Dtowncitylover Member Username: Dtowncitylover
Post Number: 14 Registered: 02-2008
| Posted on Tuesday, April 01, 2008 - 11:12 pm: | |
Last year, when my aunt showed me the beautiful skyline of Detroit from the Belle Isle Beach where we were picnicing and swimming, as the sun was setting I couldn't help feeling like Detroit needs some type of Eiffel Tower or CN Tower. Now I know that this, as of this time in our city's history, is very unrealistic. But the thought is intriguing and stimulating to the Detroit lover's mind. My aunt said that we didn't need a monument and that the Penobscot Building is sufficient enough; I disagreed, insisting on a monument. My thought was for a women dressed in Greek garb holding a balance in one hand and a tray full of ashes with a phoenix coming out if it. On the base of the statue, slightly smaller than the Statue of Liberty, it would read: WE HOPE FOR BETTER THINGS, FOR THEY SHALL RISE FROM THE ASHES on one side of the base; SPERAMUS MELIORA, RESURGET CINERIBUS on another side, and NOUS ESPÉRONS POUR LE MEILLEURES CHOSES, ILS SE MONTERONT DES CENDRE on the other side. On the main side of the base in which the statue is facing it shall read two dates: JUNE 11, 1805, and directly under, JULY 23, 1967. These two dates signify the importance of rising from the ashed. Also, I have 5 years of French under my belt, but I am not sure if I translated our motto in French correctly. I still think Detroiters should rekindle our French history. |
Bigb23 Member Username: Bigb23
Post Number: 962 Registered: 11-2007
| Posted on Tuesday, April 01, 2008 - 11:18 pm: | |
Hey - just pass it over here, dude. |
Cub Member Username: Cub
Post Number: 223 Registered: 02-2007
| Posted on Wednesday, April 02, 2008 - 12:06 am: | |
LOL Bigb23, Puff, Puff, Give. |
Alley Member Username: Alley
Post Number: 137 Registered: 02-2008
| Posted on Wednesday, April 02, 2008 - 12:37 am: | |
I like the Fisher Building tower. When I was little my family would always play "I saw it first" from Westbound 1-94 |
French777 Member Username: French777
Post Number: 388 Registered: 10-2006
| Posted on Wednesday, April 02, 2008 - 5:39 am: | |
Yeah, I agree I just came back from 10 days in France with my French 3 class at RHS. The Eiffel Tower was Amazing! |
Ja1mz Member Username: Ja1mz
Post Number: 101 Registered: 02-2007
| Posted on Wednesday, April 02, 2008 - 6:37 am: | |
<cough>.....<cough>....wow that was harsh..uhhh....yea ..yea...ha ha....hmmm...hmm...a monument |
Pam Member Username: Pam
Post Number: 3812 Registered: 11-2005
| Posted on Wednesday, April 02, 2008 - 6:40 am: | |
We already have the big green guy and lots of other stuff. Not needed. http://www.detroit1701.org/Pub lic%20Art%20and%20Sculpture.ht ml |
Gazhekwe Member Username: Gazhekwe
Post Number: 1810 Registered: 08-2007
| Posted on Wednesday, April 02, 2008 - 6:54 am: | |
I don't think we could agree on a Greek woman. How about a big white pine? |
Gannon Member Username: Gannon
Post Number: 12128 Registered: 12-2003
| Posted on Wednesday, April 02, 2008 - 7:05 am: | |
Thanks, Pam. Dtown, While I appreciate the sentiment, how much time have you spent walking through Hart Plaza and up Woodward Avenue? We have monuments of Detroit's past, present, and future already in place that speak even a better word than what you propose! The Underground Railroad, run by outlaws in order to aide those whom the Federal, State, and Local authorities had deemed oppressible and worse...PROPERTY. It speaks of honest and hard-working individuals working together against insurmountable odds to save innocent individuals from a system designed to use them until dead. The Union 'Stargate', with its spiral through Stonehenge-like boulders impressed with imagery indicative of the twentieth century advances in a time of unprecedented economic growth, largely due to cheap oil. The flagstones set in this spiral speak of the good unions were able to secure before they became part of the problem. Read 'em backward to see how these benefits have been largely disassembled