Belle Isle Home

Welcome 2012 Ice Tree and the New Year!

2011-12-28T14:48:00.000-08:00

A quick update for Ice Tree lovers... as of today, the 2012 tree is growing. It's not too sparkly yet, but give it a few icy days. It should be gorgeous by the weekend, just in time for the 42nd New Year's Eve Fun Run, and for the New Year's Day 3 pm champagne toast at the Detroit Boat Club. It's a great opportunity to see a grand old building.

I'm also excited to see what happens with the Belle Isle Conservancy in 2012!

For more information on the Ice Tree, check out the drive-by guide.

The bridge to Belle Isle

Hidden Within at Scarcyny Garden

2011-08-06T18:25:00.000-07:00

There were so many exciting events going on in the city today. It was hard to decide what to do first, but I started with this one, the grand opening of Scarcyny Garden in southwest Detroit.

Back in the spring, the owner of the Ideal Group, Frank Venegas, decided he wanted to do something with the vacant lots that bordered his business on the old Clark Street Cadillac plant property and partnered with Southwest Detroit Environmental Vision and several other neighborhood groups to make it happen.

Chris, who came up with the name for the garden, draped in ribbon from the opening ceremony

This guy named the garden. He lives around the corner, and started coming by to work on it. While doing some homework, he stumbled across a word (or maybe made it up, it doesn't seem to be googleable) that he says means "hidden within". For him, and for the other people working on the garden, this summed up all that they wanted to do with it... reveal the potential for beauty and community hidden within our city.

Before the ribbon cutting, there were a few different stories told by garden volunteers. Park Ranger Steve (in the white hat at left), who has lived in a house overlooking the vacant lots for 40 years, spoke of watching the initial garden clean up from his back porch. He wondered what was going on, wandered over to find out, and soon gained his official park ranger title from 6 AM plant waterings and eagle-eyed 24 hour lookout duty.

There is a Buddhist monastery across the street, and the monks have taken on cleaning and maintaining the lots on the other side of the street. They also inspired a meditation corner in the garden, with comfy chairs and the respite of shade.

Pinatas, face painting, and a potato sack race were all part of the opening day festivities.

The garden and park were designed by my friend Sarah Clark from Southwest Detroit Environmental Vision. The garden is a series of interlinked circles, with sections for native plants, low-maintenance shrub roses, plants for birds and butterflys, and the beginnings of a planned fruit orchard and raised bed vegetable garden. The park has a soccer field and a small hill for winter sledding so far. The park is located off Junction at Merritt, halfway between the thriving commercial district along Vernor and St. Hedwig, so it is ideally located to be an island linking those areas together.

As metaphors go, this is a pretty good one for what's right and hopeful in Detroit. I can't wait to see what it looks like in the spring.

Can Anything Gold Stay In Scripps Park?

2011-05-24T13:36:00.000-07:00

I am a huge fan of Access Arts and their projects, having enjoyed their exhibitions on Belle Isle immensely. They branched out this spring to partner with Forward Arts and the Woodbridge Neighborhood Development Corporation to clean up Scripps Park and present a show there.

They included a "student artist" component to the show as part of their mission to create opportunities for youth arts education. The piece above was my favorite of the student entries, with its description below:

This edge of the Woodbridge neighborhood is a point of contact between two Detroits.... one of homelessness, joblessness, lack of education and skills, sometimes mental illness, and soul-sucking poverty; and one of hopefulness in the form of a relatively stable neighborhood core, and a cadre of energetic, idealistic and determined students, artists, activists, and residents young and old... I hate to use the word hipsters because it can be hard to see the individuals past the word, but sometimes the shoe does seem to fit.

I am very interested in points of contacts like this to find ideas on how (as we try to build the city back up) we can "gentrify" without "disenfranchising". I put those words in quotes because I think they're both loaded with heavy baggage.

The people behind the show, who worked so hard on cleaning and fixing up the park and creating the installations, have been a little discouraged and dismayed by some events of the past weekend. Whole exhibits and improvements to the park made of materials as precious as plastic shipping crates, tires, and plastic bags were rearranged and even removed.

The day the show opened, the park was filled with people picnicking, walking their dogs, and generally enjoying their day. Maybe nothing gold can stay, but the golden glow of that day returns, again and again, in every creative act it inspires. Rising from the ashes, right?

Nature’s first green is gold,
Her hardest hue to hold.
Her early leaf’s a flower;
But only so an hour.
Then leaf subsides to leaf,
So Eden sank to grief,
So dawn goes down to day
Nothing gold can stay.
Robert Frost

Horses of Many Colors

2011-05-14T17:46:00.000-07:00

Today was the Michigan Black Horseman's Association Trail Ride on Belle Isle. I only caught the tail end of it (no pun intended), but it was so much fun to see the horses, worn out from their adventure on the island.

The horse's history on Belle Isle predates the establishment of the park. Horses were used on the island to haul blocks of ice when ice harvesting was big business, and for moving supplies and equipment around the island when the marshes were being drained to establish the park.

There were two stable complexes on the island, one for the general riding stables (now removed to Greenfield Village, to be rebuilt someday), and one to house the workhorses of the island (designed by Mason & Rice, now the island's maintenance complex).

The riding stables (above, in their original incarnation) were built from Detroit's old central market, located where Cadillac Square is today, in 1894.

The maintenance complex stables (old entrance, above) are planned to be the next big project that the Belle Isle Women's Committee undertakes.
A more current view of them...

I wish you could have seen the horses flying in full gallop across the meadows of Belle Isle today. The riders and horses were colorfully attired and in high spirits, waving and strutting for passers-by.

Historical information on the stables comes from Janet Anderson's book, Island In the City, and the Friends of Belle Isle website. Old photos from the Burton Historical Collection, Detroit Public Library.

A Little Less Conversation**

2011-05-14T15:52:00.000-07:00

When I started writing this blog, it was actually to help me learn how to use my new laptop and to learn Web 2.0 kinds of things. I hoped but didn't really imagine that other people would read it. It has been a gratifying and enlightening experience.

I started writing the blog from a place where I was standing on the sidelines, observing the happenings around town and getting to know my city better. The creative people and amazing places I've gotten to know through the blog have inspired me, gradually, to move off the sidelines and back into the thick of things (or at least the version of it that I am suited for).

I started grad school last week. Since I decided to go to grad school sort of last minute (like, the end of January), time for the blog has been shanghaied by various applications, tests, and technology interventions that I needed to perform on myself to get up to speed.

I also have started trying to put my time where my mouth (or my keyboard) is, and I'm putting in a little time in a small way with some groups that do things that are close to my heart... historic preservation and community development.

This is a roundabout way of saying, "Guys, I want to keep up the blog, but posts will be shorter and less frequent." I feel like I have built something here that I don't want to quit on, but at least until I get my sea legs in school, I may have to do "Belle Isle Home Lite".

I hope you still enjoy it. Thanks for reading, especially to those who noticed I was in absentia.

Warm regards,
Belle

** Thanks to Elvis, too.

Et Tu, Belle Isle Home?

2011-03-09T00:13:00.000-08:00

My esteemed blog friend at The Night Train: Detroit asked on her facebook page (probably jokingly) what I thought about the idea floated by a guy at Tech Town to put a vineyard on Belle Isle. Be careful what you wish for, TNT. Since the island is so near and dear to my heart, I'll give it a shot. It sounds like this is just a fledgling idea for now, not really thought-out and with few details attached. However, we recently saw a tweet go from a far-fetched crazy idea to an actual statue in the making pretty quickly (the Robocop statue). If the vineyard thing turns out to be a serious plan that may actually happen, I have some questions, and I hope other people that are smarter and more influential than me do, too.

The guy who has the vineyard idea, Randal Charlton, suggests putting a vineyard on 10 "vacant" acres of land near the lighthouse. I don't think of the land he suggests as "vacant" at all. I consider it to be the most serene, peaceful, and scenic part of the island, with trails along the river and the Blue Heron Lagoon. Last time I checked, having open green space was an important thing in a park. On any given summer day, there are people using the "vacant" land to walk, fish, jog, play football, picnic, bike, read, meditate, do yoga, take pictures, or just sit and watch the boats go by.

Belle Isle is unarguably Detroit's finest public park. Is it a good idea to sell or lease part of it off to a private company? What parts of it are people willing to turn over to a private company? I'll agree that parts of the island are underutilized or not used at all... a section of the old golf course and the closed zoo come to mind, and there certainly could be more of an effort to develop the island into a winter attraction. If we're talking about redeveloping the island, is there a master plan and how does a vineyard fit into it? How would the private company's vineyard benefit the island as a whole?

How would having a vineyard in this area impact public access? Would this private company be able to fence off their "property"? Cut off access to the water? Charge admission to this part of the island?

Before we dive in head-first on this vineyard thing on Belle Isle, I'd like to see a conservancy established to run the island, like the conservancies that successfully run Central Park in New York, and Campus Martius and the RiverWalk here. With a conservancy in place, I would feel more confident that a vineyard plan or any other plans for the island would have safeguards in them to make sure that Detroit's public playground and park doesn't get chopped up into a bunch of private parks that benefit their private owners, while making it harder for us regular folks to enjoy the river.

Although I'm not so sure about a vineyard on Belle Isle, I actually do like the idea of a riverfront winery. Since we're tossing around ideas here, what about using some city-owned land along the riverfront that IS vacant and needs to be redeveloped for a vineyard? There is talk of the West Riverfront, when it is developed, cutting a much wider, deeper swath along the river. Would a vineyard fit in to this part of the riverfront? If we're talking about a vineyard and winery being a big draw for visitors, why not use it as an anchor for redevelopment somewhere that doesn't already get thousands of visitors a day, like Belle Isle does? What about vacant city land adjacent to Fort Wayne? Fort Wayne has incredible potential for being a significant tourism draw. Wouldn't a winery along the water be a great fit there, on the bluffs overlooking the river?

I'm clearly no expert on any of this, and I don't have any answers. Maybe this is a really cool idea and I have just been drinking the kool-aid about people trying to steal Detroit's precious jewels for too long. But if Detroit really does have any precious jewels left to steal, surely Belle Isle is one of them. Can we please not screw this one up?

Spay/Neuter, It's Cuter

2011-02-22T12:34:00.000-08:00

In honor of Spay Day USA today, I am going to write one of my rambling, takes-a-while-to-get-to-the point posts. This one is best read with a cat, like Links, above, sitting on your lap.

I have been shirking my regular blog writing for the past week or so in favor of a side project, a little blogsite for some friends of mine, Tigerlily Cat Rescue. They're an all volunteer group, like so many pet rescues, and amazing people. While I'm out and about with my dogs on Saturdays, they're at Petsmart hosting adoption events. While I'm at home after work snuggled up with my MacBook, they're answering phone calls and emails from people who are often desperate and sometimes getting rid of their cats with the flimsiest of excuses. They drive their foster pets to the vet. They spend their free time taking pictures of the homeless cats for Petfinder. They visit caring shelters and soul-sucking animal control buildings alike, making heartbreaking decisions about which cats to save, because right now there are far too many without homes to save them all.

They dream of being out of business, of having to finding another hobby. The solution sounds so easy.. if more people spayed/neutered their pets, the generous, caring folks at Tigerlily would, well, probably not play golf, or take up knitting. I guess they'd have to move on to world peace, or something like that.

So in the interest of putting them out of business (I know it's unfortunately not likely to happen soon), I'd like to point out an upcoming event they are funding, from their new site:

Bacon says "No more kitties until me and all my friends have a home, please!"

   Do you have friends, relatives, or neighbors who are having a tough time financially? Who have cats that haven't been spayed or neutered? Please let them know about our upcoming clinic Sunday, March 20th, 9-12am, at the Oakland Pet Adoption Center! Maybe you could even offer their kitty a ride to the clinic!
   We are partnering with the Oakland Pet Adoption Center by sponsoring a low cost spay/neuter clinic for low income Oakland County and Sterling Heights residents. The $20 fee includes spay/neuter, distemper shot, and worming. Space is limited, and you need to call first to see if you qualify. Call the OPAC at 248-391-4100 weekdays between 10am-5pm to schedule an appointment.
   Several of our volunteers will be helping out that day... want to help out and hang out with fellow cat lovers? Shoot us an email at tigerlilyrescue@gmail.com.
   Click here for the facebook link for the event.

And if you are thinking of getting a cat or know anyone who is, or you have an extra $5 left over from funding the Robocop statue, I hope you'll keep them in mind.

If you don't qualify for this event, another great resource for low-cost vaccinations and spay neuter is:

All About Animals

Located in Warren, this rescue group runs a low-cost spay/neuter and vaccinations clinic year-round.

Both photos courtesy of Ranee Rose Taylor, who is one of Tigerlily's many devoted volunteers.

Urbex For Tots

2011-02-13T19:24:00.000-08:00

Come out to the island and play.

I have been working feverishly all weekend on the next installment of Gracie Krum's story, and just as I was nearing the end of editing, I accidently deleted the whole thing. And then in trying to retrieve it, I deleted the back-up draft. Phooey. So I give up for today and we will visit the great kids playground instead. Ok? Happy Valentine's Day

"Shiver"-ing

2011-02-05T20:24:00.000-08:00

At "Shiver on the River" today, the Coast Guard gave a demonstration worthy of the Indy 500 with its ice boat, throwing blizzards of snow hundreds of feet in its wake. (more on the air boat at the end of this post)

There were several groups of skiers on the island.

The sudden snow squall might have kept a few people from heading to the island, but it was such a pretty whiteout....

...unless you are very short, like the fluffy one, and you are a bedraggled, snowy hot mess, tired of defying gravity, bounding blindly through ear-deep drifts, and you finally refuse to get out of the car, preferring to watch Smart, who is never tired, from the driver's seat.

I was quite enthralled with the Coast Guard demo and the air boat, so I dug up a little more info..... Here's a video of a sister boat in action:

Here's a link to some information about air boats and their use in ice rescue, and here's a link to the official Coast Guard Station Belle Isle page.

Silver And Gold

2011-02-01T22:15:00.000-08:00

I like the city at its most deserted, so when everyone else was rushing out to beat the storm, the dogs and I headed to the Riverwalk.

You know those classic movies from the forties, where the leading ladies are filmed to look luminous and a little fuzzy? It was like that.

Just taking a little library break...we'll be back to the ladies of Brainard Street soon enough.

The Young Ladies Of Brainard Street-The Librarian's Sister

2011-01-30T02:10:00.000-08:00

Last month, while writing about a turn-of-the century Detroit woman painter, I became intrigued by several other unknown women, a tightly woven circle of historians, friends, and librarians, connected by their common interests. For more than twenty-five years, one of these women, Gracie Brainerd Krum, had the title of "Chief" of Detroit's history.

