A Day in Detroit

It was a gloomy day but we had no gloom in our hearts or our step as we headed to Detroit for a day of fun, music and a visit with the Baby Grand! Our primary destination was to be the Detroit Symphony but Rick, Kate and I left early to prowl around the revitalizing city of Detroit.

Since our plans for a picnic or extensive outside walking were somewhat curtailed by the weather, we decided we'd visit the area of Indian Village. This is a neighborhood of architecturally significant homes built during the arts and crafts period of the early 20th century.

The area held special significance for Rick. His great grandmother, Catherine Armstrong Acklin, was from this area and her sister, Aunt Josie Hibbard, also lived there after her marriage. We didn't know the address but wanted to check it out and see what it might have been like.

We had a bit of an idea. Photos from Rick's cousin Mary's album gave an idea of what the inside of one of these homes might have looked like during the period.

Back in the day, the Armstrong's neighbors included automobile legends Edsel Ford and Henry Leland, who founded Lincoln and Cadillac.

The homes were large, some behind gates, others with carriage houses.

Most of the homes were in the style of the Arts and Crafts movement, Tudor or what I would call traditional American.

Please, if there are any architecture mavens here, please add your two cents to the comments!

There was one fairly looking modern home I liked, though you couldn't see much of it from the street.

 But most were open to the street with lovely lawns looking lush in the soft rain.

We'd missed the garden tour (The Hibbard home had been on the garden tour -- if only we'd known!) but it was clear that everyone had their yards neatly done for their guests, hedges clipped. It was clear that when the garden tour took place a week or two before, that the trees had been in full flower and one can only imagine how lovely it was.

A group of intrepid cyclists were out for the day as well. You couldn't pick a nicer neighborhood to cycle through.

Yet one block over, it was clear that this was Detroit, less revitalized, less preserved. The homes were more rundown, vacant lots overgrown.

          

From Indian Village we headed to Belle Isle. Belle Isle is an Island in the Detroit River between Detroit and Canada that is 982  acres. It's the home of the yacht club, Coast Guard, a Great Lakes museum, a golf course, aquarium, nature zoo (with displays of lizards, turtles, snakes and more!), loads of picnic areas and much more.

We stopped at the nature zoo.  As you might expect, I was captivated by the birds!

And the displays. See that little egg in the back row? My gallstone was that size! (Considering that the gallbladder is about the size of a lemon or a deck of cards, it's no wonder I was in the ER!)

After heading back to park by Orchestra Hall, we took the new Queue streetcar to the heart of downtown Detroit where we enjoyed a terrific lunch at a restaurant called the Broderick Grille.

 
It was a happy accident to discover it but the salads were delicious and huge and Rick was loving his chicken pesto sandwich and parmesan fries.

A good waiter like Bobby, who kept our glasses filled made us happy diners!



We walked back to Orchestra Hall, afraid we might miss the Queue. (It's new and the schedule needs a little work!) As we did we passed by my favorite Fox Theatre...

...and Comerica Park, home to the Detroit Tigers.

I noted some great architectural details along the way -- Kate pointed out these fabulous church doors.

Concert time! A couple photos from the lobby of Orchestra Hall. I loved this art installation...

...this interesting piece...

...and the view of the lobby from the upper lobby. (OK, truth be told, I had to hang my camera out over the ledge because looking down from here kicked my vertigo into such high gear I was tingling all over!

The concert included a magnificent rendition of Beethoven's 9th Symphony (Ode to Joy) and a pretty weird adaptation of Bob Dylan songs sung by a soprano to music by John Corgliano. You could barely hear her over the orchestra and the music was -- well, let's just say they should have stuck to Dylan's tunes. Fortunately, the 9th made up for it! Time for dinner!

And dinner was at Kevin and Molly's where we got to see our Baby Grand!

I probably don't have to tell you how happy this little guy makes us.

