Detroit Riverwalk and Dequindre Cut

[iheartthed]

I got a chance to go home to Detroit back in July for a quick visit. While I was there I was able to go and take some photos of the Riverwalk and Dequindre Cut. All involved parties (city/state/non profit groups) did a great job on this project. Here are a few of those photos:

1. This is the St. Aubin Marina, which sits adjacent to St. Aubin Park






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4. St. Aubin Park






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7. Windsor, Ontario skyline from St. Aubin Park, Detroit






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10. Boat speeding along the Windsor, Ontario shoreline.






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12. Trail leading to Dequindre Cut






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16. I know there are plans to renovate this old factory, but part of me would like to see them leave it as it is. It's presence adds a lot of authenticity to the surrounding area and its history, IMO.






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19. The entire greenspace stretches for about 1.5 miles from the river into the city to the Eastern Market. The day before taking these photos I jogged then entire length, back and forth, but I only travel about a fourth of a mile in due to time constraints for the photograph tour.






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36. Caesar's Casino and Hotel, Windsor






37. I believe this is a map of all of the major historical ports/cities along the Great Lakes water system + Boston (I guess there was no room to include New York).






38. Sidewalk map of the Detroit-Windsor region.






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46. Andiamo's on the Riverfront. Perfect views of the river from the sidewalk tables.






47. Chrysler's Canadian HQ






48. Statue paying tribute to Detroit's legacy as one of the major termini on the Underground Railroad.






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50. For any Detroit 1-8-7 fans, this boat played a role in a plot of one of the earlier episodes of the season/series.






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[Expat]

Very nice! The waterfront park is beautiful. I, too, enjoy the patina of the old factory. It could be renovated in a way that makes the building useful, but retains the integrity & patina.

The cut is very interesting. The is the first time i have heard of it. What is it exactly?

[iheartthed]

Originally Posted by Expat

Very nice! The waterfront park is beautiful. I, too, enjoy the patina of the old factory. It could be renovated in a way that makes the building useful, but retains the integrity & patina.

The cut is very interesting. The is the first time i have heard of it. What is it exactly?

The Dequindre cut is a former rail right-of-way that was converted into a biking/walking/jogging path and greenspace.

[Expat]

Originally Posted by iheartthed

The Dequindre cut is a former rail right-of-way that was converted into a biking/walking/jogging path and greenspace.

That is fantastic. I am going to do some google investigation on the Cut.

[fflint]

The Dequindre Cut (I keep getting the name wrong) has fascinated me since it opened--so jealous of grade-separated bike infrastructure!

[DTW]

Wonderful pics

[Rizzo]

Very cool. I look forward to seeing the trail extended one day. The only unfortunate thing is the quality of graffiti down there has severely declined.

[hudkina]

The Dequindre cut is sort of like the opposite of New York's High Line. Instead of being above the city, it is below the city. Granted, once you get to Mack the right of way becomes at grade, so the actual "cut" is only about 1.5 miles, with only about 1 mile of it completed. The other half runs through Eastern Market. There are a lot of historic old buildings that sort of run along the tracks. It would be great to see them converted into condos. They could even have subterranean restaurants with patio seating.


Dequindre Cut by healthiermi, on Flickr

I believe the goal is to extend the pathway up to Canfield, where it will meet up with the Midtown Loop that is currently under construction.

[fflint]

I hereby promise to ride my two-wheeled steed through the fine city of Detroit, with a special trip if necessary to include Dequnindre. I get "Detroit Critical Mass" emails every month, and I check the photos and blogs and I must confess, I'm jealous.

[LMich]

Great tour. Though, at grade above Mack, the line runs all the way to Royal Oak.

BTW, I love this quote concerning the graffiti from the construction manager that you can find on Wiki:

"Unless it is obscene or offensive, our policy is to leave it in place. We also want to encourage new works to the extent that the artists are willing to do that -- as long as they pick up their aerosol cans after themselves!"

[iheartthed]

Originally Posted by hudkina

The Dequindre cut is sort of like the opposite of New York's High Line. Instead of being above the city, it is below the city. Granted, once you get to Mack the right of way becomes at grade, so the actual "cut" is only about 1.5 miles, with only about 1 mile of it completed. The other half runs through Eastern Market. There are a lot of historic old buildings that sort of run along the tracks. It would be great to see them converted into condos. They could even have subterranean restaurants with patio seating.

The Highline is a little different in concept than the DC; it's more of a plaza than park.

[MplsTodd]

Great tour! The Dequindre Cut is remarkably similar to the Midtown Greenway, which cuts east-west across south Minneapolis from the Mississippi River to the Lakes area. Same kind of bridges et al... Its a great amenity for biking in the city.

http://midtowngreenway.org/index.html

[hudkina]

I just meant it was similar to the High Line in that it is a pedestrian pathway separated from the rest of the city.