When I wrote about the painter, I was lucky to find that she and all her relatives were prolific letter writers, from prominent families. Troves of letters had been saved, full of detail, with no thought of whether they would be reread by strangers.

Writing about these women who are librarians and historians seems different. In reviewing their papers, one senses they've already edited what's left behind in the dusty boxes. They have chosen what they want remembered, without thinking of themselves as an important part of the story. For them, I wade through sheaves of official correspondence, intricate genealogies, and painstaking copies they made of other people's lives, but their quirks, their sense of humor, their uniqueness... they hover in the shadows. This makes the personal papers Gracie B. Krum saved especially poignant.

One the greatest assets of the Detroit Public Library is its Burton Historical Collection. Gracie grew up in the shadow of the Burton Historical Collection. From 1897 till 1905, she lived at 25 Brainard Street, next door to Clarence M. Burton, businessman and famed collector of manuscripts and documents relating to early Detroit. He would go on to write a history of Detroit that is an indispensable starting point for any researcher. Long before the stately, monumental Detroit Public Library that we know today was built in the new cultural center, Burton had a fire-proof room built in his home on Brainard to protect his collection. His daughter, Mary Agnes, the less known historian in the family, worked night and day editing all of her father's works, and writing books and articles on her own. Mary Agnes was just about the same age as Gracie.

In the photo above, Gracie is 23 years old. Her family had just moved to Detroit from New York the previous year. Her father founded what would become the Detroit Rubber Company, wholesalers of new-fangled rubber footwear. He is standing at the foot of the porch, to our left. Her grandfather is on the right, and her mother is on the porch in front of the window.

The little girls are her sister Elsie, and and a girl named Juliet (next to the sled). It is February 22, 1898.

After this photo, Gracie taught in the Detroit Public Schools, became a librarian at the DPL, began to assist Mr. Burton and Mary Agnes with their collection, and then, from 1916 till 1941, was in charge of the Burton Historical Collection in its new home at the grand building on Woodward.

But Gracie's accomplished future awaits. Today, the Krum family has just recently enjoyed their first Christmas in Detroit. Elsie wrote a letter to Santa.

Read the book that she wanted,"Elsie At Home", here.

As I was opening the letter from Santa, a slip of paper slid out and landed to the side. After reading the letter, I turned over the slip of paper.

I do not know how she died. Gracie's papers say no more on the subject, but I still have Alburn and Ethalind's papers to read.

Next week, Gracie becomes a librarian, and the other Burton historian.

Photo and documents, Burton Historical Collection, Detroit Public Library.

Other resources:

Parnassus on Main Street, a history of the Detroit Public Library, by Frank B. Woodford, Wayne State University Press, 1965

A Tale Of Two Car Parades

2011-01-22T18:44:00.000-08:00

July 1909. Less than a year earlier, the first Model T rolled out of the Piquette Plant. Cars were becoming affordable for the average family, not just toys for the rich, and Detroit was hosting the Glidden Tour.

Men would drive 2,560 miles, taking the long way from Detroit to Kansas City, showcasing the safety and reliability of the increasingly popular automobile. Several women had participated in previous years. Mrs. Andrew Cuneo had been the first woman to complete the race in 1908. As a reward, the fairer sex were banned. No women would race this year.

But before the race started, on Monday, July 12th, Detroit hosted a big party for the tour. There were banquets, factory and showroom tours, a band concert in front of City Hall, and an afternoon on Belle Isle, with a parade of over a thousand cars, many of them decorated, followed by games and athletic competitions.

The parade began at Woodward and Grand Boulevard and proceeded down Woodward to Jefferson, then across the Belle Isle bridge and around the island.

The 1909 tour itself was actually a bit of a letdown for its planners. The number of entrants was disappointing to organizers. Thanks to the success of the nascent auto industry, many car makers were so busy making and selling cars that they no longer felt the need to promote themselves by participating.

Did you notice the title on the map, "PUBLIC DEMONSTRATION OF KEROSENE AS FUEL"? It seemed ironic, as I walked the dogs near Cobo Hall, where the Auto Show is taking place, in the year of the Volt. Sidewalks and streets can be quiet during the week near Cobo. On this night, I was drawn from Campus Martius to Cobo by voices, laughter, footsteps... going to see an electric car. It felt good.

There are hundreds more amazing 1909 Glidden Tour pictures at The Making Of Modern Michigan website, many of them showing familiar downtown landmarks and Belle Isle in the background.

Map image from the New York Public Library digital collections.
Panorama of cars in front of the Belle Isle Casino from the Library of Congress.
All other Belle Isle images from the Detroit Public Library, Lazarnick Collection, viewable on The Making of Modern Michigan site.

"Where The Honk Of The Motor Horn Is Heard"

2011-01-15T19:08:00.000-08:00

The more things change.... look closely and you'll see that this car is plugged in to recharge. That's right, it's the Chevy Volt's great grandaddy, circa 1919. You'll rarely find me writing about cars, but I was curious about the beginnings of the Detroit Auto Show (now known as the North American International Auto Show), so I did a little digging, and ended up.... guess where? on Belle Isle.

It started with a bicycle guy, William Metzger. He and his partner Stanley Huber operated the biggest, most successful bicycle shop in Detroit in the early 1890's. Below, a later motorcycle and bicycle shop he owned...

In 1895, he went to an automobile show in London. He returned to Detroit convinced that automobiles were the future, sold his shares in the bicycle shop, and in 1897 opened Detroit's first independent car dealership. In 1899, Metzger included several steam and electric vehicles in a show with bicycles, firearms, and sporting goods. Below, Metzger's car, adorned with greenery, in a bicentenary parade, 1901... and see his home in Boston Edison here.

In 1907, the Detroit Auto Dealers Association formed, and the Detroit Auto show was officially born.

During the first decade of the twentieth century, the American Automobile Association was hard at work promoting cars in its own way. In 1904, the AAA started a "reliability" race for cars from the east coast to the St. Louis World's Fair. The following year, telephone exchange magnate Charles Glidden put up $2,000 prize money for the winner. In 1909, the DADA's influence brought the Glidden Reliability Tour to Detroit, and to Belle Isle for a parade.

The official pathfinder car for the 1909 tour was a product of William Metzger's latest venture, the EMF.
Shown below, the 1912 EMF, from Wikimedia Commons.

By 1911, the Detroit Auto Show was held at the Wayne Hotel Gardens. From the Michigan Manufacturer, January 14th, 1911:

A year ago both floors of the Wayne Gardens were crowded to the last inch. This year the pinch for room will be worse than ever.

The 1911 exhibit will, however, be wonderful and interesting, even to the people who have to constantly dodge testing cars on the streets in this city, where the honk of the motor horn is heard above the pound of the anvil.

Each year the men who make and sell cars have to strive to make their particular car more attractive, more durable, more economical to maintain and more complete in detail to tempt the eye of a curious and educated-buying public.

The result is that the merits of a car rests on the finer points of construction. The car that was a rich man's plaything a few years ago is now doing dray duty for the shopman around the corner.

Careful study has brought the manufacturing end down to the fine point where a better and cheaper car can be turned out. The man of moderate means can now own and operate a car that will compare favorably with the more expensive car owned by his millionaire friend.

The use of the motor car for commercial purposes has long ago passed the experimental stage. It is only a question of time when the commercial vehicle will be adapted for every use in the country and in the city.

The universal popularity of the motor car in all countries and in all climes has opened up a great field and, despite all that has been said to the contrary, it will take years to reap the harvest.

....the more things remain the same.

I'll be following the 1909 Glidden Tour in Detroit and on Belle Isle later this week.

From the National Automotive History Collection, Detroit Public Library

All photos from the Library of Congress, unless captioned otherwise.

"walking the line" with jessica Care moore

2011-01-08T19:58:00.000-08:00

It felt like I was having a conversation with an old friend.

Words reached out from the walls, from the covers of books and the pages of poems. They stretched in bright graffiti paint script and bold block poster face. The tools of poems and language danced across canvases, surrounded by tendrils of color.

"it's not that i haven't heard it before"

The writer, the poet, the artist danced among them. I could see the soft glimmer of stardust on her skin, as I listened to her converse with admirers.

"it was your elbow nudge"

Drawn by glimpses of stories on the walls, I bought her book. The graceful, elegant bookseller mentioned Jessica's warmth and energy. "You will have her sign your book", she said. I hadn't thought of it, approaching a famous poet, but it seemed natural, the way she spoke of it.

"building a nest with snowballs, poems &

my one year old's imagination"

So I asked her about books making the base of a sculpture in the corner of the room, a waterfall of books pouring from the figure of a queen of words. "How did you pick the books?", I asked. She spoke of her many books at home. She had wanted the river of books to be bigger, taller, but the space constrained her. She assembled them as a reflection of her journey with language, texts of the old canon and the new one she hopes to create, mixed together.

"a line i dare you to walk over

a line sometimes too unbearable for breath"

Then I asked her to sign my book. She sat down with me, a stranger, and asked me about myself, and what I thought of the show. This tiny, fierce dynamo, five time winner of Showtime at the Apollo, talked of feeling vulnerable at her art show opening, of how it is always daunting to try something new. She was so encouraging and genuine. I felt inspired and a little tongue-tied, as though I could tell her of hopes and dreams that most people would scoff at.

"the gritty birthplace of our art

that couldn't contain or control

the capacity

of our hearts"

When I got home and opened my book, it said, "Continue to write, grow, and love".

Jessica Care Moore's exhibit, NANOC: I Sing the Body Electric runs through January 15th, at the Dell Pryor Gallery, inside the Spiral Collective. For more information, visit here.

All quotations are from poems in her book, God Is Not An American. She writes magically of Detroit and beyond.

"a wasteland with new lofts downtown.

a holy place with schools and no books.

abandoned neighborhoods & beauty

beyond belief."

Find Jessica's book at Moore Black Press, or at Source Booksellers. Visit her website here.

Listening To The Ice Music

2010-12-29T08:19:00.000-08:00

The ice performs a different concert daily as it passes the island. One day it creaks and groans, whines, wheezes, and clatters like factory machinery.

Another day, it giggles, chirps, plinks, and trills like a gaggle of pre-teen girls.

On this lucky day, it murmured and shushed, hummed a lullaby, and sang the blues.

Anytime, Anyplace, Anywhere by Hadda Brooks

More Hadda Brooks music on iLike

And more interesting ice music below.... hope you're enjoying the holidays.

Lost Letters Of Miss Letta Crapo Smith

2010-12-26T12:35:00.000-08:00

A letter to her brother, Crapo Cornell Smith, that she wrote from Egmond, a Dutch art colony.

This post is the fourth in a series about a fascinating and little-known turn-of-the-century Detroiter, painter Letta Crapo Smith. Granddaughter of Michigan governor Henry Howland Crapo, she traveled the world and found fame as the first woman from Detroit to exhibit in the Paris Salon. Earlier reports of her can be found here:
On The Trail Of Miss Letta Crapo Smith, 789 E. Jefferson
Letta and the Detroit Society of Women Painters
Letta Crapo Smith At Home and Abroad
I found her letters while looking for something else (my usual method of detection). I had thought that my search for her had ended, albeit incompletely, but there it was, a reference to a box of letters, under her mother's name, Lucy Anna Crapo Smith.

At first, when I went to find the box, I was foiled by the lack of a card in the card catalog. I searched under every permutation of the name I could think of. It had to be there somewhere. It had just been catalogued, referenced in a finding aid, not two years before.

So I turned to the mistress of the library, she of vast memory and nuanced understanding of the labyrinthine corridors of the Burton Collection, the reference librarian. In short order, she brought me not just a box filled with the words of Letta, but two folders of photos! I never imagined when I first saw Letta's picture how she would come to life.

If only I could read her handwriting. This may take a while.

Seriously, though, in a cursory glance of several hours, I was able to learn enough to flesh out gaps in her story. The box contains correspondence to and from Letta, her mother, and other close family members and friends, from 1893-1911.

Letta has pointed out her room on this hotel stationery. In her typical fashion, she covered the paper front, back and sideways, with room barely left for her name in the bottom middle of this photo.

Remember when I said it seemed as though Letta had traveled extensively in Europe during her twenties and thirties, although I had scant documentation? Here it is, her letters written on the letterhead of steamships and hotels from Paris, Florence, Naples; from Germany and Spain, from all the great cities and seas of the continent. She writes of the weather, visitors, shopping, local scenery, filling the pages from edge to edge, and then turning the letters on their sides and writing in the margins, with barely room for her name at the end.

From Gibraltar, onboard a steamship, traveling with her friend Mrs. McCabe.

She received many letters from the well-known painter Julius Rolshoven, also from Detroit, who was often in Europe at the same time she was. He comments on an influx of students, a letter written from the famous Avenue Studios in London (where John Singer Sargent painted)....

"There are many of my students here only, how to advise them is beyond me." Julius Rolshoven, undated letter to Letta Crapo Smith from the Avenue Studios, Fulham Road, London, England.

..one of several letters from Gertrude McCabe, mother of archaeologist Richard B. Seager, with whom she had a romantic friendship typical of women in the Victorian era, who writes from Paris of the latest fashions....

The letters begin when she is traveling with her mother (she is usually traveling with her mother) in 1893 and 1894, when her mother is the head of the Foreign Loan Committee for the Art Loan Exhibition, the precursor to the Detroit Institute of Arts. Her mother, Lucy Anna, is procuring foreign works to be loaned for exhibit. They follow her travels and studies throughout Europe, continuing during her studies at the Academie Julian in Paris, then on to the art colony at Egmond, through her visit to Helen Hyde in Japan, and then her summers painting throughout the continent (in between her winters running the Detroit Society of Women Painters).

The letters end shortly after the death of her father in 1910. Notes on the back of photos, written by Helen Elizabeth Keep, a neighbor, comrade in the DSOWP, and local historian, shed light on Letta's final years. Previously, I hadn't been able to find mention of Letta, other than her death in 1921, after 1915.

Once H.H.H. Crapo Smith, Letta's father and Lucy Anna's husband, died, the inseparable mother and daughter spent little time in Detroit. They summered at a home in Old Lyme, Connecticut, and wintered at the Hotel Vendome in Boston, near their relatives.

Old Lyme was home to an art colony where Letta would have known many friends. Referred to as the "American Barbizon" and then the "American Giverny", during its heyday from 1900 to 1915 it was best known for the painter Childe Hassam. Many artists who summered at Dutch art colonies and who had studied at the Academie Julian visited Lyme. The daily routine, emphasis on "plein air" painting, and the camaraderie would all have been familiar comfort, like the art colony at Egmond.

