A Driving Tour of Detroit: Upscale Indian Village

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.

Category:

Travel & Events

Tags:

• USA
• Michigan
• Detroit
• Belle
• Isle
• Fisher
• Building
• Eastern
• Market
• Heidelberg
• Project
• Central
• Depot
• Book
• Cadillac

[krn314]

I grew up in this neighborhood and I assure you, the homes were--and still are--amazing. Classic and lovely from an architectural point of view. Save your insipid criticism and judgements for something you actually know about. There are many people who love Indian Village even long after they no longer live there. It becomes rather tiresome to hear Detroit continually put down by the mainstream media and everyone else around the country. Give us a break.

[Mrcbclobster]

AHA. UMH. OHH. OK. MMM. OK. wft!!!

[cmo8261993]

That one lady is really obnoxious...

[SkunkBud87]

@newyorkcat Because it's the only neighborhood that is constantly patroled by police and is filled with respected people. Unlike the shitty crackhouses that make up a majority of the city.

[SkunkBud87]

@toranamunter It's actually a really safe area. Most of the residents are upper class people, and these are whites and blacks. There are civilized areas in Detroit, although this is only 1% of the city.

[toranamunter]

@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?

[knightclassic1]

Detroit is a reason why Flint is dying down as well.

[HattieLovesCattie]

This area reminds me of the mansions I saw in parts of Chicago and Buffalo.

[bigtown]

@MrJimjons I live in Houston, Dude The Galleria area doesn't look anywhere near as nice as that.

[newyorkcat]

why hasnt this neighborhood been destroyed yet?