Philip A. Hart Plaza, in
downtown Detroit, is a
city plaza along the
Detroit River
The Detroit River flows west and south for from Lake St. Clair to Lake Erie as a strait in the Great Lakes system. The river divides the metropolitan areas of Detroit, Michigan, and Windsor, Ontario—an area collectively referred to as Detro ...
. It is located more or less on the site at which
Antoine Laumet de La Mothe, sieur de Cadillac landed in 1701 when he founded ''
Fort Pontchartrain du Détroit'', the settlement that became Detroit. In 2011, the Detroit-Wayne County
Port Authority opened its new
cruise ship
Cruise ships are large passenger ships used mainly for vacationing. Unlike ocean liners, which are used for transport, cruise ships typically embark on round-trip voyages to various ports-of-call, where passengers may go on tours known as ...
passenger terminal and dock at Hart Plaza, adjacent to the Renaissance Center, which receives major cruise ships such as the
MS ''Hamburg'' and the ''Yorktown''.
[Detroit Wayne County Port Authority Breaks Ground on $11.25 Million Public Dock and Terminal]
(June 21, 2004).''PRNewswire''. Retrieved on January 20, 2008.
The plaza, which is named for the late U.S. Senator
Philip Hart
Philip Aloysius Hart (December 10, 1912December 26, 1976) was an American lawyer and politician. A Democrat, he served as a United States Senator from Michigan from 1959 until his death from cancer in Washington, D.C. in 1976. He was known as ...
, opened in 1975 and has a capacity for about 40,000 people.
At the center of the plaza is the
Horace E. Dodge
Horace Elgin Dodge Sr. (May 17, 1868 – December 10, 1920) was an American automobile manufacturing pioneer and co-founder of Dodge Brothers Company.
Early years and business
He was born in Niles, Michigan, on May 17, 1868.Burton, Clarence M. ...
and Son Memorial Fountain, designed by
Isamu Noguchi
was an American artist and landscape architect whose artistic career spanned six decades, from the 1920s onward. Known for his sculpture and public artworks, Noguchi also designed stage sets for various Martha Graham productions, and severa ...
and Walter Budd in 1978.
History
The area where Hart Plaza stands today is believed to be where
Antoine Laumet de La Mothe, sieur de Cadillac landed in 1701. The waterfront area became the main source of communication and transportation to the outside world until the inventions of the railroad and telegraph. By the mid 19th century this area was covered by docks, warehouses, and other industry, as was most of Detroit's waterfront of the time.
It wasn't until 1890 that Hazen S. Pingree, Detroit's mayor at that time, suggested the location would be ideal for the creation of a waterfront center for city functions. However, the project was not carried through.
In 1924, the architect
Eliel Saarinen
Gottlieb Eliel Saarinen (, ; August 20, 1873 – July 1, 1950) was a Finnish-American architect known for his work with art nouveau buildings in the early years of the 20th century. He was also the father of famed architect Eero Saarinen.
Lif ...
was commissioned by the AIA of Michigan to compose a waterfront civic center design. However,
World War II
World War II or the Second World War, often abbreviated as WWII or WW2, was a world war that lasted from 1939 to 1945. It involved the vast majority of the world's countries—including all of the great powers—forming two opposing ...
got in the way of its development, and it wasn't until the late 1940s that things got under way. The first parts to go up in the area were the buildings, including a veteran's hall, an auditorium, and the city-county building.
Finally, it came to the creation of what is now Hart Plaza. What was created was a departure from Saarinen's original design, which was originally to be a grassy lawn area. It was decided to build the current concrete plaza instead, with several built in amphitheaters for concerts, as well as Dodge Fountain. The final design was done by the firm of
Smith, Hinchman, and Grylls, with the help of
Isamu Noguchi
was an American artist and landscape architect whose artistic career spanned six decades, from the 1920s onward. Known for his sculpture and public artworks, Noguchi also designed stage sets for various Martha Graham productions, and severa ...
.
The plaza opened in 1975 and in 1976 was dedicated to
Philip Hart
Philip Aloysius Hart (December 10, 1912December 26, 1976) was an American lawyer and politician. A Democrat, he served as a United States Senator from Michigan from 1959 until his death from cancer in Washington, D.C. in 1976. He was known as ...
, a United States Senator from 1959 to 1976. However, the park was not completed until 1979.
