Here comes fireworks season!

Posted on by farlane
Untitled by Anna Lysa

Untitled by Anna Lysa

Anna Lysa took this over a decade ago, and tonight Detroit’s massive Ford Fireworks show provides the unofficial kickoff for the 2024 Michigan Fireworks Season. Some of the big shows include South Haven Light Up the Lake (July 3), Grand Rapids (July 6), Mackinac Island (July 4), Munising (July 4), the National Cherry Festival (July 4 & 6), Field & Flight Fireworks in Battle Creek (July 4 & 6) and the absolutely massive Bay City Fireworks Festival (July 4-6). Can’t find anything close? Meg has a huge list at MichiganFireworks.com!

See more in Anna’s Michigan gallery on Flickr & have a great holiday!

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Michigan Central Station (and Detroit) beat the haters

Posted on by farlane

haters by Chris

Back in the day, a regular part of Michigan in Pictures were photos from the Flickr-based Exposure.Detroit. It was through that group that I got my first glimpses of the massive, ruined interior of Michigan Central Station aka MCS. As I watched the building crumble virtually, I had no idea that it would or even could be brought back, let alone restored in such spectacular fashion.

I don’t know what else I have to say on the matter except that it’s good to see Detroit restore another piece of Michigan’s heritage & hope that you have a chance to see the renovations live in person or on TV tomorrow! From their release:

The sold-out, ticketed 90-minute outdoor concert will bring to life the spirit and soul of Detroit through an incredible lineup of musical performances, short films, appearances by local leaders, and creators telling stories of innovation and culture from around the city and the region. The star-studded program features iconic musicians and cultural legends, including Michigan natives Diana Ross, Big Sean, Illa J, Jack White, Kierra Sheard, Theo Parrish, Slum Village, the Clark Sisters, Sky Jetta and the Detroit Symphony Orchestra. They will be joined by presenters including Detroit Lions legend Barry Sanders and stars Jared Goff and Amon-Ra St. Brown. These Detroit entertainment stars will be joined by other performers, including Common, Fantasia, Melissa Etheridge and Jelly Roll, along with presenters Mike Epps and Sophia Bush.

Chris took this photo at Michigan Central way back in 2009. See more in his Abandoned Detroit album.

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Lighting up Michigan Central Station

Posted on by farlane

Michigan Central Station in Blue by Rhonda Hawbaker Hines

The Michigan Chronicle shares plans for the 10-day grand reopening of historic Michigan Central Station in Detroit’s Corktown neighborhood that takes place a month from now:

During a presentation to the Detroit City Council to secure permits, Michigan Central CEO Josh Sirefman detailed the “Open Live” concert slated for June 6, which will be streamed globally from the Roosevelt Park location just north of the iconic train station. The free event will welcome 15,000 attendees with pre-registration required, offering a 90-minute concert headlined by yet-to-be-announced entertainment.

…From June 7-16, Michigan Central will host an open house to welcome up to 60,000 visitors, offering a glimpse into the meticulously restored 1913 structure. Additional tours will be available every Friday and Saturday through August 31 with pre-registration. These events aim to celebrate the building’s restoration and showcase its transformation. Michigan Central is coordinating with city officials, including the mayor’s office, police and fire departments, and a private security consulting firm to ensure a safe experience, drawing on insights from Detroit’s recent hosting of the NFL Draft.

Click through for lots more. By all accounts the renovation is amazing!!

Rhonda shared this photo a week ago. Click above to comment on it & click here to see more of her pics of MCS in the Detroit Photography Group!

Gordie Howe’s Last Girder

Posted on by farlane

With nearly 3,000,000 views, this photo was the most popular photo of 2024 on Michigan in Pictures & the most popular photo all time!!

Gordie Howe’s Last Girder by photosbyjoeyd

Joey got an incredible drone shot of workers laying the last girder in place to connect the deck of the new Gordie Howe International Bridge to the Detroit Port of Entry. An astonishing project that is directed and paid for by Canada!

Check out more photos by Joey on his Instagram and view & purchase photos on his website!

Lots more Gordie Howe Bridge & lots more bridges on Michigan in Pictures!

