Taking the road less traveled

I visited Dtroit Edison Public School today for the first time. It is but a stones throw from Eastern Market. The school is a place with a whole lot of smiles that grow from an atmosphere of love and respect for the individual, so they apparently are able to let go and be happy, an important pre-requisite for effective learning. The school and surrounding area is rich in culture and potential such as the article about "The Dequindre Cut" This is part of the Greening of Detroit initiative for extending a bicycle and pedestrian pathway from the River to Wayne State. My understanding is that this pathway will skirt the Detroit Edison Public School's current Elementary school and between the soon to be new/old building, also a stones throw to the Northeast which will house the Ninth Grade addition to the schools curriculum. I am sure to the relief of the current Eight Graders.



Detroit in the News

July 28, 2009
The Detroit News looks at the Dequindre Cut a gallery of graffiti
Source: Detroit News
The Dequindre Cut is a gallery of graffiti and urban culture.

Excerpt:

The Cut is a trench under the streets of the former Black Bottom neighborhood now known as Lafayette Park and runs between Orleans and St. Aubin streets. It's a defunct railroad line that ran from the Detroit River warehouse district north through Eastern Market and out to the suburbs. A one-mile stretch recently opened as the Dequindre Cut Greenway, a spur off the River Walk, open from Woodbridge on the south to Gratiot on the north, and is attracting bicyclists, rollerbladers and walkers to its level roadway.

Since the greenway opened, underpass walls and arches, long hidden beneath the streets, have become exposed -- and with them the eye-stabbing colors and line of tags, throw-ups, and full-blown pieces and productions by the city's graffiti artists.

While the greenway is a wonderful showcase for this underground art, ironically it threatens it's survival. While this ad hoc museum of hip hop culture is opening people's eyes to long hidden talent, it is also closing off the venue from the organic painting and repainting that is inherent in graffiti culture.

See the slide show and read the entire article here. go to http://www.modeldmedia.com/inthenews/dequindregraffiti20109.aspx

Neighborhoods: Downtown Detroit