Oh Detroit, Lift Up Your Weary Head!

This week I had a work trip to Detroit for a conference. I haven't been to Detroit in over a decade, so I was excited to spend time there. While I was busy with the conference during the day, in the evenings I got to explore a bit and have dinner with my colleagues. Downtown Detroit has really improved, and I made good use of the free transit as well (streetcar and people mover). This won't be a full post, just some pictures. But there will be a soundtrack! Sufjan Steven's "Oh Detroit, Lift Up Your Weary Head! (Rebuild! Restore! Reconsider!)" from the Michigan album:

Downtown Detroit has incredible early 20th century architecture.

A nice little plaza.

Architectural details.

Michigan's 2nd tallest building under construction.

View of Windsor, Canada from the convention center.

The Spirit of Detroit.

The spectacular lobby of the Guardian building.

Inside the Guardian building.

Beach party? Why not!

More architectural details.

Excellent dinner at Baobab Fare.

Cool arches.

Conference time!

Dinner at Selden Standard, with an open flame kitchen.

They had some fantastic veggie dishes.

Drink by the wood burning oven.

Yes, this is Detroit! See you next time.

Grand Rapids and NEHA

My work sent me to the National Environmental Health Association (NEHA) annual meeting in Grand Rapids, and I had a chance to visit family and friends and spend some time checking out the city. Other than a very brief visit last month, I haven't really explored Grand Rapids as an adult. GR is changing swiftly, with a fair amount of new construction. A lot of the old buildings are being refurbished into lofts and restaurants. It seems to be a city on the rise. And it doesn't hurt that there's a great beer scene. Here are a few pictures from my trip:

Flying over Louisville.

Hey look, it's Kalamazoo!

It's an astronaut!

A small Egypt exhibit at the Grand Rapids Public Museum.

A neat exhibit at the museum.

Bridge over the Grand River.

There's a lot of neat old architecture.

A converted brick building and nice brick streets.

Of course I tried some local beers!

This was a cool beer - Genetic Drift from Speciation Brewing.

Grand Rapids at dusk. I walked across these bridges a lot because my hotel was across the river from the convention center.

Inside the downtown market.

A Frank Lloyd Wright house in the Heritage Hill historic district.

One of the bigger sessions at the conference.

Awesome relief saved from the civic center building that was partially torn down to build the convention center.

Inside the convention center.

Beautiful weather for the first couple of days!

Lots of great old brick architecture in downtown. This is the Amway Grand Plaza Hotel.

More interesting architecture.

I spent most of my time in River Overlook D.

The classic view of Grand Rapids.

I didn't have time to visit, but the Gerald R. Ford museum was a block from my hotel.

President Ford's gravesite.

A nice street with patio seating.

Smoked trout at the Søvengård.

We had some beers after dinner! When in Grand Rapids....

Trying some Atwater brews.

A neat mural.

Tacos for lunch!

The fish counter at the downtown market.

The symbol of Grand Rapids, an Alexander Calder sculpture, La Grand Vitesse.

The cute East Town neighborhood.

A little overcast on my final day. I took a walk on the riverfront path.

The fish ladder that helps fish get around the man-made falls on the river.

Lots of nice brick buildings like this around the city.

See ya later, GR!