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Golden Rays over Canada

Posted on by farlane

Golden Rays over Canada by Craig Hensley

Golden Rays over Canada by Craig Hensley

Craig got this supersweet drone shot of downtown Detroit last week. In his photo you can see Belle Isle, the sun shining on Canada across the Detroit River at the left, the Renaissance Center towers in the center, and the art deco Guardian Building in the foreground. 

See more great shots in Craig’s Detroit gallery & view and purchase his work on his website.

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Earl Young & the Mushroom Houses of Charlevoix

Posted on by farlane

Mushroom House in Charlevoix Michigan by Lee Rentz

Mushroom House in Charlevoix, Michigan by Lee Rentz

Visit Charlevoix shares the story of self-taught builder Earl Young & his “mushroom houses” in Charlevoix:

Starting in 1919, and continuing into the seventies, Young fashioned over two dozen creations using indigenous materials.

Over the course of his fifty-year career, Young would build twenty-six residential houses and four commercial properties. His works are made mostly of stone, using limestone, fieldstone, and boulders that he found throughout Northern Michigan. Each of these houses is individually different and was designed to blend in with its surrounding landscape. Earl Young’s houses feature his signature designs, along with wide, wavy eaves, exposed rafter tails; cedar-shake roofs; and a horizontal emphasis in design. These buildings are creatively known as Gnome Homes, Mushroom Houses, or Hobbit Houses.

Many of the homes are accessible within a reasonable walking distance from downtown; more can be seen by car. Downtown, Stafford’s Weathervane Restaurant and Weathervane Terrace Inn & Suites on Pine River Lane, and the Lodge hotel on Michigan Avenue are also his creations.

Head over to Visit Charlevoix for a self-guided tour map!

See more from Lee on his Flickr & also at his photography blog!

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Remembering MSU philanthropist Eli Broad

Posted on by farlane

Another Night at the Museum by fotoman91

Another Night at the Museum by fotoman91

Michigan State University’s Broad College of Business dean Sanjay Gupta shares a tribute to billionaire alumnus Eli Broad who died last week at the age of 87, saying in part:

As a loyal Spartan, Mr. Broad has left an extraordinary and unparalleled legacy on the banks of the Red Cedar. In total, Eli and Edythe have given nearly $100 million to support MSU in a multitude of ways. From building the Eli and Edythe Broad Art Museum to supporting the College of Education, their impact has been significant across campus.

Nowhere has their giving been more evident than here in the Broad College of Business. Passionate about the MBA program, in 1991, Mr. Broad made what was at the time the largest gift ever made to a public business school. His $20 million commitment to the Eli Broad College of Business and the Eli Broad Graduate School of Management — both renamed in his honor — was designed to help the university’s new full-time MBA program emerge as one of the nation’s top graduate management programs. Today, that program is a top 25 U.S. public program that has launched the careers of countless Spartans.

The Broad Museum is a contemporary art museum and is open free of charge Friday – Sunday from noon to 6 PM.

fotoman91 took this pic last summer. See more in his awesome Night Time gallery on Flickr.

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Kirkbride’s beliefs became his buildings

Posted on by farlane

2 Doors Down by Carolyn Gallo

2 Doors Down by Carolyn Gallo

CMU’s Clarke Historical Library says that on Nov 30, 1885, the Northern Michigan Asylum for the Insane opened in Traverse City. It’s now known as the The Village at Grand Traverse Commons and 10 years ago I worked there and was able to lead and was able to lead a group of photographers including Carolyn on a tour of the then un-renovated parts of what was known as Building 50. FYI, the section we toured is now the luxurious Cordia senior residential club. 

The facility was a Kirkbride Institution, designed by Dr. Thomas Story Kirkbride. Kirkbride was a Pennsylvania Quaker and founding member of the Association of Medical Superintendents of American Institutions for the Insane who developed a concept of treatment known as the Kirkbride Plan. This plan proposed a particular way of housing patients that included segregating by severity of mental illness and fresh air and natural light where possible:

It was believed crucial to place patients in a more natural environment away from the pollutants and hectic energy of urban centers. Abundant fresh air and natural light not only contributed to a healthy environment, but also served to promote a more cheerful atmosphere. Extensive grounds with cultivated parks and farmland were also beneficial to the success of an asylum. Landscaped parks served to both stimulate and calm patients’ minds with natural beauty (enhanced by rational order) while improving the overall aspect of the asylum. Farmland served to make the asylum more self-sufficient by providing readily available food and other farm products at a minimal cost to the state.