What's really lovely is seeing his parents interact with him. The next day was Molly's first day back at work and she was excited and I think both were a little anxious about the little guy's first experience in day care. (He did well!)

And then it was off to home.  And by then, I think we were all ready for bed.

A wonderful day.

Happy to share this week with Monday Social and Share Your Cup when links become available!

Diamonds in the Desert, 3 -- Rembrandt, Orchestra Hall

How do you get to Carnegie Hall? Practice, practice, practice!

The same could be said for the musician wanting to get to Detroit's Max Fisher Hall (aka Orchestra Hall), home of the Detroit Symphony.

We didn't get back to the hotel from the DIA till after 5:30, because our tickets to the Rembrandt exhibit weren't until late in the day. There was plenty to see and savor in this exhibit showing how Rembrandt changed in his interpretation of painting Jesus.

Photos weren't allowed in the exhibit. Most of these are from an excellent Time slideshow; one is from the DIA website.

The idea of the exhibit was to show how Rembrandt was one of the first European artists to focus on Jesus as a compassionate, good, young and kind person -- to find his humanity.

To do so, he chose models who were Jewish and who lived in the same Jewish quarter of Amsterdam as he did.

Interestingly enough, Rembrandt's religious art may have been as much a commercial as spiritual endeavor. During that period in the Netherlands, the Calvinist religion promoted a great desire to have images of Jesus in the home. Rembrandt whipped out his pieces for quick sale to his fellow Amsterdam citizens. It was the copious records from his later bankruptcy that provided the provenance for many of his works.

(I have to admit, it sort of freaked me out that he was the equivalent of the Thomas Kincade of the day.)

The exhibit also had wonderful models of Amsterdam during that time and excellent multimedia features. If it is headed to a city near you, I recommend it.

And, for a short and very interesting review of the exhibition catalogue by Lloyd DeWitt, reviewed by WKAR's Lev Raphael, please listen to THIS LINK. Raphael makes excellent points about the impact of seeing the illustrations in the catalogue and savoring each image and accessible sections of text over time, versus the still-thrilling, but sometimes frustrating, of experiencing such a powerful exhibition in a crowd. Makes me wish I'd bought the catalogue!

But all that art viewing set us off course for dinner! And remember a few posts ago, I mentioned the restaurant at the hotel? Not an option for dinner! So, we found a Japanese restaurant near the DIA, wolfed down some noodles and rice and were off to the symphony.

To walk into Orchestra Hall is truly a grand experience. Our seats were on the first floor, under the balcony. Perfect for seeing every bit of the concert, titled "Ravishing Rachmaninoff."

Leonard Slatkin conducts the Detroit Symphony Orchestra, and he is one of the most renowned conductors in the world. The first piece was an interesting new piece by a woman named Cynthia McTee called "Einstein's Dream" -- not quite my cup of "tea." But the second was the Shoshtokovich Violin Concerto No. 1 in A Minor, Op. 99, with a violinist named Julian Rachlin. There were plenty of tricky and intricate passages in the four movements and he was masterful, getting the standing ovation he deserved from an appreciative audience.

During intermission, we headed to the balcony for photos and then down front.

You can get an idea of the scale of the hall, yet it felt rather intimate.

And the architectural details were lovely.

The second act, Rachmaninoff's Symphonic Dances, Op. 45. I loved this piece, filled with energy, power, lightness and quieter moments. And yes, another ovation.

The Rachmaninoff was being recorded by the DSO -- I have a feeling I'll be getting that CD!

Then it was back to the hotel (where the restaurant bar had closed before we arrived at 10:30. No glass of wine for us that night!

But we did pass by a couple of Detroit's other "diamonds" -- The Fox Theatre (above) and Comerica Park, home of the Detroit Tigers. (It will never replace the original Tiger stadium in my mind, though!)

Next: A brunch to die for in a converted mansion. And, for some great illustrations and a look at a treasured children's book I've loved since 1958, visit Chopsticks and String HERE.