Detroit is a city of firsts. Most people in present times take autos for granted, but Detroit birthed the auto, the bus, the motorcyle. We had the first stoplight in the world, the first paved stretch of expressway, and the first motorcycle police officers. Henry Ford gave the first $5/day wage in an industrial position in order to stabilize his work force. We created malls [as we know them today], the sprawling suburbs were born out of having the luxury of vehicles available to most working families. We have influenced daily life around the industrialized globe.
We have a number of struggles and a reputation as one of the roughest, poorest cities if not in the nation, then definitely the Midwest. But if you scrape away the surface, you find a city that is full of fighters, lovers, artists, and people who truly value hard work. Our industries have faded, yet the city is searching for ways to stay afloat and create new industries and fields of economic growth.
We are a city of paradoxes, of starting trends that spread out (Motown music, electronic music, Michael Jackson, Aretha Franklin, & Diana Ross come to mind...). Detroit is an unlikely urban farming and community gardening hotspot, but they are multiplying to combat a lingering food desert. The Motor City has a thriving biking community. The healthy food and the heart disease-causing food live within walking distance of each other. Our chefs are creative, affordable and approachable.
Dinner at Sala Thai in Eastern Market
You can see our small but gorgeously uncluttered skyline from the shell of the Packard Plant, which closed in 1958 and was left to decay in nearly a mile long set of ruins:
Packard Plant 2012
Our story is one of birth, death and rebirth. We are a creative city: finding ways to make our way with scraps and memories and sheer determination. The world and suburbanites think we are dead city, but we are just an underground city - a city that deserves and requires a closer look. An intimate city, where you might eat next to a gallery owner or city official and have a conversation. A city looking from its past into its future. An international border town where the American dream came true for many immigrants and families.
Detroit River Walk facing Downtown Windsor & Detroit
I hope you are ready for a walk through the Motor City.
Sincerely,
Kaity Nicastri,
Detroit Lover
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