In my previous post I mentioned that I had the opportunity to spend three of the first four days in the station exploring. One of those days was a “Friends and Family” event that I was invited to and I had free reign over the public spaces for close to three hours with my camera. My heart was full as took in the incredible work that Ford initiated with the restoration of this magnificent building. Often times I had strange feelings of deja vu but for the most part this seemed like something entirely new, not the crumbling structure I experienced back in 2007. That just goes to show how transformational this project is. I had no idea what the real color of the limestone was, or how brilliant the marble flooring was. The ceiling in the restaurant was obscured by a drop ceiling that was placed to make the space smaller and now it may be my favorite room in the entire building.
Right now it feels like a museum, but I look forward to seeing how it changes in the future as it welcomes workers and becomes a hub for the community. Please flip back and forth between this post and the last, the difference is truly remarkable.
Michigan Central Station - 2007 Photographs
In preparation for Ford’s reopening of Michigan Central Station earlier this month, I went back through the archives all the way to 2007 when I had first picked up a camera and was exploring photography as a creative outlet. This was long before I had begun to shoot professionally, so traipsing around abandoned buildings in Detroit was a fun way to hone my skills, and there was nothing more magnificent than Michigan Central Station.
I look back on my time in this place and I know it was these moments that pushed me into a career as a photographer and spurred a passion for architectural photography. Even in a state of abandonment you could feel the grandeur and I loved being able to capture that and share it with people who had no idea what was beyond the imposing limestone facade.
I was fortunate enough to spend time on three of the first four days that the station was open to the public. I couldn’t get enough of it and those images will come in my next blog post. For now, enjoy some photographs from 2007 when I was just starting out.
Springtime in Lafayette Park
Lafayette Park is a midcentury collection of residential buildings designed by Mies van der Rohe. It is a mix of townhomes, courtyard homes and residential towers with the most celebrated buildings being designed by Mies but also including a tower designed by Gunnar Birkerts with the landscape being designed by Ludwig Hilberseimer.
I may be biased since I call this place home, but there are few places in Detroit that shine so beautifully as Lafayette Park in the spring. I also tend to say the same thing when it comes to the other seasons but it is definitely a place worth visiting if you are an architecture buff.
Aerial Photographs From Belle Isle
Oudolf Garden Detroit: Boardwalk Update
With support from the Erb Foundation, Oudolf Garden Detroit is currently building an ADA accessible boardwalk to give visitors another way to experience Piet Oudolf’s incredible design on Belle Isle. Garden goers will be able to sit at two different locations on the boardwalk and it will feature a meadow style planting design by Piet Oudolf to complement his matrix garden beds and rain garden.
Fundraising efforts are still ongoing to purchase the plants that will occupy the meadow. If you are interested in supporting the effort you can sponsor plants at oudolfgardendetroit.org.