On the city's 300th birthday — July 24, 2001 - a statue was unveiled depicting Antoine Laumet de La Mothe, sieur de Cadillac arrival at what would become Detroit in 1701.
On October 20, 2001, the Gateway to Freedom International Memorial to the Underground Railroad opened — commemorating Detroit's role in the
Underground Railroad
The Underground Railroad was a network of clandestine routes and safe houses established in the United States during the early- to mid-19th century. It was used by enslaved African Americans primarily to escape into free states and Canada. ...
. It was sculpted by Edward Dwight, after winning a competition to design the International Memorial to the Underground Railroad.
Transcending, an arch sculpture and the Michigan Labor Legacy Landmark, was dedicated on August 30, 2003. It is located west of the entrance to Hart Plaza near the intersection of
Woodward Avenue
A woodward is a warden of a wood. Woodward may also refer to:
Places
;United States
* Woodward, Iowa
* Woodward, Oklahoma
* Woodward, Pennsylvania, a census-designated place
* Woodward Avenue, a street in Tallahassee, Florida, which bisects th ...
and
Jefferson Avenue
In 2006 the Detroit/Wayne County Port Authority added a cruise ship dock and passenger terminal to the site.
Events
![Motor City Pride 2011 - crowd - 051](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/6/6d/Motor_City_Pride_2011_-_crowd_-_051.jpg)
Thousands of people from the
Midwest and
Canada
Canada is a country in North America. Its ten provinces and three territories extend from the Atlantic Ocean to the Pacific Ocean and northward into the Arctic Ocean, covering over , making it the world's second-largest country by tot ...
come together during the summer for celebrations,
concert
A concert is a live music performance in front of an audience. The performance may be by a single musician, sometimes then called a recital, or by a musical ensemble, such as an orchestra, choir, or band. Concerts are held in a wide variet ...
s held in one of the plaza's two open-air amphitheaters, and
festival
A festival is an event ordinarily celebrated by a community and centering on some characteristic aspect or aspects of that community and its religion or cultures. It is often marked as a local or national holiday, mela, or eid. A festival ...
s generally held from May through September.
Some of the events held at Hart Plaza over the years include:
Surroundings
Hart Plaza is surrounded by many important areas and buildings of the
Downtown Detroit area. It is within a few blocks of the GM Renaissance Center (RenCen),
Joe Louis Arena
Joe Louis Arena was an arena in Downtown Detroit. Completed in 1979 at a cost of US$57 million as a replacement for Olympia Stadium, it sat adjacent to Cobo Center on the bank of the Detroit River and was accessible by the Joe Louis Arena ...
and
TCF Center
Huntington Place (formerly known as Cobo Hall, Cobo Center, and briefly as TCF Center) is a convention center in Downtown Detroit, owned by the Detroit Regional Convention Facility Authority (DRCFA) and operated by ASM Global. Located at 1 Was ...
. In recent years, Hart Plaza has become a part of the
Detroit International Riverfront
The Detroit International Riverfront is a tourist attraction and landmark of Detroit, Michigan, extending from the Ambassador Bridge in the west to Belle Isle in the east, for a total of 5.5 miles (8.8 kilometers). The International Riverfront en ...
.
Visitors to Hart Plaza can see across the river to
Windsor, Ontario
Windsor is a city in southwestern Ontario, Canada, on the south bank of the Detroit River directly across from Detroit, Michigan, United States. Geographically located within but administratively independent of Essex County, it is the southe ...
's riverfront and the
Belle Isle State Park.
Layout
The park is 8
acres
The acre is a unit of land area used in the imperial and US customary systems. It is traditionally defined as the area of one chain by one furlong (66 by 660 feet), which is exactly equal to 10 square chains, of a square mile, 4,840 square ...
in size and is bound by the
Detroit River
The Detroit River flows west and south for from Lake St. Clair to Lake Erie as a strait in the Great Lakes system. The river divides the metropolitan areas of Detroit, Michigan, and Windsor, Ontario—an area collectively referred to as Detro ...
to the south, East Jefferson Avenue to north, Bates Avenue to the east, and Civic Center Drive to the west.
