Detroit Institute of Arts (Photo: Facebook)
For decades we got tired of reading and watching TV reports on the same old narrative about Detroit's decline. Now we're more likely to see repetitious national media reports about Detroit's comeback.
Even with echoes, Detroiters still enjoy a feel-good story about the city. So here we go...
The latest is from New York area freelancer Matthew Kronsberg, who has a Wall Street Journal piece headlined: "A Fascinating Long Weekend in Detroit: The Essential Guide."
Kronsberg starts by writing:
In its midcentury boom years, when Motown ruled the airwaves and the big three ruled the roads, Detroit defined America. But, in the subsequent decades, no city fell farther, or harder. Now a much-publicized revival is unfolding there.
Downtown is a hive of construction, its sidewalks buzzing with tech-bros and tourists on app-enabled electric scooters (at least until they randomly discard them). Neighborhoods like Midtown (née Cass Corridor) and the West Village are rebounding with ambitious new bars and restaurants, many served by urban farms which have sprouted where houses once stood. Though the hollowing out that made those farms possible is still an issue (the city’s population today is just below 700,000, sharply off its 1950s peak of 1.8 million people), rampant development has become an equally pressing concern for many Detroiters.
Even the city’s industrial ruins, like the old Packard Plant, which have aged into beloved icons for many, are targeted for restoration. The time to appreciate them is now.
During the long weekend, from Friday until his departure on Monday, he checks into the intimate El Moore Lodge in Midtown and hits eating and drinking spots that include the Monarch Club, Selden Standard, Sister Pie and Lady of the House.
He also hits some of the classics: The Motown Museum, the DIA, Belle Isle and Baker's Keyboard Lounge.
