Detroit - Rebirth of a Fallen City

I have been to Detroit, Michigan many times over the past 12 years.. My relationship with the city can be described as 'hate-love' one. Join me in exploring Detroit - Rebirth of a Fallen City.

It Shocks Me

My first visit was in 2008. I had joined an international company and had to go the HQ for a "kick-off" of a new fiscal year (a few days of training). It was my very first trip to the USA. In my imagination I traveled from 'poor' Poland to 'superrich US'. I was in for the greatest shock of my life.

We stayed at the Marriott at RenCen (the iconic GM towers by the riverfront). The hotel and the buildings fit my expectations of America. The shock came later - when I ventured outside. First of all, we were strongly advised to always walk in groups. Secondly, the downtown was literally a ghost town. Empty buildings. Wooden board in place of windows. Very few people going about their business. No cafes or ice parlors. Dilapidated buses, serving as public transportation. And the homeless. So many of them, some quite aggressively begging for money. Mind, I am talking about the very center of the city. 

Only later did I learn about Detroit's troubles. I learnt about automotive industry laying off workers. Small businesses going bankrupt. Citizens moving out of the city. All of that meant lower tax income. Lower tax income meant less money for schools, health care, security, public transportation. That obviously led to worsening living standards. Which led to even more people moving out. Which... A downward spiral of negative feedback.

I Hate It

I kept returning to Detroit every year. I hated the long flight, the jetlag and all the hassle just for 3-4 days of trainings. While always passionate about my job, I envied colleagues who had joined other US-based companies.  They would go to Houston or Las Vegas for their kick-offs...

One year I had enough, took a couple days off and went to Chicago after our kick-off. Chicago was so different, so vibrant and seemingly safe. As I wanted to see the "real America", I opted for a train. Now, coming from Poland, I was used to decent 160km/h on the major links in my country. The Detroit-Chicago rail link is a straight line, as the crow flies. No natural obstacles, just a flat land. I knew that the Detroit-Chicago railway wasn't anything close to the Shinkansen or TGV. However, to discover that the train rolled only 80-90km/h was another shock. On top of that, the building that served as Detroit rail station was smaller (and uglier) than the station of my home town of just 50k inhabitants.

Sometime in early 2010s, during yet another kick-off in Detroit, the jetlag woke me up at 4am. Half asleep, I aimlessly surfed TV channels. Suddenly I was fully awake - the news were from local channel. A shooting in a club, several people dead. When met my American colleagues in the morning, I searched for Detroit residents:

- have you heard the news? The shootout? It was here...

Their reaction was as if I reported snow in January...

I Like It

Some years later, for some reason I came to Detroit outside of the kick-off time. On two separate days,  two of my colleagues, George and Mark, took me and my teammate on tour of Detroit.

George drove with us outside of Detroit. He showed us where the Fords lived. Invited to a fish restaurant near a marina. And he talked. He talked about Detroit of his childhood (the booming times). He talked about the troubles. And he told us a story of Detroit - a fallen city's rebirth.

Mark took us on tour on foot. He showed us the grand early XX century buildings. A bank that looked like a cathedral. The Wayne County Hall building. Monuments to Columbus, Washington and Kosciuszko (if you do not know who the latter was, read my story that connects... Poland, the US and Australia).

I suddenly saw a very much different Detroit. A city that I could actually like. From that point on, I always used my visits in the HQ to explore more of the city.

Now, to make my story consistent, I have to check the dates. Detroit's darkest hour was in 2013 when the city filed for bankruptcy. The governor of Michigan appointed an emergency manger. This started a slow process of the city's rise from ashes.

I did not notice the changes until the autumn of 2018. Completing my circumnavigation of the globe, I landed in Detroit on a Saturday afternoon. I had a good night's rest and then spent the best part of Sunday walking down the Detroit river.

Is It Love?

I realized that I was in a different Detroit now. There were families with children strolling along the waterfront. Kids would play street basketball. I could sit in at a café and enjoy some craft ice cream. I also noticed how nice the waterfront was. I paid attention to information boards and signs. Most of them were visibly recent, not touched by time yet.

I saw an open-air art gallery. I found a story of Detroit Jews who fought in the American Civil War. A bit further, there was a sign explaining the waterways of the Great Lakes.

All of this was a proof that Detroit was back to life. If there are families strolling down a park, it's safe. If there are street galleries and information boards, it's a sure sign that there's some money in the city coffers. 

Final Words

COVID-19 has changed everything. It has changed the way I work. I used to be (probably) my company's top flyer. Can anyone who is not an airline pilot beat 149 business flights in a year? That was my 2019. Now I work from home. I haven't seen an airport since March 2020. While I believe we will be back to some sort of normal, I do not think I would ever visit Detroit for business. Perhaps I could go there as a tourist once. Would I? I think I would. 

Note

As a visitor, I do not know the full story. If you live in Detroit, you may disagree with my newly discovered love. You would point to still unsolved problems. Granted. But this is my story of Detroit - rebirth of a fallen city.

All photos - deliberately - are from my 2018 trip to Detroit. I want to show a friendly, livable city that has come back to life.