DETROITERS still know how to throw a party. On June 19th more than 4,000 of the Motor City’s residents, government officials, artists, employees of Ford and members of the Ford family gathered at Michigan Central Station, a huge, dilapidated 18-floor Beaux-Arts hulk covered with graffiti, to celebrate its planned rebirth with speeches, music and poetry. Once the world’s tallest railway station, the vacant building became emblematic of the city’s descent into bankruptcy and despair. ‘“The train station is dead’ meant ‘Detroit is dead’,” said Mike Duggan, the mayor of Detroit, who was among the revellers. From the moment the last train left the station in 1988, its demolition was often discussed. Then Ford struck a deal to buy what Detroiters now hope will become a symbol of the city’s rebirth.
Detroit’s comeback is still tentative. Nearly all the recovery has happened in downtown and midtown, an area covering just seven of the city’s 139...Continue reading
Source: United States https://ift.tt/2tfawJ5
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