Patients were encouraged to help work the farms and keep the grounds, as well as participate in other chores. Such structured occupation was meant to provide a sense of purpose and responsibility which, it was believed, would help regulate the mind as well as improve physical fitness. Patients were also encouraged to take part in recreations, games, and entertainments which would also engage their minds, make their stay more pleasant, and perhaps help foster and maintain social skills.

There’s lots more from Kirkbride Buildings where the author has done some spectacular scholarship and created an excellent resource for these amazing structures. The Kirkbride System produced a photographic environment of uncommon richness that is evident in the photos from the group A little trip up north… It’s also reflected in the grounds and the shops, restaurants & businesses that are part of the Commons today.

See this photo bigger in Carolyn’s Photogs Up North gallery. You can learn more about her on her website or Facebook page!

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Looking over Michigan’s Capitol

Posted on by farlane

Michigan State Capitol Building by Joel Stevens

Michigan State Capitol Building by Joel Steven

Michigan’s current state capitol building is actually our third. Michigan’s Three Capitols explains:

In January 1872, a plan (called “Tuebor,” meaning, “I will defend”) submitted by architect Elijah E. Myers of Springfield, Illinois, was selected. Myers moved to Michigan to supervise construction and lived for the rest of his life in his adopted state.

Construction began in 1872. When the cornerstone of the eagerly-awaited building was laid on October 2, 1873, a ceremony was held which rivaled anything Lansing had seen since becoming the capital a quarter of a century earlier. People thronged to the city in numbers far exceeding its capacity. Private citizens opened their homes and made preparations to feed and shelter the visitors.

Materials for the building came from all over the country and even from abroad. Although the millions of bricks that make up its walls and ceilings were locally made in Lansing, the stone facade came from Ohio, the cast iron for the dome and floor beams from Pennsylvania, and the marble and limestone floors from Vermont. The Board of Commissioners made sure the best materials were selected for the best price—wherever they could be found. The final cost totaled $1,427,738.78, considered modest for the construction of a state capitol during this period.

Read on for much more!

Joel took this close up panorama of the Michigan State Capitol building on June 19th. Check out more of his work on Flickr and for sure follow Joel Steven Photography on Facebook!

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Walking on the Moon: The Apollo Capsule in Grand Rapids

Posted on by farlane

Now That Was Just Weird by Daniel E Johnson

July 20th is 49th anniversary of our first steps on the moon. The Mix 95.7 Grand Rapids tells the story of the Apollo capsule in front of the Grand Rapids Public Museum:

It turns out that the capsule is an actual Apollo Capsule, but it wasn’t a capsule that sat atop an Apollo Rocket. The capsule was made for training astronauts. But don’t let that news get you down, the capsule still has quite the history to it!

This type of capsule is known as a “Boilerplate” … built, along with dozens of other capsules, in the 1960s to test various systems on the Apollo Rockets. 

BP-1227 was lost at sea in early 1970 during a routine training drill to recover the Apollo boilerplate capsule by UK-based naval units. Later that same year, the capsule that was lost was miraculously recovered by a Russian “fishing vessel.” Many believe that the fishing vessel was actually a spy boat that was tracking the capsule as part of an intelligence operation.

The capsule was taken back to Russia and in late 1970 the Russians invited the Americans to recover their capsule. On September 8th, 1970 the US Navy Icebreaker, Southwind, made a stop in Murmansk to recover BP-1227. This was the first visit to a Soviet port by a US military vessel since World War II.

After the capsule was returned, the Smithsonian Institution spent the next several years restoring BP-1227 before it was eventually given on loan to the City of Grand Rapids in 1976. The boilerplate capsule was dedicated to the people of Grand Rapids on December 31, 1976. Students from local high schools filled BP-1227 with everyday items from their lives to form a time capsule. The time capsule was sealed on the last day of our nation’s Bicentennial year and it is to be opened on July 4th, 2076, as our nation celebrates its Tricentennial.

Read on for more. About the photo, Daniel wrote: We had a huge, odd cloud float over Grand Rapids today. Wednesday October 1st, 2008. HDR from one exposure shot in raw and split out three times , re-compiled in Photomatix.

See more in his HDR gallery.