Parachuting Into Detroit

A house in Palmer Woods

I parachuted into Detroit on Thursday.

I did not jump out of an airplane and pray for my chute to open before landing in the middle of Navin Field. Instead, I "parachuted in" in the way locals use the phrase to describe visitors (usually members of the media, but sometimes tourists) who swoop into Detroit to take photos of blight. However, I was not in Detroit to take photos of buildings in ruin.

I was briefly in town to take care of some family matters and had a couple of hours to kill. I planned to visit the Detroit Public Library's Main Branch on Woodward, but I still was fuming over yet another out-of-state newspaper, the Washington Post, publishing photos of Detroit's blight (see my rants here and here). The Post's photos of dilapidated Detroit homes made me want to show proof that Detroit has beautiful neighborhoods where people take care of their homes, lawns, and streets.

Since I was heading into the city from the north, I decided to visit Palmer Woods and Sherwood Forest, two Detroit neighborhoods between Woodward and Livernois just south of the 8 Mile Road boundary between Detroit and Ferndale. I had driven past these neighborhoods on Woodward when I was younger, but I did not even know they existed. Armed with only the camera on my phone, I drove through these two neighborhoods in awe of some of the most beautiful homes in Metro Detroit.

Palmer Woods. The streets and sidewalks are well-maintained

A beautiful house with a beautiful yard in Palmer Woods

An ivy covered house in Palmer Woods

Trees line the streets of Palmer Woods

I loved this house at the end of a street in Palmer Woods

An enormous house in Palmer Woods

Sherwood Forest. A beautiful home in a beautiful neighborhood

Sherwood Forest is full of well-manicured lawns

Three well-maintained homes in Sherwood Forest

These houses are only a few of the many large and well-maintained properties throughout these two neighborhoods, and these are only two of Detroit's many neighborhoods that are not overrun with blight.

I might parachute in to see more, but I would like to stay a little longer next time.