Curbed Detroit: All Posts by Sarah CoxLove where you live2020-04-08T10:28:39-04:00https://detroit.curbed.com/authors/sarahcox7573945/rss2020-04-08T10:28:39-04:002020-04-08T10:28:39-04:00The 13 People Mover stations are loaded with impressive art
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<figcaption>Photo by <a class="ql-link" href="http://michelleandchrisgerard.com" target="_blank">Michelle Gerard</a></figcaption>
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<p>Take a tour of these works for just 75 cents</p> <p id="YfYYHM">While it may not be the most effective form of transportation ever built, a ride around the 13-stop Detroit People Mover is actually a great art tour. </p>
<p id="eG7FPt">Construction of the 2.9-mile loop around downtown began in 1983, but the push to make the stations more beautiful came in 1984, when art-in-public-place-advocate Irene Walt met the People Mover project director David McDonald. A commission was formed and when the single-track rail system was completed in July of 1987, there was art everywhere.</p>
<p id="BxHBQE">There's even a thorough book on the topic, <a href="http://wsupress.wayne.edu/books/detail/art-stations"><em>Art in the Stations: The Detroit People Mover</em></a>.</p>
<p id="9FvFsv"> Here’s a closer look at the art in all 13 stations. </p>
https://detroit.curbed.com/maps/detroit-people-mover-stations-artSarah CoxAaron Mondry2020-01-24T10:58:31-05:002020-01-24T10:58:31-05:00Yamasaki’s most important architecture in and around Detroit, mapped
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<figcaption>One Woodward Avenue. | <a class="ql-link" href="https://www.michelleandchrisgerard.com/" target="_blank">Michelle Gerard</a></figcaption>
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<p id="SVKSg2"><em>This post was originally authored by Dr. Dale Allen Gyure, a professor of architecture at Lawrence Tech University and a member of the Michigan State Historic Preservation Review Board. He’s also the author of the book </em><a href="https://www.amazon.com/Minoru-Yamasaki-Humanist-Architecture-Modernist/dp/0300217099?tag=curbed-20" rel="sponsored nofollow noopener" target="_blank">Minoru Yamasaki: Humanist Architecture for a Modernist World</a><em>.</em></p>
<p id="NxJEEW">Minoru Yamasaki, who practiced in the Detroit area for over forty years, was one of the world's best-known architects in the early 1960s, appearing on the cover of <em>Time</em>, serving on President Kennedy's committee to redesign Pennsylvania Avenue in Washington, D.C., and being selected to construct the<strong> </strong>World Trade Center in New York, which was briefly the tallest building in the world. </p>
<p id="rJjF9q">His popularity arose from a unique form of architecture developed in the 1950s which melded his interest in invoking feelings of "serenity" and "delight" with insights gained from studying historical buildings in Europe, India, and Japan. His work offered a gentler, more decorated style of modernism distanced from the obsession with function or structure that characterized much of contemporary architecture. </p>
<p id="l9uaSA">Metro Detroiters are fortunate that many of Yamasaki's most celebrated designs are located in the area. Here are 13 notable examples.</p>
https://detroit.curbed.com/maps/minoru-yamasaki-detroit-architecture-buildings-house-mapSarah CoxAaron Mondry2020-01-10T10:56:52-05:002020-01-10T10:56:52-05:00Lose Yourself in this map of ‘8 Mile’ filming locations
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<p id="yFcJuK">The movie <em>8 Mile </em>hit theaters in fall 2002. Ever since, people from all over the world can identify the name of at least one Detroit street. </p>
<p id="cBBj7r">The semi-autobiographical hip hop biopic tells the story of a young white rapper named Jimmy "B-Rabbit" Smith Jr. (Eminem) who is trying to make it in Detroit in 1995. The end credits claim the movie was "Filmed on location in the 313", but how much of that Detroit is left today? Curbed watched, <a href="http://www.movie-locations.com/movies/e/8_Mile.html#.VDGXZSldVFs">consulted this guide</a>, and came up with this map.</p>