It consists of the upper level at the level of Jefferson Avenue, which is a supported cement slab faced in
carnelian
Carnelian (also spelled cornelian) is a brownish-red mineral commonly used as a semi-precious gemstone. Similar to carnelian is sard, which is generally harder and darker (the difference is not rigidly defined, and the two names are often used ...
granite and concrete, and suspended above the lower level at the level of Atwater Street.
The plaza was designed by Detroit-based architects
Smith, Hinchman & Grylls in consultation with
Japanese American architect
Isamu Noguchi
was an American artist and landscape architect whose artistic career spanned six decades, from the 1920s onward. Known for his sculpture and public artworks, Noguchi also designed stage sets for various Martha Graham productions, and severa ...
.
The plaza's main entrance is located at the foot of Woodward Avenue, south of the
Monument to Joe Louis. At the entrance is the
Pylon, a stainless steel spire sculpture designed by Isamu Noguchi. Located west of the entrance is the Michigan Labor Legacy Landmark, whose centerpiece is a 63-foot tall steel arch sculpture by David Barr and Sergio
de Giusti titled
Transcending. Near the center of the courtyard is the focal point of Hart Plaza, the
Horace E. Dodge and Son Memorial Fountain
Philip A. Hart Plaza, in downtown Detroit, is a Urban park, city plaza along the Detroit River. It is located more or less on the site at which Antoine Laumet de La Mothe, sieur de Cadillac landed in 1701 when he founded ''Fort Detroit, Fort Pont ...
, also designed by Isamu Noguchi. The lower level of Hart Plaza includes an open-air
amphitheater near the center of the courtyard, dressing rooms, food preparation areas with kitchen service food court, three sets of public rest rooms, permanent beverage booths, temporary storage areas, offices,
Detroit Police Department
The Detroit Police Department (DPD) is a municipal police force based in and responsible for the U.S. city of Detroit, Michigan. Founded in 1865, it has nearly 2,500 officers, making it the largest law enforcement organization in Michigan.
Histo ...
post at the southeast corner of the plaza, art gallery, and loading dock.
Memorials and sculptures
Antoine de la Mothe Cadillac Statue
Antoine Laumet de La Mothe, sieur de Cadillac — the founder of Detroit — is shown in this sculpture depicting the moment he arrived at that spot in 1701.
The sculpture was a gift to the City of Detroit from the French-American Chamber of Commerce, Michigan Chapter and was unveiled on the city's 300th birthday — July 24, 2001.
The bronze statue was designed by William Kieffer and Ann Feeley in 2001.
Gateway to Freedom International Memorial to the Underground Railroad
Located on the riverfront of Hart Plaza, the Gateway to Freedom International Memorial to the Underground Railroad commemorates Detroit's role in the
Underground Railroad
The Underground Railroad was a network of clandestine routes and safe houses established in the United States during the early- to mid-19th century. It was used by enslaved African Americans primarily to escape into free states and Canada. ...
. It was sculpted by
Edward Dwight
Edward Joseph (Ed) Dwight Jr. (born September 9, 1933) is an American sculptor, author, and former test pilot. He is the first African American to have entered the Air Force training program from which NASA selected astronauts. He was controve ...
, after winning a competition to design the International Memorial to the Underground Railroad, and dedicated on October 20, 2001. The project was a collaboration between Detroit 300 and the International Underground Railroad Monument Collaborative.
The companion monument by the same sculptor, Tower of Freedom, is located in
Windsor, Ontario
Windsor is a city in southwestern Ontario, Canada, on the south bank of the Detroit River directly across from Detroit, Michigan, United States. Geographically located within but administratively independent of Essex County, it is the southe ...
's Civic Esplanade, on Pitt Street East near
Caesars Windsor
Caesars Windsor in Windsor, Ontario, Canada is one of four casinos in the Detroit–Windsor area and was opened in 1994 on the waterfront of the Detroit River. Owned by the Government of Ontario (through the Ontario Lottery and Gaming Corporation ...
, and features a former slave raising his arms to celebrate his emancipation while a Quaker woman offers assistance to a woman and her child as another child looks back toward Detroit.
Several routes of the Underground Railroad went through Michigan. Detroit's terminal, whose code name was Midnight, was one of the largest terminals of the Underground Railroad. At first, Michigan was a destination for freedom seekers, and by the mid-1830s, there was a modest population of former slaves living there who aided other former slaves to escape to freedom. However, Canada became a safer sanctuary after slavery was abolished there in 1834. With passage of the Fugitive Slave Act in 1850, many runaways left their homes in Detroit and crossed the river to Canada to remain free. Some returned after Emancipation in 1863. This statue commemorates the route through Detroit. Another crossing point was south of Detroit near where Amherstburg, Ontario is located.
