07-15-2015, 06:47 PM
Detroit was great!
In spite of the situation there I felt a very individual vibe in this city, loyalty is there and the Detroit thing has it's own very strong personality.. Digging the people, the neighborhoods, had good food..Slows (BBQ), Rose's diner (breakfast), Antietam (drinks and food). There are people trying to carve out niches all over and it excited me greatly to see this spirit..these are OUTPOSTS and they are working it..so cool.
Cadieux Cafe - prohibition era room...taken over by a family in the 60's and made into what it is..new ownership in the last ten years has kept the vibe going while keeping it moving forward, double wide bar room, this was my favorite. Located what was the old Belgium neighborhood..yeah, Belgium/Flemish..Mussels in a broth plus beers..great room, nice folks..could have sat there right into the night..FUN.
The cramming of all the sports facilities downtown bugged the shit out of me..
Lots of GPS cruising in the car to check out the neighborhoods and lack of neighborhoods Set a spot to head for and then go wildly off route to explore and wait for the GPS to correct..good way to keep a course but dive into areas with a margin of safety..because there is clear and present danger in this city and it's basically everywhere..
There is no place like this, period. It easy to see that in it's day, these hoods were where the middle class thrived and it IS a reflection of the what is happening to the middle class in the country, extreme example but really not that far off.
..YES, 'Ruins Porn' in this city and it's extreme, devastating and sad..but incredibly interesting and powerful testament to the changes in the US /World economy and a city that was invested in one large thing and when it fell it, well, the only real apropos metaphor is the dropping of a couple of bombs on this town....wow.
Amzing now how the vegetation is reclaiming land and houses..it's very thick in some areas.
This city is one extreme place right now..the plants are really taking over in the bombed out areas and..hate to use the word but it's fucking surreal in the depths of the neighborhoods.
The Frida Kahlo / Diego Rivera exhibit at the Detroit Institute was great in ten different ways..I was most drawn to the intense process of the production and conceptual evolution involved in the Detroit Industry mural..Rivera generated so many..SO many incredible drawings and production sheets before actually creating the fresco in the atrium area..This dude was one hell of a draftsman..amazing.
The juxtaposition with the work that Frida produced during this period was also interesting as her work and subjects during Diego's yearlong (1932) commission started to bleed into the mural itself..which was solely a Rivera piece.
..Tons more to say but we got there at 8:30 and the museum allowed everyone to stay as late as they wanted..so we trolled the show back and forth making a lot of discoveries, chatting with the people next to us at various paintings, wandering other galleries until very late at night..very festive feeling all through the museum..incredible children's Mariachi group playing..the Mariachi Juvenil Detroit. the kid singer who was about 15, 16 years? Had the most incredible voice and just filled the rooms all round the museum with it..plaintive and strong.
SO much fun and the DIA has an extremely impressive collection..to think the city was considering hocking all this work to pay it's bills..insane..that whole concept has been tripping me out for days..nice save.
Downtown Detroit shows activity but it is VERY clear that the hub of the city is not the bustling city it should be.
There are some very unique and gorgeous neighborhoods..middle class stuff with very special houses..takes on bigger styles that I haven't seen anywhere else..very cool..
We didn't do any real sites..we cruised for creative foodies and drinks and let that determine our path...pretty much got to all sides of the city, far and flung.
Thanks all you dudes who chimed in and made suggestions, it helped a lot. We're gonna go back, maybe next year and see what's new..
In spite of the situation there I felt a very individual vibe in this city, loyalty is there and the Detroit thing has it's own very strong personality.. Digging the people, the neighborhoods, had good food..Slows (BBQ), Rose's diner (breakfast), Antietam (drinks and food). There are people trying to carve out niches all over and it excited me greatly to see this spirit..these are OUTPOSTS and they are working it..so cool.
Cadieux Cafe - prohibition era room...taken over by a family in the 60's and made into what it is..new ownership in the last ten years has kept the vibe going while keeping it moving forward, double wide bar room, this was my favorite. Located what was the old Belgium neighborhood..yeah, Belgium/Flemish..Mussels in a broth plus beers..great room, nice folks..could have sat there right into the night..FUN.
The cramming of all the sports facilities downtown bugged the shit out of me..
Lots of GPS cruising in the car to check out the neighborhoods and lack of neighborhoods Set a spot to head for and then go wildly off route to explore and wait for the GPS to correct..good way to keep a course but dive into areas with a margin of safety..because there is clear and present danger in this city and it's basically everywhere..
There is no place like this, period. It easy to see that in it's day, these hoods were where the middle class thrived and it IS a reflection of the what is happening to the middle class in the country, extreme example but really not that far off.
..YES, 'Ruins Porn' in this city and it's extreme, devastating and sad..but incredibly interesting and powerful testament to the changes in the US /World economy and a city that was invested in one large thing and when it fell it, well, the only real apropos metaphor is the dropping of a couple of bombs on this town....wow.
Amzing now how the vegetation is reclaiming land and houses..it's very thick in some areas.
This city is one extreme place right now..the plants are really taking over in the bombed out areas and..hate to use the word but it's fucking surreal in the depths of the neighborhoods.
The Frida Kahlo / Diego Rivera exhibit at the Detroit Institute was great in ten different ways..I was most drawn to the intense process of the production and conceptual evolution involved in the Detroit Industry mural..Rivera generated so many..SO many incredible drawings and production sheets before actually creating the fresco in the atrium area..This dude was one hell of a draftsman..amazing.
The juxtaposition with the work that Frida produced during this period was also interesting as her work and subjects during Diego's yearlong (1932) commission started to bleed into the mural itself..which was solely a Rivera piece.
..Tons more to say but we got there at 8:30 and the museum allowed everyone to stay as late as they wanted..so we trolled the show back and forth making a lot of discoveries, chatting with the people next to us at various paintings, wandering other galleries until very late at night..very festive feeling all through the museum..incredible children's Mariachi group playing..the Mariachi Juvenil Detroit. the kid singer who was about 15, 16 years? Had the most incredible voice and just filled the rooms all round the museum with it..plaintive and strong.
SO much fun and the DIA has an extremely impressive collection..to think the city was considering hocking all this work to pay it's bills..insane..that whole concept has been tripping me out for days..nice save.
Downtown Detroit shows activity but it is VERY clear that the hub of the city is not the bustling city it should be.
There are some very unique and gorgeous neighborhoods..middle class stuff with very special houses..takes on bigger styles that I haven't seen anywhere else..very cool..
We didn't do any real sites..we cruised for creative foodies and drinks and let that determine our path...pretty much got to all sides of the city, far and flung.
Thanks all you dudes who chimed in and made suggestions, it helped a lot. We're gonna go back, maybe next year and see what's new..
