“Do you have a death wish?” inquired my teenager when I informed him of upcoming plans to visit this particular city. “Do you know where… and what Detroit is?” a parent demanded. Similar questions were directed to my co-traveler – “You realize that’s the murder capital of the United States?”
“Yes,” was our standard response. “We’re aware.”
But it’s fascinating – a city which at one time had so much potential, was a manufacturing powerhouse disintegrating from the inside out. Not that Detroit was without problems even before the collapse of the American car industry and the financial implosion of the last several years:
We’ve had pretty good luck taking advantage of business travel to get weekends in other places. An unexpected trip to Toronto, Ontario allowed us the opportunity to visit, Detroit, MI, a reachable distance away. We figured out plane travel from DFW to Detroit, arranging a rental car pickup in Canada with drop-off in the US. We mapped out some running routes, and we were off to our respective airports.
Some pre-trip reading material:
Oh Canada
A little exploring was done in Toronto, getting to see single digit temperatures on the news:
Some Rush origin story fodder:
And interesting Canadian signage …
The potentially unsafe adventures started on Friday evening after two separate journeys: one flight from Texas and one drive from Toronto. The drive from Toronto was a long run down the peninsula between Lake Huron and Lake Erie, and along the southern edge of Lake St. Clair:
There were the requisite stops for beverages and food at places like The Ship in Hamilton, Ontario.
… and Coffee Culture and Eatery in Chatham-Kent, Ontario. This is actually the back wall of the coffee shop – Chatham-Kent (like a lot of the other small towns in the area) seems to be hovering between some sort of middle-class prosperity and a slow slide into poverty. Didn’t capture the main street, under construction but half unoccupied with buildings full of dusty windows.
Between those, there was a lot of wide-open Canadian countryside, oddly populated with large blocks of solar panels. Of course, the complete lack of terrain and trees in the area means solar panels are pretty much 100% effective.
Eventually the driver arrived at the border, and after the requisite DHS staring contest and discussion about re-entering the United States, crossed over the Detroit River.
While the Texas flier was enjoying a beverage in first class (yay for Advantage Miles) and winging over the American Midwest, the driver was trying to sort out sleeping arrangements and wash a week’s worth of business and workout clothes. The first task led to the gentrified area around Wayne State University, where a block of huge houses from the early 1900s have survived to be converted into bed-and-breakfast accommodations. More on that in a bit. The second task led the Texas driver north out of downtown looking for a laundromat:
This was not in a gentrified area, and this was the only occupied building (aside from a hole-in-the-wall bar) in the block. This area of Detroit looks pretty much like you’d expect Detroit to look – vacant, vandalized buildings with no lights, no windows, falling into the crumbling streets.
Friday 2015 12 04
Texas driver and Texas flier were successfully reunited at the Detroit Metropolitan Wayne Airport in scenic Romulus, MI. Holiday spirits were present at the baggage claim:
The late arrival meant food options were limited – when your economic infrastructure is decimated, restaurants have a hard time justifying late hours. Searching the ever-reliable Google Maps, seafood was listed as an option at Joe Muer Seafood (surprise). Arriving at the ground floor of the biggest Marriott hotel we’d ever seen, we snuck inside before the restaurant closed. Polite service and an interesting crowd, but it appears the owners had determined interior décor from 1981 did not need updating. The clash of brass, wood, white leather, marble, granite, bizarre lumpy sculptures, and chandeliers hanging from the ceiling felt like we’d been transported to a Miami Vice episode. Possibly lack of funds prevented any sort of updating, but it seemed to be a popular destination with the moneyed locals. Drinks and some good seafood acquired, it was on to the bed-and-breakfast for some sleep.
As we drove through the city, we prioritized tourist destinations and decided on… destruction. We drove through some of the areas which would concern those who questioned our vacation destination choice. Visiting a liquor store required passing three armed police in the entry way, with a bottle of vodka passed through a Plexiglas carousel in the middle of a counter-to-ceiling 3-inch thick window of the same material. Conversation with the cashier was limited to waving through the soundproofed glass.
As described in the books, it is a city of disrepair – a quick search on Zillow filtering on foreclosed properties turns the area northwest of downtown into a pointillist sketch:
Promise Land (should it be Promised Land? Evidently it’s tough to afford even afford grammar here.)
