The Heidelberg Project is an outdoor, urban art environment begun by Detroit artist Tyree Guyton. Named for Heideberg Street where Tyree grew up, it is comprised of many houses and abandoned lots and utilizes recycled and found objects discarded on the streets of Detroit. The project began in 1986 as a response by Tyree to the ongoing blight and decay that exists in many discarded Detroit neighborhoods. Twice it has been destroyed by the city government and each time, Tyree has re-built.
No tour of downtown Detroit is complete without viewing the most beautiful, desolate abandoned train station in the world, The Michigan Central Station. One can only hope someone can do for this beautiful structure what the people of New York did for the High Line.
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| Michigan Central Station during better days. |
For some interesting reading on the state of this magnificent building, check out the following articles:
http://www.theatlanticcities.com/neighborhoods/2013/05/detroits-famously-decaying-train-station-has-5-new-windows-and-no-one-knows-why/5766/
http://www.nytimes.com/2010/03/06/us/06station.html
A few other sites from Downtown Detroit.
It was quite a moving experience to see how nature is re-claiming this city and how the people who call this neighborhood their home are existing within it. I can tell you that within 10 minutes we were in a newly gentrified area where galleries, restaurants and boutiques are opening and lofts and studio spaces are being rented by people that are hopeful that Detroit will rise again.
To learn more about the Heidelberg Project, go to:
www.heidelberg.org
