When I woke up from the restful sleep of the Westin Book Cadillac Hotel, the outside was still dark. There was something fussy outside the street. Thousands of people were preparing the Detroit Free Press marathon, a big annual event for runners.
I put on my clothes, hurriedly catching the start of the race. Since the runners are lining behind the start line, I was watching that they are ready to start a long distance race. In addition to the traditional marathon, a half marathon, relay, 5 km of fun running was scheduled. The most unique feature of the Detroit Marathon is the international course which goes through Windsor in Canada through the Detroit Windsor Tunnel and crosses the Ambassador Bridge back to Detroit. The tunnel part of the marathon is the only official underwater mile in the world, as most of the tunnel is under the water.
People were packed downtown as a whole. I got the opportunity to go to the photo safari early in the waterfront where I saw a breathtaking sunrise above Windsor 's skyline. This brisk walk at dawn gave another opportunity to capture Detroit's most photogenic spot, immersed in the warm light of sunrise.
After another wonderful waffle breakfast at the Westin Book Cadillac, we were ready to go to see the "Henry Ford" from Dearborn town. Also called Henry Ford Museum and Greenfield Village, it is the largest indoor / outdoor history museum in the United States. In addition to the extensive museum grounds and thousands of souvenirs, IMAX theater is also equipped.
We began investigating at the indoor complex that started as a personal collection of historical objects by Henry Ford. On the east side of the big historical building there is an exhibit on the role of the car in American life. Next to this area is Allegheny Steam Locomotive in 1941. Especially the children like to enter and leave this historical machine. The crown jewel of the automobile display was assassinated by President JF Kennedy at Lincoln Continental in 1961.
In another section entitled "Sky Hero", we record the first 40 years of aviation with pictures, exhibits, actual airplanes. Other exhibits include furniture and daily necessities, the latter half of the 19th century to the early 20th century machinery and power generation equipment. It is very popular with young visitors and is a real Oscar Mayor Wiener Marvill.
In the field titled "For Freedom and Justice", not only American ethnic rights but also struggle for independence are documented. Popular display is the rocking chair sitting when President Abraham Lincoln was filmed. Camp bed of George Washington is also exhibited. The highlight of this area is the actual bus sitting when Rosa Parks abandoned the seat, effectively causing a civil rights movement. I enjoyed the opportunity to explore the real bus. At that event, one of the most important social movements of the United States began.
One of our favorite displays was Dymaxion House, invented by Buckminster Fuller's inventor, and in 1927 I thought of this circular round suspension house. His mass-produced affordable housing has two bedrooms and two bathrooms, inside a round metal shell. The house contained rainwater catchment system and low energy construction materials and probably seemed to be resistant to hurricanes. It was conceivable to ship and assemble easily in the field, the intention of which was intended to be affordable for the masses.
The tour of this house has demonstrated to us what the foresightable Buckminster Fuller is. An innovative idea of affordable and environmentally friendly accommodation is not implemented today. Some people said long before my time.
After exploring the indoor part of Henry Ford, we headed out this luxurious October afternoon. Greenfield Village is the largest outdoor museum in the United States with a total area of 240 acres. About 100 historic buildings emigrated here and showed how Americans live. There are houses from the 17th century to the present, and interpreters wearing costumes displaying handicrafts such as colonnade and pottery are exciting up the cityscape.
Greenfield Village is particularly popular with families, as it provides rides with horse drawn omnibus and authentic Ford model Ts rides. Real vehicles from the 1910's to the 1920's went round and were on a happy visitor. We also have a steam locomotive. Carousel amuses accessories. The surrounding environment is livestock, there are sheep and horse forest, river, meadow etc.
About 2 PM we wanted to explore other institutions in Detroit, the Detroit Institute of Arts, so we came back to town. In 2003 DIA was ranked as the second largest municipal museum in the United States and its collection is worth over $ 1 billion.
DIA made a massive renovation and expansion in 2007 and added 77,000 square feet (over 7000 m 2) to the existing 677,000 square feet (about 63,000 m 2). We toured with the museum volunteer Barbara Goldstein and started us with an intensive gathering in Africa and Asia. Level 1 also includes Egypt, Islamic, Native American art, photography, printmaking and drawings.
After that, I went to see modern African-American artists, German expressionists, and other works of the early 20th century. The museum's collections include many prominent artists such as Albrecht Dress, Rembrandt, Vincent van Gogh, Auguste Rodin, Franz Mark, Oscar Kokoschka, Edvard Munch, Pablo Picasso. The frescoes of Diego Rivera are entitled "Detroit Industry" surrounding the center of the museum.
The Detroit Academy of Fine Arts is also the location of the Detroit Film Theater and currently holds a special exhibition "Monet-To-Dali", a collection of contemporary artists at the Cleveland Museum of Art. That 65,000 pieces is a huge complex of art across the world. Visually rich and physically hungry we checked the low level cafe and enjoyed delicious soup and chilli.
After a visit to DIA, we soon stayed in this area: Inn on Ferry Street, 2 blocks north, has 2 carriage houses, including 4 big Victorian mansions and 40 luxurious guest rooms It is a complex of six historic buildings including. This is my house for the next two days. I stayed in a luxury two bedroom suite and conducted a web based survey via a free internet connection. Tomorrow will be another big day for Detroit's discovery.
