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…is the title of this NYT article. I lived there for four years and have very fond memories of it. I moved there just as it was exiting bankruptcy. It was an interesting place. There were over 100,000 unoccupied residences, given the demolition of the American automobile industry and the flight to the suburbs.
Geographically, Detroit is a huge city, 139 square miles. You could drive for miles and not see another human being. The weather is breathtakingly awful in the winter, but some people like it. And some of the neighborhoods — like Corktown, where Irish immigrants first settled and the original Detroit baseball stadium existed — are really fun, interesting and lovely
For 75 years, Detroit had the highest per-capita income of any American city. It shows in the architecture. Older places, but really quite beautiful. And when I was there, new businesses were just starting to sprout up, like grass after a rain.
I lived on Third and Brainard, midtown Detroit. Within two blocks of my residence were four superb restaurants; Selden Standard, SheWolf (refined Italian), The Peterboro (Asian fusion), and Slows to Go, a takeout barbecue place that was just incredible. And a world-class deli around the corner (Rocco’s Italian Deli, simply outstanding), a Whole Foods three blocks away, the Detroit Symphony four blocks away, the Detroit Institute of the Arts (museum) was five blocks away. Shinola (Detroit-based maker of watches and bicycles, among other things) had their retail outlet four blocks away. Wayne State and the Detroit Medical Center were four blocks away. The light rail, which I took at least twice every day, was two blocks away.
I was even invited to join the Masons. The largest Masonic temple in America was five blocks away.
And it’s the only city in America where all four sports teams are in downtown; ComericaPark, Ford Field, and Little Caesar’s Arena.
Downtown Detroit Is Back – The New York Times
Dan Gilbert, former college bookmaker at Michigan State, now owner of 100+ buildings in downtown Detroit and Rocket Mortgage, was responsible for a lot of the growth. His best quote: “I tell people, you’ve got to feel Detroit,” said Mr. Gilbert. “Detroit isn’t a place you can describe. You’ve got to put your feet on the ground and feel it to understand it.”
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