The Renaissance Center from the Riverwalk

After my brief episode of planewatching, I headed down to Milliken State Park.  I figured I would park there and walk over to the spot where I could get in line for the USS Detroit.  I did manage to get a parking spot there but barely.

I took a walk on the Riverwalk to get some pictures of the Detroit.  As I was walking, I figured that I might as well get some pictures of the Renaissance Center.

A View From The Other Part of the Riverwalk

So I was up in Troy again today and I decided to stop in Detroit on the way home because there was a ship I wanted to catch passing by.  I knew that I would be close if I tried to catch her from Belle Isle or Milliken State Park, so I decided to head to a place I use on rare occasions.

 Apparently they finished another part of the River Walk, so I had to take a picture.  Now it stretches from near the Ambassador Bridge to the MacArthur Bridge.  I thought I had heard there were plans to extend it past the Ambassador Bridge but I'm not sure.

 Speaking of the Ambassador Bridge.  This little spot gives a fairly nice view of the Bridge.

Shortly after taking the last picture, the lights came on.

Walking Part of the Riverwalk

The Detroit River Walk has been an idea that was kicking around for a long time.  Part of it came to fruition with the creation of Rivard Plaza in 2007.

 I'm not exactly sure where the River Walk begins and ends, but my beginning started at William G. Milliken State Park.  Phase One of the park started with the construction of the Harbor and Lighthouse around 2004.  At that time it was known as the Tri-Centennial State Park because it was dedicated to the 300th Anniversary of the founding of Detroit.  It was a brown-field redevelopment.  Phase Two was completed in 2009 and it was re-named in honor of the former Governor of Michigan.  It is actually a pretty nice little park and is a potential glimpse into the future of Belle Isle.

 Part of the park has been converted back into wetlands in order to show what the Detroit River once looked like.  The Department of Natural Resources hopes that it will become a spot for migratory birds to use at some point.  I think that might be more likely for Belle Isle as I've seen cranes and other birds there.

 It wouldn't be the River Walk without the nice views of the River.  This is a shot looking over towards Windsor and the Ambassador Bridge.  In total, the plan is for the River Walk to be 5.5 miles stretching from the MacArthur Bridge to the Ambassador Bridge.  I think there are still gaps in that though.

 The Outdoor Adventure Center used to be the Dry Dock Engine Works at one time.  This is where Henry Ford worked as an apprentice before he would go on to find Ford Motor Company.  The DNR is planning to make a discovery center and adventure center out of it.  It sounds pretty cool in concept.

 They still left part of the existing structure with it.  Before it was abandoned, it was known as the Globe Trading Company.

 One of the activities is some sort of flying simulator.  This is a Cessna Skymaster.

 Looking down from the building towards the Renaissance Center.  One of these days, I will walk that to get the rest of the River Walk.

 The Department of Natural Resources Seal.  It still shows the original name of the

 The Tri-Centennial Light is a replica of the Tawas Point Light.  It was constructed in 2004 but I don't think it's actually an aid to navigation.

 The State Harbor looks pretty impressive.

 As I was walking by, I noticed this Lotus parked.  I had to get a picture of it.

 Chene Park is an outdoor concert venue.  It holds 6,000 people.

 I'm not sure what this building was originally used for.  Based on the name, I assume they used to build cranes here.

 I think this used to be offices for a shipbuilding company.

 An old slip.

 A bar in the Atwater District.

 This building used to be the Parke-Davis Laboratory before they were moved away.

 This building was built in 1902 and designed by Donaldson and Meir.  It served as the headquarters for Parke-Davis.

 The UAW headquarters.

 Looking towards the east, you get a pretty good view of the MacArthur Bridge.  The River Walk continues on, but this is as far as I went.

 Looking back towards the Ren Cen.

 This building used to be the Laboratories.

 Another view of that.

 Back to the Iron Works.

 Another view of the harbor.

 The land occupied by Milliken State Park used to have shipbuilding as well.  This is a statue dedicated to that.

 And the slip being depicted in the statue.

 One more view of the harbor and park.

 An overall view of Milliken State Park.

Another statute in the park.

The River Walk is one of the things that shows the potential for turning around Detroit I think but like so many things in the City it has a long way to go.

A Walk Along the Detroit River

So I was up in the Troy office today and I saw that there was at least one ship on the way down when I would be passing by Detroit, so I decided to stop.  Tonight seemed like a Milliken night, so I stopped at Milliken State Park.  I ended up walking down a little further than expected.  I think one of these days when I have some time, I'm gonna walk down to Joe Louis or so.

 I kind of like the view of the Ambassdor Bridge from Milliken.  It seems to be one of the few places you can capture the full bridge without any buildings interfering.

 I kind of liked the look of this seagull sitting on the top of a log.

 A duck.  A little later I got to see another duck fighting this one for the attentions of the female mallard in the picture below.

 For some reason, she didn't seem impressed.

 This is a piece entitled Boogaloo by Tyree Guyton.  He is famous for the Heidelberg Project in Detroit which is an artwork created from castaway parts.

 I didn't catch the name of this piece but I kind of like it.  Next time I come down here, I will have to capture it from different angles because it takes on different shapes.

 This fountain was sitting in back of the Renaissance Center and it is one of those variable height fountains.  I kind of like the angle but not the lighting.  I may have to try at another time.

 I've never caught the Renaissance Center from this side.  With the curved thing in the front, I think it takes on a different appearance.

 I tried to get a shot from a different orientation.

 Just a shot of the Riverwalk.  As you can see, it gets alot of use and it was fairly heavily patrolled so it felt pretty safe.

 When I took the first shot of the hood, I didn't notice there was another side.  As I was walking back, I noticed it, so I had to get a picture of it.  It is called Side Talkin Kay.  I am going to have to go see the Heidelberg Project one of these days.

 This is a piece by Robert Sestok entitled Free Form 5 and it was created in 2001.  For some reason the piece reminded me of another piece I saw in Detroit and I figured out why.

 A shot of the Ren Cen peeking up through the trees.  Unfortunately it was going right into the sun, so the sky looks washed out.

A seagull just flying along.  It was windy enough to where it was almost gliding.

 And then a hard bank to get something.

 The Canadian Air Force practicing formation flying over the river.

A confused looking seagull.