Ponyride is a

nonprofit A nonprofit organization (NPO) or non-profit organisation, also known as a non-business entity, not-for-profit organization, or nonprofit institution, is a legal entity organized and operated for a collective, public or social benefit, in co ...

located in

Detroit Detroit ( , ; , ) is the largest city in the U.S. state of Michigan. It is also the largest U.S. city on the United States–Canada border, and the seat of government of Wayne County. The City of Detroit had a population of 639,111 at th ...

Michigan Michigan () is a state in the Great Lakes region of the upper Midwestern United States. With a population of nearly 10.12 million and an area of nearly , Michigan is the 10th-largest state by population, the 11th-largest by area, and the ...

. Since 2011, the organization has occupied a 33,000 square foot building located at 1401 Vermont Street in the Corktown neighborhood. Founded by Phil Cooley and Kate Bordine, Ponyride provides workspace, educational and material resources, and networking tools to artists, entrepreneurs, craftspeople, and other nonprofits.

Description

The building Ponyride occupies was originally built in 1935 as a printing facility for the

automotive industry The automotive industry comprises a wide range of company, companies and organizations involved in the design, Business development, development, manufacturing, marketing, and selling of motor vehicles. It is one of the world's largest industry ...

, designed by Smith, Hinchman and Grylls. Ponyride currently rents space to over 60 residents on a month-to-month lease term. The facility also includes a

dance Dance is a performing art form consisting of sequences of movement, either improvised or purposefully selected. This movement has aesthetic and often symbolic value. Dance can be categorized and described by its choreography, by its repertoir ...

studio, coffee shop, and event space. Most of the tenants produce work centered on a community focus, enhancing social welfare in Detroit to some capacity. For example, Ponyride served as an incubator for the

Empowerment Plan The Empowerment Plan is an American humanitarian organization, located in Milwaukee Junction, Detroit, Michigan. The organization works to address homelessness by providing jobs to homeless women, and by manufacturing a coat that is given to homele ...

which manufactures specialized coats that double as

sleeping bags A sleeping bag is an insulated covering for a person, essentially a lightweight quilt that can be closed with a zipper or similar means to form a tube, which functions as lightweight, portable bedding in situations where a person is sleeping o ...

for the

homeless Homelessness or houselessness – also known as a state of being unhoused or unsheltered – is the condition of lacking stable, safe, and adequate housing. People can be categorized as homeless if they are: * living on the streets, also kn ...

population. In 2017, Ponyride became the first Detroit

coworking Coworking is an arrangement in which workers for different companies share an office space. It allows cost savings and convenience through the use of common infrastructures, such as equipment, utilities and receptionist and custodial services, a ...

space to offer on-site

child care Child care, otherwise known as day care, is the care and supervision of a child or multiple children at a time, whose ages range from two weeks of age to 18 years. Although most parents spend a significant amount of time caring for their child(r ...

. The foundation received more national buzz when

MythBusters ''MythBusters'' is a science entertainment television program, developed by Peter Rees and produced by Australia's Beyond Television Productions. The series premiered on the Discovery Channel on January 23, 2003. It was broadcast internatio ...

Adam Savage Adam Whitney Savage (born July 15, 1967) is an American special effects designer and fabricator, actor, educator, and television personality and producer, best known as the former co-host (with Jamie Hyneman) of the Discovery Channel televisi ...

toured the facility for his video series Tested.com.

The New York Times ''The New York Times'' (''the Times'', ''NYT'', or the Gray Lady) is a daily newspaper based in New York City with a worldwide readership reported in 2020 to comprise a declining 840,000 paid print subscribers, and a growing 6 million paid ...

also featured Ponyride and spoke to founder Phil Cooley in their feature, "Detroit, the Most Exciting City in America?" Additionally in 2017, the Ponyride Market Summer Series became a monthly event, giving resident makers of the building a direct means of vending to the community.

References

{{reflist Non-profit organizations based in Michigan Organizations based in Detroit Coworking space providers