A descendant of Letta's was kind enough to send me notes of diary entries regarding Letta's last days. From the 1921 diary of Emma Morley Crapo, Letta's cousin,

1-24-21 Called upon Letta- she is pathetic

3-16-21 Crapo Smith says Letta is not so well

3-17-21 Dr. said Letta could not live over 24 hours. She has been so utterly wretched that she has not cared to live.

3-20-21 I drove to meet Crapo Smith who arrived from Boston with Letta's remains

3-21-21 Letta buried beside her parents and grandparents

Although the notes of her death are sad, her life was filled with the wonders of the world. In an era when travel was difficult and slow, she danced from great city to greek ruins, from museums to dutch countryside, from the Detroit River in her backyard to the Atlantic Ocean she crossed regularly.

Be assured that I will continue to wrestle with Letta's calligraphy, and keep you apprised of any further interesting tales.

-All letters from the Burton Historical Collection, Detroit Public Library. My thanks to the dedicated librarians following in the footsteps of M. Agnes Burton and Gracie Brainerd Krum.
-Photo of the Hotel Vendome, Boston, from the Library of Congress Archives.
-Notes from Emma Morley Crapo's diary courtesy of her family.

A Belated Merry Christmas

2010-12-26T08:49:00.000-08:00

Warmest wishes to all for a happy holiday. Here's a few of my favorite old Detroit images from the Library of Congress.

10 Winter Things To Do On Belle Isle

2010-12-18T12:16:00.000-08:00

So you have relatives coming from out of town for the holidays? Or some free time on your hands? Looking for a fun family day? You could spend a whole day hanging out on Belle Isle, inside and outside.

1) Visit the Conservatory... it is warm, green, and heavenly on a cold day... think orchids, ferns, and cactus, poinsettias in December. Bring your camera. Open 10-5, Wednesday-Sunday. Free.

2) Bird and critter-watching from inside the Nature Zoo. There is a fireplace! And a lovely comfy sofa right in front of the window overlooking the bird feeders. And spiders and turtles and such for the kids to view. Open everyday 10-5 except Thanksgiving, Christmas and New Year's. Free.

3) The Dossin Great Lakes Museum has the pilot house of a Great Lakes freighter stuck on its backside. You can pretend that you are captain of the universe. Open Saturdays and Sundays 11-4. Free. (Closed Christmas and New Year's Day)

4) Be Dutch for a day... bring your ice skates and glide along the network of canals. Or be Canadian...set up a hockey rink on one of the shallower ponds.

5) Cross country ski over the river (well, creek) and through the woods. You will have the place mostly to yourself early in the morning, and the city will seem a hundred miles away. Great map of the island showing nature trails.

6) There's always the Ice Tree!

Last winter's tree

This year's model underway

7) Bring your dog for a walk... just be careful about the icy river and deeper ponds, please.
8) New Year's Eve Fun Run/Walk

9) New Year's Day Toast at the Detroit Boat Club ... had enough football? have you ever wondered about the lonely white building next to the bridge, above? want to see the inside of it? make new friends?

10) Come to the island while it is snowing...you will feel like you are on the inside of a snow globe. Bring hot chocolate or coffee. Park where there is a good view of falling flakes. Ponder the meaning of the universe as expressed in snow angels and catching flurries on the tip of your tongue.

Links to these and many other interesting Belle Isle sights/sites can be found at the top right of this blog, in the section, "The Isle Itself". Any favorite winter memories of Belle Isle you'd like to share?

Comfort And Joy...A Fluffy And Smart Story

2010-12-14T16:17:00.000-08:00

We haven't been to the island as much lately, Smart, Fluffy, and I. You may have noticed we deserted you for a month or so a while back. The smart one tore her second ACL this fall, which meant major limping and tiresome resting, followed by surgery to remove some lumps and bumps, followed by a huge sigh of relief when lumps and bumps were found to be no problem, followed by the go-ahead for leg repair, followed by a long, continuing period of not nearly as much prancing, sprinting, leaping, and squirrel hunting as Smart would like.

Thankfully, I can say she's on the mend, and we can go for short walks. After an entire morning of being mercilessly pursued around the house by a dog squeaking a giant yellow stuffed duck, I decided it was time for our triumphant return to Belle Isle. It was just the glorious, white Christmas-y kind of day that Smart loves best, even with half her fur shaved off from surgeries. (If you see her wearing an adorable plaid coat, feel free to make fun of me.)

This week is the third anniversary of the fluffy one joining the family. Last year at this time I told Fluffy's story. In honor of Fluffy's anniversary and Smart's good health, today I'll tell Smart's story.

I went to the "Meet Your Best Friend at the Zoo" event just planning to look. Riiiigghhhhtt. It was a week after my xxth birthday (a lady never tells, but it was a traumatic round number). My longtime boyfriend had just suddenly moved out, a few days after my elderly cat (my first pet ever) died. No lie.

I had never had a dog before. The only dog I had known well was my Grandma's German Shepherd, so I thought I wanted one of those. I wandered the aisles of the adoption event, surrounded by the cacophony of hundreds of barking, whining, yipping, growling dogs. I approached a few, but none seemed quite right, until I spied a small black shepherd sitting quietly in her crate. She sat confidently, not scared, or nervous, or frantic, but calmly and alertly looking around. I walked up to the crate. She was happy to see me, wagged her tail, sniffed. I liked her, but I reminded myself that I was just looking that day, and moved on. Ha.

As I walked around, I kept thinking of the black shepherd. She seemed about right. Youngish (7-8 mos), but not a puppy so no potty training. An energetic dog that would drag my lazy self off the sofa and into the great outdoors. The right size, big enough and tough-looking enough to be a single woman's best friend on night walks and when strangers came to the door. An intelligent look in her eyes ...when I was a little girl, my grandma's shepherd knew I wasn't allowed near the canal at the back of Grandma's yard and had been seen grabbing me by the back of my pants, pulling me away if I got too close. I thought I should go back and take a second look. Maybe if she wasn't adopted at the event, I would visit her again later in the week if she seemed promising. Uh-huh.

This time, when I walked up to her crate, a volunteer from the rescue group was nearby. I asked a few questions. Where did she come from? Did they know how she was with cats (two more at home)? The rescue worker said she didn't know about cats, but we could take the dog out on a leash and over by the cats to see. So, she leashed her and off we went. Not much of a reaction to the cats, more interested in sniffing and visiting.

The rescue worker started to tell me about how the dog had been out of the crate a couple of times that day to meet people but hadn't seemed to click with anybody. As she talked, I sat down on the ground cross-legged. The black shepherd walked over to me and sat on my lap, all thirty-five pounds of her. I looked up at the rescue worker and said, "Well, I guess this is my dog." "Yeah, it looks like she picked you" replied the woman.

So that's how I got my first dog. Or how Smart got her person. Either way, it's working out pretty well for both of us.

If you're interested, Fluffy's story is here.

I will be ever grateful to K9 Stray Rescue League of Michigan, who saved the smart one from a pound on the west side of the state. Large black dogs have a harder time getting adopted from shelters. Read more about the extra challenges they face finding a home here.

If you are considering adding a new family member for the holidays, there are incredible dogs (and cats) waiting for you at your neighborhood shelter. I recommend one that looks like Smart, or whichever one picks you.

Sunday Stroll: House Of Contemplation

2010-12-12T06:36:00.000-08:00

I struggled with the snarks on this post title... Cathedral of St. Slow's*? New Testament Church of Declare Detroit? Our Lady Queen of Hipsters? In the end the snarks lost and my kinder, gentler self was won over by the Imagination Station itself and Catie Newell's work, Salvaged Landscape (pictured above). The Imagination Station miniplex, while technically consisting of two abandoned houses, is really made of equal parts bravura marketing, sweat equity, and community organizing, with a dash of wild (and necessary) optimism and a pinch of insane genius.

Located facing Michigan Central Station, one of the houses ... empty, burnt out, and deconstructed, has been transformed into a gallery, art installation, and performance space. On a sunny, unseasonably warm Sunday afternoon a few weeks ago, it seemed full of metaphors and hidden meanings about the city itself. Some of them were obvious, like the rose window/stained glass effect of Newell's centerpiece (first photo).

A side chapel and makeshift stage is formed in an alcove of the Roosevelt hotel, below. The hotel, next to the Imagination Station, was recently purchased by Dennis Keffalinos, who owns the Russell Industrial Center. He also owns numerous rehabbed loft buildings around town, and even more numerous un-rehabbed vacant buildings, many of them historically significant. Some people think his buildings are somewhat, ahem, lightly maintained. Others argue that he is one of the few trying and successfully rehabbing buildings of this scale in the city.

Below... is this a purposeful vignette on the state of Detroit's industry or just some retro-chic stuff on a ledge?

Other details....

From inside Salvaged Landscape, a vantage point to consider Roosevelt Park's possibilities

On this afternoon, the Imagination Station was quiet. The only sounds were from someone rummaging around in the empty Roosevelt Hotel, and in the distance, the power tools of a man working on the back of the Mercury Bar. Plenty of space and solitude for the hamster wheel in my head to turn.

That's two vacant houses being looked after. I can't help but think of the others with lower profiles ... neighbors who get no press and no thanks for boarding up the vacant houses on their street, for trying to keep trouble away, for calling police who hardly ever come. I see the train of thought... call attention to these two, bootstrap them into something that draws more resources, and make it easier to work on the next two, or two thousand.

*For out-of-towners, Slow's is a wildly popular, delicious, (deservedly) overexposed, BBQ restaurant whose owners are trying to lead a burgeoning revival of the neighborhood.

Letta Crapo Smith At Home And Abroad

2010-12-05T17:18:00.000-08:00

We left Letta Crapo Smith in the early days of the Detroit Society of Women Painters. Letta was one of the founding members. She quickly became an officer of the group, and then in 1907 was elected President. She led the Society from 1907 till 1915. The painters rarely met in the summer....many of them, including Letta, summered in far away locales. Above, a still life floral by Letta, 1893

Starting in the 1890's, there are records of Letta's travels...to Paris, and the Academie Julian. A women's painting class from the that era, at the Rue de Berri studio where she likely studied....

Below, one of her teachers, Adolphe-William Bougereau, surrounded by his students, 1896. Both photos are from this blog, about an Englishwoman who studied at the Academie at the same time as Letta.

Painting of the ruins by Van Ruisdael, 1650, from The Art Institute of Chicago.

In the early 1900's, she spent her summers in Holland, first at Volendam, where she stayed at the Hotel Spaander, still a hotel after all this time.. and then at an art colony in Egmond. Egmond was famous as the site of a castle ruined when the Spanish were occupying Holland.

The artists' village in Egmond had been started by fellow Detroiter Gari Melchers and and another painter, George Hitchcock, in the 1880's. They taught a summer art school of sorts, often in the open air, encouraging large paintings. The artists made excursions to country churches, local farms, and the nearby sea and sand dunes (a landscape very similar to the dunes and small coastal towns of northern Michigan), painting the pastoral scenes that were the fashion of the day.

Girls at the Beach, L.C. Smith, date unknown

Letta rented a room and studio space in a small hotel that catered to artists run by a J. Kraakman. Summer days were spent antiquing, riding bicycles to the beach, walking the dunes, and painting under large umbrellas to shield the painters from the sun.

Back in Michigan for the winters, Letta worked hard, not only in her attic studio painting, but directing the activities of the DSOWP. She often suggested specific activities for the group's meetings, including themes for sketches to be brought in for review such as "blue and silver" or "a note of white- for a motif".

The Fourth Annual Exhibition, her first as President, was a great success... a newspaper review of the exhibit headlined "Where 100 Pictures Giving Evidence of Surprising Talent are Hung" states that "Miss Crapo-Smith's work stands out for its strength and beauty."

She also gave informal talks at the meetings, recounting her travels. About her trip to Japan:

Helen Hyde in her Tokyo studio

A print of Helen Hyde's from within a year or so of Letta's visit...

From the Library of Congress, Honorable Mr. Cat, 1903

In 1914, there are ominous tidings in the DSOWP's secretary's notebook...

The Clifton Springs Sanitarium was a famous, state-of-the art facility in its day. Part of its campus has been turned into an apartment building. Annette Stott, art historian and professor at the University of Denver, mentions that tuberculosis may have been the cause of Letta's illness. Whatever the cause of her ill health, in October 1915 Letta resigned from the Detroit Society of Women Painters.

I can find no further record of our intrepid painter, until her death in Boston, in 1921. I surmise she was out east visiting relatives. Her mother had died in Boston the previous year. They were so close, constant traveling companions. If her elderly mother Lucy had gone to Boston to be near Letta's uncle, William Wallace Crapo, one of Lucy's few surviving (of ten) siblings, Letta surely would have gone, too. William Wallace Crapo's home is now an oral surgeons' practice, but you can still see what a gracious home it must have been.

She is buried in the family plot in Glenwood Cemetery, Flint, Michigan.

photo by Lori War, from Find A Grave

If anyone out there has any further info on her last few years, I would love to hear more of her story. Other paintings by Letta Crapo Smith....

First Birthday, Flint Museum of Art, currently on loan to the Singer Laren Museum in the Netherlands, her most well-known painting

Resources for this post:
My thanks to the librarians at the Burton Historical Collection of the Detroit Public Library for their assistance, and to Maria Ketcham at the Detroit Institute of Art's research library. I also learned from the following publications:
Dutch Utopia: American Artists in Holland, 1880-1914
  Telfair Museum of Art, 2009, by Annette Stott and Holly Koons McCullough
Artists of Michigan From the Nineteenth Century
  Muskegon Museum of Art, 1987
  Chapter on Letta Crapo Smith, by Annette Stott
History of the Detroit Society of Women Painters
  1953, by Julia Gatlin Moore
A Lark Ascends: Florence Kate Upton
  1992, by Norma S. Davis
Rural Artists' Colonies In Europe, 1870-1910
  2001, by Nina Lubbren

Magical Creatures of Noel Night

2010-12-04T20:58:00.000-08:00

In case you're not from these parts, or you haven't been to it yet, Noel Night is an annual event in Detroit's Cultural Center and Midtown neighborhood where basically everybody (museums, shops, schools, churches, etc.) opens their doors, welcomes you in, and shows you a good time. It's like the twelve days of Christmas all in one night. It is magical...even the unicorns attend.

...the alpacas wouldn't dream of missing it....

stories are told of Detroit's past....

.. and the holiday season is kicked off joyously, with song, dance, art, too many strollers, and the perfect amount of hot cider...

...wishing you were all here to share it.

