Detroit’s sound of urban revival

The reenvisioning of a once-iconic property, Michigan Central Station, matches the vibe of a city being reborn to again make a creative contribution.

|
AP
Diana Ross performs at Michigan Central Station June 6.

Last month, Detroit marked the reopening of a long-abandoned but iconic building, Michigan Central Station. It did so with a concert that featured famous artists of the Motor City: Diana Ross, Eminem, Big Sean, Jack White, and the Detroit Symphony Orchestra. The event served as a reminder that the city, once known for its creative contributions to American culture, is becoming set to do something great again.

For decades before it closed as a train depot in 1988, Michigan Central was the hub for nearly 4,000 passengers a day shuttling in and out of Detroit. Built in the beaux arts style of architecture, the 18-story structure was and still is visible for miles. After its closure, a cloud of decrepitness took over with broken windows, withered columns, and prominent graffiti. The site once hosted drug dens and other illicit activity. It was a symbol of the city’s decline and bankruptcy in 2013.

Ford Motor Co. bought the building in 2018 after the city considered demolishing it. Six years later, new limestone shines brightly out front. Inside, the Grand Hall is just that: grand. This is transformation on a level that matches the vibe and energy that Detroit is experiencing. The 30-acre site is being used to attract a mix of businesses focused on new technologies. Public parks and outdoor plazas now surround the building. The area’s revival is an opportunity for Detroit’s oldest existing neighborhood, Corktown, to thrive.

In 2023, Detroit saw its first population increase in 66 years. Big-money investments are luring companies and condo buyers into downtown. This isn’t to say the city is perfect. The poverty rate is still above 30%. Unemployment is over 7%. Yet with innovation and more job creation, those numbers can fall.

There is hope for a city that is creating the future by looking to the best of its past. That is why 20,000 people came out to hear their hometown heroes perform on June 6. The lesson: What is broken can be fixed, with abundant blessings.

You've read  of  free articles. Subscribe to continue.
Real news can be honest, hopeful, credible, constructive.
What is the Monitor difference? Tackling the tough headlines – with humanity. Listening to sources – with respect. Seeing the story that others are missing by reporting what so often gets overlooked: the values that connect us. That’s Monitor reporting – news that changes how you see the world.

Dear Reader,

About a year ago, I happened upon this statement about the Monitor in the Harvard Business Review – under the charming heading of “do things that don’t interest you”:

“Many things that end up” being meaningful, writes social scientist Joseph Grenny, “have come from conference workshops, articles, or online videos that began as a chore and ended with an insight. My work in Kenya, for example, was heavily influenced by a Christian Science Monitor article I had forced myself to read 10 years earlier. Sometimes, we call things ‘boring’ simply because they lie outside the box we are currently in.”

If you were to come up with a punchline to a joke about the Monitor, that would probably be it. We’re seen as being global, fair, insightful, and perhaps a bit too earnest. We’re the bran muffin of journalism.

But you know what? We change lives. And I’m going to argue that we change lives precisely because we force open that too-small box that most human beings think they live in.

The Monitor is a peculiar little publication that’s hard for the world to figure out. We’re run by a church, but we’re not only for church members and we’re not about converting people. We’re known as being fair even as the world becomes as polarized as at any time since the newspaper’s founding in 1908.

We have a mission beyond circulation, we want to bridge divides. We’re about kicking down the door of thought everywhere and saying, “You are bigger and more capable than you realize. And we can prove it.”

If you’re looking for bran muffin journalism, you can subscribe to the Monitor for $15. You’ll get the Monitor Weekly magazine, the Monitor Daily email, and unlimited access to CSMonitor.com.

QR Code to Detroit’s sound of urban revival
Read this article in
https://www.csmonitor.com/Commentary/the-monitors-view/2024/0705/Detroit-s-sound-of-urban-revival
QR Code to Subscription page
Start your subscription today
https://www.csmonitor.com/subscribe