https://detroit.curbed.com/maps/8-mile-movie-eminem-detroit-locations-mapSarah CoxAaron Mondry2014-10-31T13:20:20-04:002014-10-31T13:20:20-04:009,850 Properties Sell in Most Recent Tax Auction
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<p>Wayne County's most recent round of the tax auction ended this week. A Blight bundle of 6,350 properties closed with a bid of $3.185M and that possible purchase <a href="http://detroit.curbed.com/archives/2014/10/tax-auctions-blight-bundle-of-6350-properties-gets-a-bid.php">is getting all the attention</a>. But that is not the only thing that saw bids. Not counting the blight bundle, 9,850 properties brought in<strong> bids totaling $39,839,516. </strong> Most of these begin with a minimum bid of $500 in the October auction. <a href="https://whydontweownthis.com/2014/mi/wayne/detroit#12/42.3873/-83.0908">WDWOT</a> has updated their map of both 2014 tax auction properties to show what sold as part of the blight bundle, what didn't sell, and what sold. <br>· <a href="http://detroit.curbed.com/archives/2014/10/the-tax-auctions-3m-blight-bundle-bidders-comes-forward.php">The Tax Auction's $3M Blight Bundle Bidder Comes Forward</a> [Curbed Detroit]</p>
https://detroit.curbed.com/2014/10/31/10028682/9850-properties-sell-in-most-recent-tax-auctionSarah Cox2014-10-31T09:44:15-04:002014-10-31T09:44:15-04:00Sloppy Dossin Mansion Lists With Insane Price, Bad Photos
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<p><br> The Dossin mansion just came on the market asking a <strong>whopping $1.2M</strong> and dumped a pile of photos with weird pet photo bombs. We counted three shots with wayward dogs, three shots with cats on beds, and one with someone that might be going as Keith Urban for Halloween? The kitchen is cluttered (but there's some cat food on the counter if any of those felines look hungry), the black-tiled bathroom is just plain ugly, and the place is generally a huge let-down. Quite frankly someone should be embarrassed for letting these photos go public and asking that price. Have a little pride in yourself, waterfront mansion! The 1929 home is 4,700 square feet and located on Grayhaven Island in a gated community.<br>· <a href="http://www.lesliefield.com/other_history/dossins_and_their_legacy.htm">The Dossins and Their Legacy</a> [Internet]<br>· <a href="http://www.trulia.com/property/1074557184-450-Keelson-Dr-Detroit-MI-48215">450 Keelson Dr </a>[Trulia]</p>
https://detroit.curbed.com/2014/10/31/10028916/sloppy-dossin-mansion-lists-with-insane-price-bad-photosSarah Cox2014-10-30T13:39:28-04:002014-10-30T13:39:28-04:00Mapping Motown: The Sites Sacred To the Sound
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<p id="oX0BVP"><em>Curbed Intern Daniel Ericksen contributed to the research for this post. </em></p>
<p id="n8gQhO"> Detroit's Motown landmarks can be pretty hidden if you don't know what you are looking for. Fortunately <a href="http://www.blacdetroit.com/BLAC-Detroit/April-2013/Motown-Landmarks-Photo-Tour/">BLAC published</a> an excellent guide earlier this year to all the real estate (houses, recording locations, mansions!) important to that era of Detroit. Motown, the record company, was founded by <strong>Berry Gordy, Jr.</strong> in Detroit in 1959. Now take a tour of the city as he knew it, mostly in the 60s. Gordy moved his record company to LA in 1972. </p>
<p id="TDsAUj"> <br> · <a href="http://www.blacdetroit.com/core/pagetools.php?pageid=15918&url=%2FBLAC-Detroit%2FApril-2013%2FMotown-Landmarks-Photo-Tour%2Findex.php&mode=print">Motown Landmarks Photo Tour</a> [Blac Detroit]</p>
https://detroit.curbed.com/maps/mapping-motown-the-sights-sacred-to-the-soundSarah Cox2014-10-30T09:22:50-04:002014-10-30T09:22:50-04:00Tour The Alleged Yamasaki-Designed House Asking $425K
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<p><br> The listing says <a href="http://www.estately.com/listings/info/1410-strathcona-drive">this house</a> was designed by Yamsaki, but several sources say that the home was designed by his firm, not the architect himself. We have an expert looking into it. In the meantime, the $425K listing updated with interior photos so have a look around this three-bedroom built in 1956. The tour continues outback to one sad sack <strong>drained pool</strong>. Hate it when that happens. <br>· <a href="http://detroit.curbed.com/archives/2014/10/home-claiming-to-be-designed-by-yamasaki-ask-425k.php">Home Claiming to be Designed by Yamasaki Asks $425K</a> [Curbed Detroit]</p>