In case you were hoping for more of Letta Crapo Smith's story, it is still a work in progress.... the DIA library research was too successful. It may be another week or so before I can finish sorting and organizing, finding links and images to go with all the new info. Sorry for the delay, but hey, it's not like I get paid for this gig. In the meantime, the blog will go on with my regular travels.

Letta And The Detroit Society Of Women Painters

2010-11-28T17:39:00.000-08:00

Once in a while, "somewhere in time" isn't just the title of a schmaltz classic...it's how I spent my afternoon. Last weekend, I spent the better part of an afternoon with the notebook above, the secretary's notes for the early days of the Detroit Society of Women Painters. (The "and Sculptors" part was added in 1930.)

I was following an early star of the Detroit painting scene, Letta Crapo Smith, when a wonderful librarian at the Burton Historical Collection directed me to this notebook. Letta's beginnings are traced in the previous post...writing of her next adventures awaits an appointment at the DIA's research library this week.

For today, we'll take a peek inside this gathering of talented women artists. How did it begin? What did they hope to accomplish with their new group?

Although the group was meant for painters, an exception was made for Mary Chase Perry (as she signed in the notebook)...you know, that Pewabic pottery chick :) She founded Pewabic Pottery in the same year this group began...

The ladies were pleased with themselves after their first year...

Their second exhibition seemed to go over well, too....

Although the ladies seemed to feel a bit unappreciated by DMA director Armand Griffiths, for this newspaper cartoon was included in the notebook right after the clipping about the 2nd exhibition. The cartoon could be referring to any number of controversies around museum funding or collections ... apparently political machinations and disagreements regarding these matters are as old as the concept of a museum itself. Many of the women in the group were from wealthy families, and were art collectors and prominent donors to the Detroit Museum of Art.

Who were these founding members?

An excerpt from "In Detroit Courage was the Fashion; The Contribution of Women to the Development of Detroit From 1701 to 1951"....

That women should so ably have arranged the loan exhibit 
that led to the Art Museum was not surprising, for the turn of 
the century produced some very fine women painters. It was not 
expected at that time that girls whose fathers could support them 
would work for pay. Girls who needed money or strong minded 
girls bent on a career took positions or went into a profession. 
Some of the others sat at home hoping soon to be married. In-
between were many young women whose talent and ability needed 
an outlet. For some, volunteer philanthropy was the answer. For 
those talented in music and art European study beckoned. There 
were many men in Detroit at that time with money to send their 
daughters to Paris, London or Rome, and many did. The result 
was a flowering of genuine artistic ability. 

In 1903 Lillian Burk Meeser, wife of Dr. Spencer Meeser, 
minister of the Woodward Avenue Baptist Church, called to- 
gether fifteen friends to suggest an art society that would stimu- 
late and at the same time promote recognition of their work. 
This was the genesis of the Detroit Society of Women Painters, 
the oldest organized art group in Michigan. During the fifty 
years since then most of the Detroit women seriously engaged in 
painting have belonged to this group. In 1930 its name was 
changed to include sculptors also. The early members gave a 
great deal of time to painting. Many of them had their own 
studios: Mariam and Eleanor Candler, Lillie and Delia Garret- 
son, Katherine and Alexandrine McEwen, Isabelle Lothrop (Mrs. 
Charles Lothrop) and others. These they opened for small classes 
and private exhibitions. Seldom were all the members on hand for an

exhibit, for many of them went abroad frequently.

Their individual stories are fascinating, from the fragments gleaned from husbands' and fathers' biographies, the images left in the American Archives of Art, the Cranbrook photo archives, various other places, and the few images of their artworks that roam the internet... I'm sure once I have finished Letta's story I will have a few more to tell.

Loving Elleisle Blogspot- The One Year Anniversary

2010-11-28T14:00:00.000-08:00

No, this isn't going to be about a new detroit lesbian vacation destination. In spite of how it sounds. It's about how grateful I am that someone googled my blog with what they could remember of it, albeit somewhat garbled but somehow right on. And how grateful I am that through writing about Belle Isle and Detroit this past year, I have gotten to know so many amazing people and places.

I know that for many of the people who read this blog, I am preaching to the choir about the city.

I know that for some of you, I am just another Pollyanna with a point-and-shoot, cherrypicking the same old bright spots, and ignoring the very real and overwhelming problems we have, representing the carpetbagger tourista invader faction. Welcome Hot Fudge Detroiters. Churl away.

Some of you have just plain given up and disowned your city. You're not from Detroit. You're from Livonington. Or Broyingchester. Or St. Harper Heights. For you, I borrow Lyle Lovett's words, "But what would you be if you didn't even try? You have to try." Unless you don't care if you, or your kids, or your grandkids can get jobs. Or have to move away to get them. "Make it a cheeseburger, please" indeed.

But enough about lead, follow, or get the hell out of the way. Today I celebrate the "loving elleisle blogspot" one year anniversary by thanking you for visiting, being open to learning more, seeing for yourselves, and finding a way, your own big or small way, to be part of "speramus meliora; resurget cineribus".

From October's Access Arts exhibit, Michael Jacobs at work reinterpreting Detroit's skyline.

"We hope for better things; it shall rise from the ashes". Happy belated Thanksgiving from Detroit. And from me, smart, and fluffy.

The smart one and the fluffy one leading the way through the woods on Belle Isle....

On The Trail Of Miss Letta Crapo Smith, 789 E. Jefferson

2010-11-21T22:32:00.000-08:00

I don't remember where I first ran across this picture of her..it was probably while researching the Scarab Club. The inscription on the back of the photo reads, "Letta Crapo-Smith daughter of Mr. and Mrs. H.H.H. Crapo-Smith. The first person from Detroit to have a picture in the Paris Salon. Helen E. Keep".

Photo from the American Archives of Art, Smithsonian Institution

I was fascinated. Who was she? Why had I never heard of her before? What kind of life did this Victorian cameo out of "Little Women" lead?

Several others had stumbled across this photo and shared what meager information they could find, but they didn't have the advantage of being in Detroit. The clues on the web were sparse. She was granddaughter of a Michigan governor, Henry Howland Crapo. I found few photos of her works. Tantalizingly, I found an article about an exhibition going on in Holland that includes her.

References to shows with the Detroit Society of Women Painters gave me my best leads. After some false starts and dead ends, I went to the mecca of those searching for Detroit's past, the Burton Historical Collection at the Detroit Public Library.

To tell her story, I must first introduce you to the cast of characters that was her family. Her grandfather, Henry Howland Crapo, had come from Bristol, Massachusetts to make his fortune in lumber and railroads. He had a huge farm near Swartz Creek that even had its own railroad and train station. He became mayor of Flint, then a State Senator when she was born, and would be governor of Michigan from 1865 to 1868. He died in 1869 seven months after retiring from office.

He had ten children...Mary Ann Crapo, William Wallace Crapo (stayed in New Bedford, became the head of Wamsutta Mills, and one of his sons, Stanford Tappan Crapo, was a prominent Detroit businessman who looked after the family's Michigan railroad and forestry interests), Rebecca Folger Crapo (whose son William Durant b. 1861, a cousin and contemporary to our heroine, would go on to found General Motors), Sarah Bush Crapo, Lucy Anna Crapo (our heroine's mother), Rhoda Macomber Crapo, Henrietta Pell Crapo (who died at 26 in 1866, less than a year after marrying), Lydia Sherman Crapo, Emma Eliza Crapo, and Wilhelmina Helena Crapo.

Lucy Anna Crapo married someone she must have known from her childhood in New Bedford (for he was named after her father), Humphrey Henry Howland Crapo Smith, in 1858. They had two children. Henrietta Crapo Smith (the star of our story) was born on July 4th, 1862. Crapo Cornell Smith, her younger brother, who became a lawyer and an eccentric, was born on May 22, 1868 and left $1,000,000 to the University of Michigan for scholarships when he died in 1948.

Photo of the Detroit Museum of Art, E. Jefferson Avenue, from the Burton Historical Collection.

I can only guess at her childhood, for Letta, as she was always known, makes her first appearance in public documents in the photo above. She was around eighteen years old in the photo. Her father managed lumberyards near the waterfront for her grandfather. In Detroit, her extended family of Crapos lived in mansions in the best neighborhoods... in Flint, it was the same. There were large family gatherings at the fourteen hundred acre Crapo Farm. Descendants of Letta's cousins tell stories of summers on the farm, the swimming hole, maple-sugaring, hay wagons, and the largest herd of Hereford cattle in North America. There must have been visits back east to family and friends... perhaps there were visits to her brother and cousins who went to Harvard, like her Uncle William.

I imagine her being interested in drawing and painting at an early age, and perhaps taking lessons from the best art teacher in town, Julius Melchers, whose son Gari, only two years older than Letta, would go on to play an important role in her development as an artist. Her mother Lucy Anna was an early supporter of the Detroit Museum of Art. The name Mrs. H.H.H. Crapo Smith appears regularly in reports on fundraising and operations for the new museum, including an 1894 annual report.

Her twenties and thirties are somewhat shrouded in mystery. When she was twenty-one, her mother was chair of the committee for acquiring foreign artworks to be loaned to the Detroit Art Loan Exhibition of 1883. It seems clear that she traveled to England, France, Italy, and Holland, studying art and painting during this period, although a record of dates is elusive. Sometime in the 1890's, she studied in Paris at the Academie Julian. She had a picture in the World's Fair of 1893, and in an Art Institute of Chicago show in 1898. Her pictures were shown in the Paris Salon in 1901 and 1902, according to Clarence Burton, and possibly earlier, according to the World's Fair book author and Helen Keep (Helen, as an amateur historian and a meticulous record-keeper, would not have been mistaken about this). In Detroit, Letta studied with Julius Rolshoven and Gari Melchers, in New York, with William Merritt Chase, in Paris, with William Adolphe Bouguereau, in Holland with George Hitchcock. Rolshoven did a pastel portrait of her, catalogued in the family papers at U of M Flint, and mentioned in the card catalog of the Burton Collection.

Below, photo of Letta Crapo Smith's studio, from the Burton Historical Collection

I believe the large painting was exhibited in Paris, and also at the 1893 Chicago World's Fair.

She lived with her parents and bachelor brother at 789 E. Jefferson. Her studio, shown above, was on the top floor. The home no longer stands, but others of the same era give us a glimpse of how it looked. It would have been located between today's University Club and Garden Court Condominiums (neither there in her time), near Chene. Jefferson Avenue was a tree-lined residential street, a mix of new mansions and some of the oldest homes of the city's earliest residents. Letta's friend Helen Elizabeth Keep, a painter and amateur historian, lived nearby at 799 E. Jefferson with her parents in 1885. She would have passed Senator James McMillan's home (where the University Club now stands) on her way downtown.

Photo below of James McMillan residence from the Burton Historical Collection

Here are some details from nearby homes of her day that still stand....

After 1900, her steps become easier to trace. The most clearly documented period of Letta's life is about to begin, revealed by her involvement with the Detroit Society of Women Painters.

She was a founding member in 1903, along with Mary Chase Perry and a bevy of other familiar Detroit names, four years before the Hopkin Club began (which would become the Scarab Club).

From the very first entry in the book of the secretary's minutes:

Photo of the secretary's book of minutes, the Detroit Society of Women Painters, from the Burton Historical Collection, Detroit Public Library

NEXT WEEK: Letta leads the Detroit Society of Women Painters, visits an art colony in Holland, goes to Japan, and a list of her known works.

Other resources for this post:
My thanks to the librarians at the Burton Historical Collection of the Detroit Public Library for their assistance, and to Maria Ketcham at the Detroit Institute of Art's research library. I also learned much from the following publications:
Dutch Utopia: American Artists in Holland, 1880-1914
  Telfair Museum of Art, 2009, by Annette Stott and Holly Koons McCullough
Artists of Michigan From the Nineteenth Century
  Muskegon Museum of Art, 1987
  Chapter on Letta Crapo Smith, by Annette Stott
History of the Detroit Society of Women Painters
  1953, by Julia Gatlin Moore

On The (Cold) Trail Of A Woman Artist At The Scarab Club

2010-11-13T20:59:00.000-08:00

If you are familiar with the Scarab Club, you will know why the trail was so cold. The Scarab Club did not admit women as members until 1962, and my mystery woman was gone long before then. Clueless suburbanite/intrepid explorer that I am, I have never been to the Scarab Club before today. The list of things I have never seen in my home city grows infinitesimally shorter.

From their website, "The Scarab Club was founded in 1907 by a group of artists and art lovers who enjoyed meeting regularly to discuss art and socialize." I had read that before, but I did not get as far as the fine print in the timeline about 1962 being when women could play, nor did I notice the absence of women in the vintage photos. The woman I am looking for was an early president of the Detroit Society of Women Painters and Sculptors. Somewhere in my head, I hear a voice. "That would be why she had her own club", it prods. Duh. Onward.

In 1928, the members built their own building, full of arts & crafts era...well...art and craftsmanship. I climb the stairs to enter the storied second floor room where artists like Diego Rivera have an eighty-three year tradition of autographing its wooden beams. The old wood glows with late autumn sun through the leaded glass windows. The furniture, some of it original, has been arranged based on old photos.

Above the fireplace is Paul Honore's 1928 mural, The Scarab Family Tree.

details...

Next to the fireplace....I was so enthralled with the form of this that I paid no attention to what it is, I'm afraid...although she seems to have been scantily clad for 1928. Right, men only back in the day. Maybe she's a more modern addition.

One of a pair of simple tile-topped tables...the skyline of an earlier Detroit.

Almost all the interior doors have small leaded glass insets that signify the room's intent. I will regretfully refrain from another men's club comment here. You will have to think up your own bad joke.

Back on the first floor, past the main gallery, beyond a sweep of leaded glass french doors, a courtyard garden awaits...

Women artists are, of course, currently welcome at the Scarab Club. They were well-represented in the two photography exhibitions on view till November 21st. Entranced by the building and its ghosts, I had to shake myself back to the present to take in the new works.

The Scarab Club has a great website here. It hosts a wide range of events - drawing classes, music recitals, lectures, writing workshops, photography exhibitions, and so forth. The galleries are open to the public Wednesday through Sunday from 12-5. On a quiet Saturday afternoon, I had that amazing second floor room to myself. It was easy to imagine that I had slipped through a window in time. It's also easy to imagine it full of life and light and crowds for upcoming events like Noel Night, Midtown's annual holiday celebration.

You know that new Detroit Shoppe* at Somerset? Come here instead. Sure, we suburban Detroiters mostly go to the Venetian instead of Venice.... the Bellagio instead of Lake Como.... it's cheaper, closer, and we speak the language. But if you had the choice, wouldn't you rather have the real thing? Eight Mile is not an international border.