by a corporate capitalist system run amok. The Joe Louis fist is a monument to one man's strength, again against a system that oppressed and used him to HIS grave. He stood with grace and strength and dignity and honor, and every time I jog that way I 'bump' it in prayer that we would gain the same in this age against a system that continues to oppress and use individuals. THEN, the 'green guy' that Pam mentions is the hub of it all...the Spirit of Detroit. Written behind it is actually a portion of Christian scripture, "Now the Lord is that Spirit, and where the Spirit of the Lord is there is liberty". Most modern biblical translations actually use the more graspable word, FREEDOM. I've been praying and hoping for some time now that this Spirit finally be let loose in this age, so that we would be able to continually enjoy the true Freedom that can only come from our Maker, through an infusion of the Spirit. Hence a continuity between these monuments already in place at the core of our downtown. We don't need to add any imagery of ashes, those are abundant enough in this town. I'm sure we have Justice hanging around all of our court buildings, although her blindness and steadfastness seem to be getting a workout recently. It is time to begin rallying around the monuments we currently have, in the hope that some supernatural intervention will continue and succeed against the darkness that has crept over our city throughout my generation...from 1963 onwards. Even that Yamasaki stack-o'-boxes reminds me of the Tower of Babel, mankind's feeble and twisted attempt to get to God...but from a casual study of it that interpretation seems far from the artist's intent. There is NO mistaking the imagery of the Spirit though, a family together with arms outstretched in praise upwards and outwards in the one hand...and the Sun radiating life, light, warmth, and comfort in the other...with the Spirit connecting them, holding both, It's gaze towards the fragile yet thankful Mere Humans. Yeah, I don't think we need to spend a dime more on monuments, but we can spend more time considering the ones we have. Cheers! |
Gannon Member Username: Gannon
Post Number: 12129 Registered: 12-2003
| Posted on Wednesday, April 02, 2008 - 7:06 am: | |
IF anything, we should raise a Totem at the river, thanks Gaz. |
Pam Member Username: Pam
Post Number: 3814 Registered: 11-2005
| Posted on Wednesday, April 02, 2008 - 7:39 am: | |
quote:How about a big white pine? Have you been to the history museum in Lansing? They have one. |
Dnvn522 Member Username: Dnvn522
Post Number: 321 Registered: 11-2004
| Posted on Wednesday, April 02, 2008 - 8:03 am: | |
Don't forget about the giant tire! That works. |
Gazhekwe Member Username: Gazhekwe
Post Number: 1812 Registered: 08-2007
| Posted on Wednesday, April 02, 2008 - 8:31 am: | |
Yes, I have seen that one, Pam. It really looks real, doesn't it? There are some cell towers somewhere in the shape of big pines, too. This one is from a blog criticizing it because it doesn't blend in: http://badcell.wordpress.com/2 007/12/07/disguised-cell-phone -towers-the-pine-tree-tower/ |
Gannon Member Username: Gannon
Post Number: 12137 Registered: 12-2003
| Posted on Wednesday, April 02, 2008 - 9:16 am: | |
Noguchi...not Yamasaki. Yuck. My bad. |
Zephyrprocess Member Username: Zephyrprocess
Post Number: 613 Registered: 08-2006
| Posted on Wednesday, April 02, 2008 - 9:46 am: | |
If I'm not mistaken, there's a public lecture about this project coming up soon:
quote:To celebrate the city's 200th anniversary in 1901, Charles Freer and other some other successful Detroiters proposed erecting a memorial commemorating the city's importance. Sanford White designed a structure that resembled the Washington Monument, but opposition in Detroit and a lack of funds kept the design on the architect's table. http://www.detroit1701.org/Bel leIsleMarker.htm |
Kathleen Member Username: Kathleen
Post Number: 2814 Registered: 10-2003
| Posted on Wednesday, April 02, 2008 - 9:57 am: | |
