After my explorations of Windsor on October 17, 2008 I headed over to Detroit where I embarked on a driving tour with Jeanette Pierce, co-founder of Inside Detroit, a non-profit organization that offers a wide range of thematic tours of Detroit. From Stroh River Place, a mixed-use development of converted Victorian warehouses, we headed to Belle Isle, Detroits urban island and leisure playground. After a visit to the upscale Indian Village and the Gleaner Food Bank, an example of urban farming, Jeanette took me to the Heidelberg Project, an outdoor art installation that features painted houses and artistic compositions made of discarded items. Artist Tyree Guiton originally conceived this project in the mid 1980s as a protest against the deterioration of his childhood neighbourhood. We were able to catch a brief interview with the creator of this now world-renowned project. After a brief stop at Detroits Eastern Market we drove through Midtown Detroit which is highlighted by various cultural and educational institutions including Wayne State University and the Detroit Institute of Arts. North of there is New Centre, which is distinguished by two 1920s architectural masterpieces: the Fisher Building and Cadillac Place, the former headquarters of General Motors. In the evening I enjoyed a tasty seafood dinner at Sindbads Restaurant which has a great location right on the Detroit River. The Blancke family has been running this restaurant since 1949. Finally, after a long and intense day I headed back to my hotel: the recently reopened Westin Book Cadillac Hotel, a gorgeous Art Deco masterpiece from 1924 that has recently been brought back to glory at a cost of more than $200 million.

Comments

1. Watch out at nite , the natives are out and looking for someone to rob /rape
2. I attended St. Charles (Elementary) while I lived on Iroquois; I remember Belle Isle, Frankenmouth, Greenfield Village, Sinbad's and Boblo Island. There was a curfew, and National Guard tanks rolled down Iroquois at one point. I can still buy Sander's Hot Fudge sauce,and Vernor's Ginger Ale from Ebay. Long live the Motor City!
3. I was just in Indian Village today. It is a nice pocket of Detroit with large houses. Reminds me of Hancock Park in LA ($1-10M houses). IV is close to downtown and Belle Isle. I would love to own a house here.
4. Yup, you are right. It all comes down to the location itself. I can drive an hour or two north and a house the size of my parents will be worth around 200,000. It's crazy!
5. Part of the reason for that might be that Toronto has a greater population than Detroit. There are many other variables also. Where ever there is people, there is value. The more people, the more value. What is more valuable, a half city block in New York City? Or the same area in the middle of the desert? Everything is generally more expensive there. I live in Michigan on the border and there are all kinds of Canadians shopping here daily for groceries, gasoline, clothing. Its cheaper.
6. Having lived on Iroquois, I can tell you it was and still is a beautiful place - but make no mistake - its still in the inner city of Detroit. My friends weren't allowed to come down and visit. I always had to go to their houses. I went to school in Grosse Pointe Shore because there was no viable option nearby... My next door neighbor's care taker killed a woman and buried her in the backyard. Our neighbors were mostly eccentric. I guess we were, too.
7. This is so sad. I did a little research and found a house that is 9300 sq ft in Indian Village on sale for $550,000. I live in a suburb outside of Toronto and my parents house is 2400 sq ft and is worth around $525,000. It's so sad that beautiful houses like these barely have value now. :(
8. Wow so nice
9. @krn314 isn't this just a couple of miles from downtown? It looks nice, but if its 2 miles from downtown, then I think I can guess what sort of people are cruising these streets at night. I'm not trying to be rude, I've never been there, just trying to understand, is it really a nice place to actually LIVE? or does it just look nice? Cause I'd imagine its full of rape and murder by night if its that close to downtown Detroit. Unless there is private security patrols and gates?
10. This area reminds me of the mansions I saw in parts of Chicago and Buffalo.
11. @MrJimjons I live in Houston, Dude The Galleria area doesn't look anywhere near as nice as that.
12. AHA. UMH. OHH. OK. MMM. OK. wft!!!
13. why hasnt this neighborhood been destroyed yet?
14. @CheechMarin4TW a city that is dead does not have over 900,000 people smh
15. @jaymorpheus01 actually it doesn't as of this year smh
16. Yeah ladies, go to Belle Isle on a Saturday night- You will be in for a treat.
17. You couldn't pay me to live in Detroit, that city is dead.
18. I saw you do a Michigan stop at that sign. Be careful you will get a ticket
19. I'd love to see a tour of the Boston-Edison Historic neighborhood!
20. I stumbled acroos your vids today and love them all. Thank you so very much for sharing. But how could you NOT know The White Stripes? !!! LOL !