*If you're at Somerset anyway, and you're not coming downtown, by all means support the Detroit Shoppe. The proceeds go to some very deserving non-profits and arts organizations.

All The Cool Neighborhoods Have Them

2010-11-03T19:08:00.000-07:00

If you've been living under a rock for the past year, or you studiously avoid any mention of Detroit in your reading, you might not know that community gardens have been "sprouting" (forgive me, I can't resist it) almost as fast as hipsters around town. Companion planting in action?

According to the Garden Resource Program Collaborative, there are now more than 875 community gardens in the city.

They look a little different in each neighborhood, but they function as literal and figurative village greens for their surrounding blocks. People get to know each other over a shovel, gather for picnics and barbecues, and rebuild ties that used to be the norm in neighborhoods. In Woodbridge, with its abundance of artists and creative minds, the garden has an element of open-air gallery and sculpture garden.

...aftermath of Halloween festivities in the garden

There actually ARE a few good grocery stores in Detroit, in spite of what some lame-o media lemmings write. However, it is true that many Detroiters lack cars and therefore lack easy access to fresh, inexpensive food.

...late bloomers with grand old homes of Woodbridge in the background....

Wherever you live, imagine that you can only buy your food at the closest 7-11, or from the gas station mini-mart....and you have to walk, ride your bike, or take the bus there....with your two small children in tow. That's the option and pricing that many Detroiters live with.

If you want to read more about people trying to fix this, check out these sites:
The Garden Resource Program - an umbrella organization for many of the area's urban agriculture resources and gardens
Earthworks Urban Farm - founded by the Capuchin Soup Kitchen, this is one of the earliest (1997) and most established programs in Detroit's urban ag world
Georgia Street Community Collective Garden - with a tag line of "one house, one block, one neighborhood at a time", GSCC is a testament to one man's ability to change and grow his corner of Detroit. Mark Covington rocks.
Detroit Black Community Food Security Network -coordinating urban ag efforts in Detroit's black community, helping develop city food policy, and co-operative buying

A Little Nature Zoo With Big Ideas

2010-10-30T19:38:00.000-07:00

Conservation, natural history, ecology. On one hand, it seems like a ferocious uphill battle to interest children of the internet in these concepts. On the other hand, what child wouldn't be fascinated by close-up views of giant spiders, snakes, turtles, frogs, birds, bees, and other exotic (to city kids) creatures? Especially for Halloween.

I visited the Belle Isle Nature Zoo at the end of a day it had hosted hundreds of kids for its annual "Boo at the Nature Zoo" event. The parking lot was still full. Smiling and laughing costumed children were followed by happy parents. You could tell it was a successful day by the general air of bonhomie.

Door greeter and a selection of the many creatures inside...

the indoor bird watching area.....bird watching can be a serious sport on Belle Isle. If you doubt me, read here.

Bees making honey...

The Nature Zoo started with a few strikes against it when it opened in 2005. Many Detroiters remember feeding free-roaming deer on the island as kids, and weren't especially excited about seeing the remains of the herd in their enclosed home. Also, the Nature Zoo was built as a pet project of Kwame Kilpatrick to funnel money to his friends, after he closed down the much larger and more elaborate Children's Zoo on the island.

On the way to where the deer live...

An outdoor classroom....

The main attraction....kids can feed them at 11, 1, and 3 o'clock.

However, nowadays the Nature Zoo is run by the Detroit Zoo. Its checkered history isn't their fault, and they seem to be doing a great job of running an interesting, fun, FREE attraction 362 days a year.

The focus is on plants and animals native to Michigan, with a dose of environmentalism.

Kid-friendly model of how a watershed works...

The lobby has an inviting stone fireplace...(complete with kid playing on his portable video game... oh, snap. Maybe he is working on a class project.) This little nature zoo would be a cheery, cozy retreat when it is cold and snowy outside. Remember this in January..open 362 days a year 10-5.

The outdoor exhibits and nature trail were the highlights for me, especially in the golden glow of a late autumn afternoon. There are demonstration gardens in several flavors - rain, butterfly, native plantings, etc.

The Friends of Belle Isle offer regular Saturday morning outings most of the year to fight off the unwanted invaders, including this coming November 13th...

With or without kids in tow, this little nature zoo has many enchanting nooks and crannies to explore. I look forward to visiting again after the snow falls.

From A Different Lighthouse

2010-09-14T21:43:00.000-07:00

I spend September in denial about the end of summer, refusing offers of socks and sleeves. Every possible moment of the shortening light is spent outside, to the exclusion of indoor things like... blog writing. My apologies for being away, but I sincerely hope you did not notice or miss me, in the midst of your own end-of-summer celebrations. Plenty of time for being cooped up with the laptop, reading and writing, in the grey months to come.

In case you stayed in the city or aren't from around these parts, here's what Up North was like....

Looking At The End Of Summer From The Lighthouse Steps

2010-08-31T16:47:00.000-07:00

Usually the gate to the lighthouse is locked, and we peer through the fence longingly. On this late summer eve, the karmic scales tipped in our favor. Perhaps someone important had visited, perhaps the lawn was to be mowed. Carpe diem. We rushed in, and clanged the gate shut behind us.

Up close, we could see the details that were blurred from the other side of the gate...the pattern and patina of the door....

the cherub watching over the ships of the Great Lakes....

...we could see August, as it always does, stretching endlessly in a shimmering haze, and then suddenly, unexpectedly, gone.

In brief, the Livingstone Lighthouse was built as a memorial to William Livingstone, president of the Lake Carriers Association for many years, leading Detroit banker (Dime Savings Bank), investor in the Detroit Publishing Company (along with his sons, who ran the company), owner of the house known as "Slumpy", and horseman.....more on the lighthouse, and Livingstone's story and achievements later this week, in the next installment of "Named For Detroiters".

It is believed to be the only marble lighthouse in the US, and the only lighthouse designed by Albert Kahn.

Sounds Of Belle Isle, Part Two-Come Hear Belle Isle

2010-08-24T20:17:00.000-07:00

Part One of this post was about the story of music past on Belle Isle. Part Two, today's post, is an unabashed plug for music's future on Belle Isle. "Come Hear Belle Isle" takes place this Saturday from 1-7pm, with nine bands performing. There will also be community organizations set up, "to recruit volunteers, share ideas, and get people involved in Detroit". It is free, with suggested donations to benefit The Friends of Belle Isle. The event is geared towards twenty and thirty-somethings, but music lovers and Belle Isle lovers of all ages are welcome. The music line-up...

I'm excited about this event because there are some great bands playing and it's in a great setting - it'll be sweet! Also, I think it's a great example of the more-and-more-frequent signs that Detroit is on its way back. Amanda Brewington, the champion of the event, hopes to attract some first-time visitors to the island. I was curious about how the event came about, so I asked Amanda some questions and she was gracious enough to take time from event preparations to respond.

A little bit about Amanda...

I grew-up in Romulus (where the airport is) in Metro Detroit. My childhood was full of visits to Belle Isle, Greektown, the DIA, the Fox and tons of other great Detroit attractions. Of course freezing at the Thanksgiving Day Parade and sweating at the Fireworks were a must. When I was a teenager I used to get lost going to St. Andrews Hall. I really got to see the city at night and I liked it. I never felt scared, it never seemed dangerous. I thought I want to grow-up and hangout here. I want to make people aware of this great place.

I have always been into music. From making mix tapes at age 6 to today. I attended MSU and worked as a DJ and later a Director at Impact 89FM the MSU student radio station. I currently work at Harvest Creative in Lansing as a Music Supervisor/Project Manager (harvestmusicsupervision.com). I license music for commercials, TV and film. So when you hear a familiar pop song in an ad we might have licensed it.

The moment she got the idea for Come Hear Belle Isle...

In February of this year I went out to Belle Isle with my family and we went over to the conservatory. We took some great pictures of the island and I shared them with friends. ALL of the friends I shared them with, even those from Metro Detroit had NEVER been to Belle Isle. That was when I decided to have an event that would get people out to Belle Isle and excited about this gem.

The ups and downs of planning the event....

The biggest and most pleasant surprise is all the support we have behind the event. Tons of organizations and just random people who have stumbled upon the event want to get involved. The biggest challenge has been securing funds for the event. Many corporations in Detroit get asked for money all the time, and this wasn't a surprise by any means. We had to become creative, thinking of simple small ways to fund raise and pooling our resources. It's the first year, that too worked against us, but if we live through year one, who knows what we could do in the future?

Why it's important to her to bring more people to the island, younger people in particular...

Detroit is not magically going to be restored to what it was in the height of the automotive industry. The only way Detroit and Michigan as a whole are going to grow and flourish is if people locate to the city, get involved in the community and take a stand for this great city with all its history and character. There is so much to be preserved and so much opportunity for ideas to become real in this city.

Blanket and beach chair? Check. Picnic basket? Check. BYOB? Check. Sunscreen? Check. I'm ready, are you?
Come hear Belle Isle.

Poster for Come Hear Belle Isle designed by Peter Richards, Stargrazer LLC. Find more of his work at http://www.stargrazerllc.com/.

Images courtesy of Amanda Brewington, Come Hear Belle Isle.

Sounds Of Belle Isle Past And Future, Part One

2010-08-22T20:59:00.000-07:00

Music has been an integral part of Belle Isle since its very beginning. Orchestras performed even on the boats going to and from the island. At first, the concerts took place in picturesque, simple structures...

Shortly after the turn of the century, the pagoda-like structure shown below was built over a canal...

This bandshell, in its romantic setting over the canal, was the setting for regular performances by symphony and concert bands. In the 1920's, at the beginning of the golden age of radio, WWJ broadcast Herman Schmeman's Military Band live from Belle Isle. Schmeman was a successful insurance salesman who had started out as a newsboy. He had played initially in the newsboys' band, which was folded into the Light Guard's band. His Military Band became, according to Clarence Burton, "the unofficial municipal band of Detroit". It performed as many as thirteen times a week at parks around the city. Go here (look at top and bottom of page) for a notice of 4th of July performances on Belle Isle. Another vantage point....

When the Remick Bandshell was built in 1950, it became the summer home of the Detroit Concert Band, led by Leonard Smith. The Detroit Concert Band was known for its stirring renditions of John Phillips Sousa marches in particular, owing to Leonard Smith's mastery of Sousa's music.

The Bandshell was adventurously contemporary in design, with its cantilevered roof and simple lines.

On April 30, 1967, the bandshell was the scene of the Love-In Detroit, featuring the MC5, Billy C. and the Sunshine, and the Seventh Seal. See Gary Grimshaw's posters for the event here. The Outlaws, a motorcycle gang, showed up, and mayhem ensued.

The view from the stage...

More traditional symphony and band concerts continued at Belle Isle until 1980. Since then, there have been sporadic attempts at reviving the music programming that was so popular for so long. In the summer, jazz bands play near the beach on Sunday evenings. Popular family movies have been shown at the bandshell on Wednesday nights for past two summers, but that's about it. Like many things on Belle Isle, the bandshell is a little lonely and unkempt.

This coming Saturday afternoon the Remick Bandshell is going to regain a little of its faded glory, and rejoin Detroit's vibrant music scene. "Come Hear Belle Isle" is taking place from 1-7 pm, with The Sights, Champions of Breakfast, and The High Strung among other local bands playing.

Tomorrow in Sounds of Belle Isle, Part Two, you'll hear from Amanda Brewington, the creative engine behind this event:

In February of this year I went out to Belle Isle with my family and we went over to the conservatory. We took some great pictures of the island and I shared them with friends. ALL of the friends I shared them with, even those from Metro Detroit had NEVER been to Belle Isle. That was when I decided to have an event that would get people out to Belle Isle and excited about this gem.

I asked her some questions via e-mail about the event and how it came about, and I'm excited to share her thoughts with you...

There is so much to be preserved and so much opportunity for ideas to become real in this city.

Stay tuned for the rest of the Q & A.

Built For Bicycles

2010-08-14T21:16:00.000-07:00

There's so much buzz these days about the resurgence of bicycling in Detroit, whether it's the success of Critical Mass, the proliferation of bicycling bloggers, modern-day bike clubs, or tours of the city by bike. It made me curious about the first age of bicycles in Detroit, especially when I learned that the Athletic Pavilion on Belle Isle was actually built as the Bicycle Pavilion. Then....

and now....

It was built in 1898 by prominent Detroit architect Edward A. Schilling, who was also involved in the Casino; many Catholic churches including St. Charles Borromeo, St. Theresa of Avila, St. Thomas the Apostle, and Holy Family; public schools like the Catherine Ferguson Academy, originally the Chaney School, and police precinct stations. Schilling, along with Emil Lorch, was one of the founding members of the Detroit Architectural Club, which later became the Thumb Tack Club. If you peruse this architecture publication of the era, you may see echoes in the rooflines of this building.

Could someone smarter than me please tell me what the cilia-like projections on the inside of the corbels are in the photo below? Anti-nest devices?

There is an account of the Cleveland Architectural Club visiting Detroit in August,1897, including a wheelmen's tour, here. They were very impressed with the wondrous new buildings and talent in Detroit, particularly with Albert Kahn.

The Bicycle Pavilion was built with the patronage of the League of American Wheelmen's Michigan Division. The excellent m-bike.org has more on the background of the building itself. The Pavilion was built as a clubhouse for members to store their bikes and socialize, in addition to providing bicycle rentals.

Maybe circular bespoked balconies were common on buildings of the era, but this says "wheel" to me. Looks just like Woodward's map of Detroit, too.

This early photo of folks at the foot of the bridge to Belle Isle shows more bicycles than cars, including a few female cyclists....

On Central Avenue, the aptly-named middle road of the island, automobiles were not permitted. Central Avenue ends at the forest, where these folks are enjoying an outing....I have to say, this part of the island looks much the same today.

There are so many great web resources for Detroit bicyclists. Here are a few favorites to start with....these will lead you to the many others.

m-bike.org...promoting safe, convenient biking in Metro Detroit

Wheelhouse Detroit....rentals, service, retail, and tours by bike, in Rivard Plaza on the River

The Hub Of Detroit...non-profit, full-service bicycle shop

Bike Detroit...great descriptions of the nuts and bolts of riding around the D

Bikes, Books, and a Little Music...always something new to learn about the city here (I had been meaning to write about bikes and Belle Isle for a while, finally getting to it after running into this intrepid bike blogger on the island last weekend)

Tour de Hood... classic tales of biking the mean streets of Detroit

As for being part of a modern bike club, who wouldn't want to be part of the Suicide Squad? Tongue-in-cheek description from their facebook page.....