Right you are, Zephyrprocess! “A Beautiful Beacon: Charles Lang Freer and the Bicentenary Memorial for Detroit,” Sunday, April 13, 2008, 3pm. Dr Geoffrey Drutchas presents a look at Charles Lang Freer’s association with the effort to build a monument on Belle Isle remembering the city’s 200th birthday. The talk takes place at the Freer House, located at 71 East Ferry between Woodward and John R. Admission is complimentary for members of the Friends of the Freer House. A donation of $5 is suggested for non-members. Reservations are required and can be made by calling (313) 872-1790. These Friends of Freer talks have been selling out; I'm not sure if the April 13 lecture has yet or not. |
Dtowncitylover Member Username: Dtowncitylover
Post Number: 15 Registered: 02-2008
| Posted on Wednesday, April 02, 2008 - 10:43 am: | |
Thanks everyone for your feedback. I heard somewhere that they wanted to build something like St. Louis has. Btw, A guy can dream can't he? But Gannon, from Belle Isle you can't see those monuments, though they are great and important. I want a big monument. |
Jams Member Username: Jams
Post Number: 8176 Registered: 10-2003
| Posted on Wednesday, April 02, 2008 - 11:37 am: | |
...and I'd like an effective DPS! Which offers the better legacy? |
Gannon Member Username: Gannon
Post Number: 12138 Registered: 12-2003
| Posted on Wednesday, April 02, 2008 - 12:18 pm: | |
I dunno, Jams, he just might be onto something. I'd rather it NOT screw up our marvelous view of the skyline from the Island, but something CAN be done that would be in some of the camera angles for the Gran Prix. Knock off a few birds...no reason why it still cannot be a Totem honoring those who kept the land before the Europeans started pissing all over it. Thanks for the clarity, Dtown. Cheers! |
Gazhekwe Member Username: Gazhekwe
Post Number: 1815 Registered: 08-2007
| Posted on Wednesday, April 02, 2008 - 12:24 pm: | |
That's why I like the tall pine. It not only figures in the Anishinaabe creation story, but it also recalls a significant chapter in the history of Detroit and Michigan, and a hope for the future stewardship of our space. |
Gannon Member Username: Gannon
Post Number: 12141 Registered: 12-2003
| Posted on Wednesday, April 02, 2008 - 12:50 pm: | |
Isn't a Totem a guardian of sorts, though? Gateway guardian, JUST what The Strait needs. |
Lowell Board Administrator Username: Lowell
Post Number: 4706 Registered: 10-2003
| Posted on Wednesday, April 02, 2008 - 1:09 pm: | |
If I want to encapsulate Detroit, I show the Straits, the Ambassador Bridge and the RenCen. They are our most distinct icons. |
Iheartthed Member Username: Iheartthed
Post Number: 2939 Registered: 04-2006
| Posted on Wednesday, April 02, 2008 - 1:27 pm: | |
quote:Hey - just pass it over here, dude. Perfect response. |
Detroitnerd Member Username: Detroitnerd
Post Number: 2102 Registered: 07-2004
| Posted on Wednesday, April 02, 2008 - 1:31 pm: | |
Two words: Freedom Gondola. ;) |
401don Member Username: 401don
Post Number: 342 Registered: 11-2007
| Posted on Wednesday, April 02, 2008 - 1:36 pm: | |
Not exactly a monument but don't forget our little lighthouse on the riverfront. Seen from Belle Isle and a symbol of the Great Lakes State. |
Dtowncitylover Member Username: Dtowncitylover
Post Number: 20 Registered: 02-2008
| Posted on Wednesday, April 02, 2008 - 1:37 pm: | |
I love it Detroitnerd, thank you so much! |
Gazhekwe Member Username: Gazhekwe
Post Number: 1816 Registered: 08-2007
| Posted on Wednesday, April 02, 2008 - 1:39 pm: | |
We may use them now with our own totems, but that was a NW coast tradition. Detroit is Waawayatoning, where the river turns. There would have been many totems represented here. Some major ones: Crane and Loon, Leaders, balance of power Ajiijak miinwaa Mahng Fish, Teacher and scholar Giigoonh Bear, Guardian and Protector, Keeper of Peace, Explorer Makwaa Hoofed ones, Deer, Moose, Gentle Caretakers and Peacemakers Waashkesh miinwaa Moz Marten, Hunters and Gatherers, Warriors Bird including Eagle, Spiritual Leaders Bineshi miinwaa Megizi |