The memorial features two gateway pillars that bracket a by sculpture showing six fugitive slaves ready to board a boat to cross to
Canada
Canada is a country in North America. Its ten provinces and three territories extend from the Atlantic Ocean to the Pacific Ocean and northward into the Arctic Ocean, covering over , making it the world's second-largest country by tot ...
. The gentleman pointing from Detroit to Windsor is George DeBaptist, a Detroit resident who helped slaves to get across the river to freedom. The monument's plaque mentions several Detroit institutions that were active in the Underground Railroad and continue to serve the city's population in the Twenty-first century.
In October 2011, for the ten year anniversary of the dedication, the Downtown Development Authority spent $30,000 cleaning the monument and repairing several fixtures and the area around the monument.
The
Wayne County Commission
The Wayne County Commission is the legislative body for Wayne County, Michigan. It is made up of 15 commissioners elected by district every two years. Wayne County, which includes the City of Detroit, is the most populous county in Michigan with 1 ...
and
Detroit City Council
The Detroit City Council is the legislative body of Detroit, Michigan, United States. The full-time council is required to meet every business day for at least 10 months of the year, with at least eight of these meetings occurring at a location ...
passed resolutions testimonial resolutions commemorating the anniversary and recognizing the sculptor, Edward Dwight, who at 78 was on-hand to receive them.
Additionally, Representative
John Conyers Jr.
John James Conyers Jr. (May 16, 1929October 27, 2019) was an American politician of the Democratic Party who served as a U.S. representative from Michigan from 1965 to 2017. The districts he represented always included part of western Detroit ...
introduced a resolution to the
United States Congress
The United States Congress is the legislature of the federal government of the United States. It is bicameral, composed of a lower body, the House of Representatives, and an upper body, the Senate. It meets in the U.S. Capitol in Washing ...
celebrating the 10-year commemoration of the sculpture, however it did not get past committee referrals.
A three-day conference, "Celebrating the River at Midnight -The Fluid Frontier: Slavery, War, Freedom, and the Underground Railroad", was also held to commemorate the anniversary.
Horace E. Dodge and Son Memorial Fountain
![Dodge Fountain in Hart Plaza in the evening with lights](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/5/51/Dodge_Fountain_in_Hart_Plaza_in_the_evening_with_lights.jpg)
Located at the center of Hart Plaza, the Horace E. Dodge and Son Memorial Fountain was designed by Isamu Noguchi in 1978 and built in 1981.
Anna Thompson Dodge
Anna Thompson Dodge (7 August 1866 – 2 June 1970) was a Scottish-American socialite and philanthropist, one of the richest women in the world at the time of her death.
Life and family
She was born on 7 August 1866 in Dundee, Scotland, as Ann ...
gave the City of Detroit $1 million towards the construction of a fountain in memory of her late husband and son. The stainless steel fountain is composed of two legs topped by a ring to the height of 30 feet above a circular, black granite pool. The fountain contains 300 jets and 300 lights and has intricate and computerized lighting and nozzle functions, which can create different configurations, dependent on temperature.
The Dodge fountain was inoperable from January 2013 to late August 2013 after vandals did more than $1 million worth of damage to Hart Plaza, $400,000 of which was done to the fountain itself.
Pylon
Pylon is a stainless steel spire sculpture designed by Isamu Noguchi positioned near the entrance to Hart Plaza. The sculpture, which stands tall with a base, is a double helix that appears to make a quarter turn between the bottom and the top.
The design for the pylon was inspired by the double helix of DNA.
The name of the sculpture, Pylon, often refers to Egyptian gateway structures that resembled a truncated pyramid. These structures were commonly built in significant locations by Egyptian architects. The word came into the western European languages and was used to describe a tall tower, such as those used to support elevated wires.
The sculpture was commissioned via
Smith, Hinchman and Grylls Associates, Inc. and built in 1981 as a companion piece to the
Horace E. Dodge and Son Memorial Fountain
Philip A. Hart Plaza, in downtown Detroit, is a Urban park, city plaza along the Detroit River. It is located more or less on the site at which Antoine Laumet de La Mothe, sieur de Cadillac landed in 1701 when he founded ''Fort Detroit, Fort Pont ...
