August 21 - More statuary on the way to the Ren Cen

We parked near the Guardian Building (see previous post). Then we had a walk toward the Renaissance Center (Detroiters call it the Ren Cen).

The first impressive statue we saw (image 1) was the Spirit of Detroit. It is at the Detroit Municipal Building. It was completed in 1958. It is bronze. The globe symbolizes God, in the other hand (which you can't see) - is a symbol of the family. The sculptor was Marshall Fredericks (who also has some work displayed at the Detroit Institute of Art) who was born in Illinois and at the time of this post was living in Cleveland. It is 26' feet high and at the time it was installed, it was the largest bronze sculpture since the Renaissance (other bronze statutes in the State are now taller).


Eventually we came to Hart Plaza located on the shore of the Detroit River west of the Ren Cen. This is a large plaza completed in 1975 with room for a hundred thousand people.

Ann is standing in front of a sculpture called "Transcending". The funding for the work was from the UAW and AFL-CIO and is the work of an Michigander (David Barr) and an Italian (Sergio de Guisti) who was living in Michigan at the time. The work tops out at 63' and is made of steel. At night, a light joins the two loops. Around the loops are granite stones from New England. 

Going further toward the Ren Cen, we used the Riverwalk. The Riverwalk extends about 5.5 miles from Belle Isle to the Ambassador Bridge (which is in the center background of Image 3). The first 3 miles was completed in 2007 and the whole 5.5 miles were completed by 2012.

The image shows bicycling but most of the people who use the Riverwalk are pedestrians. In the image, Canada is on the left. On the right riverfront is a boat which is a cruise boat called "Detroit Princess". The riverwalk also has the Hart Plaza, Cobo Hall convention center and some other attractions along it.