Murphy's Playlot

Detroit has a variety of different neighborhoods in its 139 square miles. Detroit’s oldest neighborhood is Corktown, just southwest of downtown. Corktown is a vibrant little place with a large emphasis on community driven efforts for gentrification and revitalization. Corktown was once the home of Tiger’s baseball and has been a culturally rich enclave that features the Gaelic League of Detroit. Momentum has been spurred within the community for a variety of repurposing and redevelopment. Recently, the first hostel in decades opened up in Corktown that has been generating plenty of national buzz. Phil Cooley has been involved in documentaries as well as the owner of Slow’s BBQ. Residential complexes and row housing units are being refurbished while the Detroit Central Depot is supposedly beginning its renovations. 

 

Corktown is also home to many delicious eateries. Mudgies is absolutely fantastic. The small little restaurant offers great authentic meals with a cool Detroit urban atmosphere. The tea was fresh and plentiful and their gazpacho was to die for. Across the street from Mudgies is a little park area called Murphy’s Playlot. 

The playlot park is a nice little area for kids to enjoy the outdoors in a convenient location. The trees are massive and offered plenty f shade for the blistering hot July day. The play area itself included some swings, a chess table, and a large metal playground. There is also an adjacent basketball court that is fenced in just behind the play area. There are plenty of park benches and places for parents to sit down and relax while their children frolic within the playground. The old-school chess table with seats was an awesome sight to see. I think it is important for the children to be able to exercise their brains along with their bodies.   

The park has some really neat views of the surrounding buildings on Michigan Avenue. The trees give a sense of a nature break from the massive concrete entities that appear just north east of Corktown.

Indian Village

Indian Village is a rich historical neighborhood in the city of Detroit. Planned in the late nineteenth century, Indian Village received streetcar service from downtown and was quite the destination. Large swaths of Jefferson Avenue and the eastern Detroit riverfront were gobbled up by large industrial factories and centers. Indian Village, which is bound by Mack and Jefferson to the north and south, is located among three streets: Seminole, Burns, and Iroquois. The homes built and designed for Indian Village are unlike the majority of Detroit. Much of the neighborhood was built by Albert Kahn, William Stratton, and Louis Kamper, all prominent architects of their time. 

The homes are comprised mostly of mansions. Indian Village has long been a stronghold of Detroit’s wealthier residents. For the price, the homes in Indian Village are among the most affordable urban housing with such rich history and irreplaceable uniqueness. Indian Village is quite proud of its home and garden tour, showcasing the beauty and eloquence of the neighborhood to whomever wants to soak in the sights. Many of the homes in Indian Village have stunning landscaping. The gardens and flowerbeds are perfectly trimmed and kempt while the shrubs guard the houses like a chain link fence.

Indian Village is also home to its own urban park. The city of Detroit enjoys the wonderful Mollicone Park. Right across from a very nice looking school, the park is a beautiful green spot within the neighborhood. The park is very well kept, with no litter or debris in sight. It is relatively small in size, but the neighborhood of Indian Village is not that large. The trees are all enormous, towering over the little green spot. 

The park does not have much for in terms of seating or trails and pathways, it is of less utilitarian value. The inherent value in Mollicone Park is in its aesthetics. The whole neighborhood of Indian Village is a very beautiful place, and the small well groomed park in the middle of it adds some level of creature comforts for the residents. There is plenty of shade and freshly cut grass to rest on, Mollicone park is a great place to read a book under an apple tree.

Greening of Detroit Park

The Greening of Detroit has been a mainstay in the city since the late 1980’s. Detroit had been rapidly losing its stock of trees due to the explosion of industrialization and urban sprawl. Nearly a half million trees were lost between 1950 and 1980. The Greening of Detroit is a non-profit organization that has been heavily involved in the reforestation of Detroit since its inception. The organization has been involved in planting trees and other green-based beautification efforts throughout the city. The Greening of Detroit will establish community efforts to plant trees and flowers in abandoned lots as well as public spaces. The organization spearheads community based groups that restore public parks, renovate streetscapes, and re-envision entire streets that will one day be lined with foliage and greenery. Community based gardens are also heavily influenced by the non-profit.

 

The Greening of Detroit also has an urban park located off of Jefferson. The park offers some great views of the Renaissance Center emerging through the trees.  The park has plenty of benches to relax on, mostly intact and clean. The side walk pathways through the park are clear of brush and offer a scenic route through the small urban space. The canopy overhead of trees is a great juxtaposition to the giant concrete buildings and complexes that surrounds the park. The grass is freshly groomed and there is a distinct sense of upkeep and dedication to the park.

In the middle of the park is a large, slightly raised grassy rectangle. Within the inner perimeter is a concrete slab. An industrial inspired work of art is protruding from the concrete slab below it. About a dozen metal posts are stuck into the cement and offer support for another layer of metal planks that form a structure. Within the middle of the structure is a copious amount of glass tubing. The tubes are about a foot in diameter and are stacked together in a rectangular like shape. The tubes are roughly fifteen to twenty feet long and the entire structure is quite large in comparison to the size of the park. The glass on metal components melded with the design of the structure appear as if it could have been once found within the campus of the College for Creative Studies. The art piece is pretty massive and is definitely something that catches the eye when passing through.

