Detroit: Street Infrastructure

Detroit has some nice street elements and infrastructure left over from its glory days, much of it worn by time, and also little pockets of innovative new street element ideas.

One of the most striking aspects of Detroit is its glorious early-20th-century architecture. Outside the spectacular art deco Guardian Building, a friend noticed these really nice art deco tree pit covers that echoed the building’s decoration.

I also was struck by the elegant and well-worn manhole covers.

This old drain cover (outside the new downtown YMCA) must have been beautiful in its prime:

There were also some interesting modern pieces of street furniture as part of specific projects. We saw two art-bench projects — one at the beautiful new YMCA building in downtown Detroit, the other in the suburb of Ferndale.

These benches were outside the YMCA:

These benches were on the charming main street of the suburb of Ferndale, just north of Detroit:

I like the idea of a bench with a canopy — I realize I’ve often not sat on a bench because it was in the full sun.

At the Heidelberg Project, an ongoing art project on a half-deserted residential street in Detroit, the artist came up with a remarkably simple and effective idea for using painted old tires to make street planters.

Finally, I was very amused to realize that, right near where I was staying, the Motor City has a lone pedestrian street, a single block where vehicle traffic is kept out by solid planters at either end. Of course, it isn’t there for civic improvement  — it’s outside the federal building, and so for security.

All photos by Dylan Reid