Holey mackerel! we have bunches of new fans... So maybe we should describe ourselves a bit better... We Ride Bikes! We like skinny tires and gears but a bike is a bike. We go fast most of the time, and we go through traffic. We drink, and party. Some of us smoke, most of us also smoke. We have plans for several organized rides coming up, notably an Ann Arbor ride, and a Underbelly Detroit Tour... Anything I missed?

The Athletic Shelter, born as the Bicycle Pavilion, is adjacent to the tennis courts and athletic fields. It serves primarily as restrooms today.

Modern day bicyclists may not be aware of the island's history of cycling, but they still come out in droves to enjoy their touring, whether on elegant racing bikes, fixies, beaters, or pulling the baby trailer behind them. I'd stick with riding early in the day if you want to avoid traffic, especially in the summer. In the spring and fall, you could have the road to yourself pretty regularly. In the winter, if you are willing to ride then, you could have your very own island.

Bring your bike to Belle Isle. It's built for it.

All historical photos are by the Detroit Publishing Company, from the Library of Congress, in the public domain.

Tripping Over Camera Crews

2010-08-08T09:53:00.000-07:00

If you had said to me five years ago that one day I would not be able to walk along the Riverfront without running into multiple film sets, I would have said you were nuts. Welcome to the new Detroit. I read something (I can't remember where) that referred to us as the Hollywood of the Midwest. Sightings of movie stars abound. And while walking the dogs yesterday, I passed three (!!) different places that were set up to film, two for "Detroit 187", and one for "LOL:Laughing Out Loud".

"LOL" was filming on the side of the Albert Kahn-designed Garden Court Apartments/Condo building.....read a great write-up about the filming and the Garden Court building here.

The building in background of the photo is the Pasadena Apartment Building.

Garden Of Earthly Detroits

2010-08-06T00:16:00.000-07:00

Eat your heart out, Andy....

So I made it to the Riverwalk's butterfly garden, in Gabriel Richard Park, at the foot of Belle Isle Bridge. I haven't forgotten the infuriating bronze thieves, but the dogs have. This garden is full of inspiration for the try-this-at-home types. Not sure what perennials to grow for late summer color? Or how to group them for impact? Bring a favorite garden book and a sketch pad. Or phone.

The Butterfly Effect....

This is a hugely underutilized park (I think due to lack of clearly designated parking- I park in the Brodhead armory lot), so you will likely have it to yourself. If you are not used to the city, heads up. You may be approached by the housing-impaired for money. You might feel more comfortable visiting with friends and/or dogs. Just like in any city, wandering alone has risks.

Bee green..

Now, how do I make pretty flower pictures interesting to those who hate flower pictures? Well, the caption for each photo links to Detroit sites and projects of interest. You can play guess the connection before you click. Some are obvious, some not so much.

Urban prairie...and urban garden...

Hardy and uniquely beautiful, thrives in varied conditions with just a little love....

A place to read about Detroit's past.....

Cliche alert...stop and enjoy the flowers along the way....

Put in your two cents worth about the future...

Attract the creative class...Contemplate, meditate...Agitate, recreate...Ruminate, illuminate.

Gabriel Richard Park, where the butterfly garden is located, has plenty of benches, a meditation labyrinth, a mini-version of the concession building in Rivard Plaza (open for special events only), and a space-age freestanding restroom that must be experienced. Oh, and a great view of Belle Isle.

Survey Says....Vote For Belle Isle

2010-08-03T21:03:00.000-07:00

The lily pond, between the Aquarium and the Conservatory....

The City of Detroit Parks & Recreation, along with the Friends of Belle Isle, the Belle Isle Botanical Society, the Belle Isle Women's Committee, and the Friends of the Belle Isle Aquarium is taking a survey. It is your chance to give feedback on what improvements you'd like to see on the island. You can speak up for re-opening the Aquarium, better clean-up, more trash cans, a dog park, your ideas on how to fund the island's care, or whatever else floats your boat.

Please speak up for Belle Isle.... more voices draw a more complete picture and create greater impact.

Take the survey here.

(If you have any trouble with the link, please post a comment or mail me at belleislehome dot gmail dot com)

Edwin Denby Memorial At The Brodhead Armory Gone

2010-07-31T11:32:00.000-07:00

I was in my usual rose-colored glasses la-la land of Detroit love, on my way to visit the butterfly garden at Gabriel Richard Park, when I was confronted with the concrete wound above. It is on the Brodhead Armory, one of Detroit's most significant Art Deco buildings.

It used to look like this:

In my rose-colored glasses world, it will turn out that this has been removed for safe-keeping by the building's caretakers. I have e-mailed a few folks who might know more and will update this post if I learn more. However, from the state of the surrounding area, this seems unlikely.

I wrote about this memorial to Denby, done by Samuel Cashwan, in a previous post, Edwin Denby and His Loyal City, if you want to see more pictures and learn of what is lost.

No butterfly garden today.

St. Albertus Wants To Party With You

2010-07-30T20:58:00.000-07:00

No, I haven't skipped town and gone to Europe...I'm scoping out St. Albertus, in Detroit's original Polish neighborhood, before the festival tomorrow. St. Albertus Fest is both a celebration and a fundraiser for this little-engine-that-could church, a music festival that feels like a neighborhood picnic. It is also a rare opportunity to see this church's wildly exuberant interior, and learn of its wildly - well, just wild history. If there had been reality tv in the 1880's, St. Albertus and its cast of characters would have been a long-running hit, with storylines about a controversial priest accused of misconduct (who was exiled and then returned), a riot, and a murder. The festival is from 1pm to 11:30pm on Saturday, July 31st. It was a great time the last two years, and they've added some new bells and whistles this year to make it even better.

For a preview of the interior and history of the neighborhood and the church, the detroitblog tells it far better than I could. I visited the church and its sister parishes Sweetest Heart of Mary and St. Josaphat in winter in this older post, Polish Catholic on Canfield.

You can see preparations underway in the background. You can also see what a fine job a small group of dedicated volunteers does in maintaining the church and its grounds. Are you a lapsed Polish Catholic? Here's your chance to earn brownie points with the big guy. Hook up with this group. Mass is said once or twice a month, sometimes in Polish and English, sometimes in Latin. See the St. Albertus website for details.

Above, the rectory with its neatly trimmed hedges and stellar chimneys...

Across St. Aubin from the rectory is a previously vacant, trashed housing project that is being refurbished. Completion date is tentatively December, according to an on-site honcho.

Also of note in the neighborhood, kitty-corner from the church, is the Art Vandalism house.... a festival in its own right.... graffiti artists have turned it into a remarkable open air gallery.

The neighborhood around St. Albertus could be the poster child for discussions about "right-sizing" the city....there's lots of this....

but then there's these folks below, along with the St. Albertus volunteers, the housing project rehabbers, and many others, who are trying to build a stable village in the middle of an unstable part of the city.

Of Things That Are And Should Be Pink

2010-07-28T01:23:00.000-07:00

I know, I know...I said I'd be back a few days ago. Here I am. Back. With....pink. A seemingly random collection of pink that will have a point by the end of this post. Which will be mercifully soon. For all of us.

I have occupied some of my time away touring the Access Arts exhibit that opened on Belle Isle this weekend. One of my favorite pieces is shown above. The artist is Andrew Thompson. I liked how it resembled a giant sea creature washed up on shore.

Made (stuffed with?) partially from empty plastic water bottles and ornamented with plastic bottle caps of all sizes and colors, this work made a cool statement about the havoc being wreaked on our waterways by the never-ending stream of never-degrading plastic trash. For me, it referenced the trash islands now building up in our oceans, as well as the more local trash problem on Belle Isle itself.

(you might want to skip this long rant about the lack of trash cans on Belle Isle added to people's laziness added to a completely discouraging discussion at Hipster Hole with visitors from afar about how simple things become bizarre, convoluted, excuse-filled and embarrassing conversations in the Detroit twilight zone:
Visitor: What's up with the lack of trash cans? There are hardly any, and they are piled to overflowing. No wonder people don't use them. They can't. And stuff just blows out of them anyway.
Me: Um, well, the city council needed more money for their aides, and Roger Penske doesn't have cleaning authority here, and I think the trash guys don't want to empty more cans, and um..
Visitor: (looking puzzled, changes subject) And what's up with the new bridge crossing? Seems like a no-brainer that it would be a good thing.
Me: Um, well, there's this guy, Matty Moroun, who owns the existing bridge... and he thinks it would be unfair competition since he thinks he's entitled to a bridge monopoly-
Other visitor: (interrupting) How can one guy own an international crossing? That doesn't make any sense.
Bystander who is kayaking: I have to leave now because my head will explode if I let my beautiful day be ruined by he-who-must-not-be-named.
Me: (nothing coherent to say in response, wishing I could leave with the nice kayak lady)
End of rant.)

The Access Arts folks are throwing a bit of a gathering this Friday night (posts on their facebook page give more details), since opening day Saturday got rained out. You may not connect with every installation, but you will surely find something that amazes, enchants, and ignites you. Details here. And another of the installations (but not pink), from Nancy Q. Burns:

Next on the pink tour, the lovely wildflowers below are from the urban prairie located behind the Elevator Building. The Elevator Building is a well-done rehab/reuse of an old warehouse that has been turned into small business incubator/office space. I went to a presentation there sponsored by Hamilton Anderson Associates on how volunteerism and non-profits are contributing to pockets of rebirth in the city. The next presentation that HAA is sponsoring, on Aug. 17, at the Recycle Here! warehouse, is called Deconstruction Detroit, A Regeneration Strategy ..... It is sure to be interesting.

As for the field behind the building, bounded on one side by the Dequindre Cut and on another by the state park on the river, it is soon to become a wastewater overflow thingie. 'Cuz that is the best we can do with riverfront redevelopment in Detroit. (see previous rant)

More pink...these are filler to lower my blood pressure for a moment...from the Belle Isle Conservatory and a backwoods path on the island...

And for my next-to-last stop on the pink tour, because of the unwritten "dogs must appear in most posts" rule....

Notice how the pink in each of these pictures really stands out? What a vibrant effect it creates?...and so now we come to the point. I apologize for the roundabout path, but it is the path that took me away from the blog and now has returned me to it.

The final stop on the pink tour is at another blog, link below. If you are an art lover, or a pink lover, or a Detroit lover, or someone who, like me, is totally overwhelmed by thinking of all the gigantic, terrible problems our city faces...the crime (dead children and police officers, an acquaintance pistol-whipped and skull broken coming home from work on a DDOT bus recently), the abandonment, the budget issues, the corruption issues, the poverty and joblessness issues, the school system issues, etc.; you may find a little comfort, and a little re-inspiration by helping tackle this smaller project to bring pink back to Cass Park.

click here: One More Spoke: How To Save A Pink Landscape

On Staycation

2010-07-18T16:10:00.000-07:00

I apparently have heat-induced writer's block this week, along with a busier-than-usual work schedule, so I will be returning with regularly scheduled blogramming next weekend. Meanwhile, enjoy the summer view from two of my favorite spots.

I Will Put A Stone On Your Cairn

2010-07-11T22:02:00.000-07:00

Several years ago, there was an artist who stacked stones on Belle Isle who found himself in the middle of a disagreement with the city over unofficial art in public places. This June, it appeared that someone was building cairns again.
Stone stacks, or cairns, have an ancient history. Native cultures from the Arctic to Arizona built them as representations of protective energy. They can be found all over the world, from Europe to Asia to Africa, most commonly built as burial markers, or navigation devices. A few examples of cultural traditions...

From the Arctic:
"Inukshuk (singular), meaning "likeness of a person" in Inuktitut (the Inuit language) is a stone figure made by the Inuit. The plural is inuksuit. The Inuit make inuksuit in different forms and for different purposes: to show directions to travellers, to warn of impending danger, to mark a place of respect, or to act as helpers in the hunting of caribou. Similar stone figures were made all over the world in ancient times, but the Arctic is one of the few places where they still stand. An inukshuk can be small or large, a single rock, several rocks balanced on each other, round boulders or flat. Inuit tradition forbids the destruction of inuksuit."
From Scotland:
"This particular word has a far wider definition in that it can be used in reference to a multitude of different hills or stone piles formed by man or naturally. You can normally find a cairn or a pile of stones near waterways, mountaintops, moorlands and in uplands. This is a tradition that has existed within Scotland for many centuries. Carrying a stone from the bottom of the valley to be placed on top of an existing cairn has become part of Scottish folklore and custom. Over time, cairns have grown into large mounds and are an intriguing and curious sight. An ancient Scottish blessing, "Cuiridh mi clach air do charn" means "I will put a stone on your cairn"."

Last summer, as part of Access Arts' first show on Belle Isle, Sean Hages built beautiful lake cairns. I wish I had my own photos of them, for they were breathtaking. The photos of these new stone stacks are from mid-June. I had been thinking about writing of them since then, but sometimes finding amazing things on Belle Isle feels like a secret to hold close, like your childhood hideaway that no one else knows about.

Alas, tonight the cairns are gone, except for this lonely spirit watcher....

The cairns resonated with me as metaphors for balance and impermanence in life, and as flights of imagination and daring. I offer the pictures to their maker, as thanks, along with the traditional Scottish blessing, Cuiridh mi clach air do charn.

Some interesting national and international rock stacker artists and websites:
Andy Goldsworthy
Jim Needham
Bill Dan
Rock Balancing

Thinking Of Swimming

2010-07-08T00:00:00.000-07:00

When it gets to be over ninety degrees, dog walks involve nightfall, routes with built-in cooling stations, or both.

Even Detroit's most famous intellectual is considering a dip in the fountain to cool off. He's moved three times before...why not into the water?

The fountain in front of the Detroit Institute of Arts has a perfect ledge for foot-dangling and it splashes just enough to cool the dogs off.

I love walking around the Cultural Center in the evening or on weekend mornings. It's that crazy Detroit-is-half-empty-have-the-town-to-yourself thing. When I'm walking at night, I notice completely different details.

Wandering around just past sunset, it seems I have my own private sculpture garden. Below, in the Hudson's Art Park next to the Scarab Club, Lois Teicher's Curved Form with Rectangle and Space.

I always wanted my own dragon, too. Actually, this is an Alexander Calder beauty, Jeune Fille et Sa Suite (Young Woman and Her Suitors). I think I caught her awakening for the night to roam the empty streets.