The park is not very secluded, but the location is very convenient. Coming from downtown or either way up and down Jefferson, the Greening of Detroit Park offers easy access and parking availability. When I visited the park, there was only one other guy sitting on a bench. The entirety of the trails and tree-covered grass were exploding with wildlife and vegetation. Buzzing bumble bees, squirrels, chipmunks, and butterflies frolicked along the fresh natural splendors of the park. The park is situated between some derelict buildings, but the boarded up windows do not block out the sunshine and splendor of the park.

Eastern Market

Detroit’s Eastern Market has been a rich cultural mainstay for the Detroit area since the mid-nineteenth century. Michigan made a name for itself in the early nineteenth century for it’s a fur and lumber trade. Northern Michigan’s abundant forests and massive demand for industrial materials put the timber trade in the spotlight for an emerging industry. Eastern Market began as a site for lumber and hay sales, but quickly became very popular and sales sheds were developed. The Farmer’s Market became integrated into the Eastern Market’s identity and remains the largest urban market in the United States. After World War II, the Market expanded to include many wholesale food providers which is still a large component of the success of Detroit’s Eastern Market.   

Today, the Eastern Market is still an exciting market to visit and shop at. Saturday is the main day for the market, with about forty-five thousand patrons attending each week. The sheds at the Eastern Market become invigorated with people, filling up the stands with fresh fruits and vegetables. The farmers come from all sorts of places near the Metropolitan Detroit area. There are farmers from St. Clair County, Ohio, inner suburbs, and the urban gardens of Detroit. Intermixed within the fresh produce are beautiful bouquets of flowers and other sorts of floral arrangements. Stands of sweet corn, peaches, asparagus, nectarines, tomatoes, kale, and other greens were sprawled out among the tents.

Eastern Market’s sheds also show a variety of entrepreneurs from all walks of life and all ages. You can find gourmet organic granola made in Michigan, or specialty dog treats. Local schools that have embraced a model of teaching their youth a variety of vocational opportunities showcase their hard work and green thumbs with fresh produce they have grown. Many of the school based food stands had a banner that displayed “Detroit Youth Food Brigade”. The energy and excitement displayed by the youth promoting their wares was refreshing. Detroit’s urban gardening scene is emerging as a great potential option for redevelopment and repurposing of the vast empty lots within the city of Detroit. Youth training for agriculture and nutrition is paramount to transforming the subcultures within Detroit, providing residents with valuable knowledge and skills to carry with them in their future endeavors. 

Eastern Market is also renowned for its selection of meats, fish, poultry, and spices. The shops surrounding the tents offer great foods at a decent price. There are some stellar restaurants near the Eastern Market. I have eaten at Vivio's a few times and it has always been spectacular. The jerk chicken salad was absolutely delicious. The atmosphere in Vivio's is great. With its proximity to downtown, it has been a popular destination to grab a beer and some food before a sporting event.

Dequindre Cut Greenway

The Grand Trunk Rail line was an integral piece of the country’s rapidly growing transit system for the burgeoning industrial boom. Products and supplies that were produced needed to be delivered from coast to coast, especially from the mighty industrial Mid-West. Rail to service passengers and freight between Michigan, Ohio, and Indiana became the Grand Trunk Western Rail Line. Detroit was entrenched in factories and industry, perpetually erecting new factories and plants all over the city. With a convoluted urban road system that resembled the spokes of a bicycle wheel rather than a cohesive traffic buffer. The city of Detroit decided to run a Grand Trunk route through the inner city of Detroit right near downtown. The recessed rail line project, known as the Dequindre Cut, took about a decade to complete and resulted in construction of new street bridges. The rail relieved traffic of passengers and cargo from the bustling industrial city. 

 

In the post-industrialized Detroit context, factories shuttered while the population fled the city. Passenger service on the Grand Trunk ceased in the 1980’s and freight service shuttered soon after. The recessed rail line through the streets of Detroit was left to return to its roots. The decades after the closure of the rail, the Dequindre Cut became covered in vegetation and overgrowth. Within the past few years, the city of Detroit decided to refurbish the Dequindre Cut and turn it into an urban greenway. 

The Dequindre Cut Greenway begins near the Renaissance Center at the Detroit River Walk. The Dequindre Cut will eventually continue through the River Walk to Eastern Market, but currently is about a mile in length. The freshly paved pathway of the Cut is a nice contrast to many of the streets and sidewalks within Detroit. There are bicycle lanes as well as pedestrian walking lanes to utilize while traversing the path. The flowers that are placed along the path are quite stunning, with beautiful shades of orange, red, purple, and yellow. The cleanliness and care that is taken so seriously within the Dequindre Cut is something to be appreciated. 

The best sights to drink in are those under the overpass bridges and painted on the concrete canvases. The graffiti in the Dequindre Cut is world renowned, not just some average tags. The craftsmanship and creativity is strikingly apparent, with subtle social commentary and embracement of popular culture nuances.  One of my favorite pieces is a hooded zombie-like ghoul sporting a bow tie. He is holding a jar with the line above him “Never Out of Mustard”. One piece depicts an epic battle between some sort of sorcerer and a magical jester. The Vlassik pickles bird is crashing the party with his delicious wares. There is a fresh twist on a Frankenstein, with big curious eyes and a playful giant hole in his forehead. The little Frankenstein is still sporting a mischievous grin.

 There are plenty of gems to discover along the Dequindre Cut, from the art to the scenery. The greenway is a really great spot to enjoy a walk or bicycle ride in the city.