https://detroit.curbed.com/2014/10/30/10029544/tour-the-alleged-yamasakidesigned-house-asking-425kSarah Cox2014-10-29T11:36:07-04:002014-10-29T11:36:07-04:00Detroit Public Schools To Give 57 Vacant Buildings to the City
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<p>The deeply in debt Detroit Public School system (DPS) has been doing a terrible job of managing their closed buildings. Frequently tagged and <strong>scrapped </strong>and poorly secured, many are in terrible shape; some are not salvageable. A new plan will transfer 57 schools and 20 vacant lots that DPS owns over to the City of Detroit, which hopefully can get a better handle on maintating them and, dear god, maybe also getting some of them<strong> developed </strong>at some point. <br>· <a href="http://www.freep.com/story/news/local/michigan/2014/10/28/dps-debt-electric-bills-schools-land-trade-detroit/18062305/">Detroit forgives DPS debt in exchange for empty schools</a> [Freep]</p>
https://detroit.curbed.com/2014/10/29/10030018/detroit-public-schools-to-give-57-vacant-buildings-to-the-citySarah Cox2014-10-29T09:11:20-04:002014-10-29T09:11:20-04:008 Bedroom Villages Mansion Needs Lot of Fixes, New Paint
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<p><br> At 6,500 square feet this house is a sprawling mess, but it has the potential to be something amazing. The exact word in the listing are "NOT MOVE IN READY, TOTAL REHAB NEEDED!!" which seems obvious given the shot of that shower. But the ask is just <strong>$225,000 </strong>for this eight bedroom fixer upper with five full bathrooms and one half bathrooms. If the stamp at the corner of the photos is correct, these images are from 2013. There are dizzying amounts of color clashing between the tiles and peeling paint jobs, but that's fixable. The home has a grand foyer, a two-car carriage house with a studio apartment, and paneled butler's pantry. <br>· <a href="https://go.redirectingat.com?id=66960X1516509&xs=1&url=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.realtor.com%2Frealestateandhomes-detail%2F1483-Iroquois-St_Detroit_MI_48214_M48918-84174&referrer=archive.curbed.com&sref=https%3A%2F%2Fdetroit.curbed.com%2F2014%2F10%2F29%2F10030134%2F8-bedroom-villages-mansion-needs-lot-of-fixes-new-paint" rel="sponsored nofollow noopener" target="_blank">1483 Iroquois St</a> [Realtor]</p>
https://detroit.curbed.com/2014/10/29/10030134/8-bedroom-villages-mansion-needs-lot-of-fixes-new-paintSarah Cox2014-10-28T14:01:27-04:002014-10-28T14:01:27-04:00Former Fire Department HQ To Become "Foundation Hotel"
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<p>The former Detroit Fire Department HQ being converted into a hotel shall be known as the Foundation Hotel. A state board has voted to give the project a $5.84M incentive. The developers are 21st Century Holdings and the Chicago-based Aparium Group. The current goal is to complete by the <strong>January 2016</strong> Auto Show. The development wants to keep historic details of the building including the doors and possibly a fire pole; there will be restaurant and retail space in the hotel as well. <br>·<a href="http://www.mlive.com/lansing-news/index.ssf/2014/10/fire_pole_doors_may_stay_in_de.html">Fire pole, doors may stay in Detroit Fire Department HQ-turned-hotel that Michigan is incentivizing</a> [MLive]<br>·<a href="http://detroit.curbed.com/archives/2013/08/former-fire-department-hq-getting-23m-hotel-renovation.php">Former Fire Department HQ Eyes $23M Hotel Renovation</a> [Curbed Detroit]<br>·<a href="http://detroit.curbed.com/archives/2013/03/fire-department-hq-sold-new-boutique-hotel-in-the-works.php"> Fire Department HQ Sold, New Boutique Hotel on the Way? </a>[Curbed]<br>· <a href="http://www.crainsdetroit.com/article/20130811/NEWS/308119980/sale-of-detroit-firehouse-gives-nudge-to-hotel-plan">Sale of Detroit firehouse gives nudge to hotel plan</a> [Crain's]</p>
https://detroit.curbed.com/2014/10/28/10030452/former-fire-department-hq-to-become-foundation-hotelSarah Cox