The City Comes Alive

Detroit has been picking up steam lately, as far as downtown development goes anyways. On Friday, the city's growing energy was wildly apparent, with a confluence of events showcasing the recurring vitality of the central business district.

In the early part of the day, crowds began to gather for the Van's Warped Tour at Comerica Park. The picture below shows a set-up area for the concert, which was stationed at Madison and Grand Circus Park. 

Later in the morning, the city began its planned demolition of the Ford Auditorium in Hart Plaza. While demolition is not redevelopment, per se, this demolition should add to the quality of life downtown. The auditorium was seldom used for much of the past two decades, due to its poor acoustics. The Detroit Symphony Orchestra, which lived in the auditorium for a number of years, eventually went back to its home in Orchestra Hall on Woodward in Midtown, due to the poverty of value associated with the auditorium.

Also along the river on Friday was a clipper ship, which had traveled to Detroit from Baltimore a few days hence. The ship was part of an effort to raise money for flag restoration (or something to that effect), but it served mostly as an interesting way to spend time along the river.

The last and most exciting thing that was going on downtown on Friday was the practice fly-overs of an F15 fighter jet, which was preparing for its flyer over of the Gold Cup boat races this weekend. The jet buzzed downtown for more than half an hour, circling at super sonic speeds around the skyscrapers that make up the city's heights. People stopped and watched each time it passed, because the sight and sound was breathtaking.