27 replies to this topic

[KevinKorell]

WJBK-TV, Fox-2 in Detroit, MI, 8/24/21:

 

 

    Final phase of Michigan Central Station restoration underway 3 years after Ford purchased Detroit depot    

 

 

In June 2018, Ford Motor Co. announced that it was the new owner of Michigan Central Station.

 

The building had been vacant for 30 years when Ford shared the news and immediately got to work restoring the historic Detroit train depot.

 

 

Update

[CNJRoss]

Hour Detroit, 10/12/22 (dated post)

 

The Grand Reopening of Michigan Central Station

 

The long-awaited opening of the reimagined Michigan Central Station and The Book Depository is upon us.

 

The neglected area surrounding Michigan Central Station is starting to take shape as a new global innovation hub. // Rendering courtesy of Michigan Central, LLC.

 

In the mid-1930s, when the Albert Kahn-designed U.S. Parcel Post Office opened next to the august, celebrated Michigan Central Station, there was precious little public fanfare. It was, essentially, a really big warehouse, and at the time it was so common for Kahn’s firm to have a hand in new Detroit-area structures that only a few of their openings were cause for much excitement.

 

Although the Detroit Free Press wrote in 1934 about the expected start of construction and then-Rep. John Dingell Sr.’s work securing the $1.9 million to pay for it, the paper offered no coverage of its 1936 completion. 

 

That won’t be the case in coming months when that building reopens. It is the first major payoff of Ford Motor Company’s ambitious $950 million investment into the transformation of the long-decaying area. The entire project is branded Michigan Central; it is a gleaming new hub of innovation focused on mobility technology.

 

The showstopper of that massive effort is, of course, the renewal of the Michigan Central train station as a space for offices, shopping, and public gatherings, which is due to be opened to the public by the end of 2023.

 

 

Continue here. 

[KevinKorell]

Column in Detroit, MI Free Press, 4/17/24:

 

 

  Bill Ford: Michigan Central Station must be more than just a restoration    

 

 

In about 2005, Bill Ford determined that the future wasn’t being invented in Detroit.

 

Column

[KevinKorell]

Detroit, MI Free Press,  4/24/24:

 

 

   Michigan Central Station hiring 60 ambassadors for opening weekend, summer    

 

 

Michigan Central Station is hiring up to 60 welcome ambassadors to help host the crowds for the station's reopening June 6 and throughout the summer.

 

Story

[KevinKorell]

Detroit, MI Free Press, 4/30/24:

 

 

  Concert to lead 'global celebration for Detroit' at Michigan Central reopening June 6      

 

 

In what it’s calling a “global celebration for Detroit and Detroiters,” Ford Motor Company will host a June 6 concert to kick off the grand opening of the resurrected Michigan Central Station.

 

Read

[CNJRoss]

Railfan & Railroad, 6/6/24

Concert featuring Diana Ross, Jack White and others kick off new era for the restored station in Detroit. Photo by Helmut Ziewers.

 

 

Iconic Michigan Central Station in Detroit Reopens

 

By Railfan & Railroad Staff’

 

An all-star concert that will air on NBC is just one of the many events planned to celebrate the reopening of Detroit’s iconic Michigan Central Station, following an extensive six-year renovation by Ford Motor Company. 

 

Originally designed by architects Warren & Wetmore and Reed & Stem, the same team behind New York’s famed Grand Central, the New York Central’s Michigan Central Station first opened its doors in 1913 as one of the country’s most spectacular transportation terminals. It saw 4,000 daily passengers at its peak, but, following decades of declining rail travel, was shuttered in 1988 and sat vacant for three decades, experiencing severe neglect, weathering, decay and vandalism.

 

In 2018, Ford acquired the massive building and began restoration work with the plan to turn it into office space for the company, as well as a new community center. Since 2018, workers have spent more than 1.7 million hours restoring the station. Ford even went as far as reopening an Indiana quarry — the same one that supplied the stone for the station’s exterior 100 years ago — for the project. 

 

SNIP

 

To celebrate the reopening of the building, Ford is hosting a week-long event highlighted by a sold-out, 90-minute outdoor concert on June 6. “Live From Detroit: The Concert at Michigan Central” will be aired live on NBC’s streaming service Peacock and then again as a one-hour primetime special on June 9 on NBC. Executive-produced by Eminem and Paul Rosenberg, the evening will feature special performances by Diana Ross, Jack White and others.

 

 

More here.

Note:  NBC4 Washington, DC (WRC-TV) is airing the concert at 7-8 pm 6/9/24

[CNJRoss]

The Detroit (MI) News, 6/7/24

'It's stunning': Awestruck visitors get first look at restored Michigan Central Station

 

 

 

Detroit — The first members of the public got a look inside the restored Michigan Central Station on Friday, and they were suitably awestruck by the transformation of the towering landmark that's been rescued from ruin.

 

It was the entrance into the Grand Hall when the emotion hit most guests, with gawkers mouthing "wow" as they gazed up at the Guastavino tile ceilings and down at the shiny marble floors.

 

Rita Martuscelli, 90, of Troy was first through the station's side doors. She couldn't help but get emotional as she entered the Grand Hall, hand over her agape mouth with eyes wide as she took in the replaced soaring windows and recreated light fixtures.

 

"It's stunning," she said. "They're finally realizing something like this is worth saving."

 

Continue here. 

[KevinKorell]

 

 

Note:  NBC4 Washington, DC (WRC-TV) is airing the concert at 7-8 pm 6/9/24

... as are NBC10 in Philadelphia and NBC4 in New York City.

 

 

Now, wouldn't it really be full circle if the building returned to its original function as a train station?   With the current operating pattern of all 3 round trips to Pontiac, I don't think it's possible.  But if service is restored to Toledo (as the middle frequencies 352 & 353 once were) or extended to Toronto as has recently been discussed,  that opens some new possibilities.    Then next step would be to extend local rail transit to the area, either the Detroit People Mover or the Q-Line Streetcar.