The Revived Ruin That Perfectly Showcases Detroit's Ongoing Renaissance

Michigan Central Station, which was left to decay over a period of three decades in Detroit’s Corktown neighborhood, has been restored to its former glory

It’s no secret that Detroit has long had a bad rap as some kind of violent hub to be avoided. Constant crime, a declining population, and buildings left to decay, so the story goes. Consider for a moment, however, that this may be an outdated view. Is it possible you’re hearing from people who aren’t actually clued in to what’s been going on in Detroit over the last decade or so? When is the last time you visited the Motor City yourself? Because if you’ve been any time recently, you know there’s a certain energy in the air.

Downtown and Midtown are the central hubs of Detroit’s ongoing renaissance, but there may be no better neighborhood in the city that demonstrates the city’s liveliness than Corktown. Found just west of downtown, Corktown is the oldest existing neighborhood in the city. It dates back to 1834 and takes its name from the large number of Irish immigrants who flocked to the area in the 19th century, many of whom were from County Cork on the southern tip of Ireland.

Today, it is one of Detroit’s most eclectic neighborhoods, brimming with breweries, eateries, bars, and all kinds of inviting little shops and boutiques — a quaint little city within the city, with downtown’s skyscrapers plainly in view off to the east. While there are all kinds of reasons for visiting this part of Detroit, such as grabbing a bite at Mercury Burger & Bar or Slows Bar BQ, picking up a new set of wheels at Metropolis Cycles, or checking out local street art at the outdoor Yard Graffiti Museum, the true pièce de résistance is the newly-revived Michigan Central Station.

Once a bustling train depot connecting the city to destinations in Illinois, Indiana, New York, and Ontario via the Michigan Central Railroad, Michigan Central Station sort of perfectly reflects the story of Detroit itself over the last 40 years, if not the last century and some change. The station originally opened in the final week of December 1913, forced into operation on an earlier-than-anticipated timeline due to the city’s original train depot succumbing to a major fire on the day after Christmas.

By the 1940s, Michigan Central saw upwards of 4,000 passengers a day and had some 3,000 people working in its office tower, but those halcyon days were not meant to last. Ironically, as the automobile Detroit’s own Henry Ford helped pioneer took over and people stopped relying so heavily on train travel, ticket sales began to decline in the mid-1950s, with the picture only growing dimmer as the years rolled on. On January 6, 1988, the last Amtrak passenger train departed Michigan Central for the final time and the place was shuttered for good.

The main lobby at Michigan Central Station is truly a marvel

Over the the next three decades, Michigan Central, which William Clay Ford Jr. — great-grandson of Henry Ford and executive chair of The Ford Motor Company — would later describe as Detroit’s own “Ellis Island”, was allowed to fall into disrepair. In Bill Ford’s words, “a place where dreamers in search of new jobs and new opportunities first set foot in Detroit” became something altogether different. It became, he said, “a place where hope left”, “a symbol of the city’s hard times”, and “a monument to its struggles”.

A great mausoleum belonging to an earlier America, the station sat abandoned, transforming into a scrapyard for thieves and a playground for graffiti artists. The former “Gateway to Detroit” became one of the country’s most infamous ruins. Alongside the green-eyed vandals and spray paint aficionados came photographers from all over the world eager to capture this decadent cathedral laid low.

In 2009, amid the Great Recession, Detroit City Council weighed a resolution to demolish the building. Preservationists, led by Detroit-area native Stanley Christmas, fought the plan, which ultimately went by the wayside thanks to their efforts and because the city did not have the money needed to pay for the demo. So, Michigan Central was saved in one sense, but it was still a decaying ruin and the hope that it would ever be restored to its former glory remained fleeting.

That’s where the Fords come in. In 2018, the Ford Motor Company, with Bill Ford at its head, made the shocking announcement that it was purchasing Michigan Central Station with plans to transform the building and the surrounding area into a 30-acre, 1.2 million-square-foot innovation and mobility campus with an eye toward the future. The process of revitalizing and restoring the station got underway right away, and, as it turned out, not a moment too soon, as parts of the building, especially some long-ago flooded passages underground, had nearly reached a point of no return.

Six years and $90 million later, in June 2024, Michigan Central Station roared back to life in the most Detroit way possible with a grand reopening celebration headlined by Diana Ross, Jack White, Big Sean, and the Detroit Symphony Orchestra. Corktown residents were appropriately given first dibs on tickets to the event; the rest sold out in under 10 minutes after being made available to the general public. Anyone not lucky enough to attend in person could watch the stream on Peacock, executive-produced by none other than Eminem and Paul Rosenberg.

Most of the graffiti that previously covered almost every inch of Michigan Central has been removed, but some of the art has been preserved to showcase another side of its history

Walking through Michigan Central today is almost a spiritual experience. Laugh all you want, but when you consider the providence of everything that had to happen to save this Detroit icon — the details of which are elucidated through a number of museum-style displays throughout the station — the scope of it is mind-blowing. To see the images side-by-side, from rotting ruin to pristine marvel, and just how how much work had to be done to get from Point A to Point B, you will simply be left in awe. Not to mention all the stories connected to the restoration, such as Ford’s call to all of Detroit to bring back anything that might have been taken from the property throughout the years, no questions asked, so that they could rebuild using as much original material as possible.

In addition to the historical displays showcasing the story of the station, visitors can stop in at one of a trio of shops, including an outpost of Yellow Light Coffee and Donuts, and a pair of gift shops: Neighbor x Folk, which offers a collection of locally-sourced products, and The Shop, where you can geek out on all things Michigan Central. Less public-facing, but no less exciting, is all of the innovation happening on campus, which you can read about over here.

The parallels between Michigan Central Station — the improbable story of its rise, fall, and revival — and the city it calls home are impossible to ignore. It’s apparent from the moment you set foot inside that the spirit and energy of Detroit ooze from the walls of this place. If you need evidence that the Motor City is on the up and up, you need look no further.

-LTH