There's the outdoor art of the DIA, the Detroit Public Library, the College for Creative Studies, the Children's Museum, the Science Center, and the Charles Wright Museum of African American History, to mention just a few highlights in the vicinity. Everybody's got something going on in this neighborhood. The Midtown Loop Public Arts Master Plan has great maps of existing public art and a preview of future improvements to the area. It is a page-turner if you are even mildly interested in the development of the Cultural Center and greenways in Detroit.

The Nymph, the dogs, and I survey Woodward Avenue from the DIA. She and her friend Eros, not shown, are by an unknown artist.

A door to the Rackham Building at night:

If you have a thing for public art and you want to do your own tour of the area (virtual or actual), the guidebook you want is Art in Detroit Public Places, by Dennis Nawrocki. You can usually pick it up at any of the Pure Detroit locations.

Queen Of The Island Meadow

2010-07-03T15:30:00.000-07:00

As we were walking along the path, I noticed a flash of white that stood head above the rest of the field.....

slow dancing in the golden breeze...

whispering of stained glass leaves and midsummer...

Downtown? Hungry? Thirsty? Dogs With You?

2010-06-30T22:49:00.000-07:00

One of my favorite things about summer is dining outside, and the bonus to outdoor seating is that the dogs can be part of the action. In the past week I've had a couple of great experiences enjoying dog-friendly restaurants with great patios.

Last Sunday I had brunch at the Fountain Bistro in Campus Martius. If you're looking for an alternative to any number of well-known spots that require lengthy waits for tables on weekend mornings, you might like it here. It opened a few weeks ago, and seems to be very busy for weekday lunches, but on Sunday I had the outdoor patio mostly to myself. Highlights from the breakfast menu include goodies from Avalon Breads, breakfast burritos, and ....waffles! Did I say they have waffles? Mmmmm. There are plenty of vegetarian options, and fancy coffee drinks, too. The view from my table....

I had an ice tea, a bacon & egg breakfast burrito (the second half shown below), and a cappuccino, all for $10. And in my expert opinion, all yummy. The menu is not full of giant breakfasts involving a half dozen eggs, a rasher of bacon, and a sack of potatoes, but if you're looking for a light breakfast (or lunch) on your way home from walking or biking the Riverwalk, Dequindre Cut, or Belle Isle, you couldn't find a better spot. On Sundays, street parking within sight of your table is free and easy to find.

The people-watching is always fun at this park....

If you want to hang out for the afternoon with a book or your laptop (there is free wifi), you could get carryout and sit in a quieter corner of the park....

With its lush landscaping and sound of water, the park hardly seems like it's in the center of the city's main artery.

I'll save my next dog-friendly dining spot for another day, but here's a sneak peek....

... and in case you wondered, that park thing from Monday turned out ok for now....and Hubbard Farms tied Mexicantown 1-1...

Riverside, Rouge, Palmer-Pick Your Park

2010-06-28T09:17:00.000-07:00

Tonight is the night to show your support for Detroit's many public parks that are in danger of being closed due to budget constraints. Maybe the threat of closure is just political grandstanding, maybe it's not. Either way, visiting Riverside, Rouge, or Palmer Park tonight at 5:00 would be an easy way to tell our city's government that our parks are a vital part of safe, livable neighborhoods. So bring your dog, your frisbee, your picnic basket, your barbecue, your lawn chairs, your girl (or guy), your tennis racket, your swimsuit, your bicycle, or whatever else floats your boat, and hang out for while.

I'll be at Riverside Park, watching the Detroit Futbol League's Huubbard Farms and Mexicantown teams do battle. The game and event are at the park extension at the foot of 23rd and Jefferson, not the main park on the River....if you haven't been before, turn off Fort at 23rd. Who needs their soccer fix now that the US is out of the World Cup? MORE INFO HERE.

FOR INFORMATION ON EVENTS AT ROUGE AND PALMER PARK, GO HERE.

If you haven't seen Riverside Park, I wrote about it here.

Fort Wayne, which is a historic treasure on a national scale, is also threatened with closure. Take a look at Fort Wayne here.

Growing Fresh, Organic Art At The Conservatory

2010-06-24T20:20:00.000-07:00

The Belle Isle Conservatory was an amazing backdrop tonight for the Inside/Out art show. It was interesting to see how different artists utilized the setting in their pieces. Above, "Glass Head #3", by KT Andresky.

Many of the works on display showed a strong integration with the surroundings. I thought these wonderful flower wigs were so appropriate to the fernery...like Victorian ladies dressed up for their afternoon stroll.

This soaring starburst-like piece and the butterfly below looked like conservatory flora and fauna in an alternate universe.

A modern take on the cactus... (and Gumby?)

Contemporary mini-films enhanced by the shadows of the mini-jungle, and reminiscent of summer backyard parties, with movies shown on a sheet strung up between trees....

Another favorite...

...with its poignant title...

The lily pond outside was surrounded by art as well....

More intriguing works...

...magic lanterns for an enchanting show...by Ashley Hennen, "spaces I've chosen/spaces that chose me". Also magic at the conservatory tonight...bands playing in one of the rooms. It was like P. J.'s Lager House, with plants.

Selected works from the show will be on display (and for sale) at the Conservatory thru July 2nd. I highly recommend it. Below, a table top in the show....

There's so much more I didn't show, including the works of art that are the plants themselves... I hope at least some of these pieces stay on display so you can see them in person. For more information about the show and the artists:

Inside/Out: Belle Isle Conservatory Art Show

You may have noticed that I don't have the artist's name for many of the works pictured. At the time I visited, no brochure or listing was available for a cheat sheet, and some of my photos of the name/title pages were too out-of-focus for me to read (I know, amateur photographer fail. Pathetic.). I would love to be able to give credit to these talented artists. If I have not included your name, please e-mail me or comment and I will update accordingly. I plan to go back this weekend get further artist info then.

Check out another upcoming event on Belle Isle that's going to be a don't-miss, Come Hear Belle Isle. It sounds like a combined discover Belle Isle/music festival thing... a great idea!

The lily pond at the golden hour.....

Seen At River Days

2010-06-21T11:32:00.000-07:00

It was a beautiful weekend to be on the river. Two tall ships from Bay City offered tours and quick sailing jaunts. Below, the Appledore IV.

You could also tour the US Coast Guard Cutter Bristol Bay. It makes its home at the Coast Guard Station at the foot of Mt. Elliott.

The Detroit Princess tour boat taking sightseers on the river....

I love the horse logo...(sorry for fuzzy picture)

A mini-tugboat....

Taking a break on a hot, sunny afternoon....

Bubble festival....

You could buy a pink parasol for shade from the sun....

A most elegant safari bicyle....

A day for romance?

What Would Jane Think of Foxtown?

2010-06-17T23:34:00.000-07:00

Comerica Park reflected in the doors of the Fox, below.

Jane Jacobs and her influential urban planning ideas have been on my mind since I read about Jane's Walk in late April. Ever since then, I can't surf the net without running across her in some way. Tomorrow night, MOCAD is showing a movie about her. With Jane on my mind, I walked around the Ilitch part of town... the Fox Theatre, Comerica Park, and the Park Avenue Historic District.

I was excited about the lively bar scene along Park Avenue. There weren't exactly hordes of drinkers descending on the area, but for 7 o'clock on a Thursday night, the Town Pump, Centaur Bar, Bucharest Grill, the Park Bar, and Cliff Bell's were respectably busy.

People were hanging out at the corner bar watching TV, and walking their dogs. A woman driving by stopped to ask directions. There were people walking around who looked like they lived in the neighborhood, coming and going from the Kales and other residential buildings on Grand Circus Park. Park Avenue is lined with beautiful buildings...the whole area feels like it is on the verge of...a normal city neighborhood.

Above, detail from the Blenheim.

The Detroit Life Building, renovated by the Ilitch family and used for office space.

Pewabic tile surrounding the door of the Women's City Club.

The back of the facade of the Fine Arts Building, with 1920's skyscrapers framed by its windows. The building, designed by Louis Kamper, was damaged beyond repair by years of abandonment. The Ilitches, to their credit, preserved the facade.

Then there is the big, flashy, Woodward Avenue part of the neighborhood. The Fox Theatre, beautifully restored, immaculately maintained. And zero street life without an event going on. Absolutely nothing to do.

Comerica Park, baseball park by Disney, great-looking, mega-zilch happening without a game going on.

Unless you count the steady stream of tourists who were taking pictures of themselves with the tiger out front. In the 10 minutes we spent in front of the park, we saw 2 different groups of bicyclists, 3 different groups of people in cars, and the folks below taking lovey-dovey couple pictures.

All of whom looked like they had plenty of money to spend on Tigers paraphernalia, if there were even one tiny little stand open selling merchandise, hot dogs, and peanuts. Pick up tickets for the game tomorrow? Sorry, the carpet rolled up at 6pm. Sit in the plaza on Woodward between the Fox and the baseball stadium and watch highlights from last weekend's concerts and games on a big screen? Oh wait, it's not a plaza. There's nowhere to sit. It's a parking lot..VIP parking? All the way around Comerica Park and Ford Field, I walked the dogs down the middle of the street, no problem. Way to further empty out an already-too-empty town.

The only people for blocks..and oops, they're statues.

Maybe I'm being unfair and expecting too much. After all, the Fox is a great place to see a concert, and Comerica Park is a great place to see a baseball game. As stand-alone monoliths, they are very successful in fulfilling their purpose, but as Jane Jacobs-style contributors to everyday street life, they fall short. I hope that when the Ilitch family builds the new hockey stadium, they will consider the tremendous positive impact on the fabric of the city it could have, versus settling for having it be a movie set that comes to life when the suburbanites drive in. (Don't even get me started about Fortress: The Joe.)

Jane Jacobs' ideas about what makes a vibrant cityscape are simple and powerful. You don't have to be an architect, or an urban planner, or a developer, or anything other than yourself to take her ideas to heart and find some small way to put them into action mending the fabric of Detroit's often frayed and threadbare street life. Here are a few of the basic concepts, if you're interested:

1) Mixed use
"The district, and indeed as many of its internal parts as possible, must serve more than one primary function; preferably more than two...
"The district must mingle buildings that vary in age and condition, including a good proportion of old ones so that they vary in the economic yield they must produce. This mingling must be fairly close-grained."
2)Human, walkable scale
"Most blocks must be short; that is, streets and opportunities to turn corners must be frequent."
3)Dense population
"There must be a sufficiently dense concentration of people, for whatever purposes they may be there..."
4)Safe sidewalks
"First, there must be a clear demarcation between what is public space and what is private space. Public and private spaces cannot ooze into each other as they do typically in suburban settings or in projects.

Second, there must be eyes upon the street, eyes belonging to those we might call the natural proprietors of the street. The buildings on a street equipped to handle strangers and to insure the safety of both residents and strangers, must be oriented to the street. They cannot turn their backs or blank sides on it and leave it blind.

And third, the sidewalk must have users on it fairly continuously, both to add to the number of effective eyes on the street and to induce the people in buildings along the street to watch the sidewalks in sufficient numbers. Nobody enjoys sitting on a stoop or looking out a window at an empty street. Almost nobody does such a thing. Large numbers of people entertain themselves, off and on, by watching street activity."

Quotes are from The Death and Life of Great American Cities.

Around Cadillac Square

2010-06-12T00:49:00.000-07:00

After eating at the new Fountain Bistro in Campus Martius, the dogs and I wandered around Cadillac Square. The dogs entertained themselves trying to trip me by lunging for chipmunks just as I was about to snap photos. I know there are security cameras there... I'm sure the people who watch them were laughing their a**es off watching me upside down in the shrubbery. And face first on the pavement. I hope they couldn't read my lips 'cause I'm pretty sure I swore at the dogs.

Where were we? Oh, yes..Cadillac Square. As you can see, it's looking pretty good this summer. The landscaping is filling out enough to add a sense of enclosure to the space. It's looking like a natural extension of Campus Martius instead of the poor step-sister. The Bagley Memorial Fountain finally has a new home that does it justice.

It dawned on me as I was taking these pictures that I used to sit on this fountain watching the Thanksgiving Parade when it was still on Woodward.

Here it is in its original home when it served as a clean, safe water source for Detroiters...for many years it had ice in its base so that two of the lion's head spigots produced ice cold water even in warm weather. (Photo from the Library of Congress)

This year, I noticed for the first time the section of the park below. It seems to be geared to local residents with pets...there are several poop scoop bag dispensers and signs about cleaning up after your pet. This little section in particular, with its pea gravel paths, reminds me of an old photo of Cadillac Square, also courtesy of the Library of Congress.

If you have a fast internet connection and computer, check out this link to the old photo at the Library of Congress Website....it's great fun to click on the bigger versions of the photo and see the details close up.

A few of the buildings in the old photo are still there.. most notably the Wayne County Building, with its restored statues, and the Reid Building. In the old photo, the Reid Building is the triangular shaped building just off the right top corner of Cadillac Square. Here it is today. The Lawyers Building, left above, is quite beautiful, and for sale if you have a million dollars or so.

Another fun fact about Cadillac Square....a petanque club has matches here on weekdays from 12-1.

In case you're not from around here, or don't remember your Detroit history, Cadillac Square is not a product of a car marketing deal. It was named for Sieur Antoine de la Mothe Cadillac, the founder of Detroit. Two years after he arrived, he brought his wife to the city from Montreal. From the Absolute Michigan website,

In early September 1701, thirty-one-year-old Marie Therese Cadillac left Montreal, Canada, in a canoe. She was traveling to join her husband, Antoine de la Mothe Cadillac, at his new wilderness settlement called Fort Pontchartrain du De Troit (later shortened to Detroit). Cadillac wanted his wife to come to the fort to prove that families could live there. Many people told Madame Cadillac that she should not go, but she declared, "Do not waste your pity on me, dear friends. I know the hardships of the journey, the isolation of the life to which I am going; yet I am eager to go, for a woman who totally loves her husband has no stronger attachment than his company; wherever he may be.

People moving here or living here these days often get a similar reaction. For them, I would change a few of Madame Cadillac's words,

"For a man or woman who totally loves this city has no stronger attachment than its company; wherever he or she may be."

What We Wish Street Signs Said

2010-06-09T20:25:00.000-07:00

So the artist (artists?) known as TrustoCorp have some new signs up around town. They were last here over the winter. I can't help but wonder....were they actually here or do they have local partners? Can we submit sign ideas to them?

If you map the signs in Detroit, does it make a statement like the ones in the New York project?

Last winter, when TrustoCorp signs first appeared in Detroit, there was a humorously overwrought thread on DetroitYES about whether the signs are vandalism or art. I've read about the new batch of signs in several places...most notably at Real Detroit Weekly, Boots In The Oven, and Inside The Rock Poster Frame, but my favorite article/post was on Jordan Seiler's Public Ad Campaign blog, on June 3rd.
He writes,

"The most recent version in Detroit is uplifting and melts so seamlessly into the city infrastructure you almost wouldn't know it is there, or that it wasn't done through official channels. Blurring the line between authorized and unauthorized projects seems one way of erasing that line completely in the future."

