If you’re not from around here Dequindre probably isn’t even a word. Heck, even if you are from around here you probably don’t know that the street in metro Detroit was named after a hero in the war of 1812.
And even if you know all that, well, it’s possible that you have never heard of the Dequindre Cut.
I hadn’t either, until someone who worked in my department talked about it a few years ago. It sounded intriguing, and for several years it’s been on my list of things to investigate “when I had the time.”
Well, it turns out I needed to make the time.
This past January, instead of making a resolution I put together a list of “Interesting, Stupendous and Fun Things” to do. It sounded more fun than resolutions, and so far it has been!
In late January I was able to check the first item, making a winter visit to a lighthouse in northern Michigan, off the list.
And I’m definitely training (slowly) to do the 10 mile Crim race in August.
Plus I’m keeping pace to read 50 books by the end of the year.
And you know I’m working on my photography skills with the new Nikon.
But I want to tell you about this past weekend when I had a really really fun time walking and photographing the Dequindre Cut in downtown Detroit. It’s an old railroad bed that has been turned into a bike and walking path.
And the best part?
The best part is that the developers left much of the original graffiti on the bridge walls!
A friend and I went down to explore it and were very impressed by how wonderful it was. The walk goes from the Detroit River Walk all the way north about a mile and a half to the Eastern Farmers Market.
And wouldn’t you know, we walked it, unknowingly, on Flower Day weekend, when the Eastern Market is flooded with vendors and people all focused on getting their flowers and plants for spring planting!
We started down by the river, and when we came out at the other end I started to recognize that we were near the market. And then we saw people hauling flats of annuals, and wagons full of larger plants and I knew we just had to walk over there and see it.
It was only a couple more blocks, and it was so much fun to watch all the activity. Plus there are lots of painted buildings there too!
We didn’t buy any plants because we were parked a mile and a half away! But we did buy some raspberries and bananas from a vendor because by then we were starving!
We scarfed those down on our walk back to the car.
All in all it was a very good day. We saw some really cool art, and some beautiful flowers. And you can’t beat Flower Day at the Eastern Market for people watching.
I’d go again and probably will, maybe combine it with a trip out to Belle Isle in the Detroit River.
If you like, you can come along! It’s guaranteed to make you smile!
May 21, 2019 at 7:13 am
Smile, indeed! What a great post, Dawn. I do love good street art and this is more than good! Interesting, stupendous and fun things? Yeah, I like that, too!
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May 22, 2019 at 7:14 am
It was a great walk, and so enjoyed seeing all the art!
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May 21, 2019 at 7:45 am
Sounds like a great walk. Cool that Detroit is rebounding in a positive way. The last couple of times I was in the city, in the 80s, it wasn’t pleasant….
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May 22, 2019 at 7:15 am
Detroit has been working hard for a number of years to rebound. Of course there are neighborhoods that have been left behind. And there are still huge problems. But it’s nice to see the parts that are moving forward get attention. I hope the rest of the city is brought along too, sometime soon.
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May 22, 2019 at 7:22 am
Detroit took a huge hit during the housing crisis a few years ago – I saw an article, I think National Geographic, about it.
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May 22, 2019 at 7:27 am
Yes, it sure did. But we are rebounding now! Though you can still get a lot of house for your dollar there if you’re willing to live in the city. Sometimes I think I’d like to live in the city, in the middle of the ‘action’ such as it is. But there are virtually no grocery stores, and outside the areas of revitalization it’s still pretty scary…so I doubt that I’ll ever be ready to really live there.
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May 21, 2019 at 8:23 am
Incredible.
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May 22, 2019 at 7:15 am
Certainly was!
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May 21, 2019 at 8:35 am
Your photos of your adventure are beautiful. The graffiti is amazing and the colors are great. I remember being in Detroit decades ago and it didn’t look like this. Thanks for the glimpse into it now. Also, I like how you didn’t make a list of resolutions, going with a list of fun things to do instead. Smart thinking.
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May 22, 2019 at 7:15 am
I figure, being retired, I should just concentrate on fun stuff these days!
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May 22, 2019 at 7:20 am
Yes, I like your logic. Very smart. And fun.
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May 21, 2019 at 9:12 am
What a great post! I, too, like your “fun things to do” approach – aim for the positive and naturally benefits will follow.
My favourite of the bunch is the marching band mural – musicians using car parts…
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May 22, 2019 at 7:16 am
I’m glad you noticed that marching band mural…wasn’t sure people would get that those were car parts!
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May 22, 2019 at 8:10 am
I will admit I did a double take. Are these commissioned works?
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May 22, 2019 at 8:13 am
I think this one probably was.
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May 21, 2019 at 9:18 am
Wow! Thank you for the very fun and lovely tour, Dawn!
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May 22, 2019 at 7:17 am
You are welcome P.J. Welcome back to Michigan! I so enjoyed your posts from your western adventure, but am glad you’re back too!
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May 21, 2019 at 10:32 am
That is super cool…what a great place to visit
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May 22, 2019 at 7:17 am
I WAS super cool!
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May 21, 2019 at 10:43 am
What an interesting walk. Love the art! And especially love that the city left the graffiti alone under the bridges. Like all cities that get a bad rap, there’s always something good to talk about.
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May 22, 2019 at 7:17 am
Yes, these days there are quite a few good things to talk about in Detroit, but of course there’s still much to be worked on.
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May 21, 2019 at 1:57 pm
I’ve never been to Detroit — sad that it gets so much bad press. You’ve captured some of its beauty here, and I think it’s grand that you did a list of fun things to do rather than some resolutions. Now that it’s getting warmer, you’ll be out and about more so we can enjoy your travels!
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May 22, 2019 at 7:18 am
Yes, Detroit has some really cool things going for it. Still it needs to work on neighborhoods that haven’t been included in the revitalization.
I have many very cool things lined up for summer…it’s going to be jam-packed!
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May 21, 2019 at 2:43 pm
What a wonderful walk! I love the street art.
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May 22, 2019 at 7:19 am
Me too!!
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May 21, 2019 at 7:38 pm
incredible street art work!
thanks for sharing them!
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May 22, 2019 at 7:19 am
You are welcome! Thanks for stopping by!
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May 22, 2019 at 6:04 am
Love the murals, and the graffiti Dawn. Wonderful adventure, and so exciting to read you will be participating in a bike race!
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May 22, 2019 at 7:20 am
We had a good time. The race I’m doing is a foot race…as in running….though I’ll be mostly walking with a bit of running thrown in. Yesterday my training ‘run’ was 4 miles, I did a half mile slow run in the middle of each mile. It almost felt like the old days when I used to run a mile, walk a minute, run a mile…etc. Yea, those were the days.
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May 22, 2019 at 7:23 am
I learned it’s all about the pacing! that’s great 🙂
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May 22, 2019 at 7:27 am
Congratulations on YOUR race!
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July 9, 2020 at 12:00 pm
How great to have a virtual tour. My favourite is the bike one, and we can imagine someone riding by, now you mention it!
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