Even for someone familiar with urban and rural decay (witness areas of south and west Dallas, or the dusty ghost towns of far west and east Texas), the block after block of houses burned to the ground and the ashes left in piles, entire buildings with all the windows knocked out, and graffiti everywhere were pretty stunning. There was an odd beauty in the chaos. My favorite phrase in the graffiti – “ohdamnit”. Pretty much sums up what life must be like in this area of the Motor City.
After the grim midnight drive, we made it safely to our lodgings. The historical residences were quiet, convenient, and surrounded by tall wrought-iron fences to give the illusion of security.
Saturday 2015 12 05
In contrast to the war zone a few blocks away, there are parts of the area which are quite aesthetically pleasing.
Woke up Saturday morning in this little bed and breakfast (note: nobody is angry about the lodgings. They simply were not aware they were being photographed.):
And this should make our concerned family members and co-workers feel better – we were protected all evening by the building’s alarm.
Saturday morning was cold and rainy – a good morning for a walk and some food. We found a great little bar, Maccabee’s, where we had an awesome Reuben, great regional beers, and conversation with Mike the bartender. Mike impressed us with his knowledge of mixed drinks and breweries in Michigan, and advised us that Detroit was not the murder capital off the US … any more. He informed us of the city’s planned evening festivities – some sort of outdoor festival. We looked outside, then looked at each other, both wondering why the locals would be interested in any sort of outdoor entertainment in this awful weather. However, that did explain why the room we reserved for Friday night was not also available on Saturday.
We decided to spend Saturday afternoon completing the daily exercise requirement while touring additional areas of Michigan. Post lunch drink exercise – why not? We accomplished this with an eight and a half mile run around Belle Isle.
This cold and cloudy afternoon was the perfect time to tour the island. The name Belle Isle was probably more appropriate 75 years ago – today, like much of the rest of Detroit, it’s crumbling and faded. In addition to your standard park features like bathrooms and fountains, there’s an abandoned theme park buried in the middle of the island. Just across the road is the Detroit Yacht Club and some golfing facilities.
Connected to Michigan by the MacArthur bridge…
We ran past the only marble lighthouse in the nation:
And then we passed a weird statue which resembled an Imperial droid from the last round of Star Wars.
As far as scenery is concerned, it was almost like running through our home state – mainly flat and scrubby. The temperature was a different story. The concept of running in insulated clothing in Texas would be ludicrous, but one of us got to experience their first run in a ski jacket, gloves, wind-blocking pants, and a Buff (the buff because one neglected to bring a hair tie).
When our exercise requirement was complete, we headed to our next lodging spot – a hotel downtown and immediately fell asleep for two hours. We woke up to this foggy view of downtown.
Evening activities did not involve the outdoor music/food festival. We did however work our way up from the river towards the sports facilities in the slightly rejuvenated area of downtown. Our first stop was a historic German beer and brats hall. After a bit of shuffling, we were able to grab a couple of chairs and sample some local German food. Not bad, but the beer was better. We decided to walk north again, taking in some of the crowds wandering the streets after whatever sporting event was going on. Wound up in a Cajun seafood place, not the most authentic venue in a northern Michigan town.
The hotel appeared to be hosting some sort of Motor City convention in the lobby:
Sunday 2015 12 06
We had a disappointing breakfast at the bar we enjoyed so much the day before – Macabee’s breakfast buffet was a weird combination of all sorts of things, from scrambled eggs mixed with vegetables to fried chicken to smoked sausage and green beans. We managed our way through some dry scrambled eggs and overcooked breakfast sausage with the help of beer and mixed drinks, and then had to roll out to the airport. Took a few pictures on the way out of downtown:
The drive to the airport was not very scenic:
We managed to capture drive-by photos of the major sporting venues of Detroit, mostly for the purpose of acquiring pictures that two sports-obsessed kids will have some interest in.
Trip concluded to Detroit. Nobody was robbed, murdered, or injured during the course of touring the Motor City, despite wandering through areas that could be politely described as sketchy. Worth the trip, but probably not high on the list of “let’s get back there soon”.
graveyardsandghosttowns 