I'm guessing most of the TrustoCorp signs are gone by now...either taken down by city workers or in private hipster collections around town. Any ideas for future signs you'd like me to send them?

The 10,001st Blog Post About The Heidelberg Project

2010-06-05T14:13:00.000-07:00

If you're looking some fascinating (Detroit wonk) reading, try what I did this afternoon. Google "Heidelberg Project", then, in the upper left menu, click "more", then "blogs". Pick any three, or five, or eleventy-seven blogs to read and you will discover, as I did, the remarkable range of interest and reactions to this twenty-four year old street art explosion.

Locals, tourists, regulars, first-timers...for many visitors from outside the Detroit area, this place is what makes the strongest, most unique, most lasting impression of our city. It's interesting to think about why.

I have driven through and stopped briefly a few times over the years, but this was the first time I have tried to view the project with an outsider's eyes and taken pictures. You may deduce correctly that I have a weakness for Barbie colors.

Like many visitors, I received a warm welcome from Tyree Guyton, the creator of the project, himself. (Even the dogs were welcomed...we had been at Belle Isle and it was too warm to leave them in the car. Thank you, Mr. Guyton.)

The Heidelberg Project's next phase involves realizing its Cultural Village concept...developing further into a neighborhood anchor through partnerships with schools (from elementary to post-graduate), an artist-in-residence program, a cafe, and community garden. A $75,000 grant from the Erb Foundation was just announced to help with the Cultural Village development.

No blizzard of words and images can convey what it's like to be there in person, no matter how hard we bloggers try.

So if you're in the neighborhood, go see it.

Take some more pictures.

Read about it. And write about it.

Be the 10,002nd to be inspired.

Belle Isle Beach..A Weekday Escape

2010-06-03T18:34:00.000-07:00

I am a picky beach-goer. My favorite beaches are sugar sand and crystal clear water, with no muck making me feel like the swamp monster is going to pull me under at any moment. That means Lake Michigan and Gulf Coast Florida, usually. I can barely bring myself to swim at Stoney Creek or Kensington...crowded, muddy-looking water, feels like ooze on the bottom. I know this makes me a giant wuss. It is what it is.

Belle Isle Beach on a hot summer day is literally a breath of fresh air. It feels 5-10 degrees cooler here than inland. Yes, it gets crowded on weekend days. On weekdays, the beach is busier once school is out. Even so, the sand is decent, the water is nice and clear, and I don't feel compelled by underwater ick to wear those water shoe things. Model D just had an event where a bunch of people who should know talked about the cleanliness of the water of the Detroit River, for those of you are worried about pollution. Apparently because of the current in the river, contamination problems that regularly close Metropolitan Beach are rare here.

Sunset picnic and swim, anyone? You can end an afternoon of fun watching the sun fade gently away.

In the days before air conditioning, when the city was crowded and only the wealthy could leave town for summer vacations, Belle Isle was a combination of camp and cottage for everyone. People even slept on the island in the open night air to cool off. (Images from the Library of Congress)

Some logistics... dogs are not allowed directly on the swimming beach, although they are allowed on the grassy area that edges the beach. Sometimes I see people with dogs hanging out towards the north end of the beach, and no one seems to mind. There are plenty of trees for shady seating...come early on a weekend if you want a primo spot.

Amenities for kids:

- There is a roped-off safe swim area with lifeguards from the second week in June through Labor Day. It is nice and shallow.

- The water slide opens the second week of June as well. A $3 ticket is good for all day.

- On June 12 there will be a kids triathalon with the swimming portion taking place on the beach here!

Please be aware that swimming is prohibited in other areas of the island. It is often not safe due to currents that run very close to shore, slippery rocks, and unexpected drop-offs. If you want to swim, stick to the beach, or get your personal flotation device on.

Between The Mall And The BBQ At Elmwood

2010-05-30T14:45:00.000-07:00

Memorial Day began as Decoration Day, after the Civil War, to honor those who died in service to their country. After WWI, it became a day to honor those who died in service in any war. Elmwood Cemetery has a Civil War Memorial plot, with 84 soldiers killed in the war and another 121 who are Civil War veterans buried in the plot. The flag flies over them night and day, in a rare tradition of remembrance.

How many U.S. soldiers have died while serving their country? Well, it depends a little on how you count them....if you are counting strictly deaths in battle, it's approximately 654,000, plus 4400 in Iraq and over 1000 in Afghanistan. Harvey Tinker was young, 22 years and 9 months...that's pretty typical of US war dead in general, although the soldiers who have died in Iraq and Afghanistan average closer to 27 years old.

Henry Conrad was already in his fifties when he served, although he did not die in battle.

Thus ends the Memorial Day portion of today's travels.

Elmwood Cemetery is a treasure for those who are interested in Detroit's history, full of the names of the streets and buildings of the city. Its meandering shady lanes and gently rolling, lightly wooded hills make it a great place to explore on foot or by bike. Many of Detroit's most gifted artists and craftsmen worked on memorials here, making sculptures and monuments worthy of museums and architecture tours. For example....

James B. Witherell died while returning to the north from fighting in the Indian Wars:

"When the first news of secession came to the south he was under General Twiggs in Texas and the information came to him in April, 1861, while he was hunting. He promptly returned to camp and attended a meeting of officers, in which all who remained true to the flag, including himself, determined to return to the north. The boat by which they intended to return to the north lay in the harbor of Corpus Christi. He went ashore ln the evening, and being short-sighted it was supposed that he stumbled on the gang plank and fell into the water when he returned." (from The Early Bench and Bar of Detroit, by Robert B. Ross)

In a way, he could be considered an early casualty of the Civil War.

Near him, under an overgrown shrub, fallen face-up, I stumbled upon something for my esteemed blog-friend at The Night Train: Detroit....

I'm hopeful that this is the answer to at least one of the quiz questions.

Enjoy the long weekend.

A Gardener's Adventure on Belle Isle Saturday

2010-05-28T07:55:00.000-07:00

The Belle Isle Botanical Society's 18th annual plant sale is Saturday from 9-3. For a list of plants available, go here. Gardens tucked away near the greenhouses give a taste of what you might find at the sale. The weather should be perfect for a picnic or a stroll.

Traces

2010-05-22T11:03:00.000-07:00

....wandering around Belle Isle's Tudor and tile-roofed maintenance building...built in 1894, designed by George Mason, used as a stable for the workhorses of the island.....the original Belle Isle Zoo was adjacent to this building, and the zoo keeper and his family lived in the 2nd floor of this maintenance complex.....

....hard to tell from this photo, but the bird is faux, part of the decorative metal work....

...this sculptural wonder is to the left of the door above (the right eye bolt is missing)...maybe to hook the doors open?

...and what did this do?

Other notable Detroit buildings by George Mason include the Gem Theatre and the Masonic Temple. Mason recognized the talent of a young Albert Kahn, an apprentice at Mason's firm, and mentored him extensively. Albert Kahn was Mason & Rice's chief designer at the time this maintenance building went up.

Roaming Dogs On The Riverwalk

2010-05-16T00:54:00.000-07:00

If you've ever read the DetroitYES forums, you know that any thread with more than 10 replies is a microcosm of Detroit itself. If you're not from here, it makes for entertaining reading, ranging from the worst of reality tv to the best of PBS in tone, history, and intelligence. It's a quick way to get a feel for the strengths of our city, from the thoughtful and the generous, the neighborhood activists, urban explorers, die-hard city boosters and documentarians, and the regular folks who have stayed; and to hear us be our own worst enemies, from the racists who can't see either way across Eight Mile, the blowhards from the 'burbs who haven't actually set foot in the city in years, and those who long for a city that exists only in their memories and will never be again.

This week there is a thread started by someone who will be visiting from Toronto, asking about walking from the Omni Hotel to downtown along the Riverwalk. The responses ranged from helpful and accurate to hmmm, well, not so much. Someone even brought up carrying mace to protect against the roaming dogs. The little girl above is typical of Riverwalk dogs... there are some spots in Detroit where mace might be needed for aggressive strays, but the Riverwalk isn't one of them.

I've covered most of the Riverwalk in previous posts, and meant to get to this part, so here it is:

The Omni Hotel is in the old Parke-Davis pharmaceutical complex. Other parts of the complex are now office buildings, restaurants, condos, and apartments. The hotel is right on the Riverwalk, with a terrace overlooking the Belle Isle Bridge. From here the Riverwalk continues northeast through the Harbortown marina and ending at Mt. Elliott Park. From there you have to head back out to Jefferson for a short stretch till you get to the bridge.

Shown below...the Talon Centre, with the Omni Hotel in the distance. The Riverwalk stretches on the right.

These tour boats that cruise the Detroit River are docked just off the River Place building, near the entrance to the Rattlesnake Club. This section of the Riverwalk is typically pretty quiet, with only the occasional jogger, biker, or walker passing by. Sometimes the office workers sun themselves or stroll.

At the entrance to the Talon Centre and the Rattlesnake Club is where the Riverwalk cuts inland to Atwater for a few blocks. A little history:

There are several very welcoming restaurants and bars along Campau, including a microbrewery.... if you want to take a break before setting off for downtown.

This section of Atwater was the heart of Detroit's maritime history and a bustling manufacturing district from the mid 1800's to after the turn-of-the-century. The railroads ran right up to the water, and the shipbuilders were along this street. These buildings have ghosts, stories, and names of early Detroit tycoons connected to them.

You'll pass Chene Park, an outdoor amphitheater, along this stretch. When there are concerts here, boats anchor out in the river to watch and listen to the music.

...below, the harbor at Milliken State Park ...

....the new Atwater entrance to the Dequindre Cut, an old railbed converted to paved trail. You can take this to Eastern Market (when there isn't work on the overpasses happening.. you can't get all the way thru right now)...

The building above was the Detroit Dry Dock Company. It built some of the biggest ships on the Great Lakes. Henry Ford and Thomas Edison both served as apprentices in this complex of buildings. The inlet below is what remains of one of the dry docks. You could spend hours reading more about this building and Detroit's maritime history at these sites (I have):

Maritime History of the Great Lakes: Around The Lakes - this is an online version of a book that is a history of the Detroit Dry Dock Company and the ships it built. You can see illustrations of the whole shipyard complex, photos of ships being built in the dry docks, and all kinds of other fascinating things.

Detroit 1701 - a brief history of the building from Ren Farley, one of the website/blogging pioneers documenting significant buildings of Detroit

Fabulous Ruins of Detroit - an earlier tour of this area, from another Hall of Fame leader in documenting Detroit's buildings, Lowell Boileau, with wording from the historical marker/model of the dry dock shown below

Wikipedia article on Detroit Dry Dock complex - details of all the buildings, diagrams, historical photos

There is construction on Atwater, so cars can't get thru here, but it is fine for walking. The Detroit Dry Dock Building is in the distance on the left.

From here, if I turn around and face in the other direction, I am at the point where the Riverwalk cuts back to the river's edge, in Milliken State Park, with Rivard Plaza in the distance.

More of the Riverwalk here, here, here, and here.

Ask The Meadow Grounds

2010-05-12T20:45:00.000-07:00

Like so many others here in Detroit, I am drawn to our empty buildings. Why? I don't really know. I found my way to the following passage at Punk Archaeology via dolmens lost and found.

Ruins have the ability to conjure a certain type of melancholy that is like nothing else in human experience, I think. Did you know mourning over ruins is a major theme in Arabic poetry? One of my favorites:

At the way stations
stay. Grieve over the ruins.
Ask the meadow grounds,
now desolate, this question.

Where are those we loved,
where have their dark-white camels gone?

-Ibn Arabi

....from Stephennie Mulder, Professor of Islamic Art and Architecture at the University of Texas

This weekend, the Motor City Makeover continues, with cleaning and spruce-up events scheduled all over the city. A few of the possibilities:
-a Midtown event sponsored by Wayne State
-Historic Fort Wayne neighborhood
-St. Albertus
-Urban Farming Community Garden Planting
...or you could have your own mini-makeover. Grab a couple of trash bags and some gloves and head for your favorite neglected meadow in Detroit for an hour.

Ask the meadow grounds if they'd like a little company.

Ocho De Mayo At The Bagley Bridge

2010-05-08T19:59:00.000-07:00

The dogs and I are a little late to the party. We missed the parade last weekend (guerrilla gardening) and the Cinco de Mayo opening of the Bagley Avenue Pedestrian Bridge in Mexicantown (working), but we're here today... visiting the new bridge that reconnects a neighborhood divided by I-75 for forty years. And we brought the rain.

The entrance plaza to the bridge sits across from the Mexicantown Welcome Center and the Mercado. It is a really great-looking space, with places to sit and admire the impressive suspension bridge, the Ambassador Bridge, and the city skyline. The designers of the space have mixed in a little wood and greenery to soften the concrete and steel, so that it feels like an outdoor room. It also has plenty of bike parking for the two-wheelers.

Crossing the bridge itself is quicker than I expected. When I thought of crossing the freeway, in my mind it was a much further journey. It's actually only a couple of minutes, not counting dog-meandering stops. The sculpture shown above, by Hubert Massey, is one of two pieces he created for the pedestrian bridge and plaza. This one above is The Spiral Kinship, representing the bond between the U.S. and Canada, and the concept of unity itself, according to an MDOT press release on the bridge opening.

The bridge and plaza were designed with great attention to detail. Functional elements of the bridge, such as lighting, benches, and even the safety fencing carry out the look, feel and concept of the soaring suspension tower in an organic way.

...looking back towards the Welcome Center (on the right), and the shops and restaurants of this side of Mexicantown, with the city skyline beyond....

...the view of the bridge from the other side...

Yes, it's the famous hulking beauty herself, the train station.

Back on the other side again, near the Welcome Center, we take a closer look at Massey's other art work here, a mosaic titled Spiral of Life, depicting the history, culture, and landmarks of Mexicantown.

The Mexicantown Mercado (below) and the Welcome Center across the street are mostly empty. The ongoing Ambassador Bridge construction mess has taken its toll on these new projects, but they are well-situated for future growth.

There seems to be a strong tradition of public art and murals in Mexicantown. Among the many vibrant murals that I see.... a Mayan-influenced depiction of the neighborhood...

and a lovely scene that reminds me it is Mother's Day on Sunday.

Some ornamental iron flowers whose beauty will never fade, and are tougher than they look... just like my mom....