fun. Kids playing baseball on Navin Field. |
DETROIT IS ARTISTIC
 |
| Detroit is artistic. Sculpture on the RiverWalk. |
DETROIT IS PATRIOTIC
 |
| Detroit is patriotic. An American Flag flying at Eastern Market. |
DETROIT IS WELL READ
 |
| Detroit is Well Read. John K. King Used Books. |
DETROIT IS CREATIVE
 |
| Detroit is creative. Some of the public art in Woodbridge. |
DETROIT IS TRADITION
 |
| Detroit is tradition. Lafayette and American. |
DETROIT IS SPIRITED
 |
| Detroit is Spirited. Spirit of Detroit statue. |
DETROIT IS PICTURESQUE
 |
| Detroit is Picturesque. Ambassador Bridge from John K. King Used Books. |
DETROIT IS PROUD
 |
| Detroit is Proud. "We are Detroit." Community garden in Woodbridge. Photo by A. Burtka |
The families we saw biking along the riverfront didn't seem to think it was dead, either.
ReplyDelete