. The $402,000 total cost of the sculpture was paid for by funds from the Detroit Capital Gifts Committee, which determines how financial gifts to the City of Detroit will be spent.
Transcending
Transcending is an arch sculpture and the Michigan Labor Legacy Landmark. It is located west of the entrance to Hart Plaza near the intersection of Woodward Avenue and Jefferson Avenue and was dedicated on August 30, 2003.
In 2000, the Michigan Labor History Society established a project to create a monument that would celebrate Michigan's contributions to the labor movement. Funding was obtained from the
United Automobile Workers
The International Union, United Automobile, Aerospace, and Agricultural Implement Workers of America, better known as the United Auto Workers (UAW), is an American labor union that represents workers in the United States (including Puerto Rico) ...
,
AFL–CIO
The American Federation of Labor and Congress of Industrial Organizations (AFL–CIO) is the largest federation of unions in the United States. It is made up of 56 national and international unions, together representing more than 12 million ac ...
, and other civic and labor organizations. Sculptors were invited to enter a competition and submit sketches of their designs; 120 artists entered the competition. The selection committee chose Transcending, by David Barr of
Novi, Michigan and Sergio de Guisti, an Italian sculptor living in
Redford Charter Township, Michigan
Redford, officially the Charter Township of Redford, is a charter township in Wayne County in the U.S. state of Michigan. The township shares its eastern border with the city of Detroit. The population was 49,504 at the 2020 census.
History
S ...
at the time of the sculptor's selection. The two steel arcs, the work of David Barr, stretch into the sky and weigh . Barr saw them as an elegantly stylized gear emerging from the ground. They are not joined and many assume that it is to remind viewers of the unfinished mission of the American labor movement. However, at night, a light project from one of the arcs at its zenith to the other. The sculptors assumed that viewers would focus on that light. To them, this light symbolized the energy of workers.
At the base there are fourteen
Vermont
Vermont () is a state in the northeast New England region of the United States. Vermont is bordered by the states of Massachusetts to the south, New Hampshire to the east, and New York to the west, and the Canadian province of Quebec to ...
granite
Granite () is a coarse-grained ( phaneritic) intrusive igneous rock composed mostly of quartz, alkali feldspar, and plagioclase. It forms from magma with a high content of silica and alkali metal oxides that slowly cools and solidifies under ...
boulders, each in height. The bas reliefs on the boulders are the work of Sergio de Guisti. They are meant to symbolize the sacrifices and achievements of American workers. There are also more than a dozen plaques commemorating the accomplishments of the American labor movement such as the prohibition of child labor, free public school education and employer paid pensions and health care.
The monument stands close to where
Martin Luther King Jr.
Martin Luther King Jr. (born Michael King Jr.; January 15, 1929 – April 4, 1968) was an American Baptist minister and activist, one of the most prominent leaders in the civil rights movement from 1955 until his assassination in 1968 ...
first gave his "
I Have a Dream" speech on June 20, 1963, a speech that was repeated later that year at the
Lincoln Memorial during the
March on Washington for Jobs and Freedom
The March on Washington for Jobs and Freedom, also known as simply the March on Washington or The Great March on Washington, was held in Washington, D.C., on August 28, 1963. The purpose of the march was to advocate for the civil and economic rig ...
. One of Dr. King's phrases - "The arc of history bends toward justice" - is included in the sculpture.
A few lines of
Melba Boyd
Melba Joyce Boyd (born April 2, 1950) is a significant figure in African-American poetry.Samuels, W. D. (2013). Encyclopedia of African-American Literature', Infobase, . She has authored 13 books and is a Distinguished University Professor and Cha ...
's poem, "We Want Our City Back" is also inscribed on the sculpture.
Melba J. Boyd - Distinguished Professor & Chair
. Wayne State University
Wayne State University (WSU) is a public research university in Detroit, Michigan. It is Michigan's third-largest university. Founded in 1868, Wayne State consists of 13 schools and colleges offering approximately 350 programs to nearly 25,000 ...
. Retrieved May 6, 2015.
References
{{Authority control
Parks in Detroit
Buildings and structures in Detroit
